Thursday, April 23, 2009

Dr. Magic Hands

Dr. Magic Hands was most excellent this morning.  I haven't seen her since before Nolie was born.  With both pregnancies, my back felt like it was being crushed by a two-ton weight (that weight being my giant belly and ass, no doubt).  I was in pretty much constant pain or discomfort by the third trimester with both pregnancies.  The doula we hired for the first pregnancy recommended Dr. Magic Hands, an osteopath, and I was an instant convert.

First off, I don't know what osteopathy is.  I know Dr. Magic is a "D.O." and not an "M.D.," but what do I care?  All I know is I go in to her office (a converted church) where tibetan chanting is on the stereo, she slips her hands under my body (the butt, the spine, the neck, wherever), holds them there for about 20 minutes, moves them around  little, and when I sit up I can all of a sudden move my shoulders back, or the pain in the lower back is gone, or that little throbbing in my left temple disappears. 

It's magic. Or her hands are the hands of god.  Or I just believe in her, and allow myself to release.  I don't know.

I realize now it doesn't matter how she does it, or if it's her or me "doing" it.  I used to ask her, "What are you doing to me?  How come I feel so much better?"  She just shrugs, her crazy, ratty ponytail bobbing at the side of her head, and hands me a nonsense brochure titled something like, "This Is Osteopathy."

So I don't ask anymore.  I just stand in awe and gratitude.

Today she did the hands under the back thing, and I felt my lungs open up and my right leg erupted in this most delightful tingling.  After about 20 minutes, she came up to the neck, put her hands right on my sore spot and said, "Hmm.  We're about 70% there.  I'm going to have to do a slight articulation."

And the she spun my head around on my neck, I saw some stars, and all of a sudden was able to hear out of my left ear (I hadn't realized it had been clogged up).  "That's going to be sore for a few days," she said.  "Come see me next week."

Reading over this, I realize I sound like a nutjob.  If the shoe fits, and all.  I only know what I know, and this chick is the cat's meow.

Meow.

3 comments:

  1. Jen,

    Glad to hear you've had such a great experience with your osteopath...i didn't know what one was either until my brother decided to go to school to become one. He's finishing up his first year and so he's already used me as a guinea pig a couple times when I've complained of neck pain, etc. As much as your practioner sounds a little out there, it's actually a totally "normal" practice, and many a D.O. go on to be gynos, surgeons, eye docs, etc...and all DOs go through virtually the same training as MDs. But it's essentially a way of assessing the whole patient--body, mind, etc-- in order to treat them, with the idea that the body is actually designed heal itself. Whereas an MD might be quick to recommend surgery or long-term meds for someone with chronic back pain, a DO tries to avoid such quick fixes for as long as possible, recommending changes in diet, exercise, posture, etc. Which begs the question--shouldn't all doctors be approaching medicine this way? And then there's the facet of it that involves manipulation, which is the magic hands component. I'm really just learning about it myself, but I thought I'd share because it's pretty interesting and I'm grateful that my brother has introduced me to it and that he's going against the grain a little bit to do what he believes in (we have a grandmother who basically keeps asking him, "So maybe if your grades are good enough you can transfer to a REAL med school...lovely).

    Anyway, I'm sorry to hear about Eric's job, but it sounds like you guys are making the best of the situation, as you always do. Sending good thoughts your way!

    -Rachel

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  2. YEah, osteopaths are trained to a multi-layered, systemic analysis of the body--unlike regular MDs. The crazy thing is really that we think such forms of medicine--long practice in other cultures--are "out there." I think I'm going to have to call your DO for some wicked back pains I've been having.

    -Nanny

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  3. YEah, osteopaths are trained to a multi-layered, systemic analysis of the body--unlike regular MDs. The crazy thing is really that we think such forms of medicine--long practice in other cultures--are "out there." I think I'm going to have to call your DO for some wicked back pains I've been having.

    -Nanny

    ReplyDelete