Current event: Having a go at electrotherapy massage

The first thing I asked was, “Does it hurt?”

I already knew that the Takshing Health & Beauty Center was not your run-off-the-mill spa. You’d need to be different if you set up shop in Annapolis, San Juan, where a stretch of wellness centers are lined up one after the other.

I’ve tried many wellness remedies through the years—cupping and acupuncture, to name a few. Like most new-age (or old age?) remedies, they all promise to ease muscle knots and the relentless stress that my unique life gifts me. Often, my friends ask me why I get so into these holistic methods.

To be quite truthful, it’s to have an excuse to lie flat on my back and have someone else take care me for a change.

Voluntarily submitting my body to an electric current however might be a skewed way of showing my body some TLC, but it just might be the tough love it needs.

Elecctrotherapy

Before I get into the whole experience, Takshing general manager Anna King explains the back-story of her whole endeavor.

Three years ago, Anna’s father went through a tough medical phase. Her parents went searching for a solution to a problem that manifested from her father’s three surgeries in a year—the stress of surviving it. He had difficulty sleeping and regaining peace of mind after the ordeal. So he went to Hong Kong in search of a Chinese remedy.

He came across the Takshing Center, which claims to use electrotherapy massage to ease blood vessels in the body. Out of all the methods he tried, this one hit the spot. Anna’s father started feeling better. Believing that this practice could serve other Filipinos suffering from the same predicament, they brought the business here.

According to the center, electrotherapy unclogs the body’s blood vessels and rids you of toxins by means of a mild electric current that passes through the body. The procedure is used in tandem with reflexology massage to target specific hard points. It helps with the body’s blood flow, leaving you with glowing skin. It might even slim you down in the process.

Shock factor

After hearing Anna’s story, it was time for me to start. I was led to a sitting area where a basin of water awaited. I was asked to dip my feet into the water while my therapist Aimee, cleansed my feet. In retrospect, I suppose this step was also to help administer the current that was going to be introduced through the heel of my foot.

After being dried, I was given a set of rubber slippers to wear and was ushered into my private room. Aimee suggested that I change into the pajamas prepared for me.

Having the room to myself, I took a moment to observe my surroundings. Apart from the long node attached to the wall and the grounding mat with a jumper cable clamped to it (yes, the same one used when you jump start a dead car’s batteries), it looked like your ordinary spa.

Aimee came back in with a hello and we began. I wasn't scared of getting shocked; I was more curious than fearful because electrotherapy massage is quite unheard of.

She attached a node with the metal side under the heel of my right foot and secured it with a stretch sock. She too was wearing rubber slippers, but took them off soon enough and placed her bare foot on the grounding mat. It was only when she placed her hand on my other foot that I began to feel the electricity run through my body.

Apparently, the current not only passes through me but through her as well. A charming sidebar to this is that whenever she comes across a lamig or a muscle knot, the electric current becomes stronger, which she feels as well. Now, unlike your ordinary massage where the therapist relies on the sense of touch to determine your problem points, Aimee is subject to the same electric sensation I feel with my own trouble points. She literally feels my pain.

The experience is different, to put it lightly. The whole time, my body felt like pins and needles, so I had to rely on visually seeing Aimee stroke my body to make sure she was actually doing it. I was pretty numb throughout. More so, because of the current running through, my body would jolt every now and then. A feeling I was assured was normal. I just cautioned Aimee to steer clear in case I kicked her by mistake.

After shock

I was advised not to take a shower six hours after the treatment only because the current was still coursing through me and was still running its magic internally.

It was only the next day that I began to feel the real benefit of the massage. My mind was clearer, my outlook was positive, and work didn’t seem to be as difficult to maneuver. I was relieved of stress and the tiny worries that would otherwise annoy me on a typical workday, and there were no side effects whatsoever. It was the kind of thing I needed.

Electrotherapy is not your typical parlor massage, but it could be that jolt you might need once in a while to keep you moving forward. — BM, GMA News

The Takshing Health & Beauty Center is at 103 Richbelt Terraces, 19 Annapolis St., Greenhills, San Juan.