The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has just published a draft guideline for chronic pain. The guideline has had extensive media exposure, with the headline that painkillers should no longer be prescribed for longer-term pain. We’re delighted to see that acupuncture is one of only four treatments now recommended.

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. Thus the implications of these recommendations are enormous for UK healthcare policy and allocation of resources. NICE point out that current treatments of any sort are helpful for no more than a minority of the population and the benefits are modest.

This is NICE’s first guideline for chronic pain in general, rather than a specific painful condition, though the equivalent Scottish guideline agency (SIGN) has had one for several years (and it, too, endorses acupuncture).

Below are conditions that acupuncture can help with. Let’s work together to help management your pain.

  • Back and Neck Pain
  • Arthritis
  • Joint Pain
  • Sports Injuries
  • Muscle Strains
  • Shoulder Pain
  • Wrist/Hand Pain
  • Tennis elbow
  • Sciatica
  • Knee Pain
  • Dental Pain
  • Temporomandibular (TMJ)
  • Postoperative Pain
  • Post Stroke Recovery
  • Headaches and Migraines
  • Sprains
  • Chemotherapy and Radiation Side Effects