Did you know that there are over 2,000 acupuncture points on the human body? Acupuncture has been practiced for over 3,000 years. It has many branches and sub-categories of training and treatment options. With such a vast array of options and treatment care, how do you know where to begin? And how do you know when you’re getting relief from acupuncture treatments? Dr. Hanif Ishani, our senior chiropractor at Body Works Physiotherapy, outlines for us the benefits of using acupuncture and when do you know you’re seeing results.
Well, first let’s really talk about what acupuncture is. Acupuncture is the insertion of very fine needles into very specific trigger points on the body. All the needles used in acupuncture are single use needles and are fully sterilized in individual packets. Acupuncture is the act of inserting a needle into the human body and then stimulating it, as we do at Body Works, with a current, which helps to release chemicals from your brain that relax muscles and to help heal the area.
That being said, the benefits of acupuncture are wide and diverse for the human body. I have seen great success in many different spinal injuries, from low back pain to neck pain. But in particular, I see a lot of great benefits with knees and shoulders. Because there is a lot of bone in these areas, other therapies have a harder time getting around those bones. In acupuncture treatments, we can get these fine needles to go through different areas and get to where the pain is buried.
In Body Works Clinics, our goal is the insertion of fine needles into very specific spots into the skin, and then we stimulate it. The idea is to stimulate the nerve and then the nerve will in turn help relax the muscle through chemical reactions as well as nerve signals. The other way that acupuncture works is that we’re actually putting a needle into that tight muscle. This in turn creates a little bit of microtrauma, and that microtrauma triggers a response by the body to send pain relievers and repairers to that area. Thus, by trying to relieve that microtrauma your major injury is also going to be healed by the body.
In my practice, after a complete examination and diagnosis, together with the patient, we work together to find the best course of action. What are we looking to treat? What pain relievers have been tried already? Usually, I recommend acupuncture to approximately 50% – 70% of my patients, because of the tremendous benefits that I have personally seen with acupuncture. We recommend acupuncture in conjunction with other treatments on low back, knees, mid backs, and shoulders; we have seen tremendous success with those.
One of the first questions we get asked about acupuncture treatments is how long it can take to see results. There are a lot of factors to consider when it comes to treatment response, like with other treatment approaches. It really depends on the chronicity of the problem, the patient’s personal response to the acupuncture, and the treatment type chosen by the practitioner. With our patients, we find it can take five to seven visits before seeing significant results. However, the majority of patients do find benefits between one and three visits.
Next step? Acupuncture is a long tested and well respected treatment option! Is it right for you? Time to find out! Looking to find the right fit for you? Body Works is here to help! You can check out our acupuncture services and reach out to ask questions, or you can give us a call at 1-866-7PHYSIO.
