Musculoskeletal Injuries & Pain

Our Musculoskeletal Pain Clinic provides the complete treatment package for all types of musculoskeletal pain and tension.

Treatment is provided by a CMIR registered doctor.

The treatment package at our musculoskeletal pain clinic includes:

• A highly-effective, multi-modality approach to musculoskeletal pain and injury
• Expert acupuncture with cupping or manipulation or advanced Pi/Fu techniques
  combined in one session
• Appointments usually between 40-80 minutes

The treatment at our Musculoskeletal Pain Clinic will be tailored to your individual health needs and conditions following a full Chinese Medical diagnosis and consultation.

How we can help you

Our Musculoskeletal Pain Clinic provides unique combination of therapies designed to release tension and pain in muscles caused by RSI (repetitive strain injury), bad posture, general stress or sports injuries. The treatment can provide instant release of knots, tension and muscle pain.

The treatments at our Musculoskeletal Pain Clinic can be effective for a variety of painful conditions, including:

• Loosening frozen muscles
• Relief of Pain caused by injury or lifestyle
• Slipped discs in the back and the neck
• Perfect for anyone looking for osteopathic treatment

If you are in any doubt about whether this programme is suitable for you, just ask for Free Health Advice and our Doctors will let you know if, and how, they can help. You can also visit our Centre in London and one of our doctors will speak to you for free as a walk-in service.

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+ About the Acupuncture at AcuMedic

Acupuncture treatment is available all over the world but not all acupuncturists are the same. Many acupuncturists in the West are only trained in a small modality of acupuncture such as trigger point acupuncture or perhaps 5 Element acupuncture. AcuMedicin London treats with syndrome acupuncture which is based on the complete system of theories in Chinese Medicine (including trigger point and 5 Element). This is authentic acupuncture treatment as practised in China and is based on Syndrome Differentiation diagnosis.

+ How it works

The treatment consists of acupuncture, cupping or guasha treatment and Tuina massage therapy.

Acupuncture has long been known to be effective at pain relief for most sports injuries and often speeds up recovery. Olympic athletes frequently travel with an acupuncturist to treat their injuries and acupuncture is even used for performance enhancement.

When an area of the body is injured, then it may swell up, become painful, hot to the touch, inflamed, tender, stiff, and the muscles may cramp or even spasm.

Acupuncture, through its delicate balancing ability, is able to bring pain relief of stiff and tight muscles, joint pain and tenderness, helping to reduce swelling and inflammation of the injured area. It is also great at stopping muscle spasms, cramping and throbbing sensations, speeding up the healing process by increasing the flow of Qi energy and blood into the affected area.

Cupping is an integral part of Chinese Medicine and is being practised around the world since its origins 5,000 years go in China. It is used to stimulate movement of blood, lymph fluids and the essential Qi energy in the body. Since many types of illness, stress and pain are caused by blockages or stagnation in the circulation of these fluids and Qi, cupping therapy often becomes an essential part of treatment.

Cupping therapy involves placing cups on the relevant part of the body with the aim to create a vacuum inside each cup. The vacuum causes a suction sensation which stimulates the flows of Qi and body fluids. The improved flows draw out toxins in the body and unblock stagnation, hence immediate relief of pain and stress. Cupping treatment is especially powerful when combined with Chinese therapeutic massage (Tuina) or syndrome acupuncture.

Guasha uses a special tool to precisely stimulate blood circulation on the muscle or tendon nodules (also known as trigger points) caused by an injury. Guasha is therefore ideal for treating blood stasis. Guasha is used to ‘smooth out’ the pain’s trigger points by using long strokes which resolve blockages in blood circulation.

The function of Tuina therapy is to remove blockages and stagnation in order for the body to heal itself. If we take the example of a Repetitive Strain Injury (RSI), poor posture or continuous movements cause a blockage of the Qi and blood which leads to stagnation and pain. This may cause inflammation which further causes stagnation and the problem can become chronic. Whilst other massage techniques may focus on relieving tension in the area through pressure, Tuina instead will use manipulation and massage to eliminate the stagnation of energy and blood by freeing the muscles and joints and stimulating blood, Qi and lymphatic flow. Once this blockage is eliminated, the body will naturally heal itself and the inflammation and tension will be relieved.

To find out more read our brief Introduction to Chinese Medicine.

