The New Therapist

I went to a new therapist today. After 7 weeks of the chiropractor and not getting any relief, I had to do something different. I found a massage therapist that trained in Switzerland, contacted him and told him my problems. He said he thought he could help. I went for my first appointment yesterday. This was not the relaxing type of massage, nor was it the Thai type, but somewhere in between. He listened to my complaints and really spent time checking my back and leg. He did more of a physical therapy than a massage, but when I left, I was walking better than I had been. He charges 3,500 Huf an hour and it was worth it. I made an appointment for next week and will continue to see if the problem resolves. He did tell me some of the same things that the chiropractor and the Alexander therapist told me. I need to swim, but the back stroke only, to strengthen and lengthen my spine. I will have to check out some pools and stop being a slug.

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The Chiropractor

After thirty minutes and 8,000 Huf later, I left the chiropractor's office. I have had years of experience with chiropractors in the past, so this method of health care was not new to me. I was interested to see what differences a chiropractor who is American would have working in Hungary. He is an older man and this was surprising since I thought I had seen his picture in ads where he appeared much younger. The office itself is three rooms in the basement of an apartment building. The male receptionist had me fill out a simple form, in English. Then the doctor's assistant took me into a small room where he questioned my reason for the visit. Back in the waiting room, I was called in to see the doctor after about five minutes. He asked if I had x-rays with me. No, where would I have them from? He checked my back and buttocks and said there were three layers of triangular muscles in that area and all three were swollen. This could have been caused by any number of things, including sleeping in the wrong position. After he did some 'therapy' with two different machines, I left that office with more information than I could process, but some of it was old knowledge. One should only sleep on one's back with the knees propped up and one should only swim the back stroke to keep the spine in correct alignment. My parents were chastised for not knowing this information and ruining my back health all of these years. The assistant took me to the original room for 'physical therapy' with yet another electric machine and I was told to come back with a certain tape to aid my problems with my feet. The range of motion has improved, but still not normal and not without pain.

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Alexander Technique

On the advice of a friend who is a choreographer, I went twice to see a practitioner of the Alexander Technique for my leg pain. Both sessions were extremely helpful, but the pain did not go away, though the range of motion did increase. After the second session, he recommended I see the one and only American chiropractor here in Budapest. I have an appointment for Monday.

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