Acupuncture
Acupuncture in Leeds: What is Acupuncture?
Acupuncture is a treatment derived from ancient Chinese medicine. Fine needles are inserted at certain sites in the body for therapeutic or preventative purposes.
Western medical acupuncture is the use of acupuncture following a medical diagnosis. It involves stimulating sensory nerves under the skin and in the muscles of the body.
This results in the body producing natural substances, such as pain-relieving endorphins. It’s likely that these naturally released substances are responsible for the beneficial effects experienced with acupuncture.
How can we help?
At West Kirby Physiotherapy, depending on the outcome of your assessment our physiotherapists may recommend and discuss the possibility of using acupuncture alongside other physiotherapy techniques.
Some of the conditions that we may suggest we use it to help include:
- chronic tension-type headaches
- migraines
- chronic pain, such as neck and back pain
- joint pain
- dental pain
A course of acupuncture usually creates longer lasting pain relief than when a single treatment is used.
Acupuncture needles are fine and are usually a few centimetres long. Our physiotherapist will choose up specific points on your body called acupuncture points and these will be dependent on your condition.
Up to 12 points may be used during a typical session, sometimes more depending on the number of symptoms you have.
The needles may be inserted just under the skin, or deeper so they reach muscle tissue. Once the needles are in place, they may be left in position for a length of time lasting from a few minutes up to around 30 minutes and in some cases, your physiotherapist may rotate the needles on occasion during the session.
You may feel a tingling or a dull ache when the needles are inserted but shouldn’t experience any significant pain.
