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Needles and pins way to beat back pain
BEING an office-based worker with a penchant for slouching, I sometimes suffer from minor bouts of back pain caused by bad posture.
However, it's not just us desk jockeys who are prone to spinal discomfort, as the ailment affects one in three adults in Britain. That adds up to an awful lot of days off work.
In response to the huge drain it has on the resources of the country, the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (Nice) revealed last month that it has given the go-ahead to alternative treatments for backache sufferers.
These will include patients being able to visit an osteopath, chiropractor, physiotherapist or acupuncturist for up to nine sessions, which will all be paid for by the NHS.
Acupuncture's adoption by the mainstream medical community is perhaps the most surprising, as for many years it was derided as 'quack' medicine with too much emphasis on oriental mysticism and not enough on actual results.
This though looks all set to change.
To get an idea of what the millenia-old Chinese medicine entails, I went to the Westoe Practice, in Elizabeth Street, South Shields, for a session with Dr Ye Zhao, who works there every Wednesday, in addition to her residency at the Kang Da Clinic for Natural Health Care in Gosforth, Newcastle.
A licensed acupuncturist in Britain for eight years – before that she practised traditional medicine in her native China for 15 years – she is probably one of the most experienced practitioners in North East England.
In the small first floor treatment room, with its treatment bench and muscle charts, she first took me through a lifestyle and diet questionnaire which all new patients at the practice go through.
Did I smoke? Yes. Did I drink tea? Yes, copious amounts of it – milky.
Did I exercise? Yes, occasionally, begrudgingly. Did I drink alcohol? Occasionally, but being a lightweight, not too much. How was my tongue? Furry. Any back pain? The occasional twinge at the bottom of my spine, but nothing too bad.
Enlightened as to my general health, Dr Zhao explained the sort of clientele she treats: "Various people come in for stress and backache.
Old people come in for arthritis and digestive problems."
"Some young people come in for skin problems such as psoriasis and eczema which can get worse with stress. Some women come in for period pain and menopausal syndrome."
Taking me through a chart of the some 200 acu-points in the body and their associated 'meridian lines', she assured me most people feel no pain from the procedure.
"Most people are OK with acupuncture," she said. "Maybe before they are a little tense, but once they have it they feel more comfortable and relaxed."
Not being particularly scared of needles, the shirt came off and I was ready for my first needle. But acupuncture isn't something you rush.
To get my back prepared she first treated me to a lower back massage (the area she would be treating) with herbal oil. Apparently it's good for arthritis, but even if you don't have that, get some of this stuff.
It's wonderful.
Suitably relaxed, with a deft flick of her fingers she inserted the first of the disposable needles near the bottom of my back.
It's not painful, but the dull sensation is unlike anything you've probably felt before – like pleasurable pins and needles (excuse the pun).
When the needles are rotated in the skin, the tingly feeling actually made me smile. It's that nice.
Though, Dr Zhao would probably put up to 20 needles in a target area, and leave them there for anything up to half an hour, sadly time was pressing, so I turned on to my front.
"Most problems are treated once a week, but chronic ones perhaps twice a week with the needles being left in longer," she said.
The needle in my chest to treat lung ailments and chest conditions didn't feel half as pleasant as those in my back. Perhaps because I could see it stuck there.
When asked if its possible to do this at home, Dr Zhao laughed. "No. That's not a good idea."
Perhaps the weirdest needle target is the top of my head (or bald spot), which is related to organ function and balance.
Though I couldn't really feel it, when you touch it, a needle in the top of your head does feel very odd.
Suitably blissed out by the whole experience, with my back feeling better than it has for years, I asked Dr Zhao if she thought it a good idea for patients to get acupuncture on the NHS.
"I think, from my experience, acupuncture is good for back pain. They won't need to take pain killers which have some side effects."
"If people have acupuncture in the early stages it can reduce the amount of treatments needed and avoid operations so saving money for the NHS."
When asked how I'd been as a patient, Dr Zhao replied: "I think for your first time you were good."
I'll be back.
To book an appointment to see Dr Zhao at the Westoe Practice, call 425 0101.
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Weather for South Shields
Thursday 24 May 2012
Today
Sunny spells
Temperature: 9 C to 20 C
Wind Speed: 9 mph
Wind direction: North east
Tomorrow
Sunny
Temperature: 8 C to 19 C
Wind Speed: 10 mph
Wind direction: East
