My Japanese Chiropractor and The Year Of Healing

Chinese medicine considers the whole person. If your arm hurts, it considers the whole body, not just the arm like Western medicine. Picture of yin-yang lotus from the Museum of Oriental Ceramics, Osaka. Photo by Sydney Solis

I have been seeing my Japanese chiropractor for almost a year now, and the results keep amazing me!

Ueda Yoshiyasu is getting rather popular now, too, as people have been reading my initial blog post about him and his Reflex Chiropractic that is next door to my apartment in Shinmachi, Osaka.

He has had so many English-speaking tourists seek him out for healing, including many of my family members and friends, that he has made an English-language intake form!

Many come from Taiwan, Hong Kong or Korea even, as they don’t speak Japanese, so they use English! And I’ve been going every week for almost a year now, increasing my time to to 2-and-a-half hours each session.

Ueda’s English is getting very good, as I teach him English terminology as they come up in our sessions. Each week he manually does his magic to manipulate my body and massage it back to a balanced state – best he can with my twisted 51-year-old body! He starts from the feet up. Even working on my chakras or internal organs. It’s always amazing what he knows.

Eating delicious, but too spicy, oily Indian food stressed my colon, my chiropractor said! WOW! Doubling down on eating super healthy, clean and vegan! Or the best we can in Japan!

My low back pain went away completely last November before I went to Tokyo. If I were in the United States, insurance would never cover my weekly treatments, but give me opiates instead!

Opiates are regularly prescribed for back pain in the US!  Despite guidelines from top medical groups, studies and recommendations, doctors still tend to prescribe pain pills to people with back pain instead of physical therapy and exercise, which work better, according to the reports in the Lancet medical journal. 

My father died last year of sepsis because of opiates for his back pain. Horrible! And sepsis is on the rise, too!  WTF!!!! Profit! Pharmaceutical company profit! That’s what!

Of course my body needs maintenance, and I’ve been seriously doing more yoga and strengthening my core again. Hey, it was a tough transition, and yes, I needed to do more yoga to begin with. But I did the best I could! Plus I looked for yoga studios here, but they were all in Japanese or very hard to translate and figure out the information! Or everybody in the studio picture looks 21 and doing backflips or offering ego-stoking-photo sessions of you in a difficult yoga pose. Not for me! And I get tired of practicing alone. (I am planning on starting a free class for apartment residents soon.)

Been doing Zazen at Shourin-Ji Buddhist Temple in Kyoto. Part of my health regime to relieve stress! Photo by Sydney Solis

It also turns out that twisted ankle from childhood is a problem because of a stretched ligament, Ueda said. 45 years of walking on it wrong! Plus, the change in weather from cold to rainy to hot like its been here can mess with your adrenal glands. So things can’t be helped, he said. But there’s a weekly chiropractor to keep working on you to help!

And then there’s stretching! Living in Japan has been such an adjustment of so much walking and riding my bike or hiking up and down subway steps! Tight and tired muscles, he said. Plus I was just so exhausted from the huge stress of moving, last summer’s heat and more. But he weekly fixes me up!

Recently he amazed me again with his healing techniques.  I thought I was getting migraines from working on the computer a lot and poor ergonomics. My arms and hands hurt, as did my head and neck. I went in for my session, and he started with pressure points on my feet. Of course he always starts with the feet and I was like wishing secretly, “OH, man, I wish he’s just start on my head first this time, I’m in so much pain!” But remarkably, touching my feet the pain in my head went away!!!!

You are what you eat! And what you’re eating is most likely making you sick! From macrobiotic magazine I bought in Japan.

Eventually he proclaimed the source of my migraines was my colon! Tired and stressed from eating greasy food! I was stunned! Yes, I was eating super healthy in Japan. No gluten nor dairy. No coffee, just lovely green tea and vegan. The Japanese diet is amazing, by the way! I wrote about it too!  

But then I broke down and I had been eating a LOT of HOT food too! Spicy hot! Super Hot Indian food! With dairy! So yummy! And my own recipe of hot sauce for my vegetarian rice rolls!

Then in this week’s session he said there was injury to my left index finger. Something from long ago. He has been studying why I always have arm pain in the left side. I couldn’t remember anything. Was it because I have been typing 90 WPM since the 8th grade? NO. Something older, he said via Google translate on the Iphone (for when we have to have detailed info.)

Hmmm, I thought. Then in a flash again, contemplating my finger, I remembered! My fingers getting slammed in a car door when I was a little kid! No wonder I have trouble even gripping the mat in yoga for poses! WOW!

May peace prevail on earth! May all beings be well and happy and not be stuffed full of opiates for their pain!!!

What else. He knew my diaphram was tight because of doing a lot of yogic breathing and more yoga asana. Have been going to the Shourin-ji Buddhist Temple for Zazen and more in Kyoto.

I also went in for pain in my hands and arms because of computer. Again, I thought, Please…. start with my arms! But he worked on my neck and shoulders and the pain in the hands and arms went away!!!

All I can say is he is my doctor! I did go to the Emergency Room back in early November because I had so many pins and needles pain, my arms and legs in pain and going numb when I slept. My chiropractor said it was from adrenal fatigue and stress. But my heart rate was acting really weird, so I got scared one Sunday and went to the E.R.

The Western doctors were very nice, and the the whole Japanese medical system efficient. WAY more than the US where you spend an hour just waiting for the wandering doctor. In Japan, doctors are on time! Doctors are dedicated to each E.R. room! Plus it only cost me $350 to go to the ER, have a heart EKG and exam! He said it seemed to be OK and that I had a heart murmur from birth. Of course Japan has Universal Health care! Luckily my insurance reimbursed me.

Wisteria in Osaka this past April. Gorgeous! Nature is a big healer! Wisteria in Osaka this past April. Gorgeous! Nature is a big healer! Photo by Sydney Solis

I went back a few times to the hospital, and they did some tests on me, one horribly painful that I asked them to stop! Before they finally announced the diagnosis. STRESS.

So what my chiropractor had said! But it felt good to check it out both ways. I’m sure we need both medicine. But I defer to my chiropractor first!!!

The weather is getting hot and humid in Japan. Today especially hot and humid. Everybody is leaving for the summer, and I may just head to Florida myself as well. My kids are visiting in June for two weeks. They will get a check up with the chiropractor! He knew my daughter had a tight right side, and it was from her marching band practice! SO!!!!

Naturally, working with English-speaking clients and in a language that is not your nature tongue and trying to figure out your issues likely is challenging for Ueda! I hope I don’t put pressure on him. He’s so skilled and I have had so much relief that I just want everybody to have the same possibility of health and happiness! Or at least get a different perspective on health care.

Also, he’s quite affordable. I recommend a two-hour session, which only costs 9000¥, approximately $85. Get a receipt and your insurance may reimburse you, like ours does.

May you be well! May you be happy! May you see a Japanese chiropractor!

I would love to hear from others about their experiences!

Reflex Chiropractic

Ueda Yoshiyasu

Address: Osaka City Nishi-ku Nishi-ku Nishimachi 1 – chome 21-3 Kobayashi Building 1 – E

Contact by Facebook. or email at info(@)reflex-chiropractic.com He responds within a few hours.

Business hours: Monday from 11 am to 21:30 Tuesday 11: 21: 30 Wednesday from 11 to 21: 30 Closed on Thursday. Friday from 11 o’clock to 21:30 Saturday from 11 to 21: 30 Sunday from 11 to 21: 30.

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Me, happy as a clam! Because of my wonderful Japanese chiropractor here in Osaka! And the fact that I don’t have to own a car in Japan! What bliss!