acupuncture

Desert Orchid

Desert Orchid

Senior Jockey
Joined
Aug 2, 2005
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Anyone had it?

Did it do you any good?

It's been suggested to me that I get acupuncture for an issue I have but I'm sceptical.

I'm also getting desperate about the pain I've been in for over three months so reckon I have to be open to alternatives.
 
I've had terrible back pain for the past 8 weeks since I did some heavy gardening. I saw a doctor last week she said to do some regular stretches. Honestly I know you'd think it was nornal back pain but I thought I was going to need a wheelchair. So henceforth, I am wondering if acupunture might help me aswell.
 
I had it - one side it worked brilliantly on, didn’t feel a thing and they all came out perfectly and I had no pain whatsoever. The other side, my muscles clamped so hard around the needle that even 30 mins later the last one wouldn’t come out like they should and ( having apologised) he had to really yank on it to get it out - that hurt a lot. I had it a few times ( each time same result with that particular needle) alongside chiropractic stuff and physio while they were trying to work out what was going on with my neck, obviously what was actually wrong was bigger than they realised.

I’m an exception though - I’ve known a few people and a lot of animals who have had it and it has definitely made a difference


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Marb said:
I've had terrible back pain for the past 8 weeks since I did some heavy gardening. I saw a doctor last week she said to do some regular stretches. Honestly I know you'd think it was nornal back pain but I thought I was going to need a wheelchair. So henceforth, I am wondering if acupunture might help me aswell.
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Second thoughts, think I'll go and see a good masseuse.
 
OK I am a big believer in acupuncture. And there are two sorts. You either have medical acupuncture which basically is fine needles directly into the source of the pain, often a muscular issue. And you have traditional which is based on Chinese acupuncture which targets the Qi.

I went to my local acupuncturist as I was suffering from bad migraines and I was about to cut my head off! I went thinking she would stick needles in my neck and shoulder which the tension started. But she did the opposite and after discussing every single medical ailment that I have suffered from, she stuck needles in my feet, knees, arms and everywhere but my source of pain. She also kept checking my pulse and tongue. After the session which lasted an hour, she made me lie there for about 15 minutes. I then got up to go home and it felt like everything had drained through me. I had eight sessions as it wasn’t cheap but it completely sorted my migraines out for about 18 months after that. If I could I would regularly have it as it made me feel great, much freer all over.

My brother has had the other sort and the Chinese and swears by both for his back issues. Both of us were very skeptical being both the children of a vet although Dad used the medical version on animals with great success. I was also needle phobic but they truly don’t hurt.

So yes I would 100% say go for it! But do your research and go to someone recommended. Your GP won’t recommend one although mine did work from our local surgery. It should really be offered on the NHS as it would save a fortune in drugs...but then the pharmaceutical companies wouldn’t be happy!
 
jinnyj said:
OK I am a big believer in acupuncture. And there are two sorts. You either have medical acupuncture which basically is fine needles directly into the source of the pain, often a muscular issue. And you have traditional which is based on Chinese acupuncture which targets the Qi.

I went to my local acupuncturist as I was suffering from bad migraines and I was about to cut my head off! I went thinking she would stick needles in my neck and shoulder which the tension started. But she did the opposite and after discussing every single medical ailment that I have suffered from, she stuck needles in my feet, knees, arms and everywhere but my source of pain. She also kept checking my pulse and tongue. After the session which lasted an hour, she made me lie there for about 15 minutes. I then got up to go home and it felt like everything had drained through me. I had eight sessions as it wasn’t cheap but it completely sorted my migraines out for about 18 months after that. If I could I would regularly have it as it made me feel great, much freer all over.

My brother has had the other sort and the Chinese and swears by both for his back issues. Both of us were very skeptical being both the children of a vet although Dad used the medical version on animals with great success. I was also needle phobic but they truly don’t hurt.

