Western medical acupuncture involves the insertion of fine needles into the body; it is an adaptation of Chinese acupuncture using current knowledge of anatomy, physiology and pathology, and the principles of evidence based medicine. Western medical acupunture is principally used by conventional healthcare practitioners and diagnosis is made by conventional medical methods. It acts mainly by stimulating the nervous system and is mainly used to treat musculoskeletal pain. Reference: Acupuncture in Medicine 2009; 27:33-35 doi:10.1136/aim.2008.000372
Western/Medical Acupuncture at Borders Chiropractic
At Borders Chiropractic, our Osteopathy Joanne Blades and both of our Chiropractors, Pamella Chu and Chris Swaffield offer Western Medical Acupuncture. Pamella and Chris are both members of the British Medical Acupuncture Society (BMAS).
What sorts of conditions may respond to acupuncture?
Examples include:
- tension type headaches
- migraine headache
- chronic low back pain
- neck pain ( including chronic neck pain)
- temporomandibular (TMD/TMJ) pain
- osteoarthritis of the knee
- overactive bladder syndrome
Many people also feel more relaxed or revitalised after acupuncture.
This is not a complete list and many other conditions have been treated with acupuncture. While many people experience the benefits of acupuncture, there will be a minority of patients who do not respond to treatment, so the response cannot be guaranteed. The response may also be temporary or short term only and continued treatment may be needed to maintain improvement. Your individual response to treatment will be reviewed and discussed as treatment progresses; you are free to terminate treatment at any time. Further information is also available at www.medical-acupuncture.co.uk