3rd Sinseh

Went for my 3rd TCM consultation with a third sinseh in as many weeks. Although up and running already, the swelling was still there so when Sebas recommended this TCM practitioner in Chinatown, decided to pay him a visit.

The shop certainly didn't inspire any confidence. It was run down, with many worned and old sofas and chairs lying around. It looked more like a shack with a quack doctor in those old Cantonese movie. 

And it was almost like that. The sinseh asked me to sit down on one of the sofa, asked me to take off my shoe and prop up my leg on a stool and start examining it right there in public. No consultation room, no privacy. 

But the difference stopped there. And what he did thereafter was very different from the earlier 2. He asked me to remove the other shoes on the unaffected leg and started comparing both foot.(The earlier 2 didn't even bother). Than he pointed out the difference to me and explained that I had dislocated my ankle and he had to put it back in place. Ouch that sound painful! I can imagine machiam like Mel Gibson in Lethal Weapon who was constantly 'popping' back his shoulder joints. But He assured me it will hurt only a bit and then started pulling on the toes.

Toes? Yes. He didn't manipulate the ankle but the toes. Then he stopped when he noticed my knee and asked whether I had operated on it. When I told him in the affirmative, he went on to probe further and when he found out I couldn't fully straighten it or bend it all the way back, he declared that he can solve that problem but not before he made sure there was no implants or insert in it. So after some more pulling and twisting, he made me do a full squat. A squat (as in go toilet do business on the squat pan type of squat) is something that I can't do - not for the past few years anyway and I can do it. Not once but 3 times!

 

To cut the story short, did this round of treatment work? Certainly by Tuesday evening, the swelling on the ankle had gone down tremendously. But is it because of this treatment or it was healing anyway? 

But honestly despite the environment, I thought this particular sinseh whom his card stated his speciality as 'oestopath' actually paid much more attention and seemed more experience than the earlier two. Hopefully, this will be the final round of treatment required.