How does Medical Acupuncture work?
Clinical evidence has shown Medical Acupuncture to be effective in the reduction of pain as it stimulates the brain and spinal cord (nervous system) interrupting pain signals and promotes the body’s production of natural pain relieving and anti-inflammatory chemicals including endorphins, melatonin and serotonin.
Medical Acupuncture has also been found to expedite natural tissue healing through improving circulation and increasing the flow of new red blood cells to an injured area therefore helping to speed up the healing process. This is of particular benefit to an injury of a tendon or ligament where the bodies natural blood supply to these areas is poor.
The benefits of Medical Acupuncture have been such that continued scientific research into this treatment technique has also found it to have a positive effect in affecting muscle tone, hormone outputs, anti-body production, respiratory, digestive, urinary and reproductive systems.
Types of Medical Acupuncture
There are several techniques for applying Medical Acupuncture with each type being used to achieve a different outcome.
Conventional Acupuncture: involves the insertion of a number of very fine acupuncture needles at pre-determined acupuncture points to rebalance and stimulate the body’s natural self healing process. The location of the acupuncture points will be determined by your Practitioner based on an assessment of the cause of the imbalance. The acupuncture needles are left in place for between 15 and 30 minutes.This method of acupuncture is a successful way of treating conditions such as women’s health issues, trigeminal neuralgia, stress, anxiety, sleep disorders, irritable bowel syndrome as well as other conditions.
Dry Needling: is used in the treatment of damaged tendons and ligaments. Needles are inserted into the damaged tendon or ligament and then gently stimulated by the Practitioner during the treatment to promote the flow of blood to the injured area and speed the healing process.
Trigger Point Acupuncture: is used for the treatment of both acute and chronic muscle pain. Needles are inserted into the trigger points of the muscle. Trigger points are small patches of super-contracted muscle fibres which cause aching and stiffness. The insertion of acupuncture needles causes a twitch response of the muscle with the trigger point being released and the muscle relaxing and returning to its normal length.
Electro-Acupuncture: involves the coupling of acupuncture needles to an electro-acupuncture machine which provides variable amplitudes and frequencies of electrical impulses to stimulate the acupuncture points being treated. This provides continuous stimulation of the acupuncture points which can help reduce the total treatment time. It also allows for stronger stimulation helping in the treatment of more difficult cases. Electro-Acupuncture is particularly beneficial in the treatment and/or management of neurological conditions, muscle spasms, ligament injuries and chronic pain syndromes.
Acupressure: is generally used to treat those who have a phobia of needles, children or the elderly. It can be used either to relieve tight muscles through the release of trigger points or to rebalance the body’s energy flows depending upon the acupuncture points being treated. Acupressure is carried out manually either through the use of fingers or by an acupuncture probe applying varying degrees of pressure.
What to Expect
Medical Acupuncture is most commonly used by our Medical Clinicians as a precursor to other manual therapy techniques in order to provide pain relief or speed the healing process where an injury has occurred. However, Medical Acupuncture can also be used as a standalone treatment for certain conditions.
Medical Clinicians are in an ideal position, due to their expert knowledge of the musculoskeletal and nervous systems, to administer both Western Approach and Traditional Chinese Medicine Acupuncture techniques.
Before commencing Medical Acupuncture treatment a detailed assessment and consultation will be carried out to advise fully if and how Medical Acupuncture can assist , the most effective technique to use and the likely number of treatment session required.
The number of treatment sessions will depend upon the condition being treated and how quickly the Client responds to treatment. Each session is tailored to the Client’s individual needs. Acute pain conditions can be successfully treated in as few as one or two treatment sessions. Research has suggested that a course of between six and eight treatment sessions is required for long-standing painful conditions.
The needles used in treatment are sterile, single use needles of varying widths and lengths. They are extremely fine needles (much finer than an injection needle) are inserted quickly through the skin into the tissue.
Medical Acupuncture should not be painful. Once the needles are in place you may feel a mild ache, numbness, warmth or heavy sensation at or around the area being treated. Such feeling is a sign that the body’s inbuilt pain relieving mechanisms are being activated.
We ask that Clients bring with them suitable clothing to change into for their appointment such as vest top and shorts as acupuncture needles cannot be inserted through clothing due to infection risks.
If you should have any queries, would like to book an appointment or require further details regarding Medical Acupuncture then please do not hesitate to contact the Centre where upon one of our Medical Clinicians will be happy to speak with you.
