ACUPUNCTURE

Acupuncture involves the insertion of single- use, sterile, disposable acupuncture needles into various musculoskeletal body parts. This treatment has been shown to boost levels of the bodies’ natural pain-killers (endorphins) in the nervous system, relieve muscle spasm and stimulate natural healing processes.

Acupuncture is generally very safe however as acupuncture is an invasive procedure there are some potential risks and side effects. These range from relatively common but not serious side effects to more serious but very rare side effects.

Serious and rare side effects include: infection, organ puncture (i.e. punctured lung) and seizure (fitting). The risk of serious adverse events arising in association with acupuncture is estimated at 0.05 per 10,000 treatments and 0.55 per 10,000 individual patients i.e. very low risk and below that of many common medical procedures.

Less serious but more common side effects include: drowsiness / tiredness (<3% of consultations), minor bleeding / bruising, worsening of existing symptoms (<2% of consultations), pain at insertion site of needle (<1% of consultations), fainting (<1% of consultations), nausea or vomiting (<1% of consultations).

The acupuncture procedure used in EH Physio adheres to the Acupuncture Association of Chartered Physiotherapists Code of Practice. If you are not happy about receiving acupuncture or are needle phobic then please do not worry as there are plenty of other treatment options that can be used.