TOP councillor Frank Keegan is fighting back to physical fitness by joining Cheshire’s footballing elite...on the acupuncture table.
The council’s money man may be more used to getting the needle in the political arena, but after a stroke last month, he is sharing the same pin specialist as the Manchester United team.
The dad-of-two’s guru, Dr Qu-Qian Su, regularly treats celebrity players, and will be the Chinese tennis team’s acupuncturist when they come over for the 2012 Olympics.
Coun Keegan, 62, of Brook Lane, Alderley Edge, said: "Whenever I walk in, everybody in the clinic looks up hoping to see a famous face, and then it’s just me
"I think I’ve seen a few WAGs, but I’d struggle to recognise them to be honest."
"I’ve been told that when the team’s physio tells players it’s bad, footballers go straight to this acupuncturist in Manchester.
"He’s brilliant. I feel marvellous."
The former accountant, who lives with wife Sheila, added: "I’m also using conventional remedies, but since I started acupuncture I feel so much better – and I know I’m in the best hands."
As well as acupuncture, he has also taken to ‘cupping’ – an ancient Chinese method using cups to create a vacuum to remove impurities – and he has re-ignited his passion for yoga.
"It’s like having an MOT really," he added.
Dr Su, who runs the Chinese Acupuncture Clinic, on Palatine Road, Northenden, in Manchester, said: "Councillor Keegan has been a good patient.
"I treat a lot of footballers – many from Cheshire who play for Manchester United – and their wives and friends too."