So yes I would 100% say go for it! But do your research and go to someone recommended. Your GP won’t recommend one although mine did work from our local surgery. It should really be offered on the NHS as it would save a fortune in drugs...but then the pharmaceutical companies wouldn’t be happy!
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I was aware that it's normal for needles to be used on parts of the body far away from where we feel the pain. I recall years ago seeing a drawing of the nerve system taken from a Chinese source and it showed where needles go for certain pains but I remained sceptical.

I've been seeing a chiro since March/April. My GP had said the pain was too symmetrical (upper arms under certain movements but one wrong move has me going through the roof or collapsing to the floor in pain) for it to be anything other than a nerve problem in my neck. The chiro said it was my C5 and I've had several sessions with him wrestling with my neck. It's been giving me temproary relief but I haven't slept in my bed for at least a fortnight now because lying on my side is so painful so I've been 'sleeping' in a garden recliner, but it's not quality sleep and not doing me any good whatsoever.
 
Definitely try acupuncture then. I tried a chiro for my pain and it didn’t help like the Chinese acupuncture did.
 
Can’t help with the acupuncture ( although I am a great believer in stuff like that) but, if you’re not sleeping well it might be worth listening to the Jason Stephenson meditation stuff on utube. I now always put on his get back to sleep fast one. I used to listen to Paul McKenna tapes but one night, after the Paul McKenna one finished my iPad automatically played a Jason Stephenson one. Now, the things he says (eg he refers to mental ruminations) make me chuckle, and his Australian accent isn’t the most relaxing and the bit I do hear sounds really naff but I usually wake up hours later with the music playing that follows on from him talking having slept really well. He incorporates breathing exercises as well, something they had in an episode of Feel the Freeze. I would have been very sceptical had I not realised how the breathing exercises helped me to sleep.
 
There are lots of sleep meditation things on YouTube as well - they even get Sophie off to sleep, which some days is a minor miracle


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Must be over 40 years since I had acupuncture. Basically I had a persistent stiff/sore neck and my doctor said to see a chiropractor. He diagnosed torticollis and, apart from manipulation, recommended acupuncture and some sort of vacuum/suction cup treatment that I think was meant to stimulate blood flow. Worked fine and I never felt any needle.
 
Similar to archie. My pain was in my neck and lingered for months. Went to an acupuncturist and he said it would take 6 sessions to clear. He was spot on! No pain or discomfort after the 6th session.
 
Thanks, all.

I've contacted a local-ish practitioner and am trying to sort a session of some sort. My slight concern is that she says she can deal with muscle pain but if the GP and chiro are saying the pain stems from nerve issues in my C5 vertebra then I don't know if the treatment will cure that.

Edit - I had to google torticollis. This all started when I woke up one morning, must have been around the end of the Cheltenham festival, with what I've always called a really bad crick in my neck. The upper arm pain didn't start until a week or so later. I have a lot better movement in my neck now - not perfect but manageable - after some very painful sessions with the chiro but the arm pain has, if anything, got worse.
 
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Desert Orchid said:
Thanks, all.

I've contacted a local-ish practitioner and am trying to sort a session of some sort. My slight concern is that she says she can deal with muscle pain but if the GP and chiro are saying the pain stems from nerve issues in my C5 vertebra then I don't know if the treatment will cure that.

Edit - I had to google torticollis. This all started when I woke up one morning, must have been around the end of the Cheltenham festival, with what I've always called a really bad crick in my neck. The upper arm pain didn't start until a week or so later. I have a lot better movement in my neck now - not perfect but manageable - after some very painful sessions with the chiro but the arm pain has, if anything, got worse.
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Sounds like that’s just medical acupuncture. You need traditional imo.
 
As far as help in getting to sleep is concerned, I've tried lots of 'sleep inducing' music/sounds.

Believe it or not, the only thing that works for me is listening to [on Spotify] the Rod Stewart 'The Complete Great American Songbook' with the sound turned down to barely audible.

