Medicine?

Everywhere there is Jiu-Jitsu, there is talk about injuries.

In Canada, the discussion will centre around doctor visits, and their advice; physiotherapy treatments and the like.

In the States, it is much more likely to involve fringe stuff, and "this guy I know," and far less around actual medicine. One year, when my neck got a bit hobbled up, I was advised to visit "this guy," who can work wonders with cupping. If you don't know, cupping is a damaging, painful, and useless procedure that was debunked and discarded by western medicine back in the early 1800s.

Just the other day at the Pedro Sauer seminar, before class there was a guy before sitting upright in a chair with his gi pulled down off one shoulder. Another guy was was having a look, and my brain said "physiotherapist," or just possibly, "chiropractor."

Nope. The guy started squeezing the patient's shoulder with one hand like a massage, while he kept his other hand far from the patient and rapidly wiggled and snapped his fingers. Was he drawing in energy from the universe, or shaking away bad voodoo? No idea, but it was clearly some form of hokum. Nobody paid it the slightest attention.

When I badly hurt my hand a few years ago, and later my knee, I went promptly to a doctor. It would never have occurred to me that a bit of cupping or a weird one-handed magical massage would be the answer. I don't think anybody I regularly train with at home would disagree.

I don't know what causes this difference between our two countries. Is it the cost of health care, or a some kind of distrust? Is it something to do with national character, or belief systems? Is it even a wide-spread phenomenon in the USA, or have I just stumbled on a few random instances?

It would be interesting to find some empirical data about attitudes regarding this kind of thing.