Acupuncture Balance

18/06/2021

Today’s Daily Mirror reporting on acupuncture as alternative pain relief, as advised by NICE report published in April.

07/04/2021

Reported in today’s Times, the National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE) have published new guidance for doctors.

05/08/2020

Great news that acupuncture gets a mention and was actually shown on the BBC News at Ten last night as one of the alternative therapies, that according to the new NICE guidelines, can help people suffering with chronic pain. According to the Royal College of GPs, this marks a "stark move from pharmacological therapies to alternative therapies."

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-53649189

Guidelines recommends not using common painkillers for long-term pain

28/02/2020

If you’re needle-phobic, the thought of getting acupuncture—where thin needles are inserted into the skin—may seem unnerving. But, the traditional Chinese medicine practice has been around for centuries, and now it’s often used along with western medicine to treat a variety of conditions.Ple...

11/02/2020

Women across the UK are struggling to get hold of their hormone replacement therapy (HRT) prescriptions due to ongoing manufacturing and supply issues. The British Menopause Society has been informed that these are temporary shortages, which pharmaceutical companies and their suppliers are addressing.
At this time, internet chemists are cashing in on the HRT crisis, charging desperate women up to four times the NHS price for drugs, amid the shortages.
The Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists said it was ‘very concerned’ that women were buying products from websites and warned that unregulated sites were also potentially unsafe. The Royal College of GPs said ‘unscrupulous’ online chemists were profiting from patients desperate for HRT.

Now may be the right time to consider acupuncture treatment. A recent small study published in the British Medical Journal (https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/9/1/e023637) suggests acupuncture may be worth considering.
The Danish study found that five weeks of acupuncture in women with menopausal symptoms reduced hot flushes, night sweats, sleep disturbances and emotional problems.
One of the study authors, Prof Frans Boch Waldorff, from the University of Southern Denmark, said: "We can't explain the underlying mechanism behind acupuncture, nor determine how much of the effect is caused by placebo.
"But this was a safe, cost-effective and simple procedure, with very few side-effects reported by the women."
"Women seeking acupuncture treatment for menopausal symptoms should be informed of the current evidence, and its limitations, so they can make a decision."

If you would like to explore alternative treatment, why not give acupuncture a go? Please contact The Amber Zone on 01628 773988 to book some sessions.

24/01/2020

A trial found 68% of cancer patients who suffer with neuropathy saw their symptoms lessen.

26/12/2019

Fears UK could follow the US into opioid crisis.

Overuse of powerful prescription medication could lead to an addiction crisis in the UK similar to that being seen in the US, mental health professionals are warning. The opioid crisis in the US is well known and the subject of much debate and media coverage; overdoses involving opioids contributed to over two thirds (67.8%) of overdose deaths in the US in 2017 alone, with 47,600 deaths in total. Britain has the world's third fastest-growing rates of opioid use and there are fears a similar crisis could soon be seen here.

Public Health England (PHE) looked at the use of five classes of drugs – opioids, benzodiazepines for anxiety, sleeping pills, antidepressants and gabapentinoids for neuropathic pain – which all carry a risk of dependency.

They published their review showing that 141 million prescriptions were handed out for strong painkillers, antidepressants, anti-anxiety medication and sleeping pills last year. Doctors issued nearly 71 million prescriptions for antidepressants - a 97% increase compared to 2008. Opiates were up to 40.5 million - 22% more when compared to a decade earlier. And more than 500,000 sleeping tablets were also prescribed - a 10% increase.

The report takes great pains to emphasise that the drugs are clinically valuable when used appropriately, but suggests that while most prescriptions are for short-term use, sufficient care isn’t being taken to ensure patients don’t end up taking them for protracted periods that increase the risk of addiction and withdrawal problems, all placing a substantial burden on the NHS. One patient, was reportedly left on the drug for 15 years. Drugs manufacturers are also blamed for using aggressive marketing tactics to get the NHS to boost prescription of these pills.

PHE’s recommendations for handling the emerging problem include providing NHS commissioners and doctors better insight into prescribing data, updating the clinical guidance on the five drug classes, provide more training for prescribers, and produce new guidance on managing dependence and withdrawal.

08/12/2019

Interesting reading in a recent Daily Mail report on how to beat pain. Make sure that the practitioner you see is registered with the British Acupuncture Council (BAcC), and that they possess all the relevant qualifications.

27/10/2019

National Fertility Week 28 Oct – 4 Nov 2019
This week's main focus is to spread awareness for fertility issues to a wider audience. It is time to put a media spotlight on infertility. It is a real issue that 1 in 6 couples in the UK face.

19/10/2019

Great short film explaining some theories behind how acupuncture works.