Physical Therapy vs. Acupuncture?

One year ago this month, i got in a cheerleading stunt injury where i was thrown forward and not caught. I landed on my head, more on the right side of my neck, and flipped over so that my legs touched the ground in front of me. It was over half a year until i had xrays, and have had 2 sets of those plus a recent mri. I am 16 and have chronic back, neck, and shoulder pain. I have large amounts of scar tissue in my neck and am awaiting mri results. The muscles in the right side of my neck have lost elasticity, and so are constricted and will not release for longer than a few days. I am miserable and want a solution. Insurance of course wont cover acupuncture, but I can still get a good price, so is it worth it? Also looking into physical therapy. Opinions please? Thanks so much!

**i guess its better to say that the right side of my neck is "jammed"...My right shoulder is in constant pain, especially when writing or driving, and the horizontal bone protrudes especially far on that side. my major pain is in the very top of and bottom of neck, below the shoulder blades, and my lower back (lumbar area)

There was a recent study about accupuncture and low back pain. They performed accupuncture as indicated in one group of people and performed "sham" (fake) accupuncture on the other group of people. About half got better in each group. At first glance, one would assume that "hey that's better than the results of PT"...but don't be fooled. First, the rest of this study discovered that there was ONE commonality between all the patients who got better with accupuncture...it had nothing to do with age, extent of injury, etc, but that simply the people BELIEVED they would get better. This is an interesting commentary on how our beliefs affect how well we can do in recovery...as well as the "placebo" effect.

Second, the comment that this study results in better outcome than PT is misleading...their claim that it works better than PT is a misnomer...much of the research that quotes these types of numbers did not classify why types of back pain problems these people had, nor what types of physical therapy they have had. There are many different types of neck and back problems and many different types of PT...to lump them all into one catergory is, of course, going to give skewed results. This is especially true when you examine "traditional" PT which includes heat, massage, ultrasound and electrical stimulation. It is now being proven over and over again that this type of physical therapy is highly ineffective. There are now much more appropriate treatments.

The most conclusive research about neck and back pain comes from those who study the effects of mechanical diagnosis and therapy (MDT) which is a very specific field of PT. Patients who can be classified as having a mechanical problem can very easily be treated in most cases...to say the very least, those who will not respond well are easily identified within the first few visits...

I would highly recommend you see a PT with MDT credentialing. At the very least, it you are deemed to not be a good candidate for this approach, it will be easily recognized and you can always try accupuncture after that.

You can find an MDT credentialed PT by going to http://www.mckenziemdt.org

oh wow... i would suggest going to PT it really helps loosen you up and get ur strength back. It can also help in reducing the pain... I would wait for the MRI result and see what the Dr. suggests...then go from there....

are u still cheering or trying to get back to where you can cheer again and if so then i would definatly go with the physical therapy over the acupuncture...

PT will be HARD but it is worth it in the long run especially if u want to get back on the cheer floor...

There is a new treatment concept that provides immediate pain relief. For more information please visit www.BackProject.com

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