Our Acupuncturists are trained, qualified and regulated by The British medical Acupuncture Society (BMAS) as well as being fully Registered Osteopaths.
BMAS believes that acupuncture should only be used by trained practitioners who can adequately assess the risks and benefits of applying the therapy. All members of the Society are regulated health professionals and are subject to the Society’s Code of Practice and Complaints Procedure. This is in addition to meeting the requirements of the statutory regulatory body for their profession.
What is Acupuncture?
Acupuncture treatment involves fine needles being inserted through the skin and briefly left in position. Sometimes manual or low voltage electrical stimulation is applied to assist the process. The number of needles varies but may be only two or three. The practitioner will assess each patient’s case and treatment will be tailored to the individual; so it is impossible to give more than this general idea of what your particular treatment might involve. Treatment might be once a week to begin with, then at longer intervals as the condition responds. A typical course of treatment lasts 5 to 8 sessions.
Acupuncture stimulates the nerves in skin and muscle, and can produce a variety of effects. We know that it increases the body’s release of natural painkillers – endorphin and serotonin – in the pain pathways of both the spinal cord and the brain. This modifies the way pain signals are received.
Many patients who have had acupuncture describe feeling of “being revitalised,” “more relaxed and positive” and commonly patients find their sleep is improved and more restful. These effects one are often why people choose to come in for treatment.
What can Acupuncture treat
Acupuncture has been shown to have a direct effect on reducing pain and can therefore be used for a wide variety of conditions, below are a list of medically proven effects of acupuncture treatment.
- Improvement in symptoms of overactive bladder syndrome
- Relief of tension type headaches
- Relief of migraine headache
- Relief of chronic low back pain
- Relief of neck pain or chronic neck pain
- Relief from temporomandibular (TMD/TMJ) pain
- Temporary adjunctive treatment for osteoarthritis knee pain
Acupuncture – past, present and future
Acupuncture-like techniques may have been used for over 5000 years, if evidence from Ötzi the Iceman is considered; however, the most well known system of acupuncture was developed in the Far East from around 2000 years ago. This was first introduced into Europe in the 17th Century, but widespread interest in the technique did not develop until the political events of the early 1970s allowed travel restrictions between East and West to be eased.
In the past thirty years, because of the huge public interest in the subject, considerable scientific research on acupuncture has been carried out – although much remains to be done. We now know much more about how acupuncture works and some of the myths can be laid to rest. It is demonstrably untrue to say that the results of acupuncture are all in the mind.
As we learn more about it, the possibilities of using acupuncture alongside orthodox medicine increase. The distinction between complementary or alternative medicine and conventional medicine is becoming blurred as acupuncture is accepted in medicine. Acupuncture is already available in most hospital pain clinics and it is provided by an ever-increasing number of GPs and hospital doctors.