Has Anyone Tried Acupuncture Or/and Cupping ?

[Lynnel]

I'm really interested in those things and I'd like some feedback from people who got the chance to practice it.

[Olly Larsen]

Hi Lynnel, I do acupuncture and/or cupping every week. My advice is to become friends with a physiotherapist that does both as I am. I am very lucky to have mine as he is training me as well. 

Acupuncture. Extremely effective at releasing trigger points. Google them if you dont know what they are. They can be release bvia pressure which is painful but works. Acupuncture works a lot quicker. My muscles twitch and spasm when they release. But feel great afterwards as the trigger points have released and the muscle is fully functional again. This allows proper flow of Qi and proper movement. 

Cupping. This is used for myofacial decompression (release of the connective tissue between the muscles). This plays a big part in the free movement of Qi (energy.... whatever you want to call it). The reason this tissue tightens up can be decribed as follows: Ill give you an example.

- So you sit at a computer all day and your shoulders round forward. Neither of your pectoralis major or minor are getting stretched fully as you spend so long with rounded shoulders. (The opposite would be if you spent all day with you hands behind your head, the pecs would be constantly stretched and the shoulder external rotators would never be stretched). So you sit at your desk all day and the pec muscles say "right, you dont need that full range of motion any more" so they seize up in the "trigger point" spot. You can feel a trigger point spot easily if you know where one is. They are painful to push on. So once the point seizes up, the connective tissue does the same. The thing is though that connective tissue runs ina  huge network from feet to the head, so if you have a locked up trigger point on the underside of you foot, you can get headaches!! And some with other areas, you can experience stomach pains, back pain, anything! Thats why Chinese medicine says that there are active points on the feet and hands that effect the organs...... Right so you have a locked up pec and now your shoulders are sore, posture is bad, etc etc. Acupuncture will release the trigger point so the muscle will go back to normal, then you NEED to release the myofasia (connective tissue) This is what cupping is for! Yin yoga also does the same thing, so will lying on an acupressure mat like the Shakti Mat (or what was originally the bed of nails!!!) Cupping is faster but leaves big suction bruises.

So this solves the problem HOWEVER, as a trainee physiotherapist i am obliged to tell you that the problem will return unless you stop sitting at a computer hunching your shoulders OR you counter the action by stretching them often and doing counter exercises.

THE LESSON: Keep good posture and a functional body (I recommend lifting, squats, deadlifts, bench, pressups, all the major lifts, so that you keep good posture. Alternatively you can live like a slouchy lazy bum and go and get acupuncture and cupping every other day but that isn't exactly ideal. YOGA is fantastic for bodily function. I lift 5x a week at night and yoga 5x in the mornings and use acupuncture and cupping for minor injuries and imbalances.

I hope this helped!!!

Olly

[selva]

Yes, I have taken acupuncture treatment for once a week every month.I had stomach problems before,after this treatment i feel better.My body gets energy and i feel active.

[Tom213]

Back in 1998 I was in a juvenile substance abuse treatment program where one of the staff was training in acupuncture. She said what she was studying was generally for relaxation or that it could be used to quit smoking and the like. She asked for guinea pigs and I was the only one to volunteer. She had me sit in a conference room with no windows where it could be completely dark and put on a cd with thunderstorms. She placed 5 needles in both of my ears and left the room for 30 minutes. It was the most relaxed I've ever been in my entire life, lol. At one point I couldn't feel the chair I was in and felt like I was just hovering in mid-air. The group itself met once a week and I had this done probably 4-5 times. I noticed that the only time the insertion of the pins was painful was when I was particularly stressed that day. As long as you trust the credentials of the person doing the treatment I would recommend giving it a try. At the very least it's a free vacation from ego and mind because I don't remember having a single thought during any of it.