Tag: pain

Managing chronic pain with acupuncture – Kara’s story

Kara contacted me 10 days before she was about to start a new job, after 8 months of not working due to some serious and complex health conditions. Neurological pain is particularly difficult to treat and utterly debilitating.  In Kara’s case, her pain levels were pretty much off the charts and despite heavy medication, life was a real struggle. This inevitably affected her emotional health as well.

Kara has a chronic condition that needs regular management so that she can lead a fulfilling life; work, socialise, travel and have fun. So Kara comes every week, without fail, and is treated with acupuncture, TuiNa massage and cupping. Treatments significantly reduce her pain, keep her feeling balanced and support her general wellbeing. It is an investment in both time and money but she is committed to staying well. So much so that she hasn’t taken one day off work for illness.

 

Kara’s story:

I had a fully herniated disc (between C6 and C7) that caused paralysis of my right arm for 4 months when the disc crushed the nerve; this had to be surgically replaced with a disc implant.  6 weeks after recovering from that major spinal surgery, I developed an extremely rare form of shingles called Ramsay Hunt syndrome, which then took a turn for the worse when it spread to my spinal cord, entire central nervous system, and brain (this is typically fatal).  As my inner ear was affected by the shingles, in addition to excruciating pain I also experienced severe vertigo. In addition to this, I was offered my dream job, and was suffering from stress and anxiety about trying to start work when my body was going through so much and my pain levels were so high.

Choosing Peachy Acupuncture was the luckiest piece of fate I have ever been dealt by the Gods of Google; I rang Rita to see if there was any chance she could fit me in the following day for an emergency appointment, and was supremely impressed by her medical knowledge and very clear expertise during our conversation. Despite having multiple conditions that needed treatment, she knew so much about each and everything I brought up, it made it clear that she is exceptionally skilled.  I have seen other acupuncturists in the past, but have never felt as comfortable and confident in the person I was seeing as when I spoke with Rita.  And the first treatment did not disappoint – with wanting to sound like I am embellishing or exaggerating the effects of my treatment, it was genuinely life-changing.

I am genuinely at a loss as to how to express the life changing difference that Rita has made.  Before my first session with her, I was barely able to walk due to severe vertigo, and pain had crippled me.  I rarely left my bed, and was not able to work or socialise at all.  Tasks as simple as washing a dish or bathing were things that I truly struggled with every day due to my high pain levels, and I was sceptical that she would be able to help but thought ‘What have I got to lose?’  I had been to countless specialists on the NHS as well as privately, and had been on every form of medication to try and help with nerve pain, but nothing was working. I sat up at the end of the first session and my vertigo was gone; I have no idea how one session was able to do that, but I went home and genuinely cried tears of joy.

When cupping and tuina are combined with Rita’s acupuncture, I feel like I leave as a new person.  My pain is gone, my neck and back are free, I can move easily, and I cannot stress how much relief I feel from having my chronic, daily pain evaporate in just one short hour.  I have been put on every form of medication under the sun to try and help me with acute nerve pain and various medical complications, but this is the only thing that truly works.

Since then, I see Rita once a week for additional treatments and it is the only thing that keeps me going.  Despite starting a new job with so many physical ailments, she has made me feel a level of serene peace that I have never previously experienced; after a treatment, I feel connected to the world and like I can manage my life.  But the biggest improvement has been my pain levels.  Although I still experience pain, she has given me my life back.  I can leave my house, work, socialise, and actually enjoy being alive – I no longer live in blinding pain.

Rita’s clinic is such a wonderfully soothing place, I feel like I am visiting a spa run by a member of my family every time I stop by.

The best thing about Rita is that she does not believe in treating a condition, she treats the person.  She will meet with you, talk to you about your body, your life, your mental health, and then decide on the appropriate treatment(s) for you.  She really works against the idea that there is a ‘one-size-cures-all’ approach.  I appreciate this so much because it means that she truly listens to me and my body, and does what is in my best interest.

