Acupuncture works quite well for a number of ailments, while it probably is no panacea. Hesperis and I have had a number of acupuncture treatments for various allergies. In her case, the treatments have resulted in a dramatic and permanent cessation of several serious allergies to various substances. This was a case of her being quite unable to tolerate exposure to various common foods and substances prior to treatment...and having absolutely no adverse reactions to same from 24 hours after the treatment to many months later.

One treatment. No more allergy. This was in the case of allergies that had made her miserable for many years.

In my case the allergies were quite mild (unlike hers) and the results of the treatments were similarly mild. No dramatic news to report, just a slight overall improvement in general health.

I have also experienced acupuncture as a dental anesthetic and it worked rather well for that. I have quite a lot of back trouble, but have turned mostly to chiropractic for that...haven't tried acupuncture.

Since the principle behind acupuncture is to discharge blocked-up energy (which is not flowing freely) out of the body at key junction points, so to speak, I can see why it would only temporarily help a back problem based on structural imbalances. The imbalances would soon create more blocked energy, and you'd have to do it all over again. This is also true with chiropractic adjustment to a great extent. I have scoliosis (curvature of the spine), and a chiropractic treatment will only temporarily relieve pain from built-up tension, but it's better than no treatment at all. I imagine acupuncture would work in much the same fashion for that.

Hope this helps. PM Hesperis for more info.

- LH