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News - Winchester Hospital, Winchester Massachusetts USA |
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| Barnstable County Hospital |
| Winchester Hospital Acupuncture Soothes Chronic Pain |
| Date : - 04/02/2011 |
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Winchester, Mass. – When Josephine Sullivan of Winchester was diagnosed with spinal stenosis two years ago, she took advantage of all the treatment options available to ease her chronic pain. One of the most effective methods, she says, has been acupuncture through Winchester Hospital’s Community Health Institute in Woburn.
Now 93 years old, Sullivan said the pain – which has primarily affected her right side – would worsen when she walked for extended periods of time. She would tire easily and often, making it difficult for her to perform daily tasks. Last spring, she underwent kyphoplasty, a minimally invasive procedure to repair a vertebral compression fracture.
“I was willing to try anything that would make me feel better,” Sullivan recalls.
Sullivan began receiving acupuncture once a week, and has since scaled back her sessions to twice a month. An alternative therapy that promotes natural healing in the body, acupuncture is proven to be effective in treating neurological ailments including back pain, arthritis and musculoskeletal pain; nerve pain and migraines; stress, depression and other emotional distress; digestive problems such as indigestion, constipation and diarrhea; asthma, allergies and other respiratory ailments; and acute sprains, chronic pain and physical injuries. Acupuncture is also effective for premenstrual syndrome, infertility, smoking cessation and other chronic ailments.
During Sullivan’s sessions, board-licensed acupuncturist Mike Arsenault inserts tiny acupuncture needles in various parts of her body – focusing on her back and arthritic knees – and applies heat, followed by massage. The entire process, which Sullivan describes as relaxing and completely pain-free, lasts about an hour.
“After I have acupuncture, I can walk without pain to wherever my daughter has parked the car. Then, with renewed energy, we visit the library, a most enjoyable experience,” says Sullivan, who volunteered by pushing patients’ wheelchairs and delivering flowers at Winchester Hospital for 22 years. “Mike has great confidence, composure and ability. I greatly appreciate his work.”
“There are so many people in Josephine’s situation, who might not think of acupuncture as a way to moderate their symptoms,” Arsenault says. “There are some age-related pains that we cannot take away, but at least we’re able to make them more manageable.”
Sullivan says she would recommend acupuncture to anyone. She was especially pleased when her granddaughter recently sought the treatment for pregnancy-related nausea.
“I can say very definitely that acupuncture can be effectively used as another way of handling pain,” she says.
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| Reference : - www.winchesterhospital.org |
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