I’ve started noticing a lot of accupuncture places around Austin, and I’m a little curious as to whether this stuff works? Has anyone tried it? And do you find it really does something for you in terms of relaxation/pain/stress relief, or is it something more like a guided meditation for pin cushions?
Had it done a couple of times. The first time was in San Francisco, for some sinus trouble. (I couldn’t get an appointment with a western style doctor, for some reason.) The second time was here in Korea, for some damage done by a spinal cord injury. (I had seen neurologists, but still wasn’t fully okay, and was willing to try anything.)
I can’t say that it did much for me, but then I didn’t stay with it very long. What I’ve always heard is that you won’t notice much effect with just a visit or two, but that a regular program of it is useful. Useful in subtle ways, though. It doesn’t actually heal anything; it just helps your body get into the proper mode for healing itself. Or something like that. If that’s the case, then it is something like meditation, I guess.
I’m sure someone who knows more will respond. Though I have tried it, I don’t claim to know much of anything about it.
This is a sort of survey looking for anecdotal evidence, so I’ll move this thread to IMHO.
It’s definitely worth trying once. It doesn’t hurt, it tingles, and indeed made me feel very sleepy and relaxed. I took it in conjunction w/ the most remarkable collection or herbs to boil up into a tea I’ve ever seen (or smelled!). It did help, to some degree, but wasn’t a definitive cure.
I tried it to help my back and migraines. I went for about two and a half months, and it didn’t help - as a matter of fact, I had my worse migraine ever during that time. I stopped going.
And here’s what Cecil says about acupuncture.
Anecdotal, I realize, but it seemed to work for my wife.
She had post-op pain following the C-section birth of our first child. Six months and three doctors later the pain persisted (a constant ache in the lower right side, sometimes very sharp).
The third doctor suggested we visit a local Chiropractor. Normally, I’d protest any suggestion of this - I was raised to believe that Chiropractor’s were one step above witch doctors and had flat webbed feet. Still, we seemed to be out of choices.
He diagnosed an irritation of the illeo-something valve - the one between the large and small intestines - and proceeded to treat it with accupuncture. After one visit my wife said she had some relief, after 10 she was pronounced cured. She’s had no problems with it since.
I asked the Dr. why it was supposed to work and he responded that it depended on who you asked. He said an asian Dr. would say we were aligning energy channels and a western Dr. would say we were releasing endorphins. He said he didn’t care - it seemed to work.
Our insurance didn’t cover accupuncture so we paid it out of pocket - that caused its own pain.
It worked amazingly well when I was desperate to have a painful muscle spasm in my neck fixed… I had full motion back within about 15 minutes.
If you want needles stuck in you, go donate some blood.
As for this, phooey.
Can medical science document that this actually works? Beyond the placebo effect, that is.
If so, why does it work?
Nuts to all quackery. 
Well, count me in the “IT WORKS!” group.
A year or so ago I wrenched my neck pretty bad. Could not turn my head for nothing.
Three 30 minute acupuncture sessions worked wonderfully.
But maybe I’m just a sucker for placebos. Nummy sugar treats in a script bottle.
Had neck/shoulder pain. Being the person I am, did the “ignore it, stretch, and it will go away” for far too long while it got worse and worse and worse.
Decided to try accupuncture (as my insurance did cover it) thinking that if it didn’t work, I’d try a western doctor (but I’ve been having lousy luck trying to find a western doctor who is actually capable of pretending to listen to me in the first place. (I don’t care if you’re not paying any attention to me at all - but I’m paying you for the time. Fake it, dammit!))
I got much, much better.
It may have been placebo, and I merely would have had to wait a few weeks longer, but who knows?
Put me in the “it worked for me” camp, too. I went weekly for about 6 months to the clinic run by 3rd-year students at the acupuncture school in my city. $15 a visit was not too shabby for an hour and a half appointment, during which time my acupuncturist LISTENED to me and made suggestions, gave me massage sometimes, and used the needles and warm suction cups. I’d had a couple of years of infections (bladder, ear, sinus) mostly due to a depressed immune system. After 3 weeks of acupunture I felt much better. I didn’t get any more infections after about 2 months. I kept going because I wanted to maintain my healthy state–and even after I stopped, I’ve only gotten sick a couple of times. I also went for neck/back pain, which has also been much much better since.
It might be placebo or it might not. I think one of the main benefits is just having a medical professional devote his or her entire attentions to you for your visit. You feel like a human, not like a machine to be processed. I looked forward to my weekly visits, and they were worth every penny, IMHO. I didn’t use any of the herbs for tea (I can’t get myself to drink anything that tastes foul), but I have heard that the herbs with the needles is an even better combination.
Just MHO.
I am the only person I know of who has scars from acupuncture. They’re nothing major, just three little red marks on the back of my hand. They look like broken capillaries – in fact, they probably are broken capillaries – but they were not there before I got stuck and they have been there since then.
About chiropractice – I am EXTREMELY leery about spinal manipulation. I know that correlation does not prove causation, however, I have personally known three people who died of anuerysms within hours of chiropractic adjustments, and to me, those numbers are way too freaky to ignore.
Well, if you’re in pain, and acupuncture fixes it, who cares if it’s the placebo effect if you’re not in pain anymore? And if you’ve already tried traditional Western medicine and it didn’t work for the same problem, then a) what do you have to lose besides a few bucks, and b) why would it be placebo if Eastern medicine worked?
Why does it work? Who knows? Science doesn’t answer why questions. Why does gravity work? Is it phooey?
This is about a study at the Mass. General Hospital.