When Jennifer broke her back in a snowboarding accident, she had to relearn how to walk. But along the road to recovery, she also picked up a passion for healing.
Jennifer's Story
"I was 28 when it happened. I felt like years of my life had been stolen from me."
I went to Mammoth Mountain for a snowboarding trip. I'd been on the mountain for about five minutes when a very large man landed on my back and broke it. I had to have surgery and relearn how to do everything I had done without any effort in the past. It was pretty transforming.
"I asked myself, 'How can I be creative with this? What things in my body can I use well and how can I use them?'"
It wasn't until after I was getting around by using a cane that I developed a very optimistic attitude. Though I couldn't use my legs very well, I could use my arms, so I thought doing massage would be a good option for me.
It was not a very bright idea. I was still very weak, and I ended up getting tendonitis in both of my arms. It was probably one of the lower points of my existence because I had trouble moving my legs and now also my arms. When I would bend my arms I would have the worst pain.
"I had always been interested in alternative medicine."
My roommate's ex-boyfriend was an acupuncturist and she told me I should go see him, so I did. It definitely helped with my tendonitis, and I also noticed that it helped with all the other residual symptoms I had from having a back injury, especially the weakness. Eventually, acupuncture also helped me with sleep problems and dealing with the stress of the injury. That's when I decided to go to acupuncture school.
"Acupuncture is like my insurance. Whenever I have a little problem, I use acupuncture to help myself."
It is interesting to treat yourself. When you are a patient experiencing acupuncture, you get a chi sensation, which feels like a tingling sensation or a heaviness. When an acupuncturist needles the person they can kind of get a sense when the patient feels that sensation. It's hard to needle myself because I can feel the sensation before I can get the needle in far enough. That is the harder part.
I usually do it on my leg, or when I had tendonitis in my arm I would do it there. There can be a bit of swelling, but it goes down really quickly because acupuncture needles are anti-inflammatory. If someone has an inflamed muscle in their back, you can see it instantly, and then it will just go down.
"As time goes on and acupuncture becomes more mainstream, I think people will start turning to it before it becomes their last resort."
I get a lot of patients with various health issues who have tried everything in western medicine, and the doctor can't find anything wrong with them. Obviously, the person doesn't feel right, but sometimes, western medicine can't pinpoint the problem. That's a great time to see an acupuncturist because we can see things before they become more serious. Let's say someone is nauseous all the time and they can't figure out why, or someone has migraines all the time and can't figure out why. Acupuncture is really incredible for treating those kinds of issues.
"Now, years later, I am able to realize that this didn't happen to me. It happened for me."
It has probably been about nine years now since I hurt my back, and I definitely did have to make some changes. I have adapted my life so that I do not have to lift anything heavy, and I'm in an environment where I can get up and move around. I completely changed my career because of my back injury.
Acupuncture has definitely improved my life in many, many ways. It ties the mind and body together, preventing or helping the body better deal with illness. With everything I've learned about chronic pain, injuries and overcoming emotional obstacles, hopefully I can help others with their process and make it easier for them.
