Reasons You Might Be Afraid Of Acupuncture, But Shouldn’t Be

Do you suffer from chronic pain?

Have you tried just about everything, but been frustrated by the lack of results?

If so, you should consider acupuncture.

It’s a time-tested, time-honored holistic practice with deep roots in Oriental medicine.

Unfortunately, there are a lot of skeptics in the West, and this doubt is the leading reason people are afraid of trying it.

They’re not afraid of acupuncture, per se, but that they’ll spend the time and money to try it and it won’t work. It won’t have the desired effect and solve whatever problem they’re having.

That’s completely understandable, but the reality is that acupuncture has a long and proven track record and is capable of treating a wide variety of conditions, including many that seem to stubbornly resist conventional treatment methodologies.

The second biggest reason people cite for being afraid to give acupuncture a try is a fear of needles.

It’s a common fear, but in the case of acupuncture, a mostly misguided one. The reason?

Although needles are involved, of course, acupuncture needles are so thin that you barely feel them as they go in. The results aren’t instantaneous, but you’ll be impressed at how fast it will make you start feeling better.

Aside from these, there are two other reasons people cite as to why they’re reluctant to give it a try.

The first is cost, and it’s true – acupuncture is fairly expensive as treatments go. There just aren’t many practitioners in most parts of the country, which, of course, leads to the second concern.

There may not be an acupuncturist in your area, which means you may have to travel to have it done – that’s time and expense.

These last two aren’t fears, of course, but they are valid concerns.

Nonetheless, if you’ve tried just about everything else, don’t you owe it to yourself to see if this is the treatment you’ve been searching for?

Watch Out For These Common Injuries When Running

Are you a runner?

If so, then you should know two things. First, it is a great way to get exercise, but second, it can be pretty punishing. Few forms of exercise are harder on your body. In fact, studies have shown that runners’ bodies see about three times the wear and tear than people who participate in most other sports activities.

Did you know that your feet contain a quarter of the bones in your body? They do! And your knees bear the largest percentage of your body’s weight. Given that, it’s no surprise that runners are at risk of more than their fair share of injuries related to their sport of choice.

Mostly, it comes down to the repetitive motion. When your feet hit the pavement, no matter how good your shoes are, you’re putting a tremendous amount of pressure on your feet, and those shockwaves travel to your knees.

It’s worse if you’re running to get into shape, because every ten pounds overweight you are is magnified with every step. It’s as though you’re carrying an extra thirty or forty pounds!

In addition to that, running tends to overdevelop certain muscle groups, which can lead to a variety of injuries as your less developed muscles simply can’t cope with the strain like your overdeveloped ones. The most common injuries you’re likely to face are these:

• Overpronation – This is the single most common running-related injury, and is basically a cramping of the inner knee.
• Oversupination – The second most common running-related injury is essentially the same as the first, but is centered on the outer knee.
• Patellar Tendon Issues – The action of running places enormous stress on the patellar tendon, which can cause it to tear (microscopically) and swell, resulting in tremendous pain until you give it time to heal
• And IT Band Syndrome – The IT band is a structure on the outside of your upper leg that travels from the illium to the outside of the knee. The pain can be excruciating.

There are others, but these are the big four. If you feel anything other than the usual “sore muscles” after a run, stop immediately and see your doctor. If you try to run through the pain, you could make matters much worse.

Tingling And Numbness Are Signs To Get Checked Out

Do you occasionally get the tingles?

We’re not talking about the good tingles, but rather, those that seem to hit you at odd times of the day, usually after you’ve been sitting in the same position for a bit too long, or performing a repetitive motion for an extended period.

Maybe you’ve had them off and on for months and you kept hoping they’d go away on their own. Unfortunately, that’s probably not the case.

Most commonly, people experience these sensations in their hands and feet, but although that’s where the sensation arises, that’s almost never the source of the problem. It is a problem.

The source is usually in your spine, and most commonly in the vertebrae of your neck.

There are a number of nerve clusters that originate here and spread out to your extremities.

If you’re feeling periodic tingling, it could be a sign that you’ve got spinal disc compression or some related issue. It’s important that you take action immediately, because it could be a sign of bigger problems to come.

If left unchecked, those tingles, which start out as little more than a minor annoyance, could lead to chronic pain, or even loss of functionality.

That’s not something you want to ignore or leave to chance. If you’re experiencing periodic tingles, make an appointment with your chiropractor right away.

A simple examination can identify the root cause.

From there, you’re just a few short steps from developing a treatment plan that’s custom-tailored to your needs. Generally, this will involve some combination of gentle spinal adjustment coupled with regular, low-intensity stretching exercises of the affected areas.

The other aspect of treatment is, of course, identifying and correcting the behavior that led to the problem to begin with. Again, your chiropractor can help! The most important thing is to take action before the problem gets worse!

You Don’t Need To Play Tennis To Get Tennis Elbow

you-dontLateral epicondylitis is the technical term for the condition more commonly referred to as “Tennis Elbow.” It can certainly develop in tennis players and those who participate regularly in other racquet-related sports. However, the reality is that regular people who perform repetitive movements with their fingers and forearms suffer from the condition far more frequently.

Any time you perform repetitive motions with your fingers, wrist and forearms, you put stress on the muscles that run from your fingers to the connective tissue at your elbow. Over time, these motions can result in tiny tears, which can lead to inflammation and swelling.

This, in turn, makes continued performance of those motions increasingly painful. If left untreated, it can cause permanent damage, making it impossible to perform certain actions at all.

There’s good news, though. The condition is easily treatable and can be reversed, often with just a few treatments by your chiropractor.
Treatment centers around solving three key problems associated with the condition:

• Relieving the swelling around the elbow by reversing the inflammation
• Breaking up any scar tissue that may have formed or be forming in the soft tissue in and around the elbow
• And returning your forearm to normal function

It’s important to remember that although Tennis Elbow can be treated quickly and easily, it is a condition that’s generally slow to develop. It’s not something you can get after a single hard day playing tennis, or a week spent typing nonstop, but over time, these repetitive motions can cause enough damage that it begins to manifest in the form of physical symptoms.

If you begin experiencing a sharp pain in your elbow and you think it might be Tennis Elbow, your best bet is to make an appointment to see your chiropractor right away. You do not have to suffer needlessly!