Do 'kerokan' lovers get rubbed the right way?<\/p>\n
By Emma Cameron<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Maybe you've glimpsed the ugly red welts on a
\nperson hurrying down the street, the discoloration not quite
\ncovered by their clothing. The marks look terrifying, perhaps the
\nresult of a brutal beating or some hideous skin disease, but if
\nyou're Indonesian you would probably just look and smile.<\/p>\n
Far from being sadistic monsters, Indonesians simply recognize
\nthe marks of kerokan, a traditional method of fighting muscular
\npain and the common cold. Believed to be the only purely Javanese
\ntechnique to provide pain relief, kerok is carried out by rubbing
\na smooth object such as a coin or shot glass down the back from
\nthe spine to the edge in lines to create a Christmas tree
\npattern. Balm is then rubbed over the back. For babies a half
\nonion is used.<\/p>\n
The traditional belief is that the rubbing allows bad humors
\nto escape from the body. Although the technique is widely
\npracticed medical knowledge on the subject is scarce. Most
\npractitioners of kerok are simply content knowing that it will
\nprovide relief.<\/p>\n
Dr. Desi, not her real name, is a general practitioner who
\ndoesn't believe that kerok has a scientific basis, \"in medical
\nterms, we don't think kerok is a medicine\". However with a
\nJavanese background, she does admit to using kerokan occasionally
\n\"when I feel a little pain -- muscular pain, sometimes I take
\nkerok ... when I feel very tired maybe, sometimes after sport or
\nheavy activity I use kerok.\"<\/p>\n
However, despite a current lack of medical research on the
\nsubject there are doctors who believe there are scientific
\nexplanations for the relief that kerok brings.<\/p>\n
Dr. Edwin Djuanda is a dermatologist at the Jakarta Skin
\nCenter and believes kerok is effective not because of the rubbing
\nbut because of the balm administered.<\/p>\n
When the top layer or epidermis of the skin is scratched until
\nit becomes red then the blood vessels are reached and the balm
\ncan be absorbed into the body quickly.<\/p>\n
\"The active ingredients come through the skin, through the
\nbody and through the blood flow. There is very little effect
\nwithout the balm,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Karyati is a 26-year-old food production worker who, like most
\npoorer people, rarely uses a balm. Among the oils used are
\nkerosene, cooking oil, body lotion and medicated oil.<\/p>\n
Karyati uses the oils simply for the purpose of lubrication
\nand believes the type used is simply a matter of personal choice,
\n\"It depends on the person, if the person usually uses kerosene
\nand then they use body lotion, perhaps it won't do anything.\"<\/p>\n
She believes the healing powers of kerok come from its ability
\nto break fevers, \"usually afterward I perspire and then I feel
\nbetter\".<\/p>\n
According to those who practice kerok, physical symptoms of
\nillness also show up when kerok is administered. The extreme
\nredness of the skin after kerok is done, only ever occurs when a
\npatient is ill.<\/p>\n
According to Dr. Djuanda this is because the body is working
\ntoward trying to destroy the infection or disease. The red
\npigmentation is caused by an increase in white blood cells or
\ninflammatory cells which are created to fight the enemy.<\/p>\n
Even the Christmas tree pattern used for kerok can be
\nexplained as simply the most painless pattern with the lines
\nrunning parallel to the bones.<\/p>\n
With a Javanese and Chinese background, Djuanda is saddened
\nby what he sees as a loss of traditional beliefs to western
\nscience in the younger generation.<\/p>\n
\"My three daughters don't practice kerok. Minors don't like
\nkerok, we must popularize this, yes,\" he said.<\/p>\n
However, kerok continues to be a popular form of alternative
\nmedicine in Indonesia especially for those who cannot afford
\ndoctor's bills and remains a drug-free alternative in many
\nhouseholds.<\/p>\n
Furthermore with findings such as those at the University of
\nMedicine and Dentistry of New Jersey in December which found that
\npain-induced activity in the brain subsided after acupuncture was
\nadministered, traditional techniques of healing are closer to
\nbeing scientific fact rather than mystic mumbo jumbo.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/do-kerokan-lovers-get-rubbed-the-right-way-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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