Acupuncture?

If you can afford it try it. I have had this for tension headaches and a year or so ago for pains in my arms which were giving me a lot of trouble. All stress related. I feel I could do with a top up after a very stressful couple of weeks. I am trying to manage it by relaxing. I

I had acupuncture at our doctors surgery so i didn't have to pay for it. I am very open to treatments like this so i was hopeful it would help with my chronic pain. Unfortunately, it didn't make a scrap of difference but, i still feel it could help others. If it is an option give it a go, you really don't have anything to lose and it isn't at all painful

DD1 is a acupuncturist and they don't expect the treatment to work all the time. You should try it and see and if it doesn't work, if there is absolutely no improvement then stop your treatments. You can tell after two or three treatmenst if it is working.
The WHO recommend acupuncture for migraine BUT 35 treatments which no health service will provide. Go on the WHO web site and see what they advise.

'Acupuncture cannot mend that which is broken but can improve that which is not working properly'

Sounds like its worth a try. Nothing is broken but its certainly not working properly.

Definitely worked for me on an ankle injury. The physio had tried other treatments, which failed, and then he used acupuncture. There was an improvement within half an hour and I only needed three treatments.

Good luck with whatever you decide.

I had it at doctors years ago. He was doing a course and looking for guinea pigs. I had it on my painful neck and it was like a miracle cure. D.H. had acupuncture for a very bad facial tic (whole side of face went into spasm). NHS could only offer BOTOX. We refused and paid privately for acupuncture. He had to have quite a lot of treatment but it worked. It's definitely worth a try.

I had tennis elbow and was fitted with a brace thing (like a tight bandage)which has the effect of shortening the tendon so it gets some rest and it got better after a few weeks.

I have had Acupuncture which was used by an osteopath I was seeing for back pain as an adjunct to her regular treatment. She connected the needles to a Tens machine - don't know if it worked but my back got a lot better eventually (no cure of course).

My DD swears by it; and I have tried it for pain - I can't say it made any difference.

It is difficult to know with longer courses of acupuncture whether it is the treatment or time that has effected the cure!

Yes, it does work. The first time I tried it I was walking like Mrs Overall and I came out from the appointment pain free and walking tall.

I've also used it to boost my energy and recently I had two sessions which brought down my eye pressure. It has been in the 20s for some years now, but after acupuncture the Glaucoma Unit told me that it had reduced to 15 and 17. Impressive stuff.

I have had acupuncture from three practitioners. The first was a CWT; the second - the pain went away like magic; the third uses it to boost "energy" in my nerves or whatever; it helps with the pain in my neck [yeah yeah ], and he does it every so often.
So - I think it depends on the practitioner.
good luck.

My daughter had a very bad back and was having physio on it and then it was suggested she try acupuncture. Two sessions only and the pain had gone.

I was fortunate enough to be a guinea pig for my (then) local hospital who were considering offering acupuncture as an alternative therapy. I can honestly say that I felt a huge benefit. If you have never experienced acupuncture Jane10 then I can only describe it as a nice pain (if that makes sense) much like the way you might press on your temple to relieve a headache etc. My leg pain is often so bad that I punch myself in the pain just to create a different pain. (mad as it seems). I now use a TENS machine regularly which I can highly recommend. Acupuncture is not a cure in itself though,it works by relieving the symptoms which can often lead to you being able to manage the symptoms much easier. For example if you have a bad back the acupuncture could relieve the pain enabling you to exercise/stretch/walk easier and more freely which could eventually provide a cure.

Definitely worth trying. I have had acupuncture regularly for several years now and it has really helped my joints. I shudder when I think that all a consultant could offer were powerful drugs with unpleasant side effects. I now have a normal life, walking, swimming, practising yoga and pilates. Just make sure that you go to a practitioner who is registered with the British Acupuncture Council.

...I think its amazing...always works for me ??

Minimouse - I'm really interested in your post, as I have a chronic ankle injury - four years old now - and I'm trying to avoid surgery. Would you tell me more, please, like how serious was the injury?

It works for my friends dibilitating migraines. Give it a go

My pony had arthritis and could hardy walk. After a course of acu. she was taking small jumps within 2 months. Don't believe it's all in the mind - a pony doesn't know that. Having said that acu worked for my sore neck but didn't work for tendinitis so give it a try - you have nothing to loose.

I had acupuncture for migraines years ago. I was also being monitored for fibroids, which they were fairy sure I'd need surgery for. The migraines improved no end and when I went back to the hospital the fibroids had disappeared. I've always believed that was a nice surprise side effect!

I have a "frozen shoulder" which they say will take up to two years to clear on its own, I now go to a physiotherapist once a week, and have acupuncture with a bit of electricity to the needles, it is not uncomfortable, and I get pain relief from it, so lets hope it wil better before another years has passed.
Must finish, off to the physio!

Fairy? Fairly!!

I also swear by it. I've had it for many ailments - sciatica, trapped nerve in my neck, back problems and the unglamorous sounding 'policeman's heel'

Always works for me.

There is an exercise to cure tennis elbow in the letter column of The Times today. The writer says ' you hold your arm straight up in the air and twist it from side to side 100 times and 10 times a day. They say it worked and very quickly.

I didn't like acupuncture and found it made me feel 'travel sick'.
It did nothing for the pain.

I suffered terribly from lack of sleep due to a stressful situation. I had one acupuncture session and it made me feel so relaxed I was almost floating. I got to sleep alright, but woke up as usual at 3am. The second session didn't help either, so I never went back. The stressful situation was stronger than the supposed cure.