Have you tried Accupuncture?

My daughter does gymnastics, so there is a lot of impact on her heels, ankles, knees, and really all of her joints. We've been dealing with aches and pains for awhile, mostly in one of her feet. It was never any major pain, but enough to be worrisome. We took her to a sports medicine doctor who labeled it as a stress injury...totally can see that, like I said, a lot of abuse to those poor feet. After paying nearly $250 for the diagnosis, the treatment is take some ibuprofen and ice. That worked, but she can't really take 4-6 weeks off every time her foot starts to ache. (Please don't attack, I'm not saying I am asking her to push through a major injury. She is a competitive gymnast and it is nearly impossible to take 4-6 weeks off every time there is an ache). We did go that route at the beginning. She missed nearly 3 months of training only for the ache to return as soon as she returned to gym. More x-rays, more doctor visits, still nothing but "common" wear and tear for a gymnast. A friend suggested we try acupuncture. I figured what could it hurt? Let me tell you, after one visit (and only $60 -- way less than I've shelled out the the 'traditional' doctors), she has been completely pain free for 2 weeks now, and hasn't missed a single practice. I am amazed and she is reinvigorated because she doesn't have a constant ache to deal with.

I have been going to an acupuncturist weekly since November. It was through a program for free, so I thought I would try it, and did not have any expectations for it doing anything. I did not notice any results at first, but continued going because the half-hour of stillness by myself was refreshing. After a few sessions, I realized how relaxed I felt after each session, though that might just be because of the extra rest.

During my second trimester, I started experiencing terrible heartburn. It became so frequent and painful that I was eating much less because as soon as I would start to feel full, it would trigger the heartburn. That was not good for me or baby, and I lost weight as a result that I'm working on getting back. (I was severely underweight before getting pregnant but until then my growth had been good.) I told my acupuncturist about it, and at the end of my session she gave me some ear seeds to treat the heartburn. The first night I still had bad heartburn and started to doubt acupuncture's validity, but by the weekend I was not having any heartburn and was eating a normal amount of food again. It vastly improved my quality of life. I still have occasional heartburn, but it is extremely mild and not the misery and pain I was experiencing before every time I ate small amounts of food.

I've never actually tried it myself, but I've had friends that have used it for a multitude of reasons - trouble conceiving, illnesses, muscle aches and pains, the list goes on...and everyone I know that has used acupuncture for their health and wellness absolutely rave about it, and how it's changed their lives for the better!

They also say it doesn't hurt a bit - I'm personally a little afraid of needles so I don't know how convinced I am, but from all accounts it's wonderful!

I will definitely try it for myself if/when an issue arises. I'm still amazed that one treatment has had such lasting results for her. Before the acupuncture, she was wearing a special heel cup, taking ibuprofen, and icing every day after her workout. She hasn't needed anything at all after a 20 minute treatment.

I had a questionable experience with acupuncture. My experience was most definitely spiritual, and not in a good way. I started getting it for muscle tension and constants pulls. I noticed my body opening up and relaxing, and I could tell it was working. I was pretty amazed and couldn't believe why everyone wasn't getting acupuncture for what ails them. But then things started to get strange...

I don't know how to explain it. But it just got very spiritual. It made me believe in things I've never believed in before. Now I am over the experience and I wonder if it was because of the acupuncture, or the acupuncturist. I know the acupuncture works, but I really don't know what else it opens you up to.

I have worked for some doctors who have had acupuncture after an injury. My old boss tore his ACL and he added acupuncture to his therapy, and said it really helped in his healing process. Just like with anything else if you do not try, then you will not know. I want to try acupuncture for my back pain, it is just hard to find the time to do so right now. I have heard a lot of positive feed back from it though. I would say it's worth a shot.

After reading this, the phrase that pops on my mind is this: prevention is better than cure. I do not say it specifically for your daughter. But this is for everyone who do gymnastics to take some precautions. Wear shoes especially designed for exercise/training. If you follow this you won't hurt your feet/ankles/legs. If you don't, you might develop some problem that might get worse in the long run. Better safe than sorry.

I haven't tried acupuncture but it is said that it can help to relax the body. I am not sure on how it work, they will just insert that needle on your body and kaboom your all good. Maybe there is an explanation about this. I would definitely try this if I had a chance to experience it .

No, but I know the people who tried it and it helped them.

Eliz said:
After reading this, the phrase that pops on my mind is this: prevention is better than cure. I do not say it specifically for your daughter. But this is for everyone who do gymnastics to take some precautions. Wear shoes especially designed for exercise/training. If you follow this you won't hurt your feet/ankles/legs. If you don't, you might develop some problem that might get worse in the long run. Better safe than sorry.

Training equipment is very important indeed, especially shoes because legs are almost always in motion. For people with something like plantar fasciitis finding proper shoes it's even harder. For example, if you need hiking shoes advice I would recommend looking for an advice at Willpowerpeak. Same with other types of footwear.
I would say there is no magic in acupuncture itself. Yeah, it may stimulate some nerves and blood circulation but the healing part relies on your own body. But that's just my opinion.