A Healing Experience in Manila: 4 Healers, 4 Methods by Dr. Mark Wiley

I have made more than a dozen trips to the Philippines, where I go with my family to visit the in-laws, and also to personally study Filipino martial arts and Chinese medicine. During one trip around the turn of the Millennium, between back-to-back typhoons--which left the country under water--and the rallies to impeach President Estrada, that I was able to receive treatment for severe arm pain at the hands of four traditional healers.

The setting
My life over the past three years has been rather stressful--in fact, overwhelmingly at times. In addition to a hectic work schedule of over 65 hours per week, I have managed to write a new book every couple of months, get married, relocate to a new state and have a child. With these life-changing circumstances came back, neck and arm pain--a little at first, but quite serious now. And while my daily dose of Chinese qigong energy exercises and meditation has all but removed chronic migraine headaches from my life, the static, seated working conditions, accumulated stress and sleep depravation have taken their toll on my body. My arms are so painful now, that I find it a chore to write with a pen or squeeze the shampoo bottle in the morning. After consulting with a number of Western-trained doctors here in the U.S., and being subjected to their blood tests and x-rays, no cause was found and no cure suggested. So off to Manila I went.

Karate chops and a mug o' mud
The first healer I saw was Chan, a doctor of Chinese medicine who resides in Binondo, Manila's Chinatown. He is renowned locally for his ability to diagnose a patient's condition and prescribe herbs by just taking his pulse. Along with my guide, kung-fu master Alexander Lim Co, I made my way through the bustling streets of Binondo to see Dr. Chan. His office was on the fourth floor of an old-looking building, but the line of patients waiting to see him ran out of his office, down the hall, to the first floor and out the door and onto the sidewalk in front of the building! Amazing!  (He would be a millionaire, if only he charged more than 200 pesos [$4.00] per visit!)

After a long wait, Dr. Chan was finally able to take my pulse. "Your kidneys are weak," he said, "take this." He handed me a prescription and told me to fill it at one of the many local herb shops. Being accustomed to Western chiropractic, massage, and physical therapy treatments, I asked my guide to please tell the doctor that, since I traveled so far "just to see him," perhaps he could do some joint manipulations. (He had a contraption against one wall that looked like a Medieval torture device!)

For an additional 200 pesos, Dr. Chan agreed. He hung me upside down on his device, with my head three feet from the ground. He then proceeded to twist me and shake me in every imaginable direction and manner. I was then untied (I felt like a hog!) and told to lie down on the treatment table (It was an old and smelly mattress with fabric sticking out in many places). He began to manipulate my spine and neck and slap me with tremendous power along the edges of my spine. The 62-year-old healer then lifted me up and across his shoulders like a fireman and bounced me up and down. He then sat me down in a chair, stood behind me and did a two-handed karate-like chop down on my shoulders. Man, did that hurt! And all the other patients were sitting around laughing at me. (Was it my screams, or the fact that I opted for this treatment that they found so funny?)

When Dr. Chan had his fill of abusing me, he told me to boil the herbs with three bowls of water and reduce it to 80%. I was then to drink one mug twice daily for four days. I paid my whopping $8.00, and my guide took me to the pharmacy to fill the prescription. On examination of the script, the nice pharmacist lady said to my guide in Chinese, "there is no nutrition in the prescription; only for cleansing of toxins." Well, I boiled the herbs (although I had trouble lifting the tea pot, my arms and back were so sore!) and it really smelled nasty. Everyone at the hotel was complaining about the foreigner who was smelling up the place! And then when my wife came over to see what this odiferous beverage was, all she said was, "Are you stupid? You mean you really paid some Chinese guy to give you sticks and bark and bugs and fungus to boil and drink? It's mud! It's only mud! How can you even think about drinking that?" She was right, but then maybe the doctor knew something, too. So I closed my eyes and took a swig. It was the most vile liquid I ever ingested, to be sure. And, while I was disciplined enough to drink every drop for the duration of the prescription, I swear I will never drink that stuff again. (Needless to say, the smell of my breath left my wife less than amorous until the tea was gone!)

Surprisingly, after the four days of treatment, my colon was cleansed and my arm pain was gone. And when I went back to Dr. Chan for a follow up, he told me that my kidney was week as a result of excessive stress, lack of sleep, and build-up of toxins in my system. The herbs cleansed my system of toxins, and the Neanderthal torture relieved my stress and opened up the muscles, bones and ligaments to allow my blood to flow freely again.

