Please wear appropriate attire for the area to be treated. Eg. For a shoulder injury often I will need to also assess the neck, upper back and shoulder blade area so these will need to be exposed. For a neck injury I will not only look at the area above the shoulders I need to look at most of the length of the spine. For a hip or knee injury you will need shorts. For a lumbar injury, again the back will need to be exposed as much as possible within dignity reason. Ankle/Achilles/foot injuries, again shorts are beneficial as I often need to look higher up the leg, at least to the knee, for influencing factors.

Acupuncture is an ancient therapy, using very thin needles, developed by the Chinese thousands of years ago. It aims to regulate any irregularity in the body performance by looking at the organ related to the problem and getting it to improve in its function. In physiotherapy the organs we mainly deal with are the Liver/Gallbladder as they relate to muscle, tendon and ligament repair, the Spleen/Stomach as they play a major role in inflammation & Kidney/Bladder, as they are commonly involved in back pain.

Of the many things I have studied post grad the significant improvements I have found with acupuncture makes it an invaluable therapy to have in conjunction to physiotherapy. The two compliment each other beautifully.

This question can not be answered by any physiotherapist until at least the initial assessment and usually 1st treatment have been completed. It also depends on the client’s compliance to advice/exercise/rehab. I try to get my patients 50% better in 3 treatments and 80% in 4-5, this obviously varies depending on the condition. However I do expect my patients to be showing some positive changes after 1 definitely 2 treatments and if progress plateaus for no reason then I will reassess and possibly refer to GP or another medical professional or for ultrasound/x-rays or further investigations, whatever may be appropriate to that injury.

Changes in ACC in 1999 made it possible for patients to come direct to a physio without going through their doctor. I can file the necessary paperwork with ACC and refer for X-rays/ ultrasounds if necessary. I can not, however, sign you off work or prescribe medication. I will possibly, with your permission, liaise with your doctor whether referred by them or not, if we are not achieving expected progress or I have any concerns needing more of their input. Private patients also do not need a referral and your treatment cost may possibly be covered by your private insurance, if you have any.

If an injury renders you unable to function normally or affects your daily life you need to get it seen ASAP. The longer you think “she’ll be right” the harder it will be potentially to fix it as other compensatory mechanisms plus chronic tissue changes etc may set in. The sooner I can get my hands on your acute injury the better.

The old adage “no pain no gain” is a load of rubbish. While certain conditions need a certain amount of force behind them to deal with them, most don’t. So the answer to this question is mostly, “No”, it won’t hurt. I once had a patient look at me in utter fear when he swung in non-weight bearing on crutches the day after an ankle sprain to book an appointment & I suggested starting work on his ankle immediately. I informed him that with acupuncture, gentle joint mobilisations & magnetic therapy I could make improvements straight away without even having to really touch the ankle. He actually threw his arms around me the next day when he walked in without crutches and only barely limping!

Some patients may experience a slight flare up of pain after the initial assessment but this is a very rare occurrence in my experience is very short lived.