Acupuncture and alternative therapies

31 May 2004

I recently had some stiffness in my neck and upper back. Yesterday I was passing a Chinese natural remedy shop which also did neck and shoulder massages. I thought I would give this a go to see if it sorted my problem out. The girl who worked on me was finding it difficult as my muscles were extremely knotted and hard. I had put this down to the training I do at the gym. She said it was due to stress and, although she could alleviate some of it, she suggested accupuncture. In for a penny, in for a pound (or yen!) I thought so I had a session of that as well.
It does appear to have worked, as my back muscles are no longer so stiff and my neck not sore. I was also given some form of tonic, (apparently foul tasting, but I'll find out later!), which should also help to loosen up the muscles.
My questions are these.
Has anyone else used this type of therapy before and how effective was it?
Can anyone recommend any other specific therapy that would help ease the muscular pains I sometimes get? I stress 'sometimes get' as I don't have this problem all the time. I do a lot of gym work, so overall very fit.
Many thanks guys and guyesses lol

Mal

31 May 2004

Mal;
As you are fit (I can barely remember the days when I was) I doubt very much whether your visits to the gym are causing problems..
I've suffered back problems for years and have had acupuncture; which worked to a certain degree and now have regular sessions with a chiropractor - which works well.
However, I wonder if your problems might stem from something as simple as too much time on the PC. Maybe your body posture, chair, seating position are all wrong...? I'm certainly not an expert in the field but had good results when my chair was changed, PC screen height adjusted etc
Cheers
Paul

31 May 2004

Me? - too much time on a pc? Never!!! :shock:
You're probably not far off the mark, Paul. I know it's something I will be looking at very closely over the next week or so. Even though I have done a lot of sport in the past and still do a lot now, I very rarely have any longlasting pains or aches and tend to know when I am pushing beyond my limits.
Mal
lol

31 May 2004

Reflexology works extremely well for me Mal. It definetely destresses and does get rid of muscular tension and pain. Good for general all round well being as well. biggrin

The other thing that has been offered to me is psychic healing, however I haven't tried this yet as I am a fairly sceptical about it, but if I give it a go I'll let you know!