Acupuncture

Acupuncture is the insertion of very fine needles into the skin at particular points on the body, to prevent or treat ill health or maintain good health. This is thought to stimulate the body’s ability to heal.

There are about 7,500 acupuncturists practising in the UK, and one in three GP surgeries are making Acupuncture available to patients. Currently in the UK there are two main styles , Traditional Chinese and Western Medical Acupuncture.

Acupuncture is one element of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), which is an integrated system of primary healthcare that also utilises Herbal medicine, Massage, exercise and diet, that has an uninterrupted history of development dating back around four thousand years in China and other parts of East Asia. Acupuncture in China can be traced back at least two thousand years, ...more

Western Medical Acupuncture, developed over the last thirty years or so, is a form of Acupuncture similar to Traditional Chinese acupuncture, but is based on the principles of modern conventional medicine. It is usually used as an adjunct to conventional treatment rather than a stand-alone therapy.

Many physicians have discovered independently that pressing, stimulating or injecting various superficial body points may help to relieve pain, particularly muscular or rheumatic-like pains. These points are not necessarily at the site of pain, but often over distant areas known as referred pain. It has been discovered ...more