Sunday, April 13, 2008

Magic? I don’t think so…

I looked at the orthopedic surgeon with my jaw in my lap. Sadly, X-rays don’t lie, and there it was in all it’s glory; my hip -- ten years away from a hip replacement. But it didn’t stop there. The ultimate culprit to my agony is bursitis. WTF? Isn’t bursitis for old people? I’m only fifty-freaking-one, for crying out loud, so how is this possible? I admit to lousy genetics in the hip department, but impending infirmity is quite unexpected. I’ve been living in near-constant pain for three years, so I’m hardly innocent in all this. I should have sought out medical care sooner.

So as I sit staring at the X-ray, the surgeon is writing out a three week physical therapy stint to work on increasing my range of movement, which has been reduced to a fraction of my formerly long and fast stride. He tells me I’ll have to live with the bursitis for the rest of my life. Oh, I so don’t think so. I didn’t check this body out from The Big Guy only to live it in pain.

I went home and researched. The Celebrex samples he gave me were like a gift from God. I could move pain free. Until I suffered from dizziness and other unpleasant side effects. So long Celebrex. It’s okay, really, since I hate taking drugs anyway. But, oh, the pain..

PT is agonizing. It takes my breath away, and all I can do is laugh through the incredible pain as the therapist stretches, massages, pulls, and bends my leg into positions I haven’t been able to reach in some time. It feels like all 150 bursae within my body are on fire, mocking me as they inflame with impunity. I can’t remember the last time I slept without waking from the pain as I accidentally roll over on my bad side. Sometimes it doesn’t even matter how I sleep – it hurts all the time.

Until last night. I can’t imagine why I didn’t think of it sooner, but last night, for some reason, I rested my palm on my hip and let the Reiki rip through. I immediately felt the pain dissipate. I slept like that for the rest of the night, frying my hip. This morning, I’m completely pain free. My range of motion is better than it’s been in ages. I can skip down the stairs and pop up the stairs. So my new morning routine will be to do my stretching exercises and a hit of Reiki.

Now, it’s times like this when I become impatient with docs who tell me that Reiki is nothing more than magical thinking. Magic is sleight of hand stuff that gives the illusion of reality. I challenge any doc who tries to insist that no correlation exists between my late night Reiki treatment and the fact that I suddenly can move better without pain and have better range of motion than I’ve had in years.

I’ve said it for years, and I’ll say it again; Reiki can facilitate in the delivery of conventional health care. It’s easy to take, and there are no side effects. I fail to see why docs call this woo.

3 comments:

Therapy said...

just be patient and take care of yourself..:)
mind on your diet also. :)

Lynn Price said...

Thanks. Believe me, I'm being mindful and careful on all fronts.

Lynda Lippin said...

LOL--I too always forget to give my self reiki until I've been suffering for a while (even though it's the first thing I recommend to others). Might I suggest Pilates for biomechanically correct exercise that also works on joint mobility? I've had huge success with my own hip bursitis as well as that of others. Just wait until you have been discharged from PT. And don't forget to ice several times a day--it's nature's anti-inflammatory!

Lynda
Pilates & Reiki In Paradise Blog