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I have been an engineer my entire adult life, pretty much only believing in medicine that has undergone rigorous validation, and trusting only doctors that have had formal Western medical training.

Six months ago I broke my ankle in three places and had a whole bunch of metal put in my foot to stabilize it.  Though the doctors tell me that my bones have healed well, my foot continues to be swollen and becomes painful if I walk over uneven ground (twisting the ankle) or walk more than 3 or 4 miles in a day.  Friends have told me how acupuncture helped them, so I finally decided I had very little to lose, and gave it a try myself.

It was a bit strange talking to the doctor while he was doodling on his pad.  Only after a few minutes did I realize he was actually writing in Chinese… ☺

After examining my foot, he confirmed that the bone was doing fine.  He explained though, that I had also broken the tendons and cartilage and those take longer to heal, particularly (… wait for it…) at my age… (a phrase I have come to detest…!)

My foot was particularly swollen that day, as I had run (walked…) several errands in the afternoon before seeing him.  He proceeded to stick 4 pins in my foot — the anticipation of the pin-prick was worse than the actual needle, and left me to listen to Italian Western music (I kid you not!) for the next half hour.  When he pulled the needles out, my foot looked downright emaciated.  All the swelling was completely gone — it was now smaller than my ‘good foot.’

I have been to five sessions so far.  I am not ready to declare this a complete cure, since each session seems to provide relief for only a couple days.  The doctor says another 3 or 4 should be sufficient though, and I am finally able to go several days at a time without taking any ibuprofen (aka Advil).