Pins and needles?

Acupuncture for 'pins and needles'

Pins and needles is a form of paraesthesia resulting in dysfunction or pressure on/around nerves.  This can be felt anywhere around the body.  Occasionally this will occur in the hands or wrists as part of Carpal Tunnel Syndrome.


If you are not afraid of needles (very small ones!), you may wish to try a few sessions of medical acupuncture to see if you notice an improvement in symptoms.  A study in Taiwan [1] suggests that acupuncture could be considered as an alternative to steroid treatment for relief of carpal tunnel symptoms.


Acupuncture uses very fine needles (not like the needles used to take blood), inserted into muscles to trigger a reaction within the nervous system.  Some believe this acts as a distraction to the normal (or abnormal) signals being sent from a limb to the brain, interfering with the pain pathways, helping to relieve pain or 'pins and needles' sensations.


There are few contraindications to treatment and it has been reported that nearly 2/3 of patients who try acupuncture get a positive result.  This may only be temporary relief, but in some cases, pain can be resolved completely after a short course of acupuncture treatment.


If you want to try this therapy, mention the Absolute Health website to get 10% off the standard cost for treatment (new patients only).


Give us a call now and we'll do our best to help resolve your problem.
0116 282 7766




[1]  Yang CP., Hsieh CL., Wang NH., et al. Acupuncture in patients with carpal tunnel syndrome: a randomized controlled trial. Clin J Pain. 2009; 25(4): 327-33. 

ABSTRACT:  Taiwanese researchers investigated the efficacy of acupuncture compared with steroid treatment in patients with mild-to-moderate carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS). 77 CTS patients were randomly divided into 2 treatment arms – daily prednisolone treatment during 4 weeks for 39 patients and acupuncture administered in 8 sessions over 4 weeks for 38 patients. A standard questionnaire as a subjective measurement was used to rate the 5 major symptoms (pain, numbness, paresthesia, weakness/clumsiness, and nocturnal awakening) on a scale from 0 (no symptoms) to 10 (very severe). 
Results of the study showed that short-term acupuncture treatment is as effective as short-term low-dose prednisolone for mild-to-moderate CTS. For those who have an intolerance or contraindication for oral steroid or for those who do not opt for early surgery, acupuncture treatment provides an alternative choice.