The first day Sheila* attended me she walked with a pronounced limp. She had been referred to me by her daughter because of hip pain. Since undergoing a surgical procedure some months earlier Sheila was experiencing chronic and debilitating pain in her left hip. Some damage had occurred during the procedure and after trying various other treatments she was at her wits end.

During our initial consultation it also came to light that Sheila had very bad arthritis in both knees. Of course, with the more recent hip problem her knees were also beginning to flare up. She was pretty fed up as the constant pain was affecting her psychologically as well as physically. She was no longer able to go for her walks and her love of travel was significantly curtailed.

At first Sheila was dubious that I could do anything for her. She looked at me bemused as I put some needles in her hands, arms and feet. I could almost hear her thinking, “How, in the name of God, is that going to do anything for my hip or knees!”. But it did. Her knees responded faster than her hip and it was with some amazement that she returned saying that her knees weren’t paining her half as much as they had been after that first treatment. This was a huge shock to her as her osteoarthritis had been getting progressively worse for years and she had forgotten what it felt like not to have painful knees.

As her knees continued to improve her hip pain was a bit more stubborn. Progress was slowed somewhat by the fact that a cortisone injection had been scheduled for her and therefore I could not treat the hip directly. However, we were able to lessen the pain and between that and the increased mobility she had gained from the pain relief in her knees Sheila was able to head off on the holiday that she had thought she’d have to cancel.

Upon her return in the New Year I was finally able to tackle her hip. I started incorporated Gua Sha and Cupping, two manual therapies, into our sessions and so far it’s really working. Two sessions have seen the pain diminish by 50% and her knees are responding to treatment as quickly as ever. It’s a joy to see her walking and moving with so much more ease and the lack of pain is reflected in her smile.

Given the chronic nature of Sheila’s condition she’ll likely have to continue with maintenance treatments for the rest of her life. Just once every 4-6 weeks…..like going to the hairdresser! A small price to pay when she is already looking forward to her next holiday and can book many more with confidence.

*Not the patient’s real name.