I have been a fan of acupuncture ever since one of the clinics I work at often, provided acupuncture for free to its patients. I have seen patients find relief from their illnesses through acupuncture. Acupuncture had helped relieve their chronic headaches, anxiety, back pain, neuropathy, and even helped them quit smoking.
Ever since I had my 3rd covid shot (2nd booster) more than 2 years ago, I have been experiencing chronic headaches. These headaches are a form of occipital neuralgia. They occur every day but only last about 20 minutes. It is a sharp pulsating sensation to the left base of my head.
While on my current sabbatical in Spain, I decided to try acupuncture for my headaches. I had the free time to go for weekly sessions, knowing that it can take at least 6 sessions for significant improvement. Acupuncture is also notably cheaper in Spain than in the USA. In the USA, acupuncture is at least $100/session depending on the area. In Spain, acupuncture is $65/session.
I had briefly tried acupuncture before at work when I had pulled a muscle and it did help. This time in Spain, I had an authentic Chinese experience. The acupuncturist first massaged my body to drain the lymphatic system. Then she massaged by neck muscles. And then she placed needles throughout my body. I didn’t feel the insertion of the needles but sometimes depending on where it was inserted it would trigger a nerve that caused pain in my hand or jaw so I had to tell her and she adjusted the needle.
Lying on my back, she put needles in my abdomen, legs, feet, and scalp. She left them in for 20 minutes. Then I turned on my stomach, and she put needles in my neck, back, and arms. You can feel the nerve pathways communicating, even after the needles are removed, there is often a leftover tingling sensation for another hour.
After the first treatment, I already noticed much improvement. I stopped having the headaches daily. I only had the headache once that week after the acupuncture session, and it only lasted about 5 minutes.
I continued going to acupuncture once a week for 6 weeks total. I stopped having the headaches so I knew that the acupuncture worked. I am happy I found a natural way to treat the headaches instead of having to take medication or do an invasive procedure. I wanted to share my personal experience with acupuncture so you can try it for yourself or recommend it to patients.
