I just thought I'd post a little something about this...About a year ago I started getting pain in my left elbow, I felt it at work and when I rode my bicycle. I thought it was tendonitis, Well as the year progressed so did the Pain. It got to the point that My Left ring finger and pinky and my thumb had no strength and the whole bottom half of my left hand along with the fingers was constantly Numb. I couldn't even play a power chord! I got scared, Everyone was telling me I had Carpal tunnel and get a brace or... Surgery?! I thought I was going to have to take up Bowling because I couldn't play Guitar in this condition, Believe me I tried. I could deal with the pain, But It's near impossible to make Numb Fingers Work. Well I went to an acupuncturist near my house. The muscles (half my left hand) were locked up. I just got finished with my Fifth session (last) and ma hand is fixed. A little atrophy set in but that will go away with time. I guess I'm a skeptic at heart and I would have never thought much about acupuncture before, but I am a believer now. At $25.00 a session, I paid about $125.00 to get my hand fixed. I'd have paid 10 times that amount if I had it a few weeks ago just to be able to do some chord changes. Now I'm back to playing a sliding minor blues scale. Still need some more time though. Wow, Acupuncture, It really works.

Hi Marvin,I have arthritis in my hands and I'm just about in the same boat,meds aren't cutting it.I have an appointment made to get accupuncture next week.The Accupuncturist that I'm going to is incredible but my insurance won't pay for treatments because she's a Dr. of Chinese medicine and not a graduate of a North American med school but if it works I don't care because I'd sell a kidney to keep playing.The next option is to go on meds like Humera or Embril at a cost of 18 grand a year so accupuncture it is.I hope that I have the success that you did.

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if that doesnt work pm me--had the same problem with my left hand-

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I can't believe it worked so fast. I say go for it. I wasn't going to let a doctor do surgery on my hand. I found this guy in my neighborhood, Told me payment was on a sliding scale. I paid $25 a session and told him I wish I could have paid more, I don't even have medical insurance. Good Luck! I hope it works out for you as well as it did for me.

I was wondering if i could revive this post. I started developing tendinitis in my left elbow about 6 months ago. I have been seeing a chiropractor who has been helping me with strengthening it, stretching and other techniques. My orthopedic surgeon injected me with cortisone. I have also been taking celebrex to try and help. So far none of this is working. I don't play much. Maybe 1-2 hrs a day. I try to warm up and stretch. i apply heat and electro stim ( ihave my own machine). I have also tried anti inflammatory cream (voltaren). I tried excercise and the handmaster plus- no luck. I am trying to adjust my position also but no luck with that either.

The problem for me is the pain/burning. It's there all day. The doctor hasn't noticed any strength issues. So its just pain.

I want the pain to go away so I am considering acupuncture, but i am very skeptical since i haven't had any luck yet.

Any advice?
Thanks

Hi Nevin,I was originally skeptical,being a confirmed cynic by nature but as a last resort I gave it a try and it worked.The Chinese have been using and refining it for centuries and have combined electro-neuro-muscular stimulation in some cases to augment the effects of it.Like all medicines there are good and bad practicioners,someone with a certified M.D. or Doctor of Chinese Medicine is usually very good.

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'65 Strat,65 Mustang,65 Jaguar,4 more Strats,3 vintage Vox guitars,5 Vox amps,'69 Bassman with a '68 2-15 Bassman cab,36 guitars total-15asst'd amps total,2 vintage '60s Hammond organs & a myriad of effects-with a few rare vintage ones.

Hi stratalex, Sorry to hear about your situation as I know how frustrating it can be to want to play and your fingers do not work. It scared me good. I see you have burning, I had numbness, so it may be a different situation, I have heard some bad stuff about cortizone and I'm skeptical of all prescription medication. (and most doctors). I consulted a Doctor and he told me to get surgery, I had Carpal Tunnel. I thought I'd better get a second opinion before letting someone cut me up. I found an Acupuncturist in my neighborhood, went to see what he had to say. I was skeptical at first but figured, What have I got to lose, It's better than sugery. He told me Carpal tunnel is the most misdiagnosed condition lately and sugery should be a last resort not first. Considering the success rate of CTS surgeries, I heeded his advice. I felt a difference after the first visit. continued for four visits afterward. improving each time. He told me after the second visit that I had a muscle lock up in my hand a while ago and the more muscles that had to compensate, ended up locking them up too. all the locked up muscles were causing poor circulation in my left hand so bad, that my pinky and ring fingers had gone numb, as well as the bottom half of my hand, and my arm up to my elbow. Five visits later, at a cost of $125.00 my hand works fine. I do not use those finger exercisers anymore either. I use Chinese therapy balls. I will post a link. They are great. I recommend trying it out before letting anyone do surgery because you cant reverse that. Acupuncture, Well if it dosen't work, you can get surgery later. Try it, What have you got to lose, Just research the Acupuncturist before you go. Find one who has a good Rep. Also get some of these to exercise your hand with. They are important. Good Luck. http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_c_ ... ding+balls

Hey Nevin, Don't knock it till you've tried it. You really shouldn't give discouraging advice to someone when you may not know everything about it. The guy has a serious problem, acupuncture helped me. If you ask me. Allopathic medicine ans sugery are the real SCAM. The chinese have been around a lot longer than western medicine, and to call it a scam to someone who is in a bad spot is Bad Dude. Bad Karma 100% Bro. Once someone has surgery and has been cut open and had tendons removed, Thats for keeps. I hope the OP does Not take your advice and explores all of his options before letting some doctor cut him up and take all his Cash. I'll tell you what, When My hand was numb, and I couldnt play, I spent the money gladly exploring Acupuncture, and guess what IT WORKED!

