Acupuncture (Traditional Chinese Medicine) completely relieved my Ankylosing Spondylitis / Chronic Pain symptoms in 2 weeks

I worked at a Traditional Chinese Medicine clinic as a part of my Kinesiology Co-op program for a summer. I had no idea what to expect as my reality around medicine was strongly rooted in Western society with the occasional Chinese remedies that mom would use.

It was quite a static role as I was sitting a lot. Even during school, I could at least get up between classes and study sessions. So after about a month of working here, my spine and hips started flaring up. I wasn’t on Biologics at this point as I was still taking NSAIDS daily. Dr. Leng noticed the stiffness in my movement and offered to treat me for free.

I remember being slightly nervous for my first session. I’ve never been fond of needles (which is ironic as now I’m covered in tattoos). Some areas were more painful than others but the process happens quite quickly. We started off by doing 3 treatments per week. I didn’t notice anything after the first week, but I’ll never forget what happened when I woke up one morning after 2 weeks of treatment. For the first time in years, I woke up without any spine stiffness. At that time, I had a lot of sacrum tension and it just somehow “magically” disappeared. It was quite difficult for me to wrap my head around as NSAIDS had never relieved that much pain and tension in the 7 years I had already been on them for.

I started being more active that summer and it felt like discovering freedom again. After 2 months, Dr. Leng suggested I get off my NSAIDS and just try Acupuncture. I was hesitant as NSAIDS did help stabilize my symptoms previously. Western conditioning also heavily ingrained in me the idea that medication is THE answer to my issues. However at this point, I trusted Dr. Leng enough to try it out. Sure enough, I felt just as good as without the NSAIDS while I was continuing Acupuncture.

Unfortunately, as my work placement ended, I had to stop treatments as I couldn’t afford it so I went back onto the NSAIDS. It was always a memorable period of my life. It was the first time I started to develop a sense of curiosity outside of the medical advice that I’d been given all my life. I know that if the day ever comes where I have financial stability, I’ll definitely be consistently getting Acupuncture. So if you are already in the position of financial stability, I’d highly recommend finding a reputable TCM Doctor and giving Acupuncture a try! If not, then continue to be curious about all the other ways (there are MANY) that can help ease our symptoms :).