Pain during accupunture
forum post
hi im hoping for some advice, i have had a prolapsed disc and terrible back problems for over a year now, i have tried everything the doctors recommended and at last was offered accupunture which i had heard was GREAT for back pain so i was really looking forward to trying it and went with a really positive attitude. (i have a massive phobia of needles so usually a nightmare when it comes to anything to do with needles)
I went for my first appoitment the other day at the local hospitals physio department, and was warned that i may feel a little pricking sensation / heat etc around the needle site and she was going to use 4-6 needles in my lower back and one in each hand and one in each ankle. The first needle was a little more painful than a prick and did make me wince but it was fine. the next 4 were absolute agony i was sobbing in pain by the end ive never felt pain like it before. She only did 5 before stopping putting any more in. I thought u wernt ment to really feel the needles? I know my back is sensitive but that pain was unbeliveable and there is no way im going again. the physio said my back must be over sensitive but i cant belive that its that sensitive.
Ive discussed it with several people who have had accupunture before and the only thing we can think of that could cause it is when she was showing me the needles she said that the needles wouldnt go in all the way only about half way ( aprox half a inch) and as i have lost a lot of weight since my back problems began from a mix of feeling sick from the painkillers / depression and i am now so thin you can count the bones all the way down my spine and my hips stick out. Would the fact im so thin have caused problems with her inserting the needles that deep?
i was really pinning all of my hopes on this working as for the past year + i have been in constant pain with nothing helping ease it at all. so any advice would be really aperciated.
Comments / Discussions:
comment by "anon144153"
on Nov 2011
Ur quest is that due to ur thiness u get pain during insertion of needle,right. If so yes is the answer and the way or style in which needles r inserted counts a lot .
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comment by "anon144153"
on Nov 2011
Acupuncture treatment mostly involves needles . There are needles like sujok needles, which we use for treatment,wont cause pain .Moreover pain is very negligible( in some cases) ,less than the pain of ant bite whereas the result will be remarkable . Acupuncture will treat not only ur pain, also depression and other energy loss. So try this and have a good health.
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comment by "jacksmum26"
on Nov 2011
comment by "archived-user"
on Nov 2011
Acupuncture for prolapsed disc treatment only can stop pain, but the needles can not make the disc go back, the best points are Hua Tuo Jia Ji points on lower back. Why don't you try some Tuina Chinese Massage therapist to do the treatment.
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comment by "ChadD" (acupuncturist)
on Nov 2011
First, generally speaking you want acupuncture -only- from fully trained acupuncturists - not from MD's, PT's, Chiro's or anyone else with minimal training in acupuncture. While they -can- be good as well so it is unfair to generalize odds are that they are lacking the significant training required to properly administer acupuncture in anything but the most simple of cases. I can assume your practitioner does not know acupuncture by how they only needled locally for your back problem - that alone is enough reason to find someone else.
That said, to answer your question more precisely - what you felt was simply poor technique which, again, non fully trained acupuncturists are somewhat more likely to have. Your thinness has nothing to do with what you will or will not feel from the needles. Properly adminstered you should feel very little and in the vast majority of cases people simply fall asleep during treatment.
For back problems you want a fully trained acupuncturist who is also trained and does tuina (Chinese Medical Massage) and cupping. With this you have a great chance to improve considerably in a fairly short order of time.
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comment by "anon57843"
on Nov 2011
I can only echo what Chad says. Do NOT have acupuncture from someone who is not LicAc/LAc. Just because they are MD/physio/osteo/nurse...whatever...already, it does not mean they know about Chinese Medicine and acupuncture. I speak as a nurse, and what I learned on my 3 year basic course bore very little relation to anything I had done in 30 years of 'conventional' medicine.
I admire Chad's generous and gracious attitude that sometimes this first aid type treatment can be OK. Fair enough, he has a point (excuse the pun). However, you clearly need more than first aid. You have a long term problem and you have a fear of needles. The latter is not an issue when having acupuncture - strange as it may sound. I treat lots of people who are seriously needle phobic and they have no problem. I also treat children and babies. If it hurt, there's no way they would co-operate.
Acupuncture can give rise to unusual sensations when the needle makes contact with your energy but they are not generally painful ones. If you do feel pain it is the practitioners responsibility to do something about it, and that does not involve blaming the patient!
I urge you to seek the attention of a proper acupuncturist. The World Health Organisation states that anyone with less than 2000 hours training is not doing acupuncture. A LicAc/LAc has at least 3000 hours. Most physios/Mds and so on have as little as 48 hours training. If you post back on here and say where you live, I'm sure someone will find a practitioner for you!!!
Good Luck!
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comment by "DaveG"
on Dec 2011
Take a look at Tong Ren distant energy healing, which is available for free by phone and over the internet. TR avoids the need for needles or even contact. Chad has links to it, or go to Tomtam.com. I can also do it for you in Second Life.
A quick alternative is to take a plastic doll and tap on the back of the doll, with your index finger, on the corresponding pain location. You can also just try holding the doll in your hand with your index finger on the corresponding ouch point (pain point), while doing slow deep breathing.
Good Luck,
DaveG
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