3.23.2010
bloodletting, suction cups, a weird ear thing, and a hot ball.
yes, you read that right. but it has nothing to do with p.orn. thanks goodness.
it's reached the point in my shoulder saga that i'm willing to try (what i believe to be) unorthodox things that haven't worked for me in the past.
*note: i tried acupuncture prior to my back surgery and was VERY skeptical. i figured at the time, and still do, that acupuncture may work for some things, but it can't un-herniate a disc. as a result, i went into the treatment with a very negative outlook, which probably didn't help anything.
okay, so i decide to try acupuncture to treat my stupid shoulder since nothing else has worked. i had no idea where to go in town and asked around the department. lo and behold, someone tells me that Kaz, who helps to review and submit grant proposals, has a clinic downtown. i knew he was into herbal remedies and the like, but didn't know he was a licensed acupuncturist. he was very honest and said that it *might* help, that i should know within 3 or 4 sessions.
so this evening was session 1.
the hot ball
we started out with a general health history, then i had this warm-to-hot stone (?) ball rolled along my shoulder and arm...like body rolling, but on a mini scale. hurt at some points, felt like a nice massage at others.
blood-letting
we went from the hot ball to blood-letting. yes, you read that correctly. it supposedly removes stagnant blood and restores qi and blood in the body. i had two fingers pricked and about 5 drops of blood squeezed out of each. can't say i noticed a difference but maybe it's one of those more long-term things.
needles and tingling
i was ignorant enough to not know that there is a form of acupuncture that does not involve piercing the skin - instead, a metal needle is used and held in place by the acupuncturist. Kaz told me that he often can sense or "feel" energy being transferred through the needles. i resisted muttering under my breath. but no 10 seconds later, i felt tingling in my fingers. with a different set of needle-stick points, i felt a mild pulsating/throbbing in that area. the scientist (and skeptic?) in me was happy/relieved that there was also a time when Kaz felt this energy but i felt nothing at all. but the two times that i did feel something caused me to feel a bit shaken, unsure of what was going on.
a weird ear thing
as if i hadn't had enough weird stuff by this time, Kaz told me that, essentially, the body maps onto the ear. (i know, i know!) so he found the region on the ear where the shoulder maps and poked about 8-10 different spots, only millimeters apart. a couple of them were more sensitive than others; in theory, those spots correlate to the regions of my shoulder that also hurt more. so now i have a bead like thing taped onto my ear, and i forgot to ask how long i leave it there. thanks goodness i'll see Kaz at work tomorrow!
scraping and fire cupping
after the needles came another interesting part for me. Kaz warned me that it would hurt, and that it was called "scraping". essentially, he put oil on my back/shoulders, then proceeded to scrape the skin to irritate it and make it turn red. not pleasant, but not painful - until he hit certain spots on my shoulder that almost made me scream. i was lying face down, so he couldn't see me grimace or wince, but he knew where the hot spots were because they turned a deeper red/purple compared to the rest of the skin. 6/6 times, i felt the pain, and he called it. oddly enough, the one spot NOT on my bad shoulder that hurt was on my "good" shoulder, which has been bothering me lately. i didn't tell him that but he nailed it. weird. he picked the areas that were most irritated (painful) and put suction cups over them to stimulate the circulation in those regions. the process wasn't painful, but slightly uncomfortable over my shoulder.
and that was it. could take a few days to know if it'll work, or even a few weeks. it may not work at all, but at least i know it's one more thing i've tried. and this time i tried it with an open mind, and said mind was blown away a few times. i'll try not to be such a skeptic about certain things. so, even if it doesn't make my shoulder hurt less, this experience has let me feel better about trying something new and being open to new possibilities.
it's reached the point in my shoulder saga that i'm willing to try (what i believe to be) unorthodox things that haven't worked for me in the past.
*note: i tried acupuncture prior to my back surgery and was VERY skeptical. i figured at the time, and still do, that acupuncture may work for some things, but it can't un-herniate a disc. as a result, i went into the treatment with a very negative outlook, which probably didn't help anything.
okay, so i decide to try acupuncture to treat my stupid shoulder since nothing else has worked. i had no idea where to go in town and asked around the department. lo and behold, someone tells me that Kaz, who helps to review and submit grant proposals, has a clinic downtown. i knew he was into herbal remedies and the like, but didn't know he was a licensed acupuncturist. he was very honest and said that it *might* help, that i should know within 3 or 4 sessions.
so this evening was session 1.
the hot ball
we started out with a general health history, then i had this warm-to-hot stone (?) ball rolled along my shoulder and arm...like body rolling, but on a mini scale. hurt at some points, felt like a nice massage at others.
blood-letting
we went from the hot ball to blood-letting. yes, you read that correctly. it supposedly removes stagnant blood and restores qi and blood in the body. i had two fingers pricked and about 5 drops of blood squeezed out of each. can't say i noticed a difference but maybe it's one of those more long-term things.
needles and tingling
i was ignorant enough to not know that there is a form of acupuncture that does not involve piercing the skin - instead, a metal needle is used and held in place by the acupuncturist. Kaz told me that he often can sense or "feel" energy being transferred through the needles. i resisted muttering under my breath. but no 10 seconds later, i felt tingling in my fingers. with a different set of needle-stick points, i felt a mild pulsating/throbbing in that area. the scientist (and skeptic?) in me was happy/relieved that there was also a time when Kaz felt this energy but i felt nothing at all. but the two times that i did feel something caused me to feel a bit shaken, unsure of what was going on.
a weird ear thing
as if i hadn't had enough weird stuff by this time, Kaz told me that, essentially, the body maps onto the ear. (i know, i know!) so he found the region on the ear where the shoulder maps and poked about 8-10 different spots, only millimeters apart. a couple of them were more sensitive than others; in theory, those spots correlate to the regions of my shoulder that also hurt more. so now i have a bead like thing taped onto my ear, and i forgot to ask how long i leave it there. thanks goodness i'll see Kaz at work tomorrow!
scraping and fire cupping
after the needles came another interesting part for me. Kaz warned me that it would hurt, and that it was called "scraping". essentially, he put oil on my back/shoulders, then proceeded to scrape the skin to irritate it and make it turn red. not pleasant, but not painful - until he hit certain spots on my shoulder that almost made me scream. i was lying face down, so he couldn't see me grimace or wince, but he knew where the hot spots were because they turned a deeper red/purple compared to the rest of the skin. 6/6 times, i felt the pain, and he called it. oddly enough, the one spot NOT on my bad shoulder that hurt was on my "good" shoulder, which has been bothering me lately. i didn't tell him that but he nailed it. weird. he picked the areas that were most irritated (painful) and put suction cups over them to stimulate the circulation in those regions. the process wasn't painful, but slightly uncomfortable over my shoulder.
and that was it. could take a few days to know if it'll work, or even a few weeks. it may not work at all, but at least i know it's one more thing i've tried. and this time i tried it with an open mind, and said mind was blown away a few times. i'll try not to be such a skeptic about certain things. so, even if it doesn't make my shoulder hurt less, this experience has let me feel better about trying something new and being open to new possibilities.
Labels: shoulder
