joint pain

[Anonymous]

Has anyone had any success with acupuncture or massage for relief of joint pain? I have a lot of sacroiliac pain and other pelvic/hip joint pains and I was hoping for some names...

[Anonymous]

I have battled these issues for nearly 4 years before becoming pregnant. I have tried nearly everything, just not acupuncture per se (although I have had "trigger point" injections). In my experience, these options, and especially massage, do not provide relief. They feel good at the time, but the only way to get lasting relief is to correct your pelvic alignment, eliminate anything you are doing that contributes to the pelvic instability and to the inflammation (in my case, it was stopping certain exercises and weight-lifting, and sitting for long periods of time, stop wearing heels, etc.).

Also, keeping your joints moving is key, or else they just freeze up in a bad position. So I continue to do a lot of other exercises that cause less friction. After years of medical treatments and other methods, I have finally found success with an exercise therapy program called Egoscue. You can check on-line - they have an office in N. Va. It is expensive but totally changed my day-to-day life.

Of course, now that I'm in my third trimester, the pain has flared back up, but at least I have the tools to get through it. Good luck!