My First Ever Encounter with Traditional Chinese Medicine

Back in 2004, I had a crippling spinal problem that left me in bed for 2 weeks. It was not through any physical activity or exercises that I was left in this situation.

It was late in the afternoon in the office after a meeting that the problem started. For no apparent reason, my back started to ache. The aching escalated to extreme pain. I could barely drive home that day. Coughing and sneezing caused excruciating pain to run through my spine.

The next day my wife drove me to Subang Jaya Medical Center and I sought treatment there. I saw a doctor whom just prescribe some pain-killers (that has totally no effect) and sent me to physio-therapy, which according to the schedule, I had to endure for 6 weeks. Each physio-therapy session cost about RM180. This is excluding the cost of other equipment I had to buy. All in all, I had already spent more than RM1500 with more to come.

After suffering for a week with no end to the pain in sight, my wife's friend suggested to her to take me to see a Traditional Chinese Medicine physician in Ampang. That afternoon, my wife came home and drove me there.

Within 30 minutes of arriving there, I was CURED! My back was as good as new! The physician basically massaged some muscles and then twisted my legs sideways against my body. The moment I heard the crackling sound coming from my backbone, the pain was totally gone. (Turns out that the lower portion of my backbone was slightly disjointed and some vertebrae were pressing against the nerves.)

I drove home a very happy and satisfied customer. And the cost, RM65. Heck! I would have paid much much more.

The next part was to convince my company to recognize Traditional Chinese Medicine as a valid treatment for medical conditions or ailments. which was not difficult to do considering the cost savings the company could save.

Insurance companies would do well to pay attention... LOL.

Biketrials and Tit Tar - Traditional Chinese Medicine

Since I twisted my left arm more than a month ago while practicing biketrial, I have been waiting for it to heal like forever. (See previous post here on biketrial.ning.com)

I have tried rubbing vicks, nutmeg oil, chinese medicinal ointments and Salonpas plasters. None of those remedies worked. So when I was in Batu Gajah last weekend, I went to see a physician practicing Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM).

He operates from a house and there were a lot of people waiting for their turns. From what I could see among the other patients, my problem was the least serious of all. One of the patient had a terrible motorcycle accident with healing scabs on parts of his fore head, face and right arm. He could not even bend at the elbow (I believe parts of his tendons were shortened and reattached). I could see the recent surgery scars that were performed on his arm.

When it was my turn, the physician basically took a cursory look at my left arm and told his helper to wrap my elbow with some medicinal ointment wrapped in banana leaf. I was not to remove it for 3 days. The cost of treatment was RM24.


Day 1 - My arm was wrapped in some traditional Chinese medicinal ointment.


Day2 - The pain was reduced only for the initial two days. I suspect that the ointment has some anesthetic effects.


I removed the bandages on the 3rd day.


The banana leaf that was used to wrap the medicinal ointment around my arm.


After the removal of the bandages, I could see small bruises around the elbow. The medicine had some effects, but my arm was far from being healed.

Yesterday, we had a biketrial gathering in Kelana Jaya. I just had to ride... LOL. And this morning, I am paying for it in spades. The pain on my left arm graduated from throbbing to sharp painful jolt each time I move my arm.

So at around 7pm in this evening, with a friend's (Sean) recommendation, I went to see a "Tit Tar" in Taman Seapark. What is "Tit Tar"? Here is an extract,

"Tit tar is a Cantonese term that, when translated literally, means ‘fall-hit’. When used together, tit tar refers to the treatment of bone, joint and muscle misalignment sustained from physical trauma such as a fall, an accident or during sports." You can find out more here.

The name of the "Tit Tar" that I went to is called Oriental Medicines and Therapy Sdn Bhd. In Malaysia and probably other countries, most "Tit Tar" treatments are provided by Chinese martial arts organisations. But from what I can see, Oriental Medicines and Therapy Sdn Bhd looked like a modern medical clinic with several branches in the Klang Valley.
Eric Leong was the physician that treated my arm. He rotated and pivoted my fore arm around the elbow, and told me that there was a minor dislocation at the elbow. I could faintly hear a clicking sound each time he rotated my arm. He then proceeded to pull and twist my arm at the elbow, which caused me to (ahem... tough guy image gone liao... :-) yell out in pain.

At that point I felt a release of tension around my left arm. I could actually move it in all directions without discomfort. But when I press down on the bone at the elbow, I could still feel some pain. I am assuming that this was because of the internal bruising and blood clot, that will hopefully dissipate after a few days.

Next, my arm was wrapped in steaming hot medicinal herbs, that according to Eric, will help to sooth and remove the blood clot inside the joint.


The registration card I received as a patient of Oriental Medicines and Therapy Sdn Bhd. There was also a piece of paper that lists a number of items that I must not eat for two weeks, such as prawn, soya bean, tea, cabbage(?), etc.


My left arm wrapped in conventional bandages.

The cost of treatment is RM45. So far, my left arm feels really good. I will be removing the bandages tomorrow and lets hope that it is well on the way to recovery, so that I can ride next Wednesday... LOL.