Blake Gafford was a college student at Texas Tech when his stress began becoming unbearable.
“Somebody said ‘have you ever tried acupuncture?’ And I never had,” Gafford said.
“I always thought acupuncture was for people who wanted to — you know, weight loss, it was for pain, something like that. I didn’t really have any pain in my body. I just thought it was for limited things.
“Anyway, I went and got some acupuncture. I was blown away by how much it relieved my stress. I started getting regular acupuncture treatments,” he said.
Gafford said he began to feel different. His reactions to stress began changing and he began carrying himself in a different way, he said.
Various body functions began improving, he said. He was sleeping better, his digestion improved and a curiosity about Chinese medicine was awakened.
The turning point in his college career was when he developed a sinus infection and found a treatment through acupuncture, he said.
“I have a deviated septum,” Gafford said. “I had taken everything possible to try to drain my sinuses — everything. Nothing worked. I had gotten some diagnostic imaging that showed they’re pretty impacted. My septum was pretty small.”
Gafford was going to need surgery, which would require surgeons to go through his nose and widen his septum, he said.
“It’s pretty hideous,” he said of the surgery. “They go in up your nose and make the section larger. It’s a lot of pain. My acupuncturist said, ‘Well, why don’t you try some of these herbs first? And I said, ‘OK. I’ve tried everything. I’ve tried all kinds of over-the-counter stuff, everything I could think of. … I’ve gone to the health food store. I’ve tried herbs for my sinuses. I’ve tried everything.’ He said, ‘Oh yeah? You haven’t tried these.’ ”
The acupuncturist provided Gafford with an herb formula, Gafford said. He was surprised at how quickly it affected him.
“It was remarkable how much it changed,” Gafford said. “Immediately it started draining and I felt some things open up. He said, ‘yeah, you don’t have to do that (surgery). Just because your septum is big doesn’t mean it’s clogged for good and there’s no way to get everything out.’ I went back to my ear, nose and throat specialist and I said, ‘I think I’m OK.’ He looked up my nose and he was like, ‘Wow. You don’t have any mucus.’ He couldn’t see anything wrong. I didn’t have to get that surgery. That kind of changed me. I went, ‘Wow. This is a whole medicinal system that they have that’s great for all kinds of stuff.’ I started learning more about it.”
Yan Zhang is an professor in the Family and Community Medicine division of Health Services Research for the TTU Health Sciences Center School of Medicine and licensed acupuncture therapist.
She’s practiced acupuncture in Lubbock since 2008.
Acupuncture is a traditional form of Chinese medicine and is a completely different approach to health care than western medicine, Zhang said.
Therapy is very individualized according to the patient’s symptoms, she said.
Acupuncture treatment is a form of stimulation to help the body’s qi (pronounced chi) flow — the body’s circulation functions, such as blood flow, back to balance, Zhang said.
A traditional acupuncture therapy involves thin needles — smaller than the kind used to administer medication — poked about one-fourth of an inch into strategically decided points on the body, she said.
The average session lasts about 40 minutes to an hour by the time all the needles are placed, the points are stimulated and the needles are removed, Zhang said.
“It’s more suitable for adults,” she said.
It’s grown in popularity in the United States since its introduction about 50 years ago, Zhang said. The demand in Lubbock is increasing, too.
Gafford said Chinese medicine is an art and he hopes to provide his clients with an alternative approach to traditional western medicine and raise awareness about acupuncture therapy in Lubbock.
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