Dr. Chan advised me to take a new prescription of herbs for nourishment and energy building, and told me to come back every day for two weeks for more benevolent beatings--otherwise the chronic condition would surely return. Well, to say the least I could not bring myself to ingest more mud, and his chops and slaps were too painful for me to willingly invite them back into my life. Besides, I was feeling much better. So I did not return. Well, Dr. Chan was right. After a few days the pain and cramping returned. But I thought a second opinion was in order.

Ong, the nerve flicker
After two meetings with Dr. Chan, and feeling that I needed something a little more "immediate" as I was only in Manila for two weeks, my guide Alex Co asked around for another healer whose specialty was arm pain. After a few phone calls, he was given the name of Dr. Ong Sio, whose home and office were a ten minute walk from Co's Binondo business office. We walked through the muddy, over-crowded and car-packed streets of Binondo until we reached a building as old and non-descript as Dr. Chan's.  We took the tiny elevator up to the sixth floor and walked down the hallway, which was filled with playing children. People stared out of their windows at me. On Dr. Ong's door there was but a single nameplate indicating his residence. We knocked and a nice young lady invited us in.

The only indication that this place was more than Dr. Ong's home was the small wooden desk as you walked in. Mr. Co explained to the girl that we were there to see the doctor, and she called him for us. Dr. Ong was an older Chinese gentleman, wearing an old pair of pants, a worn-out undershirt and a big smile. He ushered us into his treatment room, which featured a table for me to lie down on and some charts on the wall. He asked me to explain my problem, which Alex did on my behalf, and then asked me to remove my shirt and lie on my stomach.

Dr. Ong then proceeded to lightly massage my back and neck and arms with a pungent, oily liniment. So far, it felt like a nice light massage. But not for long! When he reached the cramped areas along my triceps and neck, Wow! What pain!! I have been on the receiving end of many types of bodywork therapy--from chiropractic, to rolfing, to deep tissue, to acupuncture--but never have I felt such intense pain during a treatment.

According to Dr. Ong, there was nothing wrong with my kidney, as Dr. Chan had diagnosed. Rather, he said my problem was entirely external (i.e., not relating to the organs or energy systems), with the pain coming as a result of extremely tightened tendons and ligaments. His specialty was in actually pulling and then flicking the ligaments and tendons, to not only bring blood into the general area, but also to stretch them. He said that if there was no injury, I would feel no pain from his treatment--as I hadn't when he massaged my back. However, the pain indicated the problem area--and I certainly felt excruciating pain in my shoulders and triceps.

His treatment was over in 15 minutes and he sent me on my way. On leaving, he told me to purchase a bottle of his liniment and to rub it into my arms and shoulders and neck everyday until the bottle was empty. When I asked whether I should come back for a follow-up treatment, Dr. Ong indicated that it was not necessary as his work was finished and now it was up to the liniment and treatment to take its course.

So I paid the 150 pesos for the treatment and the 250 pesos for the liniment ($10), and bid Dr. Ong farewell. In the end, I felt the same after leaving Dr. Ong's office as I had on arrival. Actually, I was in more pain. Nonetheless, I tried his liniment for a few days, but the pain remained. And being the Western patient that I am, I at least expect a minor improvement after a doctor's visit. But Dr. Ong's treatment didn't really seem to accomplish anything, so I again asked my guide to find another healer.

Masseur, monsieur?
There is an old healing tradition in the Philippines known as hilot, which is traditionally associated with the skills of midwifery, bone-setting and massage. As luck would have it, my father-in-law (who is a Filipino) knew someone and made a phone call. That evening I was visited by two men--a blind manghihilot and his guide. As it turns out, many of the most skilled masseurs in the Philippines are blind (although these individuals do not deliver babies). Apparently, it is widely held that the blind are better able to "see" your pain and problem areas through their hyper-sensitive touch.

The manghihilot did not care to hear my story, he only asked that I take off my shirt and lie down, after which he proceeded to pour oil on my back and massage my neck and spine, arms and hands. The treatment lasted an hour, and left me feeling relaxed and sleepy--but in no less pain when I gripped something or raised my arms to the sides. When I asked why this healer had not performed the traditional bone-setting and deep muscle work that I had read and heard about and experienced in the past, his guide replied that he was trained only in superficial massage techniques for stress relief and relaxation, as he mainly treated "foreigners" who wished to "feel better" during their stay in Manila. At least the treatment was inexpensive, and I did feel more relaxed...

