Monday, October 26, 2009

first time seems like a success, but i'd still rather put noodles in me

this weekend, dan and laura had a get-together at their place and we drank a lot of pumpkin beer, played poker (2nd place) and hung out. the real interesting highlight was my first foray into the world of acupuncture. after exclaiming that massages "don't do shit", allison was generous enough to offer to stick me with needles to help alleviate some relatively serious shoulder/trap/neck pain i was experiencing from lifting. i completely disagree with her stance on massage and soft tissue work. i have found they help speed recovery, increase mobility and just improve your overall well-being. that said, i kept my mouth shut in order to give acupuncture a try. i am pretty ignorant on acupuncture and other forms of eastern medicine, but i am in no way a skeptic.

as with any new experience that involves needles and potential pain, i was a little anxious, but i didn't show it, cause i am tough stough like that. i realized quickly that the needles that were piercing my hand did not hurt, except for the one in my palm (that later bled)...that one was kind of a bitch, but nothing too bad. she also moved them around, which seemed like an awful idea, but i suppose that's part of the deal.

while i sat their defenseless with needles stuck in my hands, people made it a point to mess with me, pretending to flick the needles, slap me in the face and make fun of me. this led to a recurring theme for the night of everyone busting on me for no real reason, but i shall save that for a future therapy session.

i did not experience the pronounced tingle or sensations that allison reported many people having. i did notice that my shoulder/trap/neck area that was previously hurting when i made an overhead press motion (raising the roof), was now feeling pretty good. i wouldn't say it was 100%, but significantly better. doubters said i was experiencing a placebo effect, which i suppose is possible as well, but either way, i felt better and was glad i gave it a try. the real test will be when i go to the gym in a few hours and try some heavy clean and presses.


here's a video of me clean and pressing 365 a few weeks ago:

4 comments:

Dan said...

i would like to point out that i too, kindly offered to stick you with needles, and you declined.

kevin said...

but you don't know what you are doing. if i need some metal welded onto my body, you will be the first person i talk to.

Alli Kitchen, Acupuncturist and Mom said...

Who is this Allison chick? Sounds like a scam if you ask me.

kevin said...

yeah, she's definitely sheisty as shit. also she gets off on getting germs injected into her...bizarre.