Acupuncture
Acupuncture appointments last around 45 minutes and cost £50 per appointment. The practice of acupuncture is superficially inserting fine needles into specific areas the body. Once inserted, the needles are then left for around 20-30 minutes, in which time you are encouraged to relax and allow your body to respond to the needles. The needles can be inserted across the body, though location of the issue is not always where the needles will be inserted. Degree level training ensures the process is safe and hygenic. There are numerous other treatment options available along side acupuncture, and exactly which options are used in each appointment will be chosen based on the issues you have come for treatment for, your individual circumstances, and your personal preference.
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Styles/Methods of Acupuncture Available:
- TCM Acupuncture
- Dry Needling Acupuncture
- Matsumoto Style Acupuncture
- Auricular Acupucture
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MORE INFORMATION ABOUT ACUPUNCTURE​
People use acupuncture for many different purposes, and research into the field is creating a growing evidence base in favour of acupuncture for many conditions. Some people come for treatment of a specific issue or symptom, whereas others come to improve general wellbeing.
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Chinese tradition states that acupuncture addresses imbalances within the body by stimulating specific points on channels of energy called meridians. If you find this difficult to get your head around, you might be interested to know that ongoing research is collecting evidence on how acupuncture affects stress hormones, pain relieving hormones, female sex hormones and hypothalamus function (1, 2, 3). Acupuncture has also been found to stimulate Nitric Oxide in the body (6). Nitric Oxide helps regulate blood circulation in local areas of the body. Better blood circulation ensures the oxygen and nutrients we need to feed and recover our muscles and soft tissues are delivered to injured areas, and also fascilite the removal of waste products which can contribute to pain and hinder recovery. Furthermore, neuro-imaging technology has enabled us to see that areas of the brain are activated when acupuncture points are used, and these areas differ depending on the point used (4). In general, research into acupuncture has provided evidence for benefits for lower back pain, neck pain, migraine, knee pain, depression and anxiety. These advances have meant acupuncture has become more accepted in recent years with 83% of GPs thinking that acupuncture can be clinically useful, and 72% seeing that it can be cost effective (5)
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Information on research into acupuncture for specific conditions can be found on the British Acupuncture Council website.
Common conditions that have provide good reseach data include back pain, anxiety, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, depression, migraine, neck pain, headache, knee osteoarthritis and fibromyalgia.
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(1) Bo-Ying Chen M.D. Acupuncture Normalizes Dysfunction of Hypothalamic-Pituitary- Ovarian Axis
(2) Ji-Sheng Han. Acupuncture and endorphins
(3) Liao YY, Seto K, Saito H, Fujita M, Kawakami M. Effects of acupuncture on adrenocortical hormone production. (II) Effect of acupuncture on the response of adrenocortical hormone production to stress.
(4) Dhond RP, Kettner N, Napadow V. Neuroimaging acupuncture effects in the human brain.
(5) Lipman L, Dale J, MacPherson H. Attitudes of GPs towards the provision of acupuncture on the NHS
(6) MA Sheng-Xing. Nitric Oxide Signaling Molecules in Acupuncture Points: Toward Mechanisms of Acupuncture.​
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