Turn Back The Clock
- Peter Kam Fai Cheung SBS
- Feb 6, 2018
- 2 min read
When I was in my teens, I used to work as a waiter and had 12-hour days with lunch/dinner breaks of no more than 30 minutes each. In my later leisure travels, I would walk for 3-4 hours without rest and my low back has begun to send me painful signals for the past couple of years. I would ignore them until my January trip 2018 as the pain has become chronic.
Resting aside, I tried to shake off my chronic low back pain with my many twists and turns during regular swimming sessions. Having failed in achieving my objective, I felt very stressful as I worried my Golden Years of Adulthood (ages from 65-80) might have ended before they even started! As my physical limitation was probably age-imposed, I doubted if doctors and modern medicine could turn back the clock.
It was in such a mood when I departed with my spouse for the laid-back province of Thailand - Chaingmai in early February 2018. There, we happened to try the popular Thai massage (an ancient healing system that combines acupressure, Indian Ayurvedic medical principles and assisted Yoga postures). At a simple massage studio recommended by a friendly hotel staff, I ordered a standard hourly package focusing on "neck, shoulder and back".
When the therapist used fingers, hands, elbows, forearms, knees, feet and legs to apply deep static and rhythmic pressure particularly on my low back acupuncture points, I felt my chronic pain gradually going away during the session. To reinforce the positive pulling and pushing body-stretching experience, I had the same package for the following two days. I am convinced that traditional Thai massage as an alternative medical painkiller helps me turn back the clock!