CHRONIC PAIN

If you have had a painful condition for a while, usually more than three months, then it begins to change its character.  Research over recent years shows that after a few months the nature of pain alters and can become more difficult to treat because changes start to occur in the brain and these changes will need different approaches from pain that has only been present for a short time.
The most important part of our treatment for this condition over the past 30 years has been ‘no needle’ electroacupuncture, which often is very effective even in patients with longstanding pain.  You can experience the same benefits of this with our treatments. 
Our treatment taps into the body's own healing mechanisms and pathways. By careful selection of points and areas on the body we can stimulate anti-inflammatory pathways, boost pain-relieving substances such as endorphins and produce changes in other chemical signalling systems such as dopamine pathways which lead to change and even remodelling in the brain itself. There is a more detailed explanation about ‘no needle’ electroacupuncture and the broader field of Bioelectronic Medicine here.
​The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) have recently issued draft guidelines for doctors to help them manage Chronic Primary Pain, following a review of the evidence for different treatments. The draft guidance notes that standard treatment with painkillers such as paracetamol, aspirin and the ​anti-inflammatories such as ibuprofen are not effective for managing this type of chronic (or long lasting) pain. Other medications such as gabapentin, ketamine and steroids are also seen as largely ineffective, and all have the capacity to cause some harm. 
In their place, NICE is now suggesting that patients with chronic primary pain should be offered group exercise sessions, some types of psychological therapy, or acupuncture (these have been the recommendations of the American College of Physicians for some years as US doctors try to avoid prescribing opioid drugs for pain).