For the past three months, I’ve been visiting Root Whole Body for massage, acupuncture, and cupping! Read more about my experience with Root Whole Body here. I’ve had back problems since I was a pre-teen due to manual labor on my parent’s farm as a kid. Over the years, my back pain has gotten worse since my job requires me to sit at a desk on a laptop. I’ve heard great things about the benefits of acupuncture and cupping so I decided to try them out (combined with massage) to see if my back felt any better!

Acupuncture is an alternative medical practice used in Eastern medicine. An acupuncturist will stick thin needles into acupressure points of the body to alleviate pain and treat medical conditions. It can also help reduce stress, headaches, eye strain, allergies and many other things!

When I received acupuncture at Root Whole Body, the acupuncturist Casey, sat down with me to address the symptoms I was hoping to treat. She had me lay down while she placed needles all over my body, mainly focusing on my back. I waited like that for about 20 min to let the needles do their thing! I actually really like how it felt to be honest. I could definitely feel a little zing of relief where the needles were placed. Certain areas did feel uncomfortable like my ankles, but the acupuncturist can adjust if you mention it to them!

I also had cupping done after my acupuncture sessions which I absolutely LOVED! Cupping is a form of therapy used to relieve back and neck pain, stiff muscles, anxiety, fatigue, and many other things. Cups are used (with a quick pass of a flame) to create a suction with negative pressure to loosen muscles, encourage blood flow, and sedate the nervous system. You basically lay there with the cups for about 20-30 min. I thought it felt absolutely amazing and it definitely provided relief for days after!

What’s really interesting is that it leaves suction marks on your back that basically look like circular hickies. The worse marks indicate which areas are the worst. My marks were the worst under my shoulder blades, which is exactly where I feel the most back pain. Don’t worry, the marks fade after about a week! I follow up the sessions with a deep tissue massage and a nice sauna session after. I love how relaxed I feel afterwards! It definitely makes a difference and I’ve been loving the “me time”.

I can definitely tell already that my back has been feeling so much better and it’s been providing me with a lot of relief. I can’t wait to see long term results!

XOXO