Who has acupuncture and what can it treat?
Whilst some people have acupuncture to help with specific conditions such as osteoarthritis of the knee, others may have acupuncture because they feel generally unwell but have no obvious diagnosis. Others may choose to have treatment to help maintain good health as a preventative measure or to simply enhance their feeling of wellbeing. As traditional acupuncture aims to treat the whole person rather than specific symptoms in isolation, it can be effective for a range of conditions.
The British Acupuncture Council has summarised the current available research into the effectiveness of acupuncture for numerous conditions from Anxiety to Vertigo. For the current information and unbiased scientific research in the form of fact sheets and review papers, please follow the link to the British Acupuncture Council website:
Acupuncture Research Evidence | BAcC
The World Health Organisation (WHO), lists a wide variety of conditions for which acupuncture treatment has been tested in controlled clinical trials and confirmed to be effective, as follows:
- Low back pain
- Neck pain
- Sciatica
- Tennis elbow
- Knee pain
- Peri-arthritis of the shoulder
- Sprains
- Facial pain
- Headache
- Dental pain
- Acute and chronic gastritis
- Rheumatoid arthritis
- Induction of labor
- Breech birth presentation
- Morning sickness
- Nausea and vomiting
- Postoperative pain
- Stroke
- Essential hypertension
- Primary hypotension
- Renal colic
- Leucopenia
- Radiation/chemo reactions
- Allergic rhinitis,
- Hay fever
- Biliary colic
- Depression
- Acute bacillary dysentery
- Primary dysmenorrhea
- Acute epigastralgia
- Peptic ulcer
WHO also considers the following conditions may benefit from acupuncture treatment:
Digestive: Gastritis, Irritable Bowel Syndrome, Hepatitis, Hemorrhoids
Emotional: Anxiety, Depression, Insomnia, Nervousness, Neurosis
Eye-Ear-Throat: Rhinitis, Sinusitis, Sore throat
Gynaecological: Menstrual pain, Infertility
Musculoskeletal: Arthritis, Back pain, Muscle cramping, Muscle pain and weakness, Neck pain, Sciatica
Neurological: Headaches, Migraines, Neurogenic bladder dysfunction, Parkinson’s disease, Postoperative pain, Stroke
Respiratory: Allergic rhinitis, Sinusitis, Bronchitis
Miscellaneous: Irritable bladder, Prostatitis, Male infertility, Some forms of impotence, Addiction
I also offer Auricular, Electroacupuncture, Tuina (chinese medical massage) as part of treatment with acupuncture, Cupping (cups placed onto skin to form a seal) and Guasha (vigorous scraping of the skin). Both Cupping and Guasha techniques increase blood flow and clears stagnant Qi.
Please contact me if you would like more information or wish to discuss your condition in more detail.