Acupuncture

 

As part of our integrated approach we are trained in acupuncture and have this available to compliment our range of treatments for pain management.   This could be for an acute flare up or as part of a comprehensive approach to help manage a long term condition.    Acupuncture has been used in Eastern medicine for hundreds of years and has been adopted over the last century in western medicine.   The area where the needles are inserted have evolved over centuries to give the current points we use today.   Acupuncture points tend to be in muscle and have several ways in which they reduce pain.   They work by the pain-gate theory by stimulating sensory nerve endings and reducing the amount of noxious stimuli being transmitted to the brain.   They also work by causing a natural endorphin release in the muscle which has a general pain killing effect.   Evidence suggests a course of Acupuncture therapy works better than a single treatment alone.

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A typical acupuncture session lasts between 20 and 40 minutes and a course can last for as long as you feel you are benefiting.   We wouldn't recommend continuing for more than 6 sessions without improvement.   Needles are very thin and typically are between 30-50 mm long.    There are points from your head to your toes and we could treat pain in your thumb from too much golfing or sciatic pain coming from your low back.   

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Treating physiotherapists are members of the Acupuncture Association Chartered Physiotherapists (AACP https://www.aacp.org.uk)