Safety
Acupuncture is one of the safest medical treatments, both conventional and complementary, available in the UK. It is perfectly safe for acupuncture to be used alongside any conventional medical treatments you may be having.
Yvonne is a member of The British Acupuncture Council, (BAcC). The BAcC is the only professional association for traditional acupuncture that is accredited by the Professional Standards Authority. This is on account of the high standards of training, CPD, safe practice and professional conduct any BAcC member has received, having undertaken BSc or BA degree level training, or its equivalent, in traditional acupuncture, Chinese medicine, and western biomedical sciences, including anatomy, physiology and pathology (3,600 hours of study). This enables the properly trained and qualified professional acupuncturist to recognise when it is in the patient's best interest to be referred on for specialist care in other areas. This means you are in very safe hands.
Research and evidence
Figures released by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR: the research arm of the NHS), show that around 4 million acupuncture treatments are provided each year in the UK. A recent analysis of the most robust evidence from high-quality trials on acupuncture undertaken by the NIHR, revealed that acupuncture is shown to have benefits in the treatment of some types of chronic pain.
Additionally a randomised control trial carried out on patients experiencing 'medically unexplained symptoms', concluded that sessions of five-element acupuncture resulted in 'improved health status and wellbeing'.
For her final year research project whilst studying to become a Traditional Acupuncturist, Yvonne chose to conduct a single case study investigating the effectiveness of acupuncture for chronic tiredness during the menopause. After only a short course of acupuncture, the patient experienced a 50% overall improvement in her chronic tiredness levels, together with an 80% overall improvement in the frequency and intensity of her hot flushes.
More recently, this article appeared in the British Medical Journal supporting the use of acupuncture for symptoms relating to the menopause.
The British Acupuncture Council has accurate and unbiased information regarding treatment with acupuncture, including some research based fact sheets for more than 60 conditions for which acupuncture may help.
Take a look ...
