DEFINITELY check the credentials of any type of practitioner that you consult. There is a lot of good information and a lot of misinformation out there, and it can be tough to sort through, especially with "alternative" therapies.

Wahine makes a good point that some treatments may do more harm than good in some cases.

I'm someone who grew up being steered away from alternative treatments because dad is an MD and believes it's all rubbish. Since I don't necessarily do what he says, I've always operated on the rule of thumb that, if I'm desperate and nothing else is working, and if I feel like it can't make things worse, then maybe I'll try it. I think there's an element of being mentally, emotionally and physically receptive to a treatment that can also influence whether it's effective.

To illustrate: at various times and for various reasons, I've let people talk me into trying acupuncture. Generally it's had zero effect on me. In the case of a shoulder injury (dragonboat racing -- the scrip was ice and ibuprofen, which was not helping), it actually made my wrist swell up. Thankfully my wrist did not hurt as much as my shoulder.

I related this whole episode to my Taiwanese grandmother a week later, who had been a qi gong practitioner for 20 years. To which she said, "that's not right. Mind if I try something?" I thought anything my grandmother does to me couldn't possibly make things worse, so I said sure. And then she did this Mr. Miyagi thing and I actually felt better, for about a week. Probably would have lasted longer if I hadn't had another mishap the next week.

Bottom line is, I can't explain why acupuncture hurt and why qi gong hocus-pocus helped. Approach any treatment and practitioner with a healthy skepticism.