Acupuncture Awareness Week supported by the British Acupuncture Council aims to help better inform people about the practice of traditional acupuncture. With 2.3 million acupuncture treatments carried out each year, traditional acupuncture is one of the most popular complementary therapies practised in the UK today. Yet many people only discover traditional acupuncture as a last resort despite its widely recognised health benefits.
This year Acupuncture Awareness Week 2016 is focusing on sports injuries. Many celebrities are fans of acupuncture, including gold medal-winning Olympian Rebecca Adlington who found acupuncture useful for an on-going shoulder injury.
According to a recent report released to mark Acupuncture Awareness Week almost 3 in 10 Brits exercise more now than they did 10 years ago, but more than half say that they have been injured during sport and one in three claims to have never recovered from their injuries.
To overcome a sporting injury, almost three in five people (56%) say they take oral painkillers, and nearly a third (32%) turn to ice and heat packs, compared to just 11% who opt for traditional acupuncture.
The report of 2,000 UK adults revealed nearly three-quarters of people (73%) have never tried traditional acupuncture with three in ten Brits (30%) admitting they’re unaware of how the therapy could help them.
According to Andrew Jackson of the British Acupuncture Council ‘many people put up with pain when they don’t need to. Often discomfort from musculoskeletal problems can be alleviated with the correct diagnosis and treatment. Traditional acupuncture is an evidence-based therapy that has been shown to help reduce pain and swelling, increase blood flow to promote recovery and help restore movement at the site of injury.
A lot of patients either ignore their injury or opt for painkillers and anti-inflammatory drugs without ever being physically examined. Painkillers often mask the problem and don’t always address any potential underlying issues. Traditional acupuncture can help to identify the root cause of a problem, improving a patient’s understanding and management of symptoms for a more positive long-term outcome.’
‘Traditional acupuncture is one of the oldest documented systems of medicine in history based on the meridian system and the movement of energy around the body’, says Andrew. ‘It is believed that pain or illness can occur if the flow of energy gets blocked or disrupted. Traditional acupuncture improves the body’s natural healing process by stimulating specific points on the body to regulate the flow of energy once again.’
If you are suffering from musculoskeletal pain call Jackie today and arrange an appointment. Jackie practices at the Bridge to Health Clinic and the Pitshanger Osteopathic Clinic. She also practices Tuina massage, cupping, Gua Sha and moxibustion to help with your conditions.