{"id":3177,"date":"2011-11-07T16:14:56","date_gmt":"2011-11-07T23:14:56","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.miridiatech.com\/news\/?p=3177"},"modified":"2018-05-23T06:13:20","modified_gmt":"2018-05-23T12:13:20","slug":"im-not-afraid-are-you","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.miridiatech.com\/news\/2011\/11\/im-not-afraid-are-you\/","title":{"rendered":"I’m not afraid, are you?"},"content":{"rendered":"

I can remember one particular day in college, when I was walking down the hall to needling class. Everyone was quiet. This was the day we had all been dreading since day one. Inevitably we would have to learn to needle Ren 1 (CV 1) and Du 1 (GV 1). Not only did we have to needle one of our fellow students, we also had to be needled ourselves. You couldn’t pass the class unless you participated.<\/p>\n

I’ll never forget the trepidation that I experienced before class that day. But more importantly, I’ll never forget the conversations that we all had after class. Of course, we were all relieved that the “dreaded day” was over, but we were just as surprised to find out two important things. First, we realized that needling Ren 1 and Du 1 was not as invasive as we thought it would be. Everyone was kept very modest. Finally, we learned that the needle was not painful. In fact, it felt just like any other needle in the body.<\/p>\n

There have been multiple occasions where I have had the need to use these acupuncture points. I am grateful that I was forced to learn them, because otherwise, I am sure that I would have left school knowing that they existed, but never using them because of the fear of their awkward locations.<\/p>\n

A week ago I had an overweight 57-year-old male patient who slid on his tailbone down a flight of stairs. Once he reached the bottom, he went into immediate muscle spasm which caused him to be hospitalized for two days. Extreme doses of pain medication and muscle relaxants did not stop the muscles in his back from contracting. Once the doctors ruled out any possibility of a fracture, herniation or a ruptured organ, I was given permission to treat him with acupuncture. I treated him 3 times. In fact, the first treatment was in his hospital bed.<\/p>\n

The doctors told him that it could take a month or more<\/span> before he could expect to find relief with this type of strain. They sent him home from the hospital with a walker and instructions to take his muscle relaxants and pain relievers every four hours as needed for pain until he was better–and they gave him a 30 day supply!<\/p>\n

The first two acupuncture treatments brought very little relief. Treatment included:<\/h4>\n