After a slip and fall about 6 weeks ago resulting in intense pain, I knew immediately that I had possibly re-injured a herniated disc in my lower back which had caused pain ever since the initial injury many years before. Several trips to my chiropractor helped with my range of movement but did nothing for the pain. After muscle relaxers and serious pain killers only dulled the pain and still wouldn’t let me sleep through the night, I decided to go to a medical center for an evaluation. After several appointments, an x-ray and an MRI, it was determined by the radiologist that I had a new ‘severe’ injury resulting from a bulge in a different disc in my lower back. Based on the doctor’s recommendation, I scheduled an epidural injection.
After my wife, a nurse for 30 years, and I reviewed the plan, we realized that the injection was scheduled for the old injury site, not the new one, and we began to explore other options. I had already asked my doctor about acupuncture as an option and was told she had learned of mixed results from her readings. My wife researched acupuncturists and found an article in an old magazine about Dr. He, so I called and talked to him and scheduled an appointment.
I arrived for my appointment with a copy of the MRI results and after discussing my injury and symptoms with Dr He, he had me stand and bend so he could see how the pain was affecting my movement. Next I sat back in the chair and after Dr. He asked if I was afraid of needles he showed me how small they were. He inserted 2 needles in the back of my left hand and the pain was immediately improved. After again having me move to see the improvement, he put 2 more needles in the back of my right hand and the pain was soon completely gone. I now had nearly complete range of motion compared to when I had arrived.
After a few minutes, the needles were removed and I got on the treatment table where Dr. He used acupressure and massage on my back and hip area. Then he inserted a number of needles down both sides of my spine and left me to relax while the needles did their magic. I began to feel very rested and calm and when Dr. He came back into the room and began to remove the needles, he explained that by relieving my stress, he was allowing my body to begin healing itself. He said he thought with continued treatments, I should see further improvement in my condition.
That night as I was relaxing without pain, I began to have a sense of well-being I had not experienced since my injury. I look forward to further improvement from my future treatments so I may resume my normally active lifestyle.
64 year old, M. May 5, 2013. E1993, H & Z Acupuncture. hz-acupuncture.com