I'm glad it's helping. I've been using acupuncture for at least 8 years, off and on, for a variety of issues. The guy I go to currently uses the needles to break up adhesions and also to "warm up" the tissues before doing body work to realign areas of soft tissue around my spine and pelvic girdle. He only practices in orthopedic cases.

His wife went to medical school for two years and really didn't like it, so switched to Chinese medicine. She uses acupuncture to treat primarily internal issues...so, together, they make a great team.

For many people, the results of an acupuncture treatment are too slow in coming. They want more instant results, so they do not feel it is effective. But slowly but surely people seem to get good results.

Thanks for posting and let us know how the progress continues.

Gwennie

Glad to hear you are getting results.
I am starting to research alternative treatments as preventative. Accupuncture is one that intrigues me. Chiropractors scare me though I did agree to speak to one before my 1st surgery...he was good...he looked at my MRI report and said he would only treat me if he could work with my doctor. A sign of a good chiropractor.

I know accupuncture helped my sister. She swears her 2nd child who was breach turned b/c of the accupuncture (combo of needles, and oils rubbed into the feet).

As I guess with anything in life, so much depends on the person doing the acupuncture. I have heard a couple acupuncturists agree that the doctors who offer it as a sidelight of their practice are usually not as good as the ones that have gone to an accredited acupuncture school, have gone through the whole curriculum, and perform acupuncture on a regular basis.

Apparently MDs can do a much abbreviated course and can get a license without doing a clinical internship under a licensed acupuncturist. Consequently, they learn part of the technique but not all the different things one can do with acupuncture. I guess you could say they learn the "basics" but not all the subtleties.

Also some acupuncturists run more of a factory. The woman I went to for years did her training under one of these people. He would make the initial evaluation and then the patient would sign up for a certain number of treatments. The treatment was never changed from week to week...the same number of needles were used in the same locations, regardless of results. I prefer to go to someone who is only operating out of one or two rooms, who spends half the appointment talking to you, evaluating how the treatment worked, what should be changed, etc. In other words, a personalized approach.

Unfortunately many people have their first experience with acupuncture in a more clinical setting where things are more routine rather than personalized. They don't get any response the first couple times, and then conclude "acupuncture doesn't work."

This is unfortunate because a good acupuncturist can make a big difference for a whole variety of issues.

So, who's tried acupuncture for their back pain and does it work?
I am in the UK and my doctor has referred me on the NHS.

I've tried acupuncture by my PT and it really relaxed me so much so I wanted to sleep right there so I guess it relaxes the muscles? I only had 7 treatments as I ran out of funds but hope you find some relief. Take care. Charry

I have used acupuncture to battle pain and I think it is awesome. Only problem is the relief is short lived and the treatments have to be repeated a few times a week initially and the effects last longer the more treatments I receive.

"C"

Garys37: It varies where you live, I'm in the Southwest and I paid $60 & $65 per session at two separate places; for me personally it didn't do much. Both places said try 3 treatments, if you don't improve don't come back. I do believe in it for many things; but it won't be a cure for everything, especially if there is something mechanically wrong. The infertility docs are into it alot too.

I pay $65/visit, as it's not covered by my ins. company. I too have found relief and better mobility (at least for 3 days, sometime more) after I have a session. My next one is about 1 week away, and I can't wait to get some sort of relief from this pain.

Does the acupuncture simply relieve pain or does it actually help to fix what is wrong, such as herniated disc?

Not certain that there's a definitive answer for you on this. If you believe in the medicine behind the acupuncture, then I would say "yes". Acupuncture helps set the body's own healing and pain relieving abilities back into synch. So in essence it "could" possibly encourage your body to heal itself independent of surgical intervention. I am only speaking from my limited knowledge on acupuncture. I have had great success with acupuncture and do believe in its ability to help.

"C"