Sharks with laser beams?

    A while back I was having some series issues with  my ribs and muscle spasms so I finally mustered up some courage and went to the doc. While she was too quick to diagnose me with kidney stones and not listen to all what I had to say (like the pain had started soon after a chiros apt and it left my lower ribs in so much pain just the soft touch of it sent me into extreme pain) she then sent me an immediate care facility so they could do x-rays to find these so called kidney stones. Great! They ended up coming to the diagnosis of rib cartilage damage.

   Since then the pain has been manageable thanks to ibuprofen and ice (which is not fun in the winter). The muscle spams have come and gone and my ribs are no longer uber sensitive but it's still hard for me to move around in the morning and throughout the day. I could go on and on about what I cant do that I use to do and want to do but there's no way I could right now.

   I don't want to have to depend on ibuprofen all the time and really just want this pain gone..., and since I am not a fan of going back to my docs I wanted to stay away from what I will call "Prescription Doctors" altogether. I had such positive results when I sought out acupuncture years back for another health issue (a little of that in this post here) that I wanted to find a non traditional method.

    It was almost like it was meant to be! My quest for a non traditional method of recovery was in my morning emails. Thanks to Living Social I found out about the Pain Relief center so I scheduled a consultation and went on in. 

    Turns out I was in the right place. The bill is pretty steep as insurance doesn't cover the treatments that have been outlined as part of my recovery but what does insurance cover anyway? At this point I'm kind of glad I don't have to mess with insurance because I've been having nightmares dealing with just a simple doctor appointment - so for the moment the less I need to deal with insurance companies the better. (Insert thanks Obama and insert witty insult to how ugly and gross insurance companies have become.., further to that insert some dig at doctors for inputting whatever codes they want which may or may not have nothing to do with your visit..., Annoying!)

   So three times a week for eight weeks I am going to the Pain Relief center for a hydrotherapy massage followed by a MLS Laser Therapy session -which according to the doc's it uses wavelengths of light to reduce inflammation, pain and help healing. I also have to drink a gallon of Kangen water - a fancy alkaline iodized water. 

A little Austin Powers reference 

    I have gone one full week so far. After the first session I felt oddly good then the next day I crashed. I felt like a junkie coming off of a great high. When I went back to the center for my next appointment the doc said that is expected because we are "training my muscles to go back". The rest of the treatments have been fine. I can feel my body slowly emerging from a thick haze of annoying pain.

    I go back on Monday and I'm looking forward to seeing more results. One week down, 7 more to go! 

    What would you have done? Seek "regular doctor" help or gone to an "alternative doctor"?