43-year-old Rudy is a paramedic. He was limping when he walked into my clinic. A few weeks ago he started having a back pain after lifting patients. It was so bad that he couldn’t walk properly. As a medical professional, he had tried everything he could get - taking pain killers, having physiotherapy and even injections, but none of them worked. Feeling sick of it, he decided to come to the Lake District for a holiday. Wandering in the town centre of Penrith, he noticed my clinic and promptly decided to try acupuncture. First, I inserted a needle in his wrist, twisted it a few times, and asked him to stand up from the chair and move his back. He questioningly looked at me then stood up and moved his back for a few seconds, eyes widely opened and said: “It’s amazing!” Then he walked a few steps, said: “It’s 90% better. I can’t understand how it works. Is it psychological?” I shrugged and said: “Then why didn’t you get psychological effect from the other treatments? The needles for injections are much bigger than the acupuncture needles I use. They should have stronger psychological effect.” Then I asked him to lie on his stomach and did further treatment on his back. When he got up, the back pain went completely. Before left, he said he was staying in this area for a few more days, and he would definitely come to see me again if his back still hurt. But like a lot of my patients with similar problem, he didn't come back.
When applied properly, acupuncture usually works quickly for most aches and pains, especially acute muscular pain, no matter how severe it is.
