My Acupuncture Experience

In my lifetime I have had numerous surgical procedures including an appendectomy, gall bladder removal, hernia repair as well as five different knee operations. Each of those procedures has a story about the symptoms before and the recovery after the procedure. Maybe I will share some of those at a later date but this time I want to share my acupuncture adventure. I have heard many stories over the years and have seen many examples on TV but none of those prepared me for what I experienced.

It started with severe tendonitis in my elbow resulting from a bad golf shot. That unto itself is another story. I knew I had a serious injury and immediately went to my Doctor. After an unsuccessful anti-inflammatory prescription I went to a physical therapist. After two months of intense therapy and steroid treatments it was time to see an orthopedic surgeon because my progress was very limited. After a blood injection procedure, 3 weeks in a brace, more therapy with still little progress I was getting discouraged. I was with a client who asked why I was wearing a brace and she told me she had something similar happen to her and she went for acupuncture and it helped her considerably. What the heck....modern medicine was not working.

So here I am a few days later with needles in my arm around the damaged tendon, in my hand and in my knee. It was weird at first, but again, what the heck. I went for three treatments and the first was more of a mind trip than a medical event. There was incense burning and relaxing music......hmmm. The second and third treatments were hot and I mean hot. With needles around the tendon, a needle was then inserted directly into the damaged tendon. It did not hurt but was a little uncomfortable. Then the interesting stuff happened. She then stuck on the end of the 4 needles a putty type substance and lit them all on fire. It was bizarre. The flame was extinguished and a glowing amber was left. The heat from the amber radiated down the needle directly into and around the damaged tendon. It felt like heaven. 

I still needed some modern medicine that included a cortisone injection to be totally pain free but the acupuncture was a memorable experience.

Until The Next Tom's Take....