Around October 15th “08” I suffered an injury to my neck resulting in a “bulging disk”. I saw my doctor and they gave me a referral for physical therapy. I began PT 2 times per week. The pain was very bad, radiating down my right arm into my wrist. I was taking 800 Mg of Ibuprophen 4 times per day and was still unable to focus at work! PT did not seem to be helping, and in fact the traction that was done actually made it worse. All the feedback I received seemed to imply that surgery would probably be necessary at some point.
Around November 5th I began seeing Fang Tsuey and Yi Jen for treatment. Initially improvement was moderate (although treatment was sporadic as they were away at a conference for 2 weeks during that time). When they returned I was treated by Yi Jen. Yi Jen used blood letting, cupping, and much fewer needles. However each needle he used was painful. While his manipulation of the needles increased the pain [Qi sensation], he said that was because he was breaking down the blockage and encouraging the Qi to move.
The results I experienced the day after treatment were incredible. With each visit my pain was lessened dramatically, to the point where the severe nerve type “shooting pain” was eliminated. On the other hand I did still have pain (closer to the type of pain I experience from working out for the first time in awhile). We had a discussion about “short pain vs. long pain”. Yi Jen explained that traditional Chinese medicine is typically painful, but that they’ve worked to make it less painful so as not to discourage, or turn people away. However positive results will take longer to realize by avoiding the “treatment pain”.
Now after approximately 1 month I have not had to take any pain medication for several days, and I am close to 90% healed. I’ve also discussed other health concerns (issues related to digestion) and am seeing similar positive results.
