Post-operative pain, migraine, lower back pain, osteoarthritis of the knee…
No one wants to live with daily pain. Louise has the skills and knowledge to treat both acute and chronic pain conditions using acupuncture and other Traditional Chinese Medicine treatment modalities. Given the right environment and the right treatment, the body has a unique ability to return to a state of balance, enabling self-healing.
Acupuncture achieves its many effects through many very complex biological mechanisms, which were researched in 2017 in this study
Acute pain
Acute pain is pain generally directly related to soft tissue damage done through sport or day-to-day living such as a sprained ankle, small muscle tear or muscle strain. With acute pain, once the injury has healed, the pain stops. This type of pain is caused by inflammation in the tissue and nerves at the site of and around the injury. Your treatment for acute pain will include acupuncture and may also include herbs, cupping, moxa and Gua Sha.
Chronic pain
Chronic pain can continue for months or even years after the injury that initially caused the pain has healed. This type of pain rewires the brain and over sensitises the entire nervous system.
As a complex condition, chronic pain is more difficult to treat, often involving longer periods of treatment before changes are experienced. Acupuncture has a cumulative effect therefore, over time, the spacing between treatments will become longer. Treatment may include acupuncture, VNS, moxa, cupping and lifestyle advice.
There is a growing body of supporting and positive evidence to suggest that Acupuncture is a recommended treatment for pain, particularly for those looking to stay away or minimise the use of more traditional pain medications.
Pain Management References
Cao, L., et al. (2012). “Needle acupuncture for osteoarthritis of the knee. A systematic review and updated meta-analysis.” Saudi medical journal 33(5): 526-532.
Corbett, M., et al. (2013). “Acupuncture and other physical treatments for the relief of pain due to osteoarthritis of the knee: network meta-analysis.” Osteoarthritis and cartilage 21(9): 1290-1298.
Ezzo, J., et al. (2001). “Acupuncture for osteoarthritis of the knee: A systematic review.” Arthritis & Rheumatism 44(4): 819-825. Kim, Y.-K., et al. (2017). “What intrinsic factors influence responsiveness to acupuncture in pain?: a review of pre-clinical studies that used responder analysis.” BMC Complementary and Alternative Medicine 17(1): 281.
Li, Y.-X., et al. (2020). “Effectiveness and Safety of Acupuncture for Migraine: An Overview of Systematic Reviews.” Pain Research and Management 2020.
Sun, Y., et al. (2008). “Acupuncture and related techniques for postoperative pain: a systematic review of randomized controlled trials.” BJA: British Journal of Anaesthesia 101(2): 151-160.
Zhang, N., et al. (2020). “Systematic Review: Acupuncture vs Standard Pharmacological Therapy for Migraine Prevention.” Headache: The Journal of Head and Face Pain 60(2): 309-317.