Acupuncture can help stimulate the body’s own natural healing chemicals which help with managing pain and inflammation- in doing so it can be a useful adjunct to aid recovery. Acupuncture stimulates the brain and spinal cord which causes your body to release chemicals such as endorphins (pain relief), melatonin (to aid sleep) and Serotonin (your feel good hormone). This can be really useful in physiotherapy to aid pain management to then enable you to work towards normal function.

Trigger point acupuncture is a form of acupuncture whereby needles are placed into ‘trigger points’ / points of tension in affected muscles. In doing so, there is then often a relaxation in the muscle and a subsequent reduction in muscle tension and pain. Using this method the needles are usually left in for a few minutes only.

Traditional Chinese Acupuncture uses set points along meridians or channels in the body. Your therapist will select certain points along these meridians which they feel will give you the best response. These points are typically near influential pain points or anatomically relevant points for your condition. Using this method the needles are left in for a longer period- often up to 15-30 minutes. Often a combination of the two approaches is used.