Injury and Pain Management Therapies

      Most of us know to go see a doctor when you have and injury or excessive pain, but doctors aren't always the only people we go to for relief. Non-traditional and alternative therapies for injury and pain relief and becoming more and more popular these days in America. So, what do you choose? Massage, acupuncture or acupressure, chiropractic, ART or graston, cupping, physical therapy? I'm sure there are more options out there, but these are just some therapies that I know of and that I've tried.
     Yes, I've tried them all in addition to seeking help from traditional doctors. So, what works? Well, they all do, at least to some extent. I struggle mainly with muscular problems like excessive soreness, stiffness and improper recruitment patterns that can lead to imbalances in function. A few times in my life, this has led to overuse injuries like elbow tendonitis and even a nerve entrapment. Mostly, it's just aches and pains that accompany an active lifestyle.
     So, a few months ago I started having a lot of pain along my back erector muscles on my left side and then began experiencing fatigue and what felt to me like anxiety attacks. I decided after I took some rest and nothing changed to go see my chiropractor and also to go see an acupuncturist whom I had met a few weeks earlier. My chiropractor told me that my mitochondria was all out of whack and that I needed to load up magnesium and vitamin C. The acupuncturist also thought I was all messed up and suggested that I try cupping with her. I had never done it before and don't really buy into it too much, but I was willing to try anything.
      Cupping is when the practitioner places a glass cup on your skin and then sucks all the air out of the cup with a suction pump to presumably draw toxins from your body to the surface to aid in the body's natural elimination of said toxins. So, I asked if it hurt, she told me it shouldn't. I asked if I'd be bruised from it, she told me that the more toxins that I need to flush out, the more colored the cupped areas will get. The darker the color, the more toxins in your body that need to come out. OK, I agreed to try cupping. Why not?
      Here's what my back looked like after that one and only cupping session that I endured.

Each area that was cupped was not only discolored, but bruised and swollen.
Later, I told the acupuncturist how bruised I was and she proceeded to tell me that it wasn't a bruise, but toxins. So sorry, but I know a bruise when I see and feel one even if I am so full of toxins. Plus, the cupping hurt really badly and for those of you that know me, know my tolerance for pain is pretty high.
     Needless to say, I won't be cupping again. And though it may not be for me, it may be great for someone else and that's good.
It's important to try things and find which of all the multitudes of choices we have in maintaining good health are right for us. For me, deep tissue massage, chiropractic and good old fashioned rest work best for me. Trust your instincts and if something you try doesn't feel right, like me with the cupping, don't let anyone try to convince you otherwise. But, also don't hesitate to try something new and different and more importantly don't ignore pain and discomfort in your body. Take care of it so that you can get back to the things you love to do. Pain shouldn't be an option, ever!