When I first heard about acupuncture, I was initially very skeptical at its ability to heal or make someone feel much better physically. It was only after learning that even some doctors were recommending it to their clients that I decided to become slowly interested ( Van der Ploeg & Xiaobin, 2009). Furthermore, I was experiencing some nagging pain in my neck-shoulder area of my upper back and I had read in a particular science journal that acupuncture can treat such back pain. I asked a friend of mine who’s a doctor to refer me to an acupuncturist she trusted and she was more than happy to share his number with me and I booked an appointment for a week later. To my surprise, the practitioner called me around three days to the appointment asking how I was doing, if it was my first time having a session and if I had any fears or worries going into it. His voice felt quite kind and calming that I quickly eased into a conversation with him. He sounded really knowledgeable about the body systems and very professional in how he asked for information from me that I felt quite assured that I was dealing with someone who knows what they are doing and by the end of the call I couldn’t wait to go for the procedure.
The office was in a relatively less busy and safe area of the city and very accessible by various means of transport so I just drove there and found designated parking for clients visiting the practice which I found very convenient. The office looked very similar to that of a regular doctor and I still had to fill out the standard forms at the reception. I came to know that the practitioner was actually a licensed medical doctor although he branched off and concentrated on alternative therapies with acupuncture and body massage being his main specialties which gave me further confidence in his work. When time came to see the doctor I was ushered into an inner room where the doctor was waiting and he heartily welcomed me and revisited the chat we had over the phone and managed to cool my nerves a bit further. He asked me to change into more appropriate wear which was provided and I was relieved to find they were sparkling clean with a nice warm scent. I lay on the table which was similar to a massage table and the doctor performed a light physical exam pressing on different areas of body to check for pain and other issues. Surprisingly, he cautioned that I should not expect to be completely free of the pain after the session since there could be many other factors contributing to the pain that needed to be addressed and if there was some serious nerve damage, he would have to refer me to a different doctor for check-up. I liked the confidence he had in his work but also his awareness of the limitations which he did not hide from me and this increased my trust in him.
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He then placed an array of many different pins on a small side table and assured me of their cleanliness and safety and that he always used a new set of pins on his clients. He checked my pulse on both arms and asked about my daily movements which I told him were very few as I am seated most of the day to which he mentioned that all that sitting and minimal movement could be affecting me noting that my back was a bit hunched indicating posture problems. He started to place pins in my lower legs slowly moving up to my back, arms and I found myself becoming more still. I did not feel any pain although a strange exciting sensation when he would twirl the needles. By the time he got to my neck I could not explain what I was feeling and I felt tome tears rolling out my eyes. I felt a little embarrassed but the doctor assured me that it was a normal reaction since acupuncture improves blood flow which can trigger a lot of emotions hence the release I had ( Buck, 2014). For a while I felt like I was connecting to the energy in the universe and that everything was going well with me. It was a wonderful feeling.
The whole session lasted around an hour and I can confidently say it was an awesome experience. My shoulder pain had eased a bit although not completely and the doctor advised that I should engage in some form of stretching every few hours since I was always seated. I was asked to follow his advice and come back for a follow-up session in three-weeks’ time although I was feeling much better within that first week which I called and informed the doctor. The results of the session really amazed me and the $60 I paid for the session felt really worth it although I was disappointed to have to pay for it in cash since it was not covered by insurance. I could not have asked for a better experience, from the professionalism of the doctor and his staff, the personalized treatment that I got, to the ability of the doctor to make me feel open and relaxed despite it being the first session. It is definitely an experience I would recommend to anyone yet to discover and feel the benefits of acupuncture on the body and health in general.
References
Buck, C. (2014). Acupuncture and Chinese Medicine: Roots of Modern Practice. Singing Dragon,
Van der Ploeg, K. & Xiaobin Y. (2009). Acupuncture in Modern Society . Journal of Acupuncture and Meridian Studies, 2:1, 26-33 Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.1016/S2005-2901(09)60012-1
