Acupuncture

Modern acupuncture may sometimes be used within treatment causing micro-trauma which in turn encourages the body to heal the area directly and closely affected.

To perform these techniques special needles are applied to certain areas of the body, commonly in ‘trigger points' of muscles, which can help relieve pain. It is thought that acupuncture acts by changing the ways in which the central nervous system (the brain and spinal cord) is transmitting information about pain.

Modern acupuncturists :

• do not use traditional diagnostic methods such as the pulse or the appearance of the tongue.
• leave the needles in place for a short time; often about 2 minutes or less.
• use only a few needles, perhaps 4, sometimes only one!

Surprisingly it has been found that doing acupuncture this way is as effective as using a lot of needles and leaving them in for longer, and less likely to have unwanted effects. Many manipulative therapists such as physiotherapist and chiropractors also use modern acupuncture, and find that it can be understood in scientific terms.

Using anatomical diagnostic ability, modern acupuncture is used as an effective pain relieving technique within manipulative treatment such as Osteopathy.