Acupuncture is used as a part of an integrated approach used by physiotherapists to address the management of pain and inflammation by stimulating the body's own healing chemicals to help aid and enhance recovery.

Acupuncture dates back as far as 1000BC, founded on the concept that in order for the body to achieve balance in health and fitness, both YIN (negative) and YANG (positive forces) forces must be balanced in order to restore balance within the body.

It is said that there are meridians within the body that link the deeper organs to the superficial skin, and within these meridians is a flow also known as QI (pronounced 'chee'), and this flow can be influenced via specific acupuncture points within the skin. During injury, disease or infection it is said that the natural flow of QI is altered within the meridians thus causing pain, inflammation, weakness, exhaustion or chronic illnesses. It is hypothesised that by inserting needles at specific acupuncture points the flow of QI and therefore the body's balance is restored.

Modern day medicine now provides clinical research and evidence behind the use of acupuncture, and by performing a thorough assessment to identify the source of imbalance, I can identify the correct points to address the imbalance.

Once the acupuncture points have been identified via a thorough assessment, between 1 and 10 needles may be used for a duration of between 20-30 minutes. Insertion of the needle enhances the pain modulating systems locally, segmentaly (at the spinal cord) and in the higher centers (Periaqueductal Grey matter) in order to release endorphins to reduce pain, melatonin to promote sleep and serotonin to promote well being to name a few. By allowing the body to release the own pain modulating chemicals, it allows other interventions such as manual or exercise therapy to be implemented.

Acupuncture can also be used to address trigger points, where a needle is placed in a hypersensitive piece of tissue in order to facilitate muscle relaxation which can help improve range of motion and relieve tension.