Acupuncture

In some cases, Acupuncture can prove to be an extremely helpful form of treatment for the relief of pain, either on its own or complementary to other holistic therapies.

Acupuncture is a very ancient therapeutic practice with roots going back at least four thousand years to ancient China. It based on the energy system (Qi) that follows the pattern of meridians within the body. When Qi does not flow freely through the body, this can cause illness. Acupuncture uses fine needles which when inserted into certain sites in the body and stimulated can release this 'blockage' and restore the flow of Qi. This therapy is truly an example of modern science working with ancient art.

There are different types of acupuncture practiced at the Pain Relief Centre:

• Traditional acupuncture (dry needling)
• Auricular (ear) acupuncture
• Battlefield acupuncture
• Electro-acupuncture

All four of these acupuncture variations can be used depending on the type and intensity of pain.

Acupuncture is perfectly compatible with other holistic therapies and its results can be read equally well by the Thermographic technique.

Soft Tissue Thermoimaging

An important part of the management of muscle pain is the availability of an adequate means of objectively recording the progress of the treatment.

In this respect, conventional X-rays are not adequate as they pass straight through the soft tissues that make up the muscles and their immediate surrounding area. They cannot, therefore, create a photographic picture of soft tissues.

The solution to the problem lies with Thermographic Imaging. This is a non-invasive diagnostic technique that uses an Infra Red scanner to record the heat emitted by the injured tissues. As this is greater than that of normal tissue, the progress of treatment can be objectively monitored to the satisfaction of both the patient and the practitioner.

With our equipment which uses the latest computerised technology, three coloured scans are usually sufficient. One at the start of treatment, one to check progress at roughly halfway through the course, and a final check at the end to confirm that all is well.

34 year old male patient suffering excruciating pain over his neck radiating to the left shoulder. The condition started one morning on waking up. By the time he present at our clinic he has already been suffering for 4 days. He was unable move his head up, down or even sideways. The patient was fully examined and was found to have a trapped nerve in the left side of his neck. A scan was done before any treatment was given.



Then holistic treatment was instituted for about 15 minutes. He could by then have restricted movements of the neck and pain had reduced by 50%. The scan was done and remarkable changes can be seen in comparison with the first scan.

Treatments were given on alternative days and one week later the third scan was done that showed that symmetry of pattern was achieved. The patient was completely pain free and all the neck movements were restored. The patient was followed up for the next three months and no discomfort was reported.