Sitting at a computer all day, handling a very stressful job, I have had very tight and sore muscles in my neck and shoulder blade area for many years. I had been used to using an at home massager, hot baths, heat rub and heat pads constantly in the search for some relief from the constant - and I mean constant - pain and pressure. I am also on quite strong arthritis meds and assumed that was creating some of this pain. Add to this being pretty irritable alot of the time because of the pain.\r
I finally tried acupuncture because the pain and pressure got markedly worse over the course of 2009 and it never went away, whatever I did. I found Active Acupuncture online and chose them because of the reviews. Being near my office was a bonus.\r
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Relief? The man who did the initial massage to warm up the muscles knew exactly where to focus. In the years I have been having normal and medicinal massage, no-one had ever really, consistently, hit the spot where the hurt seemed to be coming from. That alone was worth the fee even if the warm up was only a few minutes. Although I began to explain to Dr Chen where it hurt, she said ""I know, I see it"" and yes, she touched exactly where the pain was the worst. The needles seemed to relieve the pressure. My neck pain was much better after the first session but as I had more sessions and the needles went deeper and Dr Chen was able to move them around a bit, wow, could I feel the deeper muscle problems being addressed in a way they never had been. It was like the deep muscle itself being massaged which felt fantastic. You can't get a normal massage to the muscles she has been treating for me, it has to be impossible because the scrunched up muscles are deeper; this is where my problem was. Years and years of tightness has gradually been stripped away and I can't remember the last time before this now, that I have been pain and tension free. Not being in pain and irritable because of it has impacted all areas of my life in a really positive way.\r
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If you have pain and have tried several remedies, try this. I wish I had tried acupuncture alot earlier. Don't wait. Don't be put off by the small & not so great looking office. That's not what you are there for & it probably keeps the charge down. Give it more than one session even if you are not sure after one session. I was able to use money in my flexible spending account for this also. I go for maintenance now, if ever my shoulders and neck start to get remotely tight and I'm 100% confident I will feel better afterwards.
Pros: Absolutely works
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