Needles!

So I decided I would start running. Not like Forrest Gump. More like, geez I get sedentary in the winter and I need to do something about it. Always thought running would be something I would enjoy. I was right, save for the odd “pain” in my right knee. Nothing that would make me stop what I have started, but certainly something that needed to be addressed and fixed before it became a real issue.

New shoes are the obvious place to start. Having someone that knows how to run watch you run, observe what you may be doing right and wrong and advise you on what could be done better, is also very helpful. Lots of great reading out there. But why not try something new? See what happens. This is where Dr Li Wang comes in.

Dr Li is the owner of AlterMed Acupuncture in Bloomington Minnesota. Look at that smile. There’s a trustworthy Business Portrait if ever I saw one.

I have known Dr Li for years now. Always wanted to give acupuncture a shot. Never felt I had the reason to conquer the fear of having needles stuck in me for healing.

First off, she has the greatest personality. Funny and caring as well as very able to tell you what you are doing wrong. Case in point; she looked at my tongue and could tell that although I had eaten carrots in the last day or so (I had a small bag of baby carrots the day before) I had not been eating green vegetables. What?! How on earth? Very accurate and kind of spooky. Hmm. Broccoli for dinner… tonight.

So we moved on to the fun part. Lay back, relax and… 7 or so needles. No pain, at all. Few in knee, one in foot and one in the ear. Couple of warming lights to heat things up a bit, lights dimmed and nap time. I did try to sneak a couple of shots while immobile. Sorry for the poor focus. Dr Li insisted that I do not move, so I was quite literally shooting from the hip. Dr Li fired off a couple too. Anyway, focus aside, you can get the drift as to what was going on with my knee.

20 minutes of rest was awesome. I really did not feel the needles at all. It was quite relaxing. She returned and pulled the needles, reminded me to work on my stride and left me to gather my belongings and meet her back at the reception area. (Her smile, pictured above, was in reaction to my giddiness over my knee.)

It felt ridiculously good! I am not one to question why or how. Never really understood the need to pick apart something obvious. It was obvious that my knee felt, or perhaps more accurately, didn’t feel weird. For years it had just felt sort of off. Not painful, not stiff, just off. When I ran, not so good. We chatted for a moment and off I went. The following day would be the true test – running day.

Laced up the shoes and drove to the park where I like to run. As I walked for 5 minutes to warm up I started to really doubt that the treatment could have really resolved what issue was going on in my knee. I stretched and started to run.

Just starting this running thing so I am still working up to a continuous length of time. First five minutes at a good pace and knee = nothing. Walked for a bit. 5 more minutes of running and knee = nothing. “No way,” I thought. I continued this for a good half an hour or more. End of it, only the slightest hint of irritation. Nothing even remotely close to what I had felt before. AWESOME!

Never be a skeptic. Dr Li has said many times acupuncture works – she has also said come see me and I will stick it to you – both are accurate. The first of those is an amazing experience I suggest trying and the latter is perfect example of her great sense of humor.

Thanks Dr Li!