Acupuncture is a modality that is now being used in Western medicine to treat pain.
Conventional acupuncture involves the use of single-use, pre-sterilised disposable needles of varying widths, lengths and materials that pierce the skin at the acupuncture points. Your physiotherapist will determine the locations of these points on the basis of an assessment of the cause of the pain. A number of needles may be used during each treatment, and these are typically left in position for between 20 and 30 minutes before being removed.
Trigger point acupuncture may also be used to facilitate relaxation in specific muscles following trauma, for longer-term unresolved muscle pain, or as a means of increasing muscle length in order to aid stretch and rehabilitation. Trigger point needling often produces an effect much more quickly, and therefore, does not require the 20β30-minute treatment time.
