Updated 22/8/23.
Around a third of the population may be affected by chronic pain; many of those also have a diagnosis of depression, and two-thirds are unable to go out to work because of it. NICE (National Institute for Clinical Excellence 2021) point out that current treatments of any sort are helpful for only a minority of the population and even then the benefits were considered modest.
Acupuncture is a well proven and officially recommended treatment option for many different types of chronic and musculoskeletal pain in the UK (NICE 2021) including:
- Chronic primary of all sorts: facial pain,
- Chronic primary musculoskeletal pain
- Chronic primary visceral pain
Previous NICE guidance supported acupuncture for use in other painful conditions, such as: headaches, lower back pain, sciatica, osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, spondyloarthritis, endometriosis, and IBS.
There has been a significant amount of research for a range of pain conditions and into the various neurological and bio-chemical mechanisms by which acupuncture works to relieve pain. It is an exciting area of research that is growing all the time.
Pain killers, Opiods and other medications are not now considered effective for chronic pain and the Opiod crisis in particular has had devastating consequences. In comparison, “Acupuncture represents a safe and effective alternative with a long track-record of successful use.” Evidence-based Acupuncture.
For the symptoms that come with chronic pain, it is notable that all of the measures for mental health, psychological distress and sleep, showed benefits with acupuncture, underlining its ability to address symptoms and quality of life across a wide spectrum
Comment from GP spokespersons
A GP spokesperson commented that they welcomed the the use of acupuncture, pointing out that drugs have been the main form of treatment to-date and although they recognised that drug therapy will not disappear, they saw the benefits of using fewer drugs and opting for acupuncture or the other recommended therapies as alternatives.
For more information and treatment contact Jill Owen on: https://jillowenacupuncture.co.uk/contact-jill
