Acupuncture?

I've been dealing with low back issues for over a year. Have gotten some relief through chiropractic and physical therapy but am not there yet.

Just curious if anyone's tried acupuncture and what the results were. Any thoughts appreciated!

Had serious lower back injury that did not respond to traditional treatment. Found a great acupuncturist who was able to completely cure the condition in about 5 sessions. He also cured, during the same treatment sessions, a recurring ailment that I had brought home from living in the tropics and had suffered from for several years. Had no success with treating a later shoulder injury though.

DW has chronic back related issue. In physical therapy for a few years. Tried acupuncture twice, didn't seem to help, however, she also couldn't deal with the needles going into her feet.
Good Luck

bots,

I had major back surgery 42 years ago and have been through every kind of treatment including physical therapy, chiropractic, trigger point injections, etc, etc. I have also been through every anti-inflammatory drug and almost every type of narcotic pain medication as well as periodic steroids.

About 4 years ago my family doctor recommended a Chinese acupuncturist that he had personally used. Her treatments don't cure the underlying problems but they do give me at least as much pain relief as any of the drugs. Even after we moved out of state two years ago I have continued to make a 100 mile round trip to get treatments from her every two weeks. I briefly tried a local acupuncturist but her treatments were ineffective.

You certainly have nothing to lose by giving acupuncture a try. Let us know how it goes.

Grumpy

I had tried an acupuncturist for my lower back pain about 20 years ago when I had 1st developed the pain. I had tried anti-inflammatory drugs and pain relievers and neither really helped. The acupuncture did not seem to work either (10 sessions, some with electrical pulsing). I then tried a chiropractor and it felt better for about 2 hours after each sessions.
Fast forward 20 years and I developed a severe pain from poor exercise habits and general slothiness (is that a word?). I tried epidural cortisone injections (3... that did not help) and then physical therapy (started out as 6 weeks and ended up taking 14 weeks). The physical therapy started working, but very slowly (stretching of tendons and nerves that had atrophied, ab back and glut muscle exercises). I kept up with the exercises at home and long walks (1 1/2 miles or so) every other day and am now about 95% of normal (whatever that is). I am sure that some of my aches and pains are from being 56 years old.

I had some lower back pain and tried accupuncture here in Chiang Mai. I felt relief and was quite grateful. When I went in for consultation we discussed several issues and she worked on all of them.

I took her herbal therapy (to open up the chi lines) and I also did exercises, and rest. I still do the exercises daily.

Hope you find what you need from a good accupuncturist - or whatever works for you.

Best,

Akaisha, The Adventurer's Guide to Early Retirement

Last year had severe pain in my back, shoulders, arms and legs...couldn't lay down thought about having the wife throw me in the back of the car and take me to an acupunturist, but discovered Phiten and started wearing neck, wrist and ankle bands - within a few hours pain was gone - don't know how they work but they do for me - a cheap solution too - I would have paid 10s of thousands to make the pain go away! Phiten

It also is a good alternative to Viagra

We are currently in the Philippines and could not get too much info on the Phiten site you listed.. Titanium necklaces? how does that work?

Out of curiosity, what is anyone paying for an accupuncturist session? Is it covered by insurance or considered 'alternative' and therefore extra?

In Chiang Mai, my consultation was 300 baht, the sessions were 500 baht each, and the 15 days of herbal pills were also 300 baht.

Thanks for any info.

Be well,

Akaisha, Author, The Adventurer's Guide to Early Retirement

Billy -This site has a little explanation - the titanium seems to have a beneficial effect on the "bio-electric current" in the body.

Phiten®

DanTien said:

Billy -This site has a little explanation - the titanium seems to have a beneficial effect on the "bio-electric current" in the body.

Phiten®

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I've noticed a number of pro athletes are wearing these necklaces and wondered what they were. Thanks for the info!

DanTien said:

It also is a good alternative to Viagra

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You just wrap the necklace around your thingy?

Ha

haha said:

You just wrap the necklace around your thingy?

Ha

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Didn't The Police have a song about that?

haha said:

You just wrap the necklace around your thingy?

Ha

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no law against it...

Billy said:

Out of curiosity, what is anyone paying for an accupuncturist session? Is it covered by insurance or considered 'alternative' and therefore extra?

Akaisha, Author, The Adventurer's Guide to Early Retirement

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My acupuncturist charges me $55 per session. Each session usually includes acupuncture with electrical stimulation, a deep tissue massage, and sometimes cupping. I paid out of pocket for the first three years but this year she was approved as a preferred provider by the local BCBS program. Now they pay all but $6. They will pay for 24 treatments a year so I go every two weeks.

Grumpy

don't know if anyone noticed during the red sox - indians game tonight that there were more Phiten necklaces than you could shake a stick at.... red sox had on more so that probably explains the outcome...Becket had on one and that little rookie Pedroia had on two!...maybe that explains his 5 rbis.....I was reading that since ballplayers try to get an extra edge and that they can't use growth hormone and steroids they are using Phiten necklaces instead!.... Red Sox Phiten
Baseball players

DanTien said:

don't know if anyone noticed during the red sox - indians game tonight that there were more Phiten necklaces than you could shake a stick at.... red sox had on more so that probably explains the outcome...Becket had on one and that little rookie Pedroia had on two!...maybe that explains his 5 rbis.....I was reading that since ballplayers try to get an extra edge and that they can't use growth hormone and steroids they are using Phiten necklaces instead!.... Red Sox Phiten
Baseball players

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Sheesh...

Maybe it's just me, but I try to avoid any "treatment" that includes the word "puncture"...