Next on my agenda was to visit a master of tui na, a Chinese method of massage. I again called my guide, Alex Co, and asked him to inquire in Binondo for a reputable practitioner of tui na. Apparently, there are many doctors of traditional Chinese medicine, acupuncture and herbs in Binondo, but no tui na name came well recommended. So, Mr. Co opened the local Chinese paper, found an ad for tui na, and made an appointment for me. We walked about a half-mile to the seven-story walk-up--another dirty, non-descript concrete building--where Dr. Tan's office was located. We found his room and knocked on the door. A nice lady opened the door, and on entering we found that this was a residence, as opposed to an office per se. Seated at a small table in the entrance room were four shifty-looking Chinese gentlemen playing cards. On closer inspection, several knives and swords lay on the ground near their feet! (...better not to ask questions!) Another man stood up from the worn sofa, turned off the karaoke machine and greeted us. It was Dr. Tan.

Dr. Tan, who was formally trained in tui na in Beijing, was a newly-arrived immigrant to the Philippines (illegally, in fact) and was trying to earn money giving tui na treatments within the local Chinese community. He was staying at the home of a family friend. He spoke Cantonese, which my guide also spoke, and directed us down the apartment's dark hall and into a room. The room's atmosphere was quite different than the living room (where acupuncture charts were hung between several posters of Leonardo DiCaprio), and a massage table  stood in front of a bed with pink sheets and a teddy bear. It was the owner's daughter's room--doubling as Dr. Tan's office. I was asked to explain my pain and symptoms in detail, which I did and my guide translated. After a few moments of discussion between Dr. Tan and Mr. Co, I was asked to lie face down on the massage table. Dr. Tan then proceeded to massage along my spine with the first three knuckles of his right hand. After perhaps 15 minutes of this, he changed to massaging the very-tender muscles where my neck and shoulders meet. Such pain. Such pleasure! This continued for one hour.

Dr. Tan said that my problem was definitely one of structural misalignment, pinched nerves and muscle spasms induced by stress and extended periods of sitting and typing. Since the injury was deep and chronic, Dr. Tan said it would take ten treatments for him to work out the spasms and pinched nerves, realign the spine and neck, and for the body to "take hold" of the treatments--after which the problem would be corrected. I certainly felt much relief and an additional 20% of pain-free movement after this first treatment, and I would be in Manila long enough to receive all ten treatments.

The next day I returned, and the treatment was a repeat of the previous day, only deeper. The following day Dr. Tan worked almost entirely on my neck and head. Unfortunately for me, that evening Manila was hit by a typhoon. Not only that, but three more followed, with high winds and extensive rain leaving brown-outs and flooded streets. In the provinces, homes were swept away and lives were lost. No further treatments followed, as it was impossible for me to travel from Quezon City to Binondo. The day the typhoons let up was our scheduled day of departure to return home.

In essence...
This was not my first trip to Asia in search of traditional healers and cures for various ailments. In fact, I have spent the past 15 years traveling and researching alternative healing modalities. However, my recent experiences in the Philippines with these Chinese and Filipino healers did much to strengthen my personal views of what we call "alternative medicine," or non-Western medicine and treatments.

I believe first and foremost that people should seek natural and non-invasive treatments for what ails them. As many prescription drugs can do much damage to the system, and surgery is such a harsh alternative, one should always look for a reasonable cure in the various traditional ("alternative") methods. Even for such things as cancer. If your ailment is life-threatening, time is short, and the alternative method has not shown progress, then go for the bio-med, chemo, or surgical approaches. However, as these few stories have illustrated, alternative treatments look to correct the underlying problem and cause of the disease or ailment, as opposed to simply masking the symptom. Thus, they take time for the body to react to them and to readjust itself. Therefore, discipline and patience are a must. In the end you may very well be the better for it.

If you suffer a chronic condition, don't be afraid to try an obscure alternative treatment, or even a somewhat mainstream one like acupuncture. It very well may reverse your condition, but you must give it time. So hang in there, and give it a try. Keep in mind, thought, that the turning to alternative medicine is a lifestyle choice.