Point of Pain

My chiropractor in Altoona, Dr. Victor Rizzo, adjusts my back and neck every 3 weeks. I have a degenerative disc between L5 and S1. Injuries smashed my vertibrae closer together. That pinches my nerves and led to arthritis. That's unexpected for a 38 year old man.

Adjustments really helped, but in the mornings, I had increasing pain in my back and hip.
I've always wondered if accupuncture would work. So I met with Michael Cregger. He's a licensed accupuncturist in Altoona. He works out of lifeworks at 5000, 6th Ave.

He met with me for 3, 90 minute sessions. He'd place about a dozen needles at strategic spots in my body. The metal in the needle attracts and delivers electric current to open a muscle. If the muscle is too tight, fresh blood and oxygen can't get in to feed it.
I couldn't really feel each pin going in. Though when he moved it to get a connection, I'd feel a "zing". Kind of like a small shock.

Other needles were used at pressure points. There was no major discomfort for me as the needles were placed.
Cregger also encorporates deep tissue massage. He found spasms in the muscles in my hip and back that were clenching down on nerve endings. The massage can be painful, depending on how tight your muscles are. But would it lead to long term pain relief for me?

Emma Dambeck of Altoona says it works. She's been getting accupuncture from Cregger for 4 years. She no longer suffers from the pain that followed a car accident.

While I was sceptical, she was right. In my case, accupuncture and massage worked.
The pain I felt in my low back and hip were gone for a couple of days after each treatment. The pain returns at times, but not as severe.
There was no question that Cregger was able to point out the source of my pain. And do something about it.

It's been a few weeks since my sessions, and I can say it seems to really have had a permanent improvement to my pain. Generally, the cost is about a dollar a minute. And it's usually not covered by insurance.