Tell me about acupuncture

[manowar821]

It's kind of along the same lines as massage and pressing on pressure points.

Don't let the trolls bother you, it's not fake or nonsense, we simply don't understand exactly why it helps relieve stress and pain, yet. There are some eastern practices that actually do help heal, and we don't know why, yet. There are symptoms that rule it out as a simple placebo effect, too. The east has had a long standing passion for the human body and mind, so they've been trying different outside-the-box techniques for ages longer than the west. It's no surprise to me that they figured something cool out before we did.

This is coming from a hardcore atheist. I don't like BS, and acupuncture is not BS. (I had it done once, I was a skeptic but it actually felt amazing. I have stress issues, so my muscles get wound up.)

 

[MercenaryForHire]

Originally posted by: manowar821
It's kind of along the same lines as massage and pressing on pressure points.

Massage therapy is a reliable way to mitigate muscle pain and other sports injuries. (It's also great foreplay.) Pressure points are just areas on the human body more sensitive than others - that's why if I give you a shot in the gut, it's not going to hurt nearly as much as if I give you the Vulcan Neck Pinch with equal force.

- M4H

 

[jhayx7]

Originally posted by: MercenaryForHire

Originally posted by: manowar821
It's kind of along the same lines as massage and pressing on pressure points.

Massage therapy is a reliable way to mitigate muscle pain and other sports injuries. (It's also great foreplay.) Pressure points are just areas on the human body more sensitive than others - that's why if I give you a shot in the gut, it's not going to hurt nearly as much as if I give you the Vulcan Neck Pinch with equal force.

- M4H

Speaking of, I have a friend who is a MT, she helped me out with some hip problems and I couldn't figure out if I needed to pay her when she was finished or not 😉

 

[manowar821]

Originally posted by: MercenaryForHire

Originally posted by: manowar821
It's kind of along the same lines as massage and pressing on pressure points.

Massage therapy is a reliable way to mitigate muscle pain and other sports injuries. (It's also great foreplay.) Pressure points are just areas on the human body more sensitive than others - that's why if I give you a shot in the gut, it's not going to hurt nearly as much as if I give you the Vulcan Neck Pinch with equal force.

- M4H

Emphasis added.

 

[glutenberg]

Originally posted by: MercenaryForHire

Originally posted by: manowar821
It's kind of along the same lines as massage and pressing on pressure points.

Massage therapy is a reliable way to mitigate muscle pain and other sports injuries. (It's also great foreplay.) Pressure points are just areas on the human body more sensitive than others - that's why if I give you a shot in the gut, it's not going to hurt nearly as much as if I give you the Vulcan Neck Pinch with equal force.

- M4H

The strange thing about pressure points is that although they may be more sensitive to pressure they are also less sensitive to pain. It's hard to explain other than from experience. If I get pinned in a normal point on my body, it stings pretty badly. Sometimes if they miss the pressure point, they may touch a nerve (which is probably one of the most awkward feelings I've ever experienced) which isn't so much painful as shocking. And then if they precisely hit the pressure point, there's absolutely no pricking pain, no pinning pain in the muscle, pretty much no pain. The only thing you feel at that point is pressure as if there's air building up at that point. It's interesting stuff.

 

[Accipiter22]

Massage is even just a placebo effect. No one's ever been able to document a single tangible benefit of getting it done. That, Accupuncture, yoga, all b..s. Doesn't mean they don't feel good though

 

[manowar821]

Originally posted by: Accipiter22
Massage is even just a placebo effect. No one's ever been able to document a single tangible benefit of getting it done. That, Accupuncture, yoga, all b..s. Doesn't mean they don't feel good though

You're completely wrong. Muscles create an acid when they work and grow. That build up of acid is sometimes hard pressed to be removed by the body naturally, be it because of stress or injury. This causes pain and discomfort, which leads to more tensing up of the muscles. Massaging loosens the muscles and helps move the acid about so that it can be removed more quickly and efficiently by the body, allowing the pain to subside considerably.

 

[MercenaryForHire]

Originally posted by: jhayx7
Speaking of, I have a friend who is a MT, she helped me out with some hip problems and I couldn't figure out if I needed to pay her when she was finished or not 😉

Oh, man. A friend of mine was going into physio, she had to take a few massage courses for her degree, and needed a guinea pig. Good times, good times. (No, no happy endings or anything. Friends, not lovers.) 😀

- M4H

 

[jhayx7]

Originally posted by: Accipiter22
Massage is even just a placebo effect. No one's ever been able to document a single tangible benefit of getting it done. That, Accupuncture, yoga, all b..s. Doesn't mean they don't feel good though

So I guess it was just a strange alignment of the stars that fixed my neck problems? After seing a doctor and neurologist, neither could fix my problem. Accupuncture did.

 

[manowar821]

Originally posted by: MercenaryForHire

Originally posted by: jhayx7
Speaking of, I have a friend who is a MT, she helped me out with some hip problems and I couldn't figure out if I needed to pay her when she was finished or not 😉

Oh, man. A friend of mine was going into physio, she had to take a few massage courses for her degree, and needed a guinea pig. Good times, good times. (No, no happy endings or anything. Friends, not lovers.) 😀

- M4H

Massages from (female) friends are awesome...

 

[Chryso]

I was able to use it to defeat evil balloons.

 

[MercenaryForHire]

Originally posted by: manowar821
Massages from (female) friends are awesome...

Especially from more than one.

At the same time.

Aww yeah.

- M4H

 

[silverpig]

A guy I work with is married to a Dr.TCM (doctor of traditional chinese medicine). I tutored her in math for a little while, and in partial exchange I got some free sessions with her. Now, I don't really have anything wrong with me other than the occasional ache and pain from being active, or maybe a cold now and again, so I can't comment on how well it fixes chronic problems, but I can say a few things.

1. You do feel pretty damn good walking out of the place. Laying there with a hundred needles in you seems to tighten up your skin. The following herb burning on your back and herbal oil massage really loosen you up, and you walk out of there feeling like a million bucks. It's also great if you're sore from being active.

2. It helps with colds. No really. I had a terrible cold one time and felt pretty bad for at least a week. I went in to see her, and felt about 80% better by the time I left. My cold did return to about 50% strength the next day but died off quickly after that. Whether my cold would have died out the next day or not by itself I can't say, but it definitely helped me that day.

3. Does putting some needles in your shoulders really help remove stagnant blood in your kidneys? I dunno, but it feels kinda cool anyways.

4. The herbal teas and medicines and stuff seem to sort of work. Most of them taste pretty good, and smell nice, but some are terrible.

5. My mom got in a car accident 15 years ago or so and her back/neck have been hurting ever since. She also had lung surgery a few years ago and had stiffness associated with that. I used some of my credit towards giving her some time and she says the stiffness from the surgery is gone, and her neck/back feel much better. So yeah, good for her.


My conclusions as a skeptic who gave it a shot for a while cause it was "free": Maybe it doesn't do all that it says, maybe it doesn't cure a lot of things it says, and I certainly wouldn't rely on herbs to cure me of TB, but it does have some positive effect, it can relieve some things for sure, and you do walk out of there feeling great.

 

[olds]

I had about 20 sessions for low back pain. It did zip/nada/null.