First time acupuncture
 

After apparently screwing up my Achilles tendon on a training ride Saturday—to the point that it hurts to walk normally—I'm looking into some fast-acting treatments that may help me in time to participate in at least some portion of the charity century ride I'm signed up for this Sunday.

I've gotten some suggestions from friends and family members who are athletes and dancers. Two have recommended that I look into acupuncture, which I've never done before. Lucky for me, there's a local community acupuncture clinic that takes walk-ins, and friends of mine have had good experiences there. Still, I admit I'm a little weirded out by the prospect of doing it for the first time.

For those who have been or who have acupuncture done regularly, do you have any suggestions for a first-timer? Are there any bizarre after-effects to it, like jitteriness or excessive fatigue, that might not make it the best thing to have done seventy-two hours before this ride (I'd probably be going Thursday)? Any other pearls of wisdom or things to be aware of beforehand?

I'm all ears.

I thoroughly love acupuncture.
The only tme I had any undesirable after effects was when I told her that I was worn out and didn't have a lot if energy... So she opened up something and I didn't sleep for two days. Rather inexperienced practitioner, too. Every other experience left me feeling rested, relaxed and refreshed. I usually ask about the small bb-like magnets that can be taped to ears and pressure points for continued relief. Enjoy, and find someone experienced. :). Oh, they'll look at your tongue and check pulses all over your body if he or she is good, don't be weirder out. It's pretty cool.

Thanks, noodle. I think I'm feeling pretty open minded about it at this point, and having some trusted references for it—especially for the place I'm thinking of going—helps a lot.

RICE is your best friend

Rest
Ice
Compession
Elevation

ive tried acpuncture for pulled and strained muscles before but it didnt do anything for me. You might find it works for you. in either case, it wont hurt. good luck spine

Thanks, dlish. Icepacks are my friend in this house these days. Fingers crossed.

just remember that its 10-15 mins ice on, then same time off.

I haven't had it done, but a few friends and a coworker have for various injuries and they said it made no difference. RICE helped those with sports injuries in the short term and regular physical therapy took care of the bad ones and the coworker who needed surgery. You need to take it easy while it heals and see what your doctor says about it, which will likely be a referral to a physical therapist who's seen this kind of thing before and knows what works best from experience.

Sorry about your ankle. Acupuncture really only works about as well as a placebo in the scientific tests I've seen. dlish is right on the money with RICE. If it's really bad, see a medical doctor.

I've had it from a couple of different practitioners for a couple different reasons. I found it might help with pain management, energy level, etc, but it doesn't do poop for a fixing a physical injury.

RICE is the way to go. There is probably no fast acting fix. Sorry. Welcome to real life. It sucks here.

HOWEVER - I once missed a step and hurt my ankle. It hurt for weeks with no improvement. I asked a chiropractor to look at it and POP! Instant relief. It was fixed.

Good luck

My experience was it made me extremely hyper, like over the top, so I discontinued it.
Breathe, relax, go with flow. :)

I love acupuncture...it offers tons of energy

For those who were wondering, I came away from my single acupuncture session not feeling much differently than I had when I went in. Truth be told, more might have happened if I'd gone in for more than one session—I wouldn't rule that out after having been only once. At the very least, it was an interesting experience and I can now check it off the "I might like to try that out sometime" list.

I did go in to see my doctor on Friday, two days before the ride. She checked me out and diagnosed me with Achilles tendinitis, which is essentially what I thought I had all along. She told me I hadn't done any major damage, everything was intact, and I should gauge my riding ability on Sunday morning by how I felt; readjusting the position of my pedal cleats might also help with my range of motion, so I figured I'd give that a shot.

I did, and my ankle felt "okay"—workable, tolerable, bearable—during the three or four warmup laps I did around the parking lot prior to the ride start. So I decided to try riding 70 miles. I survived—72 and a half miles, to be exact; maybe a little longer, since my cycle computer didn't kick in right away— through pouring rain and wind smacking raindrops and road grit in my face. And I had a blast. By the end, the ankle was sore, and it's aching a bit again now, though less than last Saturday when all of this began.

Now, hopefully, I can be a good patient and give my ankle the ten to 14 days of rest it requires and deserves. :thumbsup:

Thanks to all for your suggestions and input!

Yay, glad you made it for the big ride! I was wondering what happened. Thanks for the update :)

It's a bunch of archaic bullshit. Does absolutely nothing unless you've deceived yourself into thinking it works.

Acupuncture is 100% placebo. Don't sink your money into it. It has no actual benefits. Read up on studies. Do your homework.