My First-Time Acupuncture Experience
Everyone has a different story about why they tried acupuncture for the first time…some of you probably have your own story and some of you may have not tried acupuncture yet, but are curious about what it’s all about. I thought I’d share my first-time experience with you and get some of your stories too!
A few years back I experienced a painful dance injury. I tore my meniscus in my left knee. I tried sports therapy, which helped a bit, but my knee was prone to re-injury and about every 6 - 12 months I would re-injure it and be reliant on crutches for a few weeks. I was very frustrated and doctors told me that the only option was arthroscopic surgery.
I was very hesitant about surgery, for obvious reasons, and I had heard from other dancers about a Japanese acupuncturist who had treated dancers, famous athletes, and others…I was intrigued. What did I have to lose? So I made an appointment. The first treatment, he used needles and electro-acupuncture…basically hooked the needles up to a machine that sent an electric current through the needles into my knee, to more actively stimulate the points. As you can see in the picture below of my leg, it looks intense! But wow were the results amazing! Before acupuncture, I had not been able to straighten my leg because of swelling, but after one or two treatments, the swelling was completely gone.
The long term effects are what were really incredible. Instead of re-injuring my knee every few months like I had been…years went by without any issues. Today, my knee is strong and I would recommend acupuncture to anyone suffering an injury, because there are no side effects, unlike surgery. Have a story you’d like to share? Comment below!
