Acupuncture for pain relief

Acupuncture is fast gaining acceptance in mainstream medicine right across the Western world. It's already used routinely in several Australian hospitals and is currently undergoing a trial in three Melbourne hospitals to alleviate pain from acute migraines, back pain and ankle sprain.

Researchers have just mapped acupuncture's effect on the brain and have found that it changes specific neural structures, deactivating the areas in the brain associated with the processing of pain.

This is key in future treatment options as we know that using pharmaceutical drugs can have many negative side effects. Where as acupuncture can also be safely combined with most conventional drugs and treatments and has very few side effects.

Today, acupuncture is one of the most accepted complementary therapies in the country, with more than 80 per cent of GPs referring patients to an accredited acupuncturist in the past 12 months.

So when should you be demanding acupuncture over mainstream medical treatments? Everyone's situation is individual, but the one thing is that acupuncture can't really hurt. So try it." Just be warned: it's not a panacea.

"Acupuncture won't help everyone for everything," says Professor Cohen. "But there are cases where people have gone the gamut of Western medicine, had no relief and then acupuncture has given significant relief. "Acupuncture provides a different perspective on a treatment program and, in the hands of a trained therapist, has been shown over thousands of years to be extremely safe." We have been using a form of acupuncture, known as dry needling for many years, for many different complaints, with great clinical success. Those niggly calves during soccer season, or irritated hammy from footy, or even the angry shoulder from sitting at the computer too long. Do all these sound familiar?

If you think you'd like to give it a try, give us a call on 99826555, or check out our website www.oneillandpross.com

*July Special