Anyone tried Dry Needling or Acupuncture for Pain or Neuropathy?

Posted by judypall @judypall, Mar 22, 2019

Has anyone had any luck with either dry needling or acupuncture? I have tried each of them one time. But made my feet tingle more. The PT who was administering the dry needling said that it goes through a cycle of pain to get better. I wasn’t too sure on that. Anyone?

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@colleenyoung

Hi @kkirkum, welcome.
I moved your post to this discussion:
- Has anyone tried Dry Needling or Acupuncture for Pain, Neuropathy? https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/dry-needling-or-acupuncture/

I did this so you can connect with others like @cookiepic @debkl @jenniferhunter @jetsetter and others. I encourage you to click the link and read through the helpful comments.

@kkirkum, I noticed you posted to the Polymyalgia Rheumatica (PMR) group. Do you also have PMR?

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Yes, on various occasions, my doctor of PT uses dry needling to alleviate specific pain.
It's minimally invasive, rather painless, and has been effective. We can tell when she has targeted the spot.
I don't receive dry needling for anything chronic, such as fibromyalgia or neuropathy.
I've received the procedure about 7 times in the last 5 years. Each time it was because of a specific injury: left shoulder, right scapula, & left lower back. Once on my right upper arm. She also used Kinesthetic taping for that injury and "cleaned it up" with the DN.
Dry needling twice for an injury due to a fall, as opposed to 8 weeks of chiropractic therapy 3 times a week. ..
For ME, I have found that PT is more effective than going to a chiropractor or having to take pain meds. DN 2 thumbs up

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I have. It hurt like crazy. I finally made them stop. They said that it shouldn’t hurt but it sure did.

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@jemock

I have. It hurt like crazy. I finally made them stop. They said that it shouldn’t hurt but it sure did.

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I’ve had acupuncture by several different practitioners. One was the chinese medicine school in Austin, Tx. I had very intense energy from that session. Several times I also went to Dr. Rey Jimenez in Austin who was an anesthesiologist who learned acupuncture in China while on an Ambassadorship to teach western medicine. Dr. Jimenez says if you’re healthy it usually just gives you energy. When you have ailments it can be slightly painful as you're releasing bad Chi. The first times he did it on me some points bled a tad when he twisted the needle and was very painful. Others, I barely felt.
I did learn many years later after decades of chiropractic adjustments, massage therapy, Tai Chi, acupuncture and even seeing a spiritualist that the pain was from SI join instability which cannot be healed by any of those methods. After two months of PT the pain was alleviated and never came back. However, the other hip started hurting a few months later and may even need replacement will know after I go to the ortho.
Sometimes it’s hard to know whether what you’re doing is having any effect. You might also try a different practitioner.

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@jemock

I have. It hurt like crazy. I finally made them stop. They said that it shouldn’t hurt but it sure did.

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Acupuncture did not work for me. After the second treatment he was kind enough to tell me that he did not think it would work for me. It should not hurt though. My treatment didn’t.

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Thank you for letting us know. I had been thinking of acupuncture for my peripheral neuropathy.

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I tried dry needling a few years ago after P.T. wasn't helping all that much with back issues. The D.N. helped tremendously and in most instances, I began feeling better the next day. It's important to drink plenty of water after the treatment. Sometimes tylenol is needed for a day...not always though. My experience anyway. Now have a pulled muscle in neck/shoulder region and just can't get it under control myself so will be getting a referral from Spine/Pain Specialist to get a DN treatment. Wish luck on that. Everyone is different as is their response to treatments.

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@scgraham

I went through 3 months of PT and astym and dry needling were used in the last month. They reduced my pain about 10-15 % and was thankful for that. I heard other patients at the clinic say that dry needling completely cured their hip bursitis. I do not plan to do more PT unless there is a new technique the therapist can try (insurance calling the shots). I am desperate to find anything that might help.

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A physical therapist used Asutra Melt Pain Away on my feet to ease the pain from neuropathy. It helped. I ordered it and use it for my hip pain from bursitis, for knee pain and for lower back pain and for my feet. It is natural, pure, topical grade magnesium with capsaicin body butter. It works quickly and is a temporary aid that helps me to not have to take Tylenol Arthritis or Ibuprofen so often. I deal with stage 3 neuropathy. I have osteo-arthritis in most joints and in varying degree along my spine as well as stenos. So, I go for anything natural.

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I met for the first time with a great Neurologist at MGH. He said that because my feet and calf numbness were not due to Diabedes, Chemo or Alcoholism that the Neuropathy may heal in time. He Recommended Acupuncture and message. Has anyone found Acupuncture to be very helpful?

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@marksmom

I met for the first time with a great Neurologist at MGH. He said that because my feet and calf numbness were not due to Diabedes, Chemo or Alcoholism that the Neuropathy may heal in time. He Recommended Acupuncture and message. Has anyone found Acupuncture to be very helpful?

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Marksmom, I'm encouragd to hear that your neurologist is considering complementary therapies like acupuncture and massage for neuropathy.

I moved your question about acupuncture to this discussion that @judypall started a while back and has received loads of comments. See
- Anyone tried Dry Needling or Acupuncture for Pain or Neuropathy? https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/dry-needling-or-acupuncture/

Several members like @scgraham @greenacres @momalin @ken82 @hypotemusea @teslachan @jetsetter @jack57 @carlossierra1287 @runnergirl @pogo and many more share their experiences. Some found relief while others didn't. Everyone is different of course. 🙂

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@colleenyoung

Marksmom, I'm encouragd to hear that your neurologist is considering complementary therapies like acupuncture and massage for neuropathy.

I moved your question about acupuncture to this discussion that @judypall started a while back and has received loads of comments. See
- Anyone tried Dry Needling or Acupuncture for Pain or Neuropathy? https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/dry-needling-or-acupuncture/

Several members like @scgraham @greenacres @momalin @ken82 @hypotemusea @teslachan @jetsetter @jack57 @carlossierra1287 @runnergirl @pogo and many more share their experiences. Some found relief while others didn't. Everyone is different of course. 🙂

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@marksmom Dry needling worked great for me for my nerve pain from sciatica. I had the pain in my right buttocks, right hamstrick, outside of both shins, and the bottom of both feet. He PT dry needled in my buttocks region where he believe the S1 nerve pain originated from. It took about an hour and was very painful but IT WORKED. At least for a couple of months and it was not that expensive. He since moved on and I have not been able to find another PT with his level of skill, unfortunately.

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