The man stumbled while walking on flat ground and twisted his ankle. He got to an ice pack quickly and iced it at regular intervals for the next few hours, put on an ankle brace and alternated it with KT tape. Basically, RICE. The next day, it still hurt and was swollen. Inflammation of the ligaments and tendons. Poor thing. The level of pain indicated that there shouldn't be any hairline fractures around the calcaneus. While it didn't seem too serious, one would never know if the talus bone has been moved out of alignment and if it could move back on its own once the swelling subsides.
The man said he has a weak ankle, and during his youth, frequent sprains weren’t uncommon and by now, are likely chronic. So some sort of professional treatment would be necessary even for a Grade I sprain. The man and I differ in opinions when it comes to treating muscle aches, strain, sprains and all that. If I sustain an injury beyond RICE, and the aid of simple analgesics like Biofreeze, I zoom straight to the chiropractor or the physiotherapist. I do not go anywhere near the realm of TCM, not even when it’s simple soups and food. For the man, he is open to TCM treatments (traditional Chinese medicine), including taking the herbs and all. Importantly, he doesn't have eczema or seem to have severe allergic reactions to the herbs. So he went off to seek treatment at a dependable Eu Yan Sang TCM clinic.
We were pleased when the TCM practitioner said tui na (TCM trigger point therapy, 推拿) would be the worst treatment, and he was glad that we stuck to icing the ankle rather than going to tui na. PLEASE. I tried very hard not to roll my eyes. If any TCM practitioner worth his salt suggested tui na as the solution for a swollen ankle without asking to see X-rays, I'd hightail out of the consultation room. Even a Grade I sprain cannot be rubbed away.
What the man got- a short session of acupuncture to reduce internal bleeding and ease the build-up of fluids, a two-day herbal poultice, and anti-inflammatory herbs to ingest for four days (the standard stuff; I asked about the precise composition) were prescribed. Very nice. As we hobbled out of the clinic, the man grinned wryly at me.,"Happy Anniversary!" 🤣 Riiight. The 18th of October marked another year of living up to the terms in a ketubah. We haven’t bothered to celebrate it, except quietly so, in our hearts. But yeah, in sickness and in health indeed.
The man said he has a weak ankle, and during his youth, frequent sprains weren’t uncommon and by now, are likely chronic. So some sort of professional treatment would be necessary even for a Grade I sprain. The man and I differ in opinions when it comes to treating muscle aches, strain, sprains and all that. If I sustain an injury beyond RICE, and the aid of simple analgesics like Biofreeze, I zoom straight to the chiropractor or the physiotherapist. I do not go anywhere near the realm of TCM, not even when it’s simple soups and food. For the man, he is open to TCM treatments (traditional Chinese medicine), including taking the herbs and all. Importantly, he doesn't have eczema or seem to have severe allergic reactions to the herbs. So he went off to seek treatment at a dependable Eu Yan Sang TCM clinic.
We were pleased when the TCM practitioner said tui na (TCM trigger point therapy, 推拿) would be the worst treatment, and he was glad that we stuck to icing the ankle rather than going to tui na. PLEASE. I tried very hard not to roll my eyes. If any TCM practitioner worth his salt suggested tui na as the solution for a swollen ankle without asking to see X-rays, I'd hightail out of the consultation room. Even a Grade I sprain cannot be rubbed away.
What the man got- a short session of acupuncture to reduce internal bleeding and ease the build-up of fluids, a two-day herbal poultice, and anti-inflammatory herbs to ingest for four days (the standard stuff; I asked about the precise composition) were prescribed. Very nice. As we hobbled out of the clinic, the man grinned wryly at me.,"Happy Anniversary!" 🤣 Riiight. The 18th of October marked another year of living up to the terms in a ketubah. We haven’t bothered to celebrate it, except quietly so, in our hearts. But yeah, in sickness and in health indeed.
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