Trying Acupuncture for the Final Stretch

It’s been three weeks since I had the surgical pin removed from my right hand. At first, it looked more like a lobster claw than a hand. And the only finger that I could move at all was my thumb.

My daughter Shelli, who is a licensed medical doctor, is also a supporter of alternative therapies. She suggested that acupuncture might help reduce the swelling sooner, which would allow me to regain more flexibility more quickly. I asked my hand doctor about it, but he wasn’t convinced that acupuncture can make a difference so he wouldn’t prescribe it.

That meant that I would have to go outside of my HMO and pay completely out-of-pocket if I decided to pursue that type of treatment.

So I waited. The prescribed once-a-week physical therapy and my diligent daily finger exercises helped. But I continued to have a lot of swelling.

After the Passover Seder, Shelli slept over the house and as she was massaging my hand the following day, she encouraged me to call Frank He, a sports medicine specialist and acupuncturist (http://www.hecares.net) that had treated her for a knee injury a few years ago.

I decided to give it a try.

My first appointment was last Wednesday and I could see an immediate improvement. I was able to move my fourth finger more easily and my knuckles were becoming more visible. I had an appointment with the physical therapist the same day and I told her about the acupuncture. Unlike the doctor, she actually did believe in the efficacy of acupuncture and had considered training for it, herself.

I felt even better about making the decision to pay for acupuncture on my own when the physical therapist told me that I wouldn’t have another appointment until two weeks later and later that same day I got an offer to return to my contract tech writing job on April 12. I need to have my hand fully functioning by that date.

I was able to start typing for the first time with all my fingers—touch typing—for the first time after one visit with Frank. I have told Frank about my deadline and he feels confident that I will be ready.