I’ve just started treatment for mental health issues and am wondering how effective acupuncture really is. Not just mental health but for whatever reason.
I would prefer an answer from someone who has received treatment and not “I heard it’s shit so it must be shit” answers.
Thanks in advance.

Not sure how helpful this is but I received acupuncture for a physical injury. I had broken my collar bone and it needed screwing back together.

Rehab in the initial stages was acupuncture. The needles didn’t hurt at all and during the treatment I felt very relaxed and calm. Afterwards my shoulder was noticeably less stiff and had more movement. This carried on for a few weeks until more usual physio techniques could be used.

This is what NHS say

http://www.nhs.uk/conditions/Acupuncture/Pages/Introduction.aspx

I have had it for a lower back issue and I think it’s bunk.

Please define bunk as I’m not “down wi da kids” 😆

Me neither! I thought bunk was distinctly middle-aged. Anyway, I don’t think acupuncture is any use, it’s just a diversion IMVHO 🙂

The pseudo-science behind it is nonsense, so the answer to the question “does it work in the way it’s claimed?” is an emphatic “no.”

As to whether it actually works beyond placebo, I believe the jury’s still out. It’s remarkably difficult to double-blind test, for what should be readily apparent reasons.

My mum used to have it for migraines – went from one every couple of months to one every 2-3 years, have got worse again since she stopped the acupuncture

A physio I used did acupuncture to deal with my IT band problems – really effective way of releasing the tight spots through my hip and thigh, and less painful than sports massage/acupressure.

I’d be happy to try it again, but have no direct experience relating to mental health issues with it

Cougar – not quite correct….

There’s two types of acupuncture – ‘traditional Chinese’ and ‘western medical’.
In reality, they both use similar trigger points but have differing theories of how they work.
It’s a bit like having ‘traditional Chinese paracetamol’ and ‘western paracetamol’ and saying the traditional paracetamol uses chi and force to lower a fever, but western paracetamol uses science and chemicals…!
Also, traditional acupuncture uses a traditional approach to the history – asking medical questions etc etc. the chimes approach feels your pulse and looks at your tongue. Hmm….

Anyway… There is evidence that acupuncture has benefit in certain conditions – low back pain, headaches, and some chronic pain conditions.
This is tested by using ‘real acupuncture’ against ‘sham acupuncture’. You can’t double blind it, but you can blind the patients to it.

So in summary. Homeopathy = tripe with no evidence backing it. Acupuncture = some evidence backing it.

DrP

I don’t know about use for mental health either, but currently having acupuncture for a trapped nerve in the lower neck which was causing me real grief;shooting pains down one arm and unable to sleep, etc. it’s been brilliant!
I think it depends on getting the right practitioner. Mine was recommended through a friend and yes I was sceptical, but right from the first session, it was like witnessing a miracle! It was like peeling away layers of an onion, in that he stripped away the pain in my arm and shoulder. Again not sure about mental health, but otherwise I’m a convert.

As always, go into it with an open heart and mind and find your own way. We create our own healing as much as we do our dis-ease.

It’s your world, your life, your experiences. Be open to possibilities, because some of them may well work for you.

As with all things, only you can make it true or false for you. Trust your process.

Wishing you a speedy recovery

As with all things, only you can make it true or false for you. Trust your process.

What does all that mean 🙄

I think she’s attempting to describe the placebo effect.

i’ve had it many times for lower back pain which occurs every few months, i think due to having a sitting down job once, and a crap chair. anyway, when it goes, it goes with a bang and is extremely painful, the last time it swelled so much that it looked like an extra pair of buttocks above my usual buttocks, most odd looking. the acupuncture always works for me, usually within a couple of hours, and reduces swelling and pain, in a dramatic way. on two occasions i have resorted to diclofenac and codeine from the gp, with no beneficial effects that i could discern. conversely, a friend who also suffers from back pain has visited a different acupuncture practitioner, with no benefits to herself. i dont care if its not scientific, or wether some people thinks its snake oil, it works for me, go for it. i wouldn’t know if it will do anything for mental health issues, we’re completely sane, we think. if you’re in west yorks area i can recommend someone

cougar, if you ever want some, i’ll happily pay for you to visit mine

As with all things, only you can make it true or false for you. Trust your process.

What does all that mean

Exactly what it says 🙂

Our experiences influence our beliefs, as much as our beliefs influence our experiences. Follow your intuition.

She?! I know you’re forbidden fruit now Cougie, but have you got a light please? 😉

So, slack, you got some mates called ‘Bow-legged Betsy’ and ‘Fag-ash Lil’?

Yes, we’re both showing our age….

Oh I see. Woo woo 🙂