Acupuncture healing

I developed De Quervain’s tenosynovitis several years ago as a side effect of breast cancer treatment, which caused significant pain and inflammation in my right wrist and thumb. At that time, I saw an orthopedic hand specialist and was told that my main options were steroid injections or eventually surgery. I tried a steroid injections which provided little to no meaningful relief.

Eventually, I decided to try acupuncture. I went into it cautiously optimistic, but after the first treatment I noticed some relief, and after a series of treatments, my symptoms gradually resolved almost entirely.

What stood out to me most was not just the improvement itself, but that it happened after I had already been told my remaining options were invasive or temporary.

As someone trained in Western medicine, I still strongly value conventional medical care, but this experience broadened my perspective on integrative approaches to healing. It reminded me that “alternative” therapies are not alternative in the sense of being fringe or ineffective. Often they are simply additional tools that can help in meaningful ways.

In my case, acupuncture genuinely helped resolve an issue that had become chronic and debilitating, and I remain grateful that I gave it a chance!