My acupuncturist charges me $55 per session. Each session usually includes acupuncture with electrical stimulation, a deep tissue massage, and sometimes cupping. I paid out of pocket for the first three years but this year she was approved as a preferred provider by the local BCBS program. Now they pay all but $6. They will pay for 24 treatments a year so I go every two weeks.

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Thanks, Grumpy. Those are pretty good prices, even without the insurance. Happy that they pay for it now.

The accupuncture treatments I had also included the electric stimulation on the chi lines as well.

RE: the phiten and ionic treatments -- I have been doing ion foot spa treatments -- does anyone know anything more about these? I noticed a difference right away.

Thanks again,
Akaisha
Author, The Adventurer's Guide to Early Retirement

Hmmm....recently developed severe pain in the left shoulder that radiates down my left arm and leaves my index and middle finger with tingling and numbness. Went for a massage and the therapist had the doctor take a look at me (homopathic). He said my C3 disc was bulging. He could treat with acupunture and other treatments or I could see a chiropractor. I've made two visits to a chiropractor - he said it is actually C4 & C5 with some other complications . I've had two treatments this week - feels a little better, but still some pain and numbness. It bothers me most while at work sitting in front of my computer. I figure I'll give the chiropractor a couple more visits and then seek other treatment if necessary. Don't want to go to my MD and be put on muscle relaxers or get Cortisone shots. Any other suggestions?

Sending you a PM, Dog.

Dog:

Any other suggestions?

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I'm not a doctor, Dog, but from personal experience, sitting in front of the computer for lengths of time can really put a crimp into our postures. That 'unnatural' posture causes pain in various places like down the arms, numb fingers, a neck ache, lower back aches, etc.

Get up and move around after 15 or 20 minutes. Do some kind of yogic stretches to open up your vertabrae. Even though I find this 'interruption' to be somewhat of an aggravation, for me, it's better than the pain...

Best of luck, hope that helps.

Akaisha
Author, The Adventurer's Guide to Early Retirement

Dog said:

Any other suggestions?

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Take a look at Jolie Bookspan's suggestions:
The Fitness Fixer (Causes of disc and back pain)
The Fitness Fixer (Stretches for upper back & neck pain)

Rich, Billy and Nords - thanks for the compassion and suggestions. Also, the link to a great web site. I'll let you know when things improve.

acupuncture plus another resource for back pain

I've had quite a bit of experience with acupuncture and Chinese medicine generally over the past 10 years or so. Initially went for help with chronic neck and shoulder pain caused by years of typical job misuse/overuse (wearing my shoulders as ear ornaments due to stress while @ the computer - sound familiar?). Acupuncture and some Rolfing, even though both out-of-pocket, helped far more than many visits to the M.D.

A few years back I came down with Bell's Palsy while driving cross country. This is a pretty freaky ailment - instant partial paralysis of part of the face. Long story short 4-5 sessions of acupuncture and it was cured - no recurrence.

Anyway I'm a big believer in Chinese medicine from a competent practitioner as a complement to (a) self-care and taking responsibility for one's health; and (b) access to a good Western M.D. for acute ailments.

I've had back pain issues for years and have found regular yoga practice the most helpful in strengthening the weak core muscles that are at the root of much such pain. I recently found out a new DVD by Gary Kraftsow, a famous therapeutically oriented yoga teacher, who developed routines shown in trials by the National Institutes of Health to be the most effective in remedying an preventing back pain of anything they've studied so far.

The routines are on DVDs, and the good news is you only have to do 20-30 min. a day for them to be effective, so unlike a lot of prescribed physical activity I actually get around to doing it daily. Anyway, if interested the web site to check out is Welcome to Pranamaya, Inc. I've found the lower back DVD in particular to be worth its weight in gold.

Hope this helps.

Well, I tried accupuncture for the first time yesterday.
Last September/October, I got Lyme disease. First symptom was back spasms. I got a prescription muscle relaxant (Flexeril), and also had a chiropractic adjustment and a massage. A couple days later I had a conclusive Lyme bulls-eye rash, as well as fever, joint pain, and general fatigue.

Anyhow, prior to the chiropractor visit and massage, my neck and right shoulder also locked up, and didn't loosen up with the relaxant. A few days later, things did loosen up, but my shoulder was slightly painful, and definitely wasn't working correctly.

Fast forward five months, my shoulder still hasn't been working right. There have been incremental improvements, but it still isn't right. The issue is Scapular Winging (Jon Warner, M.D.), where the scapula isn't being moved the right way due to a nerve issue, which causes a bunch of other things not to work right. I've been to a neurologist (EMG and a whole bunch of blood tests), and he just recommended waiting it out, that it'll probably come back on its own.

With nothing really to lose, I decided to try accupuncture. The guy I went to was recommended to me by my martial arts instructor, who had some success with treatments in the past. And one of my martial arts students is an ER doc who suggested that accupuncture might be worth a try as well.

I got six needles for sixteen minutes. Hard to tell if anything has really improved yet, but I'm scheduled for another treatment next week. There was definitely a sensation of something going on, and today my shoulder is more sore than normal. Range of motion and strength in my shoulder are relatively good today.

The entire concept of accupuncture still seems weird, but if it works, great.

Acupuncture safety?

Some years agoi I got acupuncture rx from a Koreansurgeon who had had some trouble with his hospital affiliations. I had developed a chronic respiratory problem like bronchitis. He cured me with one series of treatments.

This was in another city, but now I am looking for a acupuncturist to help me with a muskuloslelatel problem (groin pull).

How can I be sure that they use new sealed throwaway needles?

Ha