Have you tried acupuncture?

I have chronic back and neck pain (sitting office work) and my doctor suggest me acupuncture. But I hate needles. What should I do?

Thanks everyone in advance.

The needles they use are nothing like needles used for an injection. They are far thinner as there doesn't need to be a tunnel inside it to send the fluid through.

You sound like you need a chiro mate.... 

i have had acupuncture many times over the years and think it is great, it helps relax the muscles which is one of the problems you get with back pain. i have had needles in my face, back and neck and i believe it helped me heaps. i guess it may not work for everyone but for me it works.

There's no evidence that accupuncture works. You need to see if you can get a standing / sitting desk at work and do some back exercises.

I prefer Osteo

There's also no evidence that chiro works either.

When I was in New Zealand at my grandma's I had such experience. I always had a poor blood circulation so I booked a session in Eden Physio here. I was scared of all these needles but it was painless. Honestly, the feelings were great, I felt full of energy. You don't have to worry.

Homeopathic remedies all the way.

Just rub some Horny goat weed on it

That only works if you’re facing north and it’s a full moon. 

No, no, no, we are in the Southern Hemisphere, so you have to face south.

Not strictly true. There's evidence that it's better than a placebo for some conditions but it's hard to conduct decent trials because of the difficulty in doing "placebo" needling. Even if it is only as good as a placebo or its effects aren't great enough to be clinically significant at a population level, there's no harm in an individual trying it and seeing if it works for them. If you're in pain and something stops you being in pain who gives a shark whether it's a placebo effect or not "clinically significant"?

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/m/pubmed/12184353/

I've had a physio do it a few times for a tight IT band while rehabbing from a serious knee injury. Seemed to help me , placebo or not.

Had on going issues with my lower back. I've had Acupuncture (you barely notice the needles tbf), Chiropractic and Physio.

If you want quick pain relief/repair, go to a Chiropractor. Cracking your back in well help the initial pain, but not address it fully long term. To work on it, I recommend going to a Chiropractor who does low impact Chiropractic. Basically they tap your nerves and this forces your spine to adjust itself (which in theory will fix it long term). Make an ACC claim (impact is the key) and this should help with the overall cost.

Physio I found was a waste of time, I could just google exercises online. 

Acupuncture releases some tension which helps, but doesn't address the underlying issue. 

Recently bought my own chair for work and the issues have dramatically decreased. Found out that the chairs we were sitting in are designed for 4-6hrs - I wasn't even aware that was a thing for chairs. I could've saved myself a lot of money and pain if I had bought a new chair earlier. 

Hope this helps. 

<TL;DR> Get a decent physio, get out of the office and do some exercise.

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I used a chiropractor for neck pain once as nothing else appeared to work and the instant relief was amazing. But it didn't last long and the answer was to not sit in a chair for 10 hours a day, but to get up and walk around every hour with a few basic stretches.

I had acupuncture for pneumonia. The hospitalised, off work for three months and then six months part time kind not the 'I had a cough and the doctor gave me some pills and I was fine in a week' kind. I went for six weeks and all I got from it was a 20 minute kip three times a week in the afternoon.

Now for the physio part. About 10 years ago I snapped my ACL, a complete grade 3 tear which at the time it was diagnosed as a dislocated knee cap. I spent three years with a physio, my knee collapsing every 6-8 months and having to start from scratch. She didn't question the diagnosis at all.

Eventually I went to a specialist who diagnosed the ACL tear in five minutes and I was booked for surgery immediately. The surgeon took care of the ACL as well as two meniscus tears and three cartilage tears. Stupidly I went back to the same physio. The rehab was incredibly slow and 12 months later I gave up being fed up with being in pain every day.

About 18 months ago I tore the meniscus in the same knee. Whilst waiting for the surgery the physio I was seeing had me doing exercises which made it worse. Surgery eventually came and went and I found another physio who my wife had been to for a shoulder injury. He has been fantastic. Took my rehab back to the absolute basics of just walking and five squats three times a week. Yep, just five. But now I'm doing single leg squats and am not far from running.

The knee will never be perfect but for the first time in 10 years I'm not in pain every day. I can climb stairs two at a time and can walk for more than ten minutes without having to stop. I'm seriously thinking of playing football again next year at the age of 47.

Yeah, unfortunately medical professionals are just people, they diagnose and treat based on their own experience.

I had a problem that I'd been dealing with for years and had all sorts of tests and seen specialists and no one knew anything then I saw a new gp and he diagnosed it within seconds.

They are, but if I've learned one thing with the injuries I've had it's to question everyone if you are not getting better.

Acupuncture History. The theory and practice of acupuncture originated in China. It was first mentioned and recorded in documents dating a few hundred years before the Common Era. Earlier instead of needles sharpened stones and long sharp bones were used around 6000 BCE for acupuncture treatment.

I had acupuncture while in Canada a few times to treat muscular strains in the chest/forearm/armpit area.

It hurt! But it did feel better after each session...I guess looking back on it, it wasn't the 'miracle cure' some said it would be, but there was definitely an improvement.

It probably didn't help that it was -15/20 C so whenever outside I'd be shivering and I was pretty tense about having needles stuck in my chest and near my lungs especially after they told me there was a small chance of one getting all the way to a lung and deflating it. Then again, I am a hypocondriac.

EDIT: spelling.

I've just picked out a bit of glass from the sole of my foot with a knife. I think you'll be alright with a couple of needles.

Also our cat benefited hugely from acupuncture so give it a go. Just don't look at the needles if they freak you out.

In my most desperate hour, I did acupuncture for psoriasis. My acupuncturist also gave me some chinese balm for certain areas.

I enjoyed the treatments, it was very relaxing. It didn't do anything for the psoriasis though.