Hi B.,
I have not personally had a lot of experience with Acupuncture. However, I am an Ambassador in the Elmhurst Chamber of commerce. We recently did a ribbon cutting for a Chiropractor in town who recently joined the chamber. His specialty - acupuncture! I was amazed when I heard his story - he has logges 3 times the number of hours needed to become an 'expert' in this field. Some people dabble in this, but he is really well-trained. His name is Dr. Frank Frydrych and he is with the York Chiropractic Clinci on 543 S. York Rd, in Elmhurst, ###-###-####.
I have had back problems myself, as has my husband. We are both all about alternatives and avoiding surgery whenever possible. If you go to a surgeon, he will convince you that you need surgery to 'fix' the problem. Unfortunately, the majority of back surgeries are NOT successful! My father has had several and friend of mine's husband just finished his 3rd, and he is not even 40 years old!
I started going to a chiropractic office in town.(I had previously gone a different chiropractor for the past 15-16 years, with not much improvement.) The Illinios Spinal Care of Elmhurst is a very unique - I htink there are 3 chiropractic offices in IL that do what they do and only about 300 nationwide. I encourage you to check out their website at www.illinoisspinalcare.com I think you should try this approach either before or in conjunction with acupuncture. If you a nerve pressing against your spinal chord, the only way to relieve the pressure is through a proper adjustment to move the spine so that the nerve is NOT pressing against the spine. It can be done. I have seen before and after xrays of patients of Dr. Bertke and Dr. Redinger. I hope you check them out and I wish you much luck! C.