A day to relax

Today I went to see Dr. Bonnie, my acupuncturist. She has has success treating for TMJ pain, so I thought I would give it a try. While I was there, she checked me for peppers and said that I'm still clear. But she did another treatment anyway, just to lock it in.

She put a needle in my lower left jaw a little "off" and created a bruise. There is some tenderness and swelling there. But the joint pain is for the most part, all gone! I can't say that it was all the acupuncture, as it has been feeling better each day, but I can open my jaw now with little to no clicking and feeling like it has come unseated! Once the swelling goes down in that one spot, I should be in really good shape!

It was a little weird today. She put needles in the spot just below the lower lip, but above the chin. I saw them through the gap under the mask. It was a weird sensation. But I think the treatments do help the body start to heal itself, and I am encouraged by the results. She wants me to call her tomorrow afternoon with an update and if things have not significantly improved, she wants to give me another treatment later this week. She also recommended turmeric capsules for their anti-inflammatory properties. I need to look it up and made sure that it is on the safe list. It is an interesting bit of knowledge. Since I can't take NSAIDs, can I take some of these for pain relief?

After the treatment I did something crazy. Something I've been thinking about for years, but never got up enough nerve. I got a pedicure. WOW! That was awesome! I got to sit in a big ol' massage chair. It was elevated, so it looked kind of like the shoe-shine places in the train stations. Then my feet went in the hot soak and I started the massage. The technician cut and filed my nails, cut back the cuticles, and scrubbed the soles. That last part was where I really had to control myself. It tickled!

Then she used a gritty type gel on my feet and legs, from the ankle to the knee, massaging and exfoliating. Then she applied a lotion and wrapped my legs in a hot towel. Aaaahhhhh! Then she got to the painting part. I picked a bright electric purple color, for fun. I don't think the picture does the color justice.

I was really impressed with the procedure. I now understand why people do this on a regular basis. It is quite a bit of pampering for a reasonable $20. I had set myself up for more tickling, when in fact there was very little. I went to Royal Nails on Michigan Avenue, just down from my dentist. CookieAmy and her mom go there and can't speak highly enough of the place.

So now it is time to do some shop stuff. I need to send out the new Facebook contest and select a winner from last week. I sure hope it takes more than six minutes for the place to be guessed. And then I'm going to work on the newsletter.

Perhaps tomorrow I will be back on the road running again!