I've been suffering with this blasted rotator cuff injury from this summer. Yesterday I went for my second acupuncture session to treat it. I started last week. My massage therapist up and left to St. Kitts to care for her ailing Dad for a while and since she left I've done nothing to heal thyself. The pain has come back pretty badly to the point I've lost strength in my right arm again and can't lift it past shoulder height without grimacing and whinging from the pain.
I've tried acupuncture a couple of times in the distant past - both times for whiplash and I had great results then too. I remember one session I had a cold so the acupuncturist also treated that by sticking needles in the top of my head. THAT freaked me out a bit. That plus the ones sticking out of the sides of my neck. I felt like Frankenstein.
This time I don't have needles in such odd places (just one in the back of my neck and one below my knee for whatever reason). The rest are around my shoulder and then my elbow and wrist.
Something new this time is my new acupuncturist, Zoe, is also treating me with Cupping and Herbal Patches. I had heard of cupping before. It's not without discomfort (OK, it's a bit painful - kind of like when you go for a mammogram and have your boobs compressed into the medieval vice contraption - it feels like that but, in my case, around my shoulder - not nice). The fact that there is a flame involved doesn't really phase me too much.
Rather disturbing cupping pictures here
The cupping does leave nice pepperoni bruises on my skin, but it's not just me with that side effect.
I'm not exactly sure why Gwyneth chose to wear that particular dress after a treatment. Me? I'm going to have to double check that the black dress I'm wearing to the fundraiser on Sunday covers up my luncheon meat shoulder.Or maybe I should do whatever I can to show off my bruises? Maybe they are tres chic? Maybe I'm cooler than I thought?
I have one more treatment on Friday and Zoe will also treat me for insomnia as I mentioned to her that I have a problem with it. That might take extra sessions.
Has anyone else out there tried acupuncture? Have you had success with it? Permanent success?
