If any of you are contemplating the use of Acupuncture to either help manage a disease (autoimmune or other) or just considering it to help with day to day stress I’m hoping this blog series might help you to decide if acupuncture is right for you. I went to acupuncture awhile back for a number of years. This was prior to my Ankylosing Spondylitis diagnosis so I guess in a sense my acupuncturist was sort of shooting in the dark since she really did not know what was causing my pain. She was an awesome practitioner and truly listened to my entire medical history. Even though we were shooting in the dark the greatest benefits I saw at the time were better sleep, less stress, management of my neck, back and hip pain as well as improved digestion. I would leave each appointment feeling so relaxed and pain free that I would have thought I had a 90 min deep tissue massage. Back then the majority of my pain was in my cervical spine. After dealing with a chronic stiff neck in what felt like forever, feeling pain free for even a few hours was a huge relief. At the same time I was going to acupuncture on a weekly basis I learned about Active Release Technique which is a type of deep tissue massage that involves movement and relieves tension by removing fibrosis adhesion that develop in your muscles and tissue over time due to repetitive use. I decided to give it a try and really liked it. I felt it was increasing my range of motion and helping with pain but found it hard to shell out $200 a week for both treatments. This is when I quit acupuncture and probably made one of the is biggest mistakes I have made since I started my healing journey. I think acupuncture offers so many total body benefits that it truly is one of the easiest and most beneficial practices you can take up. It has been at least 3 years since I revisited it and instead of beating myself up about how I quit in the past I am excited to be back at it.
On Monday, Jan 26th I had my first appointment. I’m excited to take you on this journey with me and share my experience as it relates to treatment for my autoimmune disease and the other benefits I experience. Acupuncture is very personal to each individual so my experience may deviate from yours. Also, keep in mind this is just one healing modality and it may not be right for you or your condition. For me, it’s a matter of trial and error and finding what really helps and makes the most impact. We are each our best advocate and need to listen to our bodies first and foremost. I’m excited to see how things go and will be managing my expectations along the way. Thanks for coming along!
Let’s start out by talking a little bit about what Acupuncture is and a high level view of how it can help autoimmune disease. In the research I have done at the end of the day autoimmune diseases occur due to some sort of imbalance in the body. Yin and Yang, if out of whack, can disrupt the flow of Qi throughout the body. Defining Yin, Yang and Qi can get pretty complicated so I’m going to leave that to the experts. Here is a good resource if you want to learn more. Acupuncture can help to restore the balance of Yin and Yang and the flow of Qi. Sounds simple right! We know autoimmune diseases, regardless of which one you have, can be very different in the course it takes with each person. Everyone is different so therefore the symptoms I experience may be slightly different than yours. Acupuncture is not known to cure an autoimmune disease but it is a great healing modality to add for a number of reasons. It is found to help with reducing overall inflammation and managing pain which in turn allows for a better quality of life, it helps control stress, encourages better sleep and can help increase the body’s ability to heal by protecting and strengthening organs and tissue. It also can help immensely with managing day to day stress. Acupuncture can be a great complement to your life regardless of if you suffer from an autoimmune disease or not.
So, what brought me back? The company I work for is very supportive of their team members’ total well-being and offers lots of benefits to help them live healthy, well rounded lives. We have a well-being center and recently they added massage and acupuncture! Yes, acupuncture! How cool to think I can do acupuncture while I am at the office. I no longer have an excuse not to go!
I am beyond blessed to have found an even more amazing acupuncturist! Her name is Kate and she is super easy to talk to and really listens. If you are on the search for an acupuncturist my biggest advice would be to find someone who you can talk too, who listens and who you all around feel comfortable with. I truly feel you know after the first visit if you have a connection with the person or not. You may need to try numerous people until you find the right fit but don’t settle. Unlike traditional medicine, acupuncture is about creating a relationship centered around healing. Finding someone who is the right fit is essential to your acupuncture success. You also likely will be seeing this person for some time to come in the future so finding the right person from the start makes the most sense. Your acupuncture appointments should become something you look forward to weekly, monthly or how ever often you go not something you dread. You should feel comfortable being able to talk with your acupuncturist about all your concerns. If they don’t know all the details it will be hard for them to fully help you achieve your goals.
My focus for now is working on the upper back/shoulder pain I have been experiencing since the beginning of January. I’m not sure if this is an anklylosing spondylitis flare or just a muscle pull that I keep re-tweaking. During my first appointment we talked at a high level about my medical history and what I was looking to focus on. I explained the pain I am currently having with my upper back/shoulder and mentioned that I have had a lot of pain with raising my arms above my head. This has been an issue for as long as I can remember and I have pretty much just learned to live with it. In addition to talking about my medical history we also both looked at my tongue. I remember doing this with my previous acupuncturist and was amazed at what they were able to pick up on my just looking at my tongue. This time was no different. She said my tongue looked pretty good but the deep line down the center is a sign of digestion issues and IBS. Digestion is something I have been working on for a long time and I do technically have an IBS diagnosis from when I was around 10 years old. I feel my IBS symptoms have been under control for a long time but I know I still have opportunity to strengthen my digestion. Once we looked at my tongue we chatted a little bit more about what the plan was for the visit and that she would be focusing a lot of attention on the supraspinatus and subscapularis muscles.
I undressed just as I would for a massage. Depending on where the acupuncturists plans to put needles they may have you lay face up or face down so what you wear may differ. With my previous acupuncturist she treated me face down for a number of weeks and then face up. For face up appointments I would wear a medical gown and because she typically always only put needs in my lower legs vs. upper legs I wore cropped workout pants so that I would not fully need to undress. I know not everyone likes to be super exposed and if this is you don’t let it keep you from going to acupuncture. Your acupuncturist will work to make your visits as comfortable as possible.
She placed needles along both sides of my neck, in my shoulders, on the sides of my hands, the sides of my legs and feet and on the top of my head. The only needles that were uncomfortable were in my neck and shoulders and she explained this makes sense because this is where I have been experiencing the majority of my pain. As I remember, the longer you go the less discomfort you should feel as inflammation is reduced. Overall, acupuncture does not hurt but can be uncomfortable. Once all the needles were placed I relaxed for about 15 minutes and then she came back in and manipulated the needles by twisting them which activates the body’s energy system. She left for another 15 minutes and then returned and removed the needles. I have only been three times now and have found it hard to relax. Number one, I think it’s because I am at work (I love that I can go to acupuncture at work but its hard when you are thinking about the next meeting and your to do’s for the day) and number two, I think it’s because I am having a lot of pain so laying down is not comfortable. In three visits I have seen only minor improvement to the back/shoulder issues I have been having but I know that acupuncture can sometimes make symptoms worse before better. What I do find to be a miracle is that after my first visit the arm/bicep pain I have been having which I shared with you above was at least 75% better. I could raise my arms higher than I have been able to in years. Pretty amazing progress! I know there are benefits happening that I cannot yet feel so I will be patient. Healing is a marathon not a sprint! To try to nip this issue in the bud I am also going to physical therapy and am ensuring my diet is as clean as clean can get. I have also added a Vitamin C powder to my daily supplements along with 5,000 IU’s of Vitamin D3. After receiving recent results from Mayo Clinic I am still much too low in D which I know can play a huge role in joint and muscle pain. Here’s to continuing on this exciting healing journey!
I hope you enjoyed hearing about my experience thus far with acupuncture and plan to continue to share my journey with monthly updates. Please reach out with any questions you have and if you are interested in sharing your own personal acupuncture story and how it benefited you I would love for you to be a contributor! Please send me an e-mail and I will be in touch. Happy Healing!
