Adventures in Acupuncture

Back Pain

So, Mr. Moore has had back troubles ever since we lived in Houston. The kind of back troubles that begin by bending over and result in several days (if not weeks) of unhappy bedrest.

Recently, he bent over to do a jump squat and nearly fell.

Two days of bedrest and heating pads and careful attention later, he was no better.

Doctor

“Get Thee To a Doctor!” said our friends, and they were right … but a long and unglamorous chain of events has led both of us to hate going to the doctor.

However … I just finished Jenny Lawson’s book, Let’s Pretend This Never Happened, where she chronicled a visit to the acupuncturist (in hilarious detail). In addition to the colorful descriptions, she also mentioned that it worked.

So I did some research and found Dr. Zhou’s Acupuncture and Pain Management Clinic, just a quick bounce away from where we live. Amazing internet reviews led to a call, which led to an appointment that afternoon … after the clinic usually closed, which was kind of amazing of them to do.

The Visit

I drove Steven to the clinic and he hobbled out of the car in a slow, shuffling manner. I do not exaggerate. He wouldn’t even be walking if he didn’t have to, and every step offered new opportunities for pain up his back and around to his belly.

He filled out the forms and disappeared into a room with a cheerful Dr. Zhou.

The next time I saw him, Steven smiled at me, lifted his arms, and rotated his hips. I was flabbergasted.

According to him, they sat down, then Dr. Zhou asked him a few questions (“Are you afraid of needles?”) and inserted two needles in the back of Steven’s neck.

He then asked Steven to stand up (a procedure that was more than a little painful before the appointment).

Steven stood up.

Dr. Zhou then asked Steven to hula-hoop.

Despite strong misgivings, Steven hula-hooped … and then burst out laughing, because he COULD. He then bent both forward and backward, and Dr. Zhou smiled and said, “Good, now you trust me.”

The rest of the appointment involved more needles (very few of which were even felt, and the ones that were either burned a little or were more of a slight ache than a sharp pain), followed by a warm rest period, then a VERY vigorous massage that involved cracking most of Steven’s joints, including his entire spine.

Follow-Up

We came home with another appointment for the following Monday, a jar of pain-relieving cream, and some herb pills for Steven to take. Honestly, I think we’d have done damn near anything the doctor asked at this point — we’ve gone to traditional doctors time and time again, only to be sent home for bedrest with heavier pain pills.

This wasn’t a MIRACLE, mind you. He was still tender and pained, and didn’t have full range of motion … but to go from shuffling gingerly across a parking lot to hula-hooping with a smile (and for a fraction of the cost of a normal doctor visit) was shocking.

Astonishing. Incredible. Amazing.

You

Back pain is one of the most common complaints I hear, past yearly sniffles and colds.

All reservations we had about acupuncture are completely gone. This was a life saver.

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Headache Go Poof
Ode to Lactic Acid
Pocket-Calls From Texas