I was lucky enough to be one of the first practitioners to have completed Australian training in Acupuncture Point Injection Therapy (APIT) a few years ago. This therapy originated in China and is very useful for relieving stubborn muscle and tendon pain.
APIT operates on the same acupoint system as traditional acupuncture. The difference being that instead of leaving the regular acupuncture needles in place for the treatment time, small amounts of saline solution BP are injected via very fine needles (much finer and less painful than a regular injection) into each selected acupoint.
Injecting saline solution is simply a different way of stimulating acupoints and offers:
- Treatments that can be much faster for those with limited time.
- Strong point stimulation.
- The bolus of saline solution can stimulate the acupoint after the needle has been withdrawn.
- Saline solution can have a local healing effect on the surrounding tissue. Saline has the same balance of salts as our cells, blood and interstitial fluid. Injecting saline solution into damaged muscle tissue may help to improve nutrient and waste transfer to aid healing.
Muscular pains (even stubborn ones) often respond well to APIT. The following are examples of conditions which may benefit from APIT:
- bursitis
- tendinopathy
- ITB irritation syndrome
- carpal tunnel syndrome
- sprain
Acupuncture Point Injection Therapy is just one of the treatments that I provide at my clinic.
To book an appointment at the clinic or further information on Chinese Medicine contact Dr Sarah George (Acupuncture). Sarah is a practitioner of acupuncture (AHPRA registered), massage therapy and natural health.