It goes back to before my trouble started when I'd be spending time practising songs for my band and being unable to get them out of my head! Once I put Rod on down low, and tried to listen I soon dropped off. For an hour or two anyway before having to get up for a pee kicked in :lol:
 
I slept way better after my acupuncture sessions. And actually felt my entire body was freer when I woke up in the mornings. Now I cycle daily and go to the gym which is also helping.
 
Desert Orchid said:
As far as help in getting to sleep is concerned, I've tried lots of 'sleep inducing' music/sounds.

Believe it or not, the only thing that works for me is listening to [on Spotify] the Rod Stewart 'The Complete Great American Songbook' with the sound turned down to barely audible.

It goes back to before my trouble started when I'd be spending time practising songs for my band and being unable to get them out of my head! Once I put Rod on down low, and tried to listen I soon dropped off. For an hour or two anyway before having to get up for a pee kicked in :lol:
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I name horses (so sad, I know :rolleyes: ) and 100 usually does it.
 
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barjon said:
I name horses (so sad, I know :rolleyes: ) and 100 usually does it.
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I tried things like that too but then I'd name one - say Titus Oates - and it would trigger important memories and they would keep me awake!! That front-running performance in the Whitbread under top weight was just sensational. I couldn't get to sleep after replaying that in my head!
 
Desert Orchid said:
I tried things like that too but then I'd name one - say Titus Oates - and it would trigger important memories and they would keep me awake!! That front-running performance in the Whitbread under top weight was just sensational. I couldn't get to sleep after replaying that in my head!
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:D aye, I can vouch for the suggestion that it’s your short term memory that goes first, too. I can play the Bustino and Grundy classic from nearly fifty years ago as if it was yesterday, but more recent events like Emily Upjohn and - …er what’s the name of that bloody railway station again - fade away fast.
 
Desert Orchid said:
As far as help in getting to sleep is concerned, I've tried lots of 'sleep inducing' music/sounds.

Believe it or not, the only thing that works for me is listening to [on Spotify] the Rod Stewart 'The Complete Great American Songbook' with the sound turned down to barely audible.

It goes back to before my trouble started when I'd be spending time practising songs for my band and being unable to get them out of my head! Once I put Rod on down low, and tried to listen I soon dropped off. For an hour or two anyway before having to get up for a pee kicked in :lol:
Click to expand...
Years ago I bought a new stereo system and would lie on the sofa listening to it. I bought AltJ’s first album and could never get beyond the first few tracks without falling asleep. I never dared to play it in the car when I was driving. It was the first time that an album had that effect on me ( an it isn’t because I found it boring either).I haven’t listened to it for years but must see if it still happens. Bob Ross’s The Joy of Painting sends me to sleep halfway through each half hour programme but, unfortunately it’s moved to Sky Arts and has an advert in the middle so that isn’t going to work.
 
First session yesterday afternoon (so missed the third and later Nwm races :mad:) and it was interesting at least.

Surprised how painless the needles going in turned out. I wasn't sure what to expect. I'd read a little about it people had said it was painless but for some of the needles it truly was. Others addressing pain closer to the surface not quite painless but much less so than the likes of having bloods taken, although one recent episode was genuinely painless. When they say 'just a little scratch' (as opposed to 'prick', which can sound personal), you know they're doing it but that time I literally didn't feel a thing.

A couple of the needles she attached electric leads to. I thought she was going to jump start me. There was some minor throbbing (I hope Huw Edwards isn't reading this) around those needles but nothing sore. She said she was trying pop bubbles of lactic acid. Others around the affected areas apparently popped straight away.

I did have better movement in my neck when I left and more movement in my left upper arm and she gave me some stretching exercises to do until my next session.

But I slept from midnight to 8.30am and I haven't done that for years.

Tune in next week for the next thrilling episode of The Rocky Horror Puncture Show.
 
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