 

Kara Webster, Crouch End

Volunteer acupuncture clinic in Gujarat, India

Charpada acupuncture clinic – November 2016

Thanks to donations from friends, family and clients I was able to volunteer with World Medicine as an acupuncturist in rural Gujarat, India. Over a period of two weeks, I worked with four other acupuncturists and did 960 treatments in a multi-bed clinic environment.

Our patients were impoverished farm workers predominantly suffering from musculo-skeletal pain – neck, shoulder, back and knee problems were severe due to the heavy manual labour they did every day.

It was a fantastic experience and one I hope to repeat.

Read my blog here:

http://www.worldmedicine.org.uk/index.php/news-events/blog

Runners … will just keep on running

It’s hard to believe just how popular running is – as a way of staying fit or working off stress – it’s quite addictive. In towns and cities, in parks and countryside, runners and running clubs are massively popular. Even training for marathons has almost become commonplace… Wasn’t always that way. At school, I would do anything to avoid running, as sprained ankles, muscle spasms and torn ligaments weren’t unusual.

 

As an adult, I got back into it and went through a period of running 5 times a week and felt great – but like many people I had an injury that took ages to heal and really put me back in terms of training.  Eddie Izzard ran 27 marathons in 27 days for Sport Relief – I can’t imagine the state of his body when he finally stopped!

 

There are a number of potential injuries that runners might experience…. Achilles tendinitis, IT Band Syndrome, plantar fasciitis, knee cartilage and ligament issues, stress fractures, sprained ankles and pulled muscles. But these issues may start as simpler strains or tightness and if your post run stretching isn’t adequate things can get more entrenched. My experience of runners is that niggling symptoms are largely ignored, and they will continue running until they find they can’t walk, never mind run. Then they’ve got a real problem.

 

Ideally, runners need to be monitoring their bodies along with their run times and get treatment before small injuries turn into much larger ones. One small injury can result in other parts of the body compensating and before you know it, that tight achilles is preventing you doing what you love. Permanently. It seems crazy to run in order to be fit and healthy but not pay attention to what it might be doing to your body.

 

How can Acupuncture, TuiNa and Cupping help?

 

knee acupuncture

 

All these therapies increase blood flow and reduce inflammation and tightness. Many physiotherapists and osteopaths use dry needling now alongside their given approaches, because they find it works so well. But it shouldn’t be confused with acupuncture because they also happen to use needles. Dry needling works on trigger points or areas where the patient experiences pain, whereas acupuncture works on the entire musculo-skeletal and neurological system. We use both in the Peachy clinic.

 

TuiNa is a dynamic form of Chinese remedial bodywork that uses the same principles as acupuncture but applies quite different deep tissue techniques to that of western massage. Incredibly effective at releasing muscle tension, reducing inflammation and along with acupuncture, boosting the body’s own healing mechanisms.

 

Cupping draws blood to the surface of the skin, helps to eliminate toxins, enables lymphatic drainage and is also commonly used for massage. Not painful and clients genuinely love it!

 

These three complementary approaches serve to deliver a powerful, yet holistic punch.

 

Runners, I find, just want to keep on running…. Ideally, since prevention is better than cure, whether you run for fun or are training for a marathon, it’s worth getting regular treatment. See a practitioner, say, once a month to remain supple and mobile and nip those injuries in the bud.

 

But if you find you’re already in pain, then start receiving treatment sooner rather than later, or running up that hill might just be a step too far.

Tok Sen – Tapping The Body to Health

Tok Sen is a 5000 year old Northern Thai body therapy developed by monks. It is a rhythmic  method of tapping using a special wooden hammer and wedge (called a ‘Limb’ and ‘Khone’) combined with Thai acu-points that creates a healing vibration working deeply through the fascia and muscles of the body. It’s totally pain free and incredibly effective in relaxing body and mind, and reducing musculoskeletal pain and tension.

