Using Medical Acupuncture To Treat Acute and Chronic Pain

November 16, 2016

Maria Nolan

Medical acupuncture is an increasingly popular technique for treating acute (recent sharp pain) and chronic (over a prolonged period) pain conditions and it is something we use in all of our clinics.

We have had some very good results with patients who have had neck, shoulder and knee problems, while it has also worked well for patients suffering with tension linked headaches and migraines. In this blog, I am going to explain exactly what medical acupuncture is, how it works and what conditions can be treated with it.

What is Medical Acupuncture?

Medical acupuncture is a modern treatment approach used by osteopaths and other manual therapists. It is similar to traditional Chinese acupuncture in that it involves strategically placing sterile needles into different parts of the body. Medical acupuncture often involves using gentle electrical stimulation on the needles.

How does it work?

Medical acupuncture is very good for patients who come to us in severe pain. It is difficult to use many of the traditional osteopathic techniques when patients are in a lot of pain or have acute conditions.

Medical acupuncture stimulates the nerves in the muscles and can accelerate the body’s release of natural painkillers. It also helps to relax and increase blood flow into the muscles, which in turn helps ease the tension and pain. This leads to an overall relaxation and a feeling of well-being in the patient and allows us to treat the patient with osteopathic techniques and to get to the root cause of the problem.

What conditions can be treated with it?

Some of the most common conditions we treat with medical acupuncture include;

  • Neck pain
  • Shoulder Pain
  • Knee problems
  • Osteoarthritis and other arthritic conditions
  • Headaches and Migraines
  • Temporomandibular joint (TMJ) pain
  • Sciatica
  • Tendonitis
  • Sport injuries

Other useful information

In our clinics, a medical acupuncture treatment can last from 2 minutes to 20 minutes and is combined with osteopathic techniques. Depending on the patient and how acute their condition is, we see a 10%-20% improvement on average on the pain scale after the first treatment. You may also see a further improvement in your condition within a few days.

Some people may be concerned that medical acupuncture is painful. The treatment is relatively pain-free, with only a slight discomfort being felt as the needles are inserted. Everyone will have a different response to the treatment, but your osteopath will explain all this in detail to you prior to any decision being made. If you don’t feel comfortable with medical acupuncture, there are other techniques that we can use to help relieve your pain.

All the osteopaths in Nolan Osteopathy are fully qualified and certified in medical acupuncture.

If you’d like to find out more about medical acupuncture please feel free to contact us by;

Tel:01491 281 972 or 07591 094 223

Email: enquiries@nolanosteopathy.co.uk

Thanks for reading.

Maria