It’s certainly been a quiet past couple weeks since I got back from Korea. I’ve been spending my time studying Japanese here in my room and going out on my bike, and occasionally hanging out with JJ. But I’ve also had a long-standing medical issue of mine come up again and it was necessary for me to go and seek out a doctor’s help for pain in my leg. Now, don’t get too worried – I’m perfectly fine and healthy (well, besides the leg) and I am recovering. But since all this happened to me, I got to see first hand just what kind of medical care is available in Japan. So, click on to see what it’s all about!

It all started just a couple days after my return from Korea. I was hanging out a bit with Hwang and Park, after which I had made plans to go to the library at school to try and get some studying done. I loaded up my backpack and was going out to my bike when my right leg started to really hurt, especially up in my hip. I made it to the school, but when I started walking down the gentle incline into campus, I found walking to be extraordinarily difficult. I knew I finally had to do something out this problem leg of mine.

I guess I should qualify what I mean. Ever since my freshman year in college (three years ago, where does the time go?), I’ve had this on and off pain in my right leg that centers in my hip. I first had it checked out by a doctor at the clinic on campus, but they weren’t able to determine anything particular and gave me a prescription muscle relaxant. I still had pain, but it wasn’t long until it was gone. It was gone for quite a while, but struck again that summer while I was working in a factory to earn some money for school. Again, I went to see a doctor, this time an orthopedic surgeon, who determined that my pain was due to a slight difference in the sizes of my legs, which was putting undue pressure on my right hip. He prescribed me a shoe insert, which I dutifully wore for a long time. However, the pain kept creeping up every now and then. Flash forward to the tail-end of my trip in Korea. I was having some serious pain during my last couple days when I was trying to get up to Seoul with my luggage and get back to Japan. It was bearable, however, and I made it home without issue. But I just couldn’t bear it a few days later when I was walking down that ramp to school. I had never had pain so bad that I couldn’t walk, so I knew something had to be done, especially considering that my parents would be coming in a few weeks and I would need my legs to travel around.

I called up Lim, knowing I would need the help of someone better than me in Japanese in order to properly receive treatment. He met me a few minutes later and we pedaled over to the one clinic that I knew of (I had a physical check-up done there as part of the application requirements for the the “Japan Tent” program. I didn’t get in). However, this particular clinic was not equipped to deal with the kind of issue I was reporting, so they suggested a different one just a bit down the street, across from the U-Mart grocery store. We biked over and went inside. Once there, Lim explained what was my issue and they asked for my national health insurance card. The card is required for everyone living in Japan, whether a citizen or someone on a long-stay visa. It was only a few thousand yend when I signed up for it back in April and there is probably a yearly cost but I won’t have to pay it since I’ll be leaving before the year is up. But just that few thousand yen that I paid at the beginning of the year meant that I would have access to health care just about anywhere in Japan.

I got my card back along with a new one – a kind of “membership” card for the clinic, if you will. With that, we were told to wait for a bit and take a seat. I was surprised to see just how full the place was, since most of the seats were full, the vast majority of which were elderly people. Many of them were having visible difficulty walking, which meant this must be an orthopedic clinic of some kind, just what I needed. I chatted with Lim for a bit, thanking him profusely the whole time. After everything he did for me in Korea, I felt pretty bad bothering him like this. But he seemed happy to help. I even managed to get out my books from my bag and do a bit of studying in the seats there. I think we must have gone in around 4:30 or so in the afternoon, and it was probably around 5 or so that I was called to see the doctor. He was a very nice middle-aged man, with whom I spoke in Japanese at first, but quickly discovered that he spoke very serviceable English, which was good for me since I know very little medical terminology in Japanese. Lim kept telling me that doctors in Japan could speak English and I found that he wasn’t lying.

The doctor had me lay down on the bed next to his desk and he proceeded to twist and stretch my leg in various directions, sometimes producing pain, sometimes not. He said that I would need some X-rays, so he asked Lim and I to wait outside again. We did for a bit and within about 20 minutes the technician came out of a room at the end of the hall asking us to come in so I could the X-rays done. I had several X-rays taken, after which we waited outside again. At this point I waited my longest since I had been there, at least half an hour or so, but we were again able to go see the doctor have him evaluate the X-rays. He came to the conclusion that I had an inflammation in my hip joint. Finally, a real diagnosis! I asked what the treatment should be, to which he replied “injections.” My heart sank a bit, because I am really not a fan of needles. During that day, I came to be quite familiar with the word chuusha, which means injection in Japanese. I was taken back into the room where the X-rays were done and the doctor ended up giving me an injection straight into the joint in my right hip. It didn’t hurt so much as it felt incredibly weird, having a piece of metal bumping up against bone and ligament like that. The shot was a kind of anti-inflammatory one, which was to the be the first in a series. After that, I went into this other room and was given an injection into my arm, which was a painkiller of some type. I was to receive this too, each time I came back.

Finally, we went over to the counter and were getting ready to leave. But there were a couple more things I was to receive: first, some prescriptions, one of which was an anti-inflammatory pill and the other which was a antacid, I assume to make the former more digestible. I also got these large, Icy Hot type patches that I would apply to my hip a couple times a day. I thanked the nurse and then went to pay. The total for all the check-ups, X-rays, shots and pills I received was a grand total of 4000 yen, or just under $40. It was about 7 o’clock when we left, so about 2-and-a-half hours, but Lim was quick to tell me that you could schedule appointments ahead of time which would greatly reduce the amount of time waited.

I was really impressed with how much treatment I was able to receive for that much money, especially considering every Japanese person has this easily accessible to them. I remember back in Maine I paid $20 in co-pays just to see the doctor about my leg for about 15 minutes and receive no type of real treatment. The orthodic insert I got also cost about $40.

I’ve been back four more times subsequently and I’m happy to report that my condition is improving (each time I’ve been back it has been about 600 yen). I’m still not 100% yet, but I’m sure I’ll get there soon. At least I know when my parents come I shouldn’t have any trouble walking around while traveling. On the whole I’m really impressed with the Japanese health care, at least for minor, non-life threatening issues like this one. The waiting is the only downside. A few times I went in I was done in only an hour, other times (like today) I was waiting for almost three hours. It’s not instant service, at least not at a place like the one I went to. But considering the quality of care and the extremely cheap and highly accessible nature of it, I give it two thumbs up.

Tomorrow I will be meeting with Takako again to practice speaking Japanese and study a bit, so I should go to bed soon. Just a few more days until my parents get here, can’t wait!