I discovered it during a recent trip to Asia. I travel regularly to continue my professional training but this particular journey to Thailand was a holiday. I came across it by chance, had a treatment and was immediately hooked. I was travelling to Chiang Mai where it originated and so immediately booked myself on a course to learn it.

Because it is also a form of energy therapy, it perfectly complements TCM: acupuncture and tuina massage. What’s particularly interesting and sets it apart from any other therapy I’ve come across is that it appears to work very deeply, much more so than any body therapy I’ve come across. Clients say that they feel it’s continuing to work after the treatment is finished and ‘opens’ the body in a way they’ve not experienced before.

It’s certainly a lovely experience to receive a treatment, the rhythm of the tapping is meditative, even soporific. Muscle tension is reduced without resorting to deep tissue work, yet you feel the muscles almost melt away and it’s altogether a very relaxing experience.

There are only a handful of people in the UK offering this treatment, indeed it isn’t widely available even in Thailand where it comes from. But it’s now here in Crouch End.

Here’s what people have to say about it:

“What a beautiful treatment! Relaxing, soothing and relieving. Made my day!” Nicolette
“Very relaxing – shoulders feel better than they have even after a massage!” Pippa
“a 10 minute blast of bliss!!” Eva
“Absolutely fabulous. I think I’ll have to go back for more!” Claudia
“What a treat, energising and invigorating. Perfect for a new mama with a heavy baby!” Nicky
“just had the most amazing treatment I didn’t even know existed – Tok Sen! I am still vibrating from the wonderful energy it has connected with” Lizzie
“Loved the vibration and the sound as well. I feel like it worked so well on so many levels” Danielle
“warming and relaxing – I feel lighter after just 10 minutes, feels very good.” Paul
Try it for yourself. Alone or with acupuncture and tuina. You won’t regret it.

Living With Chronic Pain – Steph’s Story

When I first met Steph she told me that she was suffering with Ehlers Danlos Syndrome-Hypermobility type, a painful and chronic condition I had never heard of. She also had Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, fibromyalgia, digestive issues & depression which appeared to be connected to the main condition. Although as acupuncturists we treat what we see, and diagnose according to traditional Chinese medicine, I did do some research about the condition and discovered that there was very little information about it, never mind treatments.

Steph was taking anywhere between 4 and 10 ibuprofen tablets every day. Her muscles and tendons were always inflamed and tight. Nevertheless she did a busy, full time job and by restricting her diet would manage her condition, both physical and emotional, as best she could.

Her first treatment was very difficult for her, as it is for many chronic patients. When you’re in pain, even a light touch hurts so she was particularly brave to seek treatment. However, her rapid improvement surprised us both.

Read about what Steph had to say:

The treatment  made all the difference, not only with treating specific trouble areas such as shoulder or lower back pain but in a general sense of wellbeing. I came to treatment in advance of a very busy & stressful time at work in the hope that I would be able to avoid a serious decline in my health during it. I could never have expected such quick and almost miraculous results. I have gone from taking 4-10 ibuprofen tablets a day to taking maybe 4 a week at most. I have even started running; something I didn’t think would be possible I also feel a lot calmer emotionally & mentally and more able to deal with stress.

Rita tailors each session to how I’m feeling that day and what kind of problems I’ve had during the week. She uses tuina, acupuncture and cupping (my favourite) depending on my needs. I feel totally safe with her and never worry that I’ll get hurt, which is something that has happened with massage before.

I’m a very anxious person but Rita makes you instantly comfortable & at ease. I can’t believe how much I laugh during our sessions and how much I look forward to my appointment each week. Seriously, thank you Rita, I cannot thank you enough for how much you have changed my life in the last 4 months! I’m almost unrecognisable.

Stephanie, Walthamstow

UPDATE

I heard from Steph recently, some 4 months after she finished treatment with me. She’s pretty much pain killer free!

I just did a 1 hour 80s aerobics class! I kept up with all of it and although I feel stretched out I am not in worrying pain!!! I couldn’t even have thought about this without you doing your magic at the beginning of the year!