martedì 27 maggio 2008

Crik Crak

Today I had an out-of-body experience at the Osteopath’s (Chiropractor if you’re from North America, apparently!). I’m not really one for alternative medicine; to be honest I’m not really one for medicine at all if I can possibly help it, but following a recent spate of head / neck / back aches, Luca convinced me to take his appointment, and so I did. This particular practitioner is supposed to be one of the best, and has a waiting list of three months, so on the insistence of Luca’s mum (we had a double appointment), we set off two and a half hours before the appointment time, and arrived thirty minutes later. With two whole hours to spare, his mum proceeded to tell me the slightly nauseating tale of her pregnancy and labour with Luca, complete with graphic explanations of her terrible experience, doctor / butcher, 40 stitches etc. etc. In the end, she put it down to the lack of technology / mountain mentality of 1970’s Sicily, but I have to say it was a pretty scary story. When the doctor’s assistant arrived to show us in, she said “I won’t offer you coffee before your appointment as the doctor says you should be nice and relaxed”. Ha! I wasn’t. However, I also wasn’t prepared for the experience I was about to undergo. I’ve never been to an osteopath before and so wasn’t really sure what to expect, but when he took one look at me and came out with statements regarding my health and lifestyle which are 100% true, I started to feel a certain interest. This guy was an absolute magician. Apart from the crik-crak neck / back / hip treatment, he also ‘profiled’ my body type, and was right on every assumption he made. He picked up on illnesses / injuries from years ago, and even seemed to know certain aspects of my personality. The most worrying part was when, at the end of the session, he told me I have the bodily structure for twins or triplets. My first thought was ‘so you obviously think I look fat’, followed closely by ‘What?? After all of the horror stories I was put through in the waiting room???’
Needless to say, my scepticism has been somewhat abated for the time-being. Anyone else have experience of alternative therapies or osteopathy? I’d be interested to know!

4 commenti:

Romerican ha detto...

Hummmm, I'm a sucker for alternative medicine. I've always been a tad scared of chiropractors because one wrong "crack" and you're screwed! But if you find a good one they can totally change your life- or so I've been told.

Emmina ha detto...

I've heard so many horror stories about these things.... What made me feel more comfortable was the fact that Luca's mum has been there three times and always had good experiences. We'll see whether or not it makes a big difference!

Auré. ha detto...

I was a big fan of osteopathy back in Belgium. It has helped me a lot, especially for neck/back aches and intestinal problems... My osteopath, too, is a magician, she can "feel" what's been going on in my body!
I'd like to find one here around Lecco, or else I can always come dow to Milan to yours, as he's good...!!

Nice paint job. It brings sun in your house, unlike the disgusting weather we're having... of course, the first spring I'm here... can't believe it!

Emmina ha detto...

If this is the first spring that you're spending in Italy then you've been very unlucky. Last year and the year before it was particularly nice throughout the winter in Northern Italy, and I couldn't understand why people moaned about the smog and 'grigiore'. This year I get it!!
Let's hope for a better summer shall we!!!