I have always wondered how it feels like to sprain an ankle. (And after that think CHOI.. touch wood) Ironically I managed to sprain mine without exactly knowing how it happened.
This happened over a period of about 3 weeks.
The polyclinic, as expected, did not help much except provide me with a 1day MC and very cheap services.
The next day (tuesday) I cabbed to work, limping everywhere and wincing with every step.
Some colleagues advised traditional chinese medicine (TCM).. but added a note of caution that 推拿 was only for the faint hearted and that it would be damn painful. Considering I had a flight to catch on Thursday evening and it may take some time to recover after the 推拿.. I went straight to the Makuang at tpy after work. Also, I was in such pain that I was quite desperate. 长痛不如短痛. Cabbed there of course. Where the bf is in my time of need, I don't know. =D
So anyway. The physiotherapist there, Zhu Ding Zheng was nice and reassuring after I told him that I am damn intolerant to pain. He was like, 'it's not painful.. foot reflexology is painful, but not this'. I didn't believe a word he said.
First he twisted and prodded my foot a bit and gauged my response to check where the problem was. He was very patient and listened to what I had to say. Then he went 'Ok. I'm gonna start. Do not be nervous.' which of course made me way more nervous.
Turned out that it really was not painful at all, and yet it was damn shiok lah. Best foot massage I've ever received. However that led me to doubt if it was even effective. I also made sure he could see my face so that he could tell everytime I winced at the slightest pain. And he was pretty observant and would ask if I was ok, everytime it was painful.
He also used this suction pump thing on the injured region (that I was damn tempted to take a photo of but I didn't have a camera in my hand and didn't dare to move much). He pumped and pumped, went '还顶得住吗?'. It was damn painful and itchy, and I innocently said 'ok' and then HE WALKED OUT OF THE ROOM. Leaving me to wonder how long I would have to bear with it. Finally he came in, typed a bit into his computer, and knocked the damn thing off my ankle. My ankle now had this red round lump on it and he explained, 'There, it's red.. means it's injured'. Er, I think any skin subjected to that suction thing would end up being red and swollen.
He was saying that I could go back on Friday for a review when I realized that I wouldn't be in s'pore then (if my foot was ok by thurs). And he said, oh sure, you would be able to go for your trip. And kindly calculated how much medicine to pack for me for the trip. Gave me 2 kinds, one is the herbal, black messy one which requires lots of bandage for home usage, and the normal medicated plaster for travelling.
He also advised me not to go jogging and wear good sensible shoes. Er uncle, I cannot even walk, how to jog? [However now that I feel better, I'm itching to go jog again]
After the soothing massage and slapping on lots of herbal medicine, my first step on the ground was hideously painful. It felt even more painful than before I went for the massage.. Thank goodness pb came to fetch me home.
This happened over a period of about 3 weeks.
- The day after one of my jogs, I thought my right ankle felt a lil weak. After that it was ok.
- Without thinking, I wore heels one of the days. Went shopping in JP summore. The next morning, I felt the same sensation in my ankle again. Damn.. So I stopped wearing heels lah.
- I also continued jogging.
The polyclinic, as expected, did not help much except provide me with a 1day MC and very cheap services.
The next day (tuesday) I cabbed to work, limping everywhere and wincing with every step.
Some colleagues advised traditional chinese medicine (TCM).. but added a note of caution that 推拿 was only for the faint hearted and that it would be damn painful. Considering I had a flight to catch on Thursday evening and it may take some time to recover after the 推拿.. I went straight to the Makuang at tpy after work. Also, I was in such pain that I was quite desperate. 长痛不如短痛. Cabbed there of course. Where the bf is in my time of need, I don't know. =D
So anyway. The physiotherapist there, Zhu Ding Zheng was nice and reassuring after I told him that I am damn intolerant to pain. He was like, 'it's not painful.. foot reflexology is painful, but not this'. I didn't believe a word he said.
First he twisted and prodded my foot a bit and gauged my response to check where the problem was. He was very patient and listened to what I had to say. Then he went 'Ok. I'm gonna start. Do not be nervous.' which of course made me way more nervous.
Turned out that it really was not painful at all, and yet it was damn shiok lah. Best foot massage I've ever received. However that led me to doubt if it was even effective. I also made sure he could see my face so that he could tell everytime I winced at the slightest pain. And he was pretty observant and would ask if I was ok, everytime it was painful.
He also used this suction pump thing on the injured region (that I was damn tempted to take a photo of but I didn't have a camera in my hand and didn't dare to move much). He pumped and pumped, went '还顶得住吗?'. It was damn painful and itchy, and I innocently said 'ok' and then HE WALKED OUT OF THE ROOM. Leaving me to wonder how long I would have to bear with it. Finally he came in, typed a bit into his computer, and knocked the damn thing off my ankle. My ankle now had this red round lump on it and he explained, 'There, it's red.. means it's injured'. Er, I think any skin subjected to that suction thing would end up being red and swollen.
He was saying that I could go back on Friday for a review when I realized that I wouldn't be in s'pore then (if my foot was ok by thurs). And he said, oh sure, you would be able to go for your trip. And kindly calculated how much medicine to pack for me for the trip. Gave me 2 kinds, one is the herbal, black messy one which requires lots of bandage for home usage, and the normal medicated plaster for travelling.
He also advised me not to go jogging and wear good sensible shoes. Er uncle, I cannot even walk, how to jog? [However now that I feel better, I'm itching to go jog again]
After the soothing massage and slapping on lots of herbal medicine, my first step on the ground was hideously painful. It felt even more painful than before I went for the massage.. Thank goodness pb came to fetch me home.
paw trotters
See my pedicure? Java Mauve-A, my all time favorite color. Which of course isn't the point here. This was taken after the 推拿 session and I was highly amused by how my toes were swollen even though they weren't injured. Weird lor. I think they were already swollen before the session, just that I didn't realize.
After this long story. The point is.. Even though it was damn painful right after the 推拿, the next day, as I stepped my foot to the ground cautiously, I was totally surprised to find that it hurt much less than before. By the end of the day I could walk with only a slight limp and it hardly hurt. The next day (thursday), I could walk normally! wow!
So the $45 I paid for TCM is just infinitely more worth it than the $11 I paid for the polyclinic visit.
Just a note that although many colleagues rave about Makuang, I found that not all branches are that good, pb did see one in Marsiling which wasn't that miraculous.
After this long story. The point is.. Even though it was damn painful right after the 推拿, the next day, as I stepped my foot to the ground cautiously, I was totally surprised to find that it hurt much less than before. By the end of the day I could walk with only a slight limp and it hardly hurt. The next day (thursday), I could walk normally! wow!
So the $45 I paid for TCM is just infinitely more worth it than the $11 I paid for the polyclinic visit.
Just a note that although many colleagues rave about Makuang, I found that not all branches are that good, pb did see one in Marsiling which wasn't that miraculous.
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