Acupuncture at Health Clinic Waverton is provided by a senior AHPRA-registered practitioner, most often used alongside conventional care rather than in place of it. Research supports a modest, measurable benefit for specific conditions — chronic pain, migraine and tension-type headache — while the evidence for other uses remains mixed. We describe what the studies show, including their limits, rather than presenting acupuncture as a cure. Treatment plans are individual, discussed at your first visit, and adjusted based on how you respond over time.
Book Acupuncture →An individual patient data meta-analysis of 39 randomised trials (20,827 patients) found acupuncture reduces chronic pain — including back, neck, shoulder and osteoarthritis pain — beyond placebo, with a modest but statistically significant effect (Vickers et al., The Journal of Pain, 2018 — an update of the original 2012 individual patient data meta-analysis published in Archives of Internal Medicine).
Two Cochrane reviews found acupuncture lowers headache frequency: migraine attacks roughly halved for about 50% of patients treated (22 trials, ~5,000 participants), with benefit persisting at six months, and a similar pattern for tension-type headache when added to usual care (12 trials, 2,349 adults) (Linde et al., Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, 2016).
Systematic reviews — including a 2021 meta-analysis of 20 randomised trials in generalised anxiety disorder (Yang et al., Annals of General Psychiatry) — report a small-to-moderate reduction in anxiety symptoms with acupuncture compared with control treatments, most often anti-anxiety medication, in short-term trials conducted in China. The authors describe the evidence as promising but call for higher-quality trials given high variability between studies, so acupuncture is offered here as a complement to, never a substitute for, medical or psychological treatment.
Acupuncture is delivered by a senior practitioner registered with the Chinese Medicine Board of Australia under AHPRA. Registration confirms qualification and regulatory standing, not a clinical guarantee — what to expect from treatment is discussed individually before you begin.
It depends on what you are being treated for and how you respond to treatment. Your plan is individual, discussed with Selina at your first visit, and adjusted from there rather than fixed in advance.
Research supports a real, modest benefit: an individual patient data meta-analysis of 39 randomised trials (20,827 patients) found acupuncