pain relief

My introduction to acupuncture was when I was little and saw my mother getting tiny needles strategically placed all over her body, horrified I asked if it hurt and she said, “no.” I honestly thought she was being stoic and just sat there thinking she was insane. It is part of my culture, I should know all about it, right? Wrong, I chose not to identify with my culture growing up, I wanted to be completely Americanized.

It wasn’t until I had children and was having pain so debilitating (female problems) and my option was to have surgery or deal with the pain with the help of some very strong drugs. Against surgery and (gasp! Drugs), I started researching other methods and discovered that acupuncture was an option. I spoke to several acupuncturists and decided to start treatment. Remarkably, I started to feel relief, then my health improved and next thing I knew I started to feel normal (well, as normal as can be) again, no surgery needed. Acupuncture is the philosophy that your body has an energy flow and if it is blocked it can’t flow causing pain, discomfort, disease, etc. The needles are placed on points corresponding to organs requiring treatment and meridians in order to reopen that energy flow and allow your body to heal itself. My female issues are basically gone, but I still get pain from riding and putting stress on my body as I ride over rough terrain and perched high on my bike in a full tuck. I find that a “tune up” when I start to feel pain keeps me feeling great, helps me sleep and allows me the energy to be a mom and entrepreneur.

Please visit our resources page for a listing of companies in our area that are a part of our endeavor to help women be the best they can be. Be well and Vixens Ride!

Carol T. Carpenter

For those of you unfamiliar (you’d have to be living under a rock, but OK) with Massage Envy, it is a chain of massage centers that make it easy and more cost effective for you to get pain relief. I joined many years ago at the Redmond location in Bear Creek when I was plagued with debilitating upper back pain and migraines. Unable to function, I started receiving massages to alleviate the pain. It is widely documented that massage is beneficial in not only alleviating pain, but helping you lead a better quality of life. As riders, we all have times when our bodies tell us that it is time for a “tune up” and it is up to us to listen to what our bodies need. We would never skip a tune up or ignore an issue on our bike, why should we ignore our well being? We are the pilots of our machines, if we aren’t 100% then our riding will reflect that.

Massage Envy has a few deals going, check out our special offers page and print out the flyer, take it in to a location near you and get the relief you need. Be well and Ride C.H.I.C! Needless to say…Vixens Ride!

Carol T. Carpenter