The service currently offers a nurse-led acupuncture clinic, delivering Western medical acupuncture to patients experiencing persistent pain.
Western medical acupuncture is a treatment involving the insertion of fine needles through the skin, similar to Chinese acupuncture.
Traditional Chinese acupuncture is based on treating the body as a whole and returning it to a balanced, healthy state. Similarly, western medical acupuncture may be used following a medical assessment and diagnosis and is based on evidence, which has shown that stimulating nerves in the skin and muscles can have a variety of effects on the body.
Acupuncture can encourage the body to release natural painkillers (endorphins). It can also stimulate nerve fibres to block out pain and can affect a number of the systems within the body such as our muscles, hormones, the immune system and our circulation.
The aim of the course of acupuncture is to reduce pain and allow participation in self-management strategies for pain management such as exercise and increasing activity levels.
Acupuncture is recommended by NICE for the management of chronic primary pain.
All patients referred to the clinic are assessed on an individual basis and if appropriate, they are offered a course of treatment with a maximum of six treatment sessions.
Last reviewed: 19 July 2023
