Acupuncture: a cynic writes...
I've been getting a bit of gip from my back recently so made oe of my (thankfully) very rare trips to my local GP.
I was informed that an osteopath would cost big buck$$$ or I could take a course of anti-inflammatory pills. I didn't fancy either so I was told that the surgery offered free acupuncture on the NHS.

I was kind of surprised that you could get acupuncture om the NHS but decided to give it a go.
The next day I was back in the surgery with this dude slapping needles in my back like there was no tomorrow. It didn't particularly hurt, but it sure felt weird. The things were only in my back for a few minutes before I was sent packing and I have to say.. respect!

My back has definitely feels better already, so I guess 1,000 years of Chinese medicine can't be wrong.
And big up my local docs for their progressive attitude - I'd much rather have a few pins shoved in my back than swallow a pile of chemicals...