Discomfort and Joy _ Restless Leg Syndrome at Christmas time! !

As someone who has practised both yoga and Pilates, relaxing my muscles is something that comes quite naturally. Try doing that, however, when someone is sticking needles into your abdomen! And why would you put yourself in that position, anyway? A long-term sufferer of Restless Legs Syndrome, I was intrigued to hear a friend was undergoing acupuncture to relieve back pain and so I decided to give it a try.

The first challenge was a linguistic one: trying to explain in Greek what it means to have RLS. Michaelis is a doctor specializing in radiology and Reflexology, while his wife, Eleni, is a bio-pathologist who also practises acupuncture. I was impressed when, at the outset, Michaelis confessed he’d never heard of the condition – it is normally the domain of neurologists - but once I explained what its causes are, insofar as we currently understand them, he was ready to apply his knowledge and experience to help me. I really had nothing to lose.  In fact, my Mull-based cousin who is a physiotherapist/acupuncturist, felt I was really privileged to have two orthodox and alternative medicine practitioners working together to hopefully alleviate my symptoms.

Acupunture is a form of alternative medicine and a key component in traditional Chinese medicine, whereby thin needles are inserted into specific parts of the body. The theory is that placing needles at particular acupuncture points helps to stimulate or realign the life force, or Chi, flowing through meridians in the body.

                                  

 

 By the way, the red effect is from the heat lamp! You can see me all ready to attempt auricular acupuncture, where little beads are stuck  on massage points and you are instructed to apply pressure on them for some seconds about four or five times a day.

 So there we were, my friend and I lying on beds in their surgery: me looking like a hedgehog and she more porcupinal, bristling with rather more metal! The needles went in fairly smoothly, being placed in the appropriate spots with the assistance of a guiding tube.  The ones at the side of my hand nipped a bit on insertion – I guess there are more nerves in that area. With one placed in the middle of my forehead, I felt I had acquired unicorn status!

                     

 

All fine, but it was when I saw the leads – narrow, albeit, but electrical, nonetheless! -  being attached to some of the strategically placed needles, I felt a little …. wary. When I saw Michaelis going to switch on the machine from which these leads were emanating, I visibly tensed and so he explained that they were only carrying low-level voltage and that I was not being hooked up to the national grid! Well that, in itself, was a relief!

 I have now undergone 4 sessions of treatment and am charting my physical responses as we go along. For the time being, my symptoms seem to be milder and less frequent. I remain cautiously optimistic. Which seems a nice note to end my medical meander on.

 The tree is up, Santa’s socks have been filled ……

                               

 

…and our delightful  Mr Mao, beside his snowman pal,  joins Z’n’me in wishing you                                                        a very  Merry Christmas!