A trip to see the chiropractor

Saturday morning I drove to Takachiho to see a chiropractor. A fellow JET (Gracias, Eto!) recommended him months ago, and luckily I remembered the doc's name. I went to see him primarily because I was hoping he could help me get rid of my chilblains or whatever it is that's irritating my fingers and toes.

The first time I saw a chiropractor was about two or three years ago, while I was living in South Carolina. Back then, I had no special reason for going in for treatment. But I figured I had nothing to lose. And it made sense to me that having my body checked out by a doctor could only be beneficial.

I felt good about the initial treatment I received in SC and ended up going back to that chiropractor for further "adjustments" every few months or so. At about 35 bucks a pop (as in "visit," not as in, hee hee, "each of the sounds coming from my back and neck"!), I considered the money well spent. Especially since I had no health insurance at the time.

I figured my experience at the chiropractor's in Japan would be about the same as my experience in SC. Boy was I wrong!

What an amazing setup this guy had! The doc briefly examined my fingers and toes and then prescribed 17 minutes of electrotherapy(!). So I lay down on a bed, a couple of nurses (yes, nurses!) hooked me up to a machine, and before I knew it I felt this odd electric stimulation in my arms (I didn't really feel any stimulation in my legs). Cool.

Next, I headed on over to one of the massage beds. Wow, that was really something! How should I describe that? Hmmm... I guess it was kind of as if my body was a package going for a ride on a rolling conveyor system at a UPS sorting plant, only the rolls kept changing sizes. That treatment lasted for about 10 minutes and was rather relaxing.

After that, the doc finally got to the "adjustment" bit: I lay face down on a bench, and then the doc massaged my back and neck before going to work on me, crunching here and twisting there. After a few minutes, my session was over. And when I stood back up, my fingers and toes were miraculously cured!

Not! Even today, more than 48 hours after my appointment, I still have redness in my fingers and toes. But I tell you, my toes aren't nearly as irritated. And I'm a bit more confident now that my "problem" will go away soon.

Oh, and perhaps the greatest thing about the visit was the price: 870 yen (roughly $8.50/EUR 5.50)! What's more: Subsequent treatments will only cost 460 yen! (Last week when I visited the doctor who prescribed that cream for me, I paid about 1500 yen for the privilege of seeing the doc and 770 for three 20g tubes of Hirudoid cream.) "How so?", you ask?

Well, Mr. President, I'm glad you asked. The low price is due to something called "health insurance for all," and comes in the form of a little credit-card sized card I carry with me. Insurance covers 70%, while I pay the remaining 30%. What an amazing concept. I seem to remember that those Europeans over there in Europe, you know, that far-away land across the Ata-lantic Ocean -- no, no, not the one to our left, the one to our right -- have the same type of system in place. If it works for them, don't you think it can work for us?