Traditional Chinese Medicine

On my third day in Taipei, during a 3 hour advanced yoga class, I noticed that my left knee was hurting when I bent it at an angle. It hurt like that a few months ago, and it went away after a few weeks, so I wasn't too worried. However, after the yoga class, I went out with one of my roommates to an outdoor market and while we were walking, we talked about Traditional Chinese Medicine. She's not working right now because her health isn't good (her "qi" or energy is low), so she goes to her Chinese doctor every week. I asked if I could go with her sometime. (I had read that while in Taiwan, it's worthwhile to get checked for imbalances by a Traditional Chinese doctor.) My roommate asked what was wrong, and I said nothing really. She seemed to think that I needed a reason to go, and then I thought of my knee! So, a few days later, when she went for her regular visit (Tuesday night), I went with her to have my knee checked. Because I don't have Taiwan's national insurance, I had to pay the full cost of the visit - $12!! My roommate was there to translate, but the doctor spoke English well. He suggested acupuncture, and I agreed to try it. I enjoyed the experience and it seemed to help my knee, so I went back a few days later (the doctor suggested that I go every 2 days). I took these pictures the second time.

They started by warming up the knee, so I sat near the machine pictured below, which blew hot, moist air (inside the glass jar, there was what looked like a tea bag, and indeed the air smelled nice...):



After sitting there for about 15 minutes, I sat back in the waiting area:



The first time, the doctor came out to the waiting area and did the acupuncture there! But the second time, he suggested electro therapy, so I was taken back to a semi-private area. They put the patches on that were connected to a machine that runs electric current through. I had this done at Manor High School by the athletic trainers when I hurt my back last year, so I was familiar with it. Then, the doctor came and after wiping the area with alcohol, he put the needles in. I sat like that for about 15 minutes:



Next came my favorite part...the massage! The guy who does the massaging is very good - I've never had that much attention given to my knee! After massaging for several minutes, he uses a suction cup to loosen the muscle more (this hurts a little and leaves a little bit of a bruise):



The visit concludes with a large patch put on the knee (about 5"x7") that has on it something similar to Tiger Balm (it feels really great!). He puts the patch on, wraps gauze around it several times, and puts a gauze band around it to hold it on. I leave it for 4 hours and then wash it off. It sure feels terrific for those 4 hours!