I hate acupuncture! I hate needles! I hate the Idea of needles! I think acupuncture sounds "hippy dippy". I think calming Indian music is lame. I hate all manner of herbal teas, hokey decor, and heck, let's face it, those of us who work for a living don't have hours to lie down and meditate about the universal truths of...whatever.
That said, this is the second time in my life I've been injured, the pain made me desperate, and I trekked up here to Ocean Acupuncture. Because it works for pain.
I don't believe the story of the chakras and all that. All I know is that my oral surgeon says I have nerve trauma from my wisdom teeth removal and I've been in so much pain this week I'm only sleeping 4 hours a night. The vicodin he gave me are losing their effectiveness and giving me constipation, the ibuprofen is giving me stomach problems, it's only been a week but he said it could take up to 3 months to heal. 3 months!?
I came in today, I sit down in a leaning chair, they put a bunch of microscopic pins all over me, and ten minutes later I fell asleep! It felt like some kind of crazy miracle but the pain faded away. Now I'm sitting in my car and it's starting to hurt again, but not as bad. Also the relief from the pain was a huge "mental" break for me. I think we forget how mentally stressful pain is.
I definitely reccamend Ocean Acupuncture if you're in pain and "normal" methods aren't working. It's a community clinic and priced incredibly cheap to allow everyone to have access. My chiropractor charges $60 for one cash visit, here you can get Three Visits for $45! They also offer massage and a bunch of other services and products. The facility is clean, cosy and warm, and the employee's are soft spoken and kind.