This past weekend I volunteered as the one and only acupuncturist for the 2009 World Police and Fire Games. The games are held every other year in cities around the world. This year was the largest games they have ever held with almost 11,000 athletes from more than 55 different countries and over 60 different events!I did acupuncture on athletes all day Sunday and Monday (my clinic days off) and I was kept busy. It was really fabulous because I was able to treat a lot of "newbies". Because many don't know that much about acupuncture, many had asked for massage. There was a line up for the massage therapists, so when I had less than 2 people being treated, we would ask "who wants acupuncture?" It surprised me when a bunch of hands were raised, even though they had never tried it before. To those that were a bit leary of the idea of needles, I was able to explain the benefits of acupuncture and that it would not be painful.
What a great experience it was! The stand out of the bunch were a group of Montreal police officers who were there to play soccer. I will have to check to see how they did/are doing!
This youtube video goes to show you how fun they were. Check out the 2 police officers and you will see 2 of the people that I met. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xYVi_6KZyTs
Go check out the games if you are in or around Vancouver. Events are being held all over the place and are FREE! They run until August 9th.
The only downside of that weekend was that my hands are now a peeling mess. A lesson to others: if you are planning on applying a mentholated topical pain reliever gel or lotion like Cryoderm (the one I was using), don't do so for 2-3 people per hour for 7 hours per day for 2 days if you are not gloving. If you do make this mistake, use Rescue Remedy cream. It seems to be helping.
