On Pins and Needles: Acupuncture

Image by Jorge Paredes from Pixabay

It wasn’t my first thought. Generally, I start with my chiropractor and if I can’t fix it there, I move on to my doctor. But the pain, numbness, and tingling began to keep me up at night and that was the driving force behind contacting a local chiropractor who practiced acupuncture.

You might be wondering why I skipped going to my doctor. I skipped going to my doctor for three reasons:

1. I no longer trust the medical community and insurance “system”. I don’t feel that they are concerned for my actual health. They want my money and my data.
2.  I believe, as a human, I should NOT have to pay to seek ‘permission’ from the medical community ‘gods’ for my right to request blood work, physical therapy, etc.
3.  Modern medicine treats symptoms, not the cause. They want you to use medication.

Enough is Enough

My symptoms started about two years ago. It began with pain in my shoulder and then slowly worked its way down the back of my arm, then into my elbow, further into my forearm, and then my wrist. Massage therapy and chiropractic adjustments were my go-to’s, and they worked till they didn’t.

At last, the numbness and tingling in my forearm became unbearable and sleeping was hard to accomplish. Good sleep is all that stands between you and insanity. I had had two weeks of two to four hours of sleep a night, and I was worn out.

I phoned a nurse friend and shared my concerns about my arm. She gave me a name of a chiropractor in the next state over who practiced acupuncture. I looked up the chiropractor’s phone number and gave her a call. Unfortunately, she was busy, so I left a message.

East Meets West

Later that day, Dr. Kristen Ahlers called me back and explained that she practiced a mix of Eastern Acupuncture and Western Acupuncture. In short, Eastern Acupuncture is a practice from China. Chinese have a traditional medicine philosophy that focuses on the energy your body has called Qi (Chi). 

This energy flows throughout the body connecting our body systems and organs. If this energy is interrupted or blocked, you restore the energy flow by using acupuncture. Eastern acupuntre is philosophically based.

Acupuncture applies acupressure on points on your body, known as your meridian. Pressure is applied using fine needles inserted into pressure points. After insertion of the needles, the needle is gently twisted and pulled up and down to relax and restore energy flow.

Western Acupuncture is scientific and evidence-based. Western Acupuncture focuses on the Gate Theory of Pain. It also uses the body’s natural opiates released through the manipulation of the needles.

Eastern and Western Acupuncture achieve the same results but use different teaching models. You can learn more about acupuncture here:

• https://www.acupuncturethatworks.co.uk/eastern-vs-western-acupuncture-whats-the-difference/
•  https://www.verywellhealth.com/acupuncture-health-uses-88407

Join me next week as I share with you my acupuncture adventures! Part 2