Had acupuncture this morning. I hadn’t been since last spring. My first acupuncturist was this Chinese man who had pictures of GW Bush and the Governator in his office. He also told me about what “poor” lives the Japanese people have when I mentioned I was going to Tokyo. I couldn’t understand much of what he said. He also would do the acu on me without really telling me what was going on or what he hoped to achieve. And nothing changed. I stopped going to him, and started physical therapy.

Anyway, my back specialist recommended acupuncture. My new doc is only a block from my office. He’s a native Engish-speaker, so it was very easy to understand what he was talking about. I require detailed explanation when people are sticking needles into me and hooking me up to electrodes. His office was very comfortable and I felt at ease. He told me about the treatments he would do. The first was putting needles into my lower back and into my heels, and running a low pulse of electricity through for 15 minutes while I just relaxed.

Then his assistant came in and took the needles out, and did the next treatment: the plum blossom needle. It’s a tool with seven needles fixed to it, which she tapped lightly on my skin for a few minutes. It felt like being bitten by ants, but I handled it okay. Something about “toxins” being released? Fine by me. Workers comp is paying for it, and I will do almost anything at this point to relieve my back pain. Short of quitting my job, which would make it disappear for sure.