Glad to hear the treatments were sucessful, Marvin.

Don't pay the naysayers any mind!

Arjay

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"Here's why reliability is job one: A great sounding amp that breaks down goes from being a favorite piece of gear to a useless piece of crap in less time than it takes to read this sentence." -- BRUCE ZINKY

Thanks Arjay, Just trying to help a fellow guitar lover play guitar again.

That's the kindest thing you could do, Marvin.

Arjay

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"Here's why reliability is job one: A great sounding amp that breaks down goes from being a favorite piece of gear to a useless piece of crap in less time than it takes to read this sentence." -- BRUCE ZINKY

Good for you Marvin! Acupressure works well too if the problem is less serious, a kind of massage therapy that follows the same pathways as acupuncture.

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you can save the world with your guitar one love song at a time it's just better, more fun, easier with a fender solid body electric guitar or electric bass guitar.

I asked stratalex to explore all of his options, He has a few, as his post stated. Btw Nevin, I was referring to a Tendonitis situation, Not knee replacement. Sorry to hear about your ankle and I hope your surgery works out. and you are correct, Acupuncture does not work for everything. I thought it was a little harsh the advice you gave as the OP was not referring to your personal situation. He has Tendonitis, That most likely be helped by Acupuncture, And yes, In the U.S.A. a LOT of surgery is performed needlessly bu the medical doctors ans our medical system is a scam here. Just look at the damaging side effects of most prescribed drugs in the U.S.A. and the amount of Drugs perscribed to Children who havent even finished developing themselves yet. So take it easy, and don't be so quick to give someone advice like it's the end all. You Could Be Wrong You Know. and stratalexs' hand may never work properly again after surgery, that acupuncture could have fixed if he had given it a chance, The thing about acupuncture is, if it dosen't work, you arent out anything but a few dollars. Surgery is permenent and irreversible. PEACE

My wife had some pretty intense problems for 15+ years (stomach/intestinal and menstrual issues that you really don't want to read about...trust me). During that 15 year stretch, she was misdiagnosed three times (diverticulitis, Crohn's disease, blocked intestine/colon) and treated accordingly...unfortunately, each new type of treatment would work for a few weeks/months and then the symptoms would come back with a vengeance.

Finally, after the fourteenth trip to the ER (she would get dehydrated due to vomiting & diarrhea) and her eighth MRI, they noticed a mass that was blocking her small intestine and scheduled emergency surgery that morning. The idiot surgeon came out and said, "Well, I removed a huge growth of something that was kinking off her small intestine; I also had to remove 5" of her intestine and her appendix, because they were both strangulated by this stuff growing..."
"Well, what was the stuff growing?"
"You know, it's kinda funny, I don't know."
"You know, doc, it's not kinda funny and I certainly hope you've sent it to the lab for pathology..." the conversation went downhill from there.

To get to the point, she had endometriosis and it had spread all over her uterus, intestines (large and small), and other nearby organs. She ended up having a hysterectomy (which wasn't in our plans, because we wanted a second child), but it didn't get all the endometriosis. It continued to grow, and another surgeon (I fired the first dumb[Biblical word for Donkey]) wanted to do exploratory surgery and remove more of her intestines, which would cause her to possibly be on a colostomy bag forever (she was only 36, by the way).

As a last resort, we visited a herbalist, who assured us he could help. I went in with my BS meter set very sensitively, but we figured it was worth a shot. After three weeks of the treatment, she gained weight for the first time in months (she had gotten down to 80 pounds) and eventually was almost back to her old self.

Two and a half years later, only lasting health issues she has are related to the missing portion of her intestine. He also helped me with my blood pressure and gout, both if which had plagued me for years, and the latter had been misdiagnosed multiple times by different doctors.

Now, three years ago I wouldn't have believed it if you had told me that diet, vitamins, herbs and homeopathic medicines would have cured what ailed my wife (and to a much lesser extent, me), but now I know there's a reason medical doctors "practice medicine"...because they haven't figured out how to do it right yet.

Unless I have a bone sticking out of my arm or blood actually gushing out of my body, I don't go to the doctor anymore...and I feel better than I have in years.

Acupuncture? Bring it on, man...it has 3000 years of research behind it...MDs only have the bloody pharmaceutical companies behind them...

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Good Vibes To Y'all!



Screamin' Armadillos
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Sorry to hear about you and your wives experiences SA, Glad to hear of the recovery though. You are right when you say doctors "Practice Medicine" brings another medical term to mind "Explorotory Sugery" The Hospital makes me cringe. Allopathy has only been around since the mid 1800's and people have been healing themselves long before then. Check out this http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wZWlOx-S ... re=related