Sunday, 20 April 2014

A Magic Medicinal Compound.

On Friday evening I was suffering some quite stiff muscular pain in my lower back, brought about by forcing it into positions to which it is no longer accustomed.

(‘Oh, JJ!’ I hear you cry. ‘You haven’t been indulging in nefarious activities, have you?’ Unfortunately, no. I had merely been painting the sloping ceiling over the top of the stairwell, which required a certain amount of leaning backwards and stretching while standing on a ladder. Pity, but there you are.)

So anyway, simple tasks like tying shoelaces and picking things off the floor were becoming irritatingly painful, and a remedy was required. Did I go for painkillers or expensive concoctions? No. I got out the jar of Tiger Balm.

Tiger Balm is wonderful stuff. Not only did the pain disappear in seconds, it stayed gone. And it has a heady, healthy smell, too – camphor, eucalyptus, that sort of thing – so it even clears your head while it’s mending your back. Who could ask for anything more? I doubt it would do much for tonsillitis, duodenal ulcers, sticky-out ears or in-growing toenails, but if you’re suffering the consequences of putting your back into positions to which it is no longer accustomed (nefariously or otherwise) it’s magic.

Disclaimer:

Since I’m recommending a medicinal compound here, I suppose good practice requires me to notify any possible side effects. It has one: it stains your T shirt yellow, and the stain doesn’t come out completely on the first wash. It does eventually, though, so that’s OK. And since nobody but me ever sees my T shirts anyway, it’s doubly OK.

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