My husband suffered with lower back pain and stiffness long before he was diagnosed with PD. He would have episodes that were so bad they would land him in bed for a day or two. He tried everything to relieve the pain, and nothing seemed to be working. He finally decided, after much prompting, to see an acupuncturist. Our first visit was yesterday.

The receptionist couldn’t have been nicer, and the doctor seemed very knowledgeable and sincere. Everything was good until we reached the treatment point and my husband needed to be face down on a table that was 4 feet off the floor, not an easy maneuver for someone with PD. The doctor brought out a stool and was able to help him get up and situated so the treatment could proceed. My husband’s back was probed, needles were placed, he sat with a heat lamp for about 15 minutes and even got a bit of massage on that lower back area. Then it was time to get down.

To get off the table, which was about 3 feet wide, he first needed to lift himself, turn over and sit up. The doctor helped him roll over to the left, not understanding that’s his weaker side, and they were stuck. I was watching from a chair, not wanting to interfere, as the doctor told my husband to use his arms and push himself up. This went on for several minutes before the doctor realized he wasn’t going to be able to get him off the table safely and asked for my help. I moved to my husband’s back and helped lift him into a sitting position from behind then came back around front and helped him get down.

He has 4 more sessions scheduled and I am wondering if we will make it through. When we got into bed last night, my husband told me that his left shoulder was really sore, I think he strained it trying to get off the treatment table. I am going to encourage him to practice laying facedown and then getting back up to a standing position using our bed. Perhaps we can work out a solution for this challenge before his next appointment. If not, we may have to give it up since getting on and off the table may cause more damage than the treatment provides relief.