Acupuncture | Sports Massage | Sports Therapy Stafford

MEDICAL ACUPUNCTURE

- How Does It Work?

There are several mechanisms thought to be responsible for the effects of medical acupuncture on the body. These mechanisms can work alone or simultaneously to give great results.

Muscular pain can often be due to ischaemia (lack of blood flow) within 'tight' or 'knotted' tissue.

When a needle is inserted, movement is sensed and a vaso-dilating peptide is released to the area, opening the blood vessels. This significantly increases blood flow directly to the area and in turn reduces pain.

Upon stimulation of needle insertion, the tissue also releases energy which converts to a chemical. This chemical binds to nociceptors on peripheral nerves inhibiting their signals.

Nociceptors are responsible for sending 'threat signals' to the brain, as these are inhibited the brain doesn't receive these signals and therefore can't react by sending pain signals to the area.

As well as the release of chemicals, inserting a needle into muscle sends information up the nerve which supplies that area of tissue. Here there is a suppression of the pain signal in the dorsal horn (section of spinal cord) which controls sensation. This process provides pain relief in the whole section that is supplied by this nerve.