+ What to expect

An AcuMedic doctor will carry out a full Chinese Medical diagnosis (including tongue- and pulse-diagnoses to check internal health) and will talk to you to learn a bit about the circumstances of your physical complaints, whether it is an injury or a painful condition.

The doctor will then explain to you the Chinese Medical treatment needed in your individual case.

+ Diagnosis and Consultation

There are four main diagnostic methods in Chinese Medicine which are observing, pulse diagnosis, questioning and listening. Each method has a unique function in the process of collecting different clinical information and understanding the root cause of your pain. Therefore all four diagnostic methods must be used to make an accurate diagnosis of your health and individualise the treatment so that the pain can be treated in your individual case.

Observing involves looking at all the outward manifestations of your health condition as well as your injury. This is done by observing your general vitality, complexion, figure and skin. One of the most well known parts of observing is tongue diagnosis. The tongue is like a mirror showing the state of your internal organs. The AcuMedic doctor will be able to judge the condition of your essential energy (Qi), identify the location of the affected parts inside your body, determine what exactly is wrong and identify how your condition might progress just from looking at your tongue.

There are over 50 different pulse types and the AcuMedic doctor will take your pulse on both wrists to determine which pulse type you have. Your pulse is identified in terms of depth, speed, strength, shape and rhythm. Your pulse is an indicator of how Qi and blood are moving around your body, therefore how well your internal organs are functioning. From your pulse the doctor can determine a great deal about your physical and emotional condition and what the treatment must do to treat your pain.

The doctor will ask you a huge variety of questions to learn about your symptoms, general lifestyle and the circumstances surrounding your pain or injury. It may seem like some of these questions are odd, but it all goes towards building a complete picture of you and your health. No matter how trivial something might seem to you, tell your doctor. No symptom that you have is unrelated or unimportant to your condition and diagnosis. It is also very useful for your doctor to see the results of any medical tests you have had so make sure you bring them along to your first consultation and whenever you get new results through.

Once the doctor has finished diagnosing you, they will tell you about your particular Chinese Medical syndrome. These syndromes often have funny sounding names, like Liver Qi Stagnation or Kidney Yin Deficiency, but do not let that put you off. They will accurately explain why you have the symptoms you have and therefore what treatment you need to alleviate the pain and recover.

The doctor will then suggest an acupuncture treatment plan based on the diagnosis to return you to good health, thereby easing all of the different symptoms at the same time while tackling the painful condition at its root.

If the doctor feels that you should take some Chinese herbal medicines in addition to acupuncture then a prescription will be written for you. This is charged separately to your treatment. The prescription may be in the form of raw Chinese herbs or herbal extract capsules which are assembled and dispensed by our expert dispensary on our premises.

Chinese herbs provide the essential nutrition the body needs to overcome any physical, mental or emotional imbalances.

+ Treatment

The doctor will begin the treatment by applying acupuncture to relax your body, improve the overall circulation of blood and Qi and help your muscles to loosen up as they are likely to be contacted due to the pain. Acupuncture will ‘open up’ your body by stimulating the circulation within the internal organs.

As the acupuncture preps your body, cupping or guasha therapy will then be applied. The choice of treatment will depend on the cause of your pain.

Cupping will be applied if the blockage at the root of the pain is particularly deep and needs to be ‘drawn out’ from the muscles in order to be treated with massage. Guasha will be used if the blood stasis is much closer to the skin, for example if it is a muscle nodule.

The doctor might have to alternate between using the cupping and guasha therapies during your treatment programme in order to achieve the best results for you. While you might receive cupping therapy in your first session, you might require Guasha treatment during the next appointment.

After the acupuncture and cupping or Guasha your body will be sufficiently ‘softened’ and almost freed from constraints of pain and aches. It will then be ready for the doctor to use Tuina massage to untie the blockages in energy and blood circulation in the joints and muscles.

+ After the treatment

After the treatment you should feel immediate relief in any pains and aches as well as noticeable improvement in overall health, both physical and mental.

Please note that cupping and guasha therapies often leave painless bruise marks on the skin which disappear within a couple of weeks. It is required that all patients sign a waiver form acknowledging these marks before have cupping or guasha.

To find out more about being a patient at AcuMedic please take a look at the AcuMedic Patient Handbook.