I guess every group of friends has that eccentric individual. They may be the affectionate butt of all jokes or they may be that free-spirit of the group. In my case, my friend Dan is just like a character from that American sitcom called Seinfeld. No joke, he is exactly like Kramer, consistently bursting into my apartment unannounced, excitedly revealing his latest scheme. Most recently, he decided to take a dry needling course in Sydney.
Actually, his latest escapade is one of the least wacky things he’s taken up. I was kind of relieved to hear that he was doing something productive (not to mention on course to bringing in a bit of income!) and that for a while he’d lay of trying to refund empty bottles at the collection depot or trying to sell a perfume based on the smell of the beach. Dan explained that trigger point dry needling targets trigger points where the pain in the muscle can be treated. He also boasted that it can treat a lot of chronic pain associated with orthopaedic and sporting conditions that affect mobility around joints – all of which I thought was pretty cool. Dan is basically a walking reminder of all the neat things you can study in Sydney. Needling courses are just one of many cutting edge medical treatments that are popping up these days. I can just see the day approaching when there’ll be nothing that science can’t fix!
My enthusiasm towards Dan’s endeavor quickly turned to trepidation when he lurched into my apartment and said, ‘Hey, I’ve gotta practice some dry needling for my course, do you mind if I try it on you?’ You can imagine my shock. I mean, he was standing there brandishing his filament needles after only a day or two into his course. I was like, ‘Are you even qualified yet?!’ And he said, ‘No… but I will be!’
Ah, Dan. Perhaps when I see that accredited certificate I’ll let you try it on me, but I ain’t letting you use me as a human guinea pig until that day!