I've been getting acupuncture for about 8 years. It started because I herniated a disc in my lower back and I was totally disabled and taking Vicodin for pain. That wasn't how I wanted things to be and I happened to see an article online about the Top 10 things acupuncture helps and back pain was #1. I thought, well, I have nothing to lose. Chiropractors weren't helping and I didn't want to be on pain meds any more. I was super skeptical though and really didn't think it would work, which is why I was so surprised when it did. And because it worked despite my skepticism, I also don't think it's psychosomatic. I still get a once-monthly "tune up" and my acupuncturist works on whatever is wrong with me at the time. Am I stressed? She works on those points. Am I having digestive issues? She works on that. It's amazing what acupuncture helps, honestly.
It doesn't work for everything, but it works for a lot of things. Ask around and get a good practitioner. There's also more than one type of acupuncture, just as there's more than one type of yoga. The first type I did was a style where you had to lay down with the needles in for up to half-hour at a time and the practitioner leaves you alone while the needles do their thing. I had a hard time with that because I get anxiety if I feel trapped. The style I do now is Five Element and that's much more dynamic with the practitioner constantly moving and working on you, needles in and out much more quickly. It works better for my anxiety issues.
Whatever style you do, be prepared for the practitioner to ask you questions, sometimes questions that seem really personal. I began to joke that my Five Element practitioner was also my shrink because she could get me to tell her stuff I wouldn't tell anyone else...but it also helped her to fine-tune my treatment. And she's very easy to talk to.
PS- And yes, the acupuncture healed my back. I went from being 100% disabled to being 100% functional. I can run, hike, backpack, paddle, whatever I want to do.
Last edited by EagleRiverDee; 04-13-2017 at 01:06 PM.
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