Service Information

What is Western Medical Acupuncture

Western Medical Acupuncture involves the application of a fine filament needle into the muscle belly, fascia, tendons and ligament around the region of a "Trigger Point". The purpose of Western Medical Acupuncture is to activate a local twitch response to allow muscle tension, pain and discomfort to be released.

Research supports that Western Medical Acupuncture improves pain control, reduces muscle tension, normalizes biochemical and electrical dysfunction of motor endplates, and facilitates an accelerated return to active rehabilitation.

This treatment is unequalled in finding and eliminating neuromuscular dysfunction that leads to pain and functional deficits. The needle used is very thin and most subjects do not even feel it penetrate the skin. A healthy muscle feels very little discomfort with insertion of this needle. However if the muscle is sensitive and shortened (contracted) or has active trigger points within it, the subject will feel a sensation like a muscle cramp known as "the twitch response".

The patient may also feel a reproduction of their presenting pain (the pain which is the reason they are seeking intervention), which is a helpful diagnostic indicator for the clinician attempting to diagnose the cause of the patient's symptoms. Patients soon learn to recognise and even welcome this sensation as it results in deactivating the trigger point, reducing pain and restoring normal length (relaxation) function to the involved muscle.