Effective Chiropractic Acupuncture in Guelph | Book Now at HPC

Chiropractic care is about more than just being adjusted and that familiar "cracking: sound. While adjustments are a fundamental aspect of chiropractic treatment, chiropractic care encompasses much more than that. Often, your chiropractor will also treat an injury through myofascial release, Instrument Assisted Soft Tissue Mobilization (IASTM), and acupuncture, which we'll focus on in this article. Acupuncture is often used as a complementary therapy alongside other treatment modalities such as exercise, stretching, and manual therapy techniques. 

Book an Appointment
Learn How HPC Can Help

What is Chiropractic Acupuncture?

Chiropractic acupuncture is used to treat a variety of conditions, including pain, inflammation, and stress. Acupuncture involves the insertion of fine solid needles into specific anatomical locations to modulate the abnormal activity of the nervous system (ie pain, numbness, tingling, muscle tension or trigger points). Electroacupuncture (a modern variation of acupuncture that uses electricity to enhance the benefits of this traditional therapeutic treatment) is often used to further stimulate the needles and amplify the positive effects.

How Does Chiropractic Acupuncture Work?

The theory behind chiropractic acupuncture is that the body’s energy system is connected and that when one area of the body is out of balance, the energy system as a whole is out of balance. Acupuncture is thought to help correct the imbalance by stimulating specific points on the body. Modern research has shown that acupuncture elicits a complex set of responses in the peripheral, central, and autonomic nervous systems, including the release of chemicals and hormones involved in pain transmission, behaviour, and muscle visceral activity.

Is Chiropractic Acupuncture Safe?

According to the scientific literature, acupuncture is one of the safest therapies in the hands of well-trained healthcare professionals. It is always important to speak with a chiropractor about the specific techniques that they use before undergoing any treatment.

According to the evidence from 12 prospective studies which surveyed more than a million treatments, the risk of a serious adverse event with acupuncture is estimated to be 0.05 per 10,000 treatments, and 0.55 per 10,000 individual patients (White, 2004, Acupuncture in Medicine). This is very small compared to other medical interventions used to treat the same conditions.

What Can I Expect?

Acupuncture is effective as a solitary treatment or combined with other treatments. After your practitioner identifies the target tissues and you're positioned comfortably, the fine needles are inserted and left in place for approximately 10-20 minutes.

Treatments can result in transient disappearance of symptoms, and other times result in permanent resolution of dysfunction, especially when dysregulation of the nervous system was the underlying problem.

Is Chiropractic Acupuncture for Me?

There is no one answer to this question as everyone’s needs and preferences will vary. Acupuncture can be used to treat most things you'd see your chiropractor for. Some examples of conditions we treat with acupuncture include :

• Headaches and migraines
• Low back pain
• Sciatica
• Tennis elbow
• Osteoarthritis
• Muscles Strains
• Ankle sprains
• Knee Pain
• Shoulder Pain

Does Acupuncture Hurt?

Acupuncture should not cause any significant discomfort in patients. The single-use, sterile needles are very fine and do not damage tissues when inserted. For many people, acupuncture is a pleasant experience due to the sense of well-being that usually follows the treatment.