When You're in Need(le)

Since my car accident (truthfully it was starting to get bad before the accident), I've had a lot of knotting issues in my neck and shoulders. I know that so many of you out there also suffer from tight muscles, and you know I speak the truth when I say, having a pain in the neck is a pain in the neck!!  

 

I thought I would share with you what I do when the pain gets to be too much. Once I can feel all of those knots start tightening up, well, that's when I am in need of the needle. 

That's right, acupuncture. If you had told me a couple of years ago that I would go to and be a fan of acupuncture I would have laughed in your face.  But, here I am paying good money to have someone poke a ton of needles into my head, neck, back, and shoulders.  Isn't that crazy?!?!  But, I have to tell you that it has worked for me.  Now, I'm not suggesting that acupuncture is for everyone or even recommending where I go, I'm just telling you my story.

 

I've always, or as long as I can remember, had a tight neck shoulders.  I can't tell you how many times I've had what started as a small "crick" in my neck turn into a full on locked up neck.  For years I tried to figure out how to relieve the pain in my neck.  I would go for sports massages and deep tissue massages and every other type of massage, and while those massages all felt great (in that painful kind of way), they did little to actually relieve the pain in my neck/back.  After one particularly severe flare up, I caved to the idea of trying a chiropractor.  I asked for recommendations and went to see a well-reviewed chiropractor.  I went through months of neck and spine realignment and other treatments given by the chiropractor.  Really, I went to every single appointment they recommended.  And, about 3 weeks after they said I was in good shape, my neck locked right back up.  I was devastated.  No, a neck "crick" isn't the worst thing in the world, but it's really miserable while it's happening and having tried so hard to get rid of it and having it come back was really upsetting.  That's when someone (actually many people) recommended that I try acupuncture.

 

This is what I can say about my acupuncture experience.  After being treated one time, my neck pain was completely gone and my range of motion was fully restored.  Sure, it spasms every now and then and I get lots of knots and some tightness, but the misery of being totally locked up has never returned.  Can I say for sure it was the acupuncture?  No.  It absolutely could have been a coincidence.  Do I claim it will work for everyone?  Definitely not.  But, it's what I feel has worked best for me and I just thought I would share it with you. 

 

Also, you should know, you never see the needles (at least, not when you are going for the areas I go for), so it's not as creepy as you would think it would be.  And, you are pretty much guaranteed to fall asleep during the whole thing, so if anything, I enjoy the nap.