Community Acupuncture

Lately I've been having a lot of foot pain.

WHAT AM I, 80 YEARS OLD?!

Pardon the outburst.

As I was saying, my feet have been hurting, and it turns out I have something pretty common called plantar fascitis, and I need orthotics.

...80 FUCKING YEARS OLD!?

Ahem.

While I wait for my... orthotics, I decided to give acupuncture a try for pain relief. I put out a call on Twitter, and quickly received a strong recommendation for WorkSong Chinese Medicine in Greenpoint, Brooklyn - "they accept payment on a sliding scale," my Twitter friend mentioned. I was intrigued.

The sliding scale, it turns out, was a clue that WorkSong is a member of the Community Acupuncture Network, which represents a nation-wide movement of sorts; and, like any good movement these days, there's a website, which explains:

Community Acupuncture Network (CAN) is a nonprofit organization of practitioners, patients, and supporters whose goal is to make acupuncture more affordable and accessible by promoting the practice of offering acupuncture in community settings for a sliding scale ranging within $15-40 a treatment.

In this context, "coCommunity Action Network Tshirtmmunity settings" means, "You all sit in a room together for your treatment," rather than being seen in private treatment rooms. While this may make some folks uncomfortable, I'm happy to have someone poke me with needles in a room with other people if it means the treatment costs so much less than it would be elsewhere.

Plus, the common room at WorkSong was very relaxing - pin-drop quiet, low lighting, comfy chairs. With a blanket draped on top of me, I drifted into a comfortable sleep. Plus, there might be therapeutic value to a shared treatment space; the folks at WorkSong say it creates a collective energetic healing field.

All I know is that I sailed out of there feeling like a million bucks, and my feet hurt noticably less for the rest of the week. I'm going back for appointment #2 tomorrow, and I can't wait.

Related Links

• Community Acupuncture Network (you can find a treatment center near you)
• "Acupuncture for All," a 2007 Utne article

Foot Clinic photo is by Flickr user The Man With the Golden Cam

Comments

[acupuncture]

This therapy is not subjected to day or month. This must be incorporated in our day to day life as a daily routine so as to keep our self more energetic

[Amanda]

Good point - as with so many wellness therapies, the point is to shift our lifestyle and develop a long-term practice, versus a more "shot in the arm" approach. Thanks for your comment!