Some people turn to acupuncture for help with specific symptoms, like osteoarthritis of the knee, and others choose to have treatment to help maintain good health or improve their sense of wellbeing at different periods of their life, such as pregnancy, after retirement or when under stress. By inserting ultra-fine sterile needles into specific acupuncture points, a traditional acupuncturist seeks to restore balance and trigger the body's natural healing response.

The British Acupuncture Council has lots of information and examples of evidence based research at www.acupuncture.org

Your practitioner will take these factors into consideration when determining the likely causes of your problem. The principle aim of acupuncture in treating the whole person is to recover the equilibrium between the physical, emotional and spiritual aspect of the individual. Anna Krypczyk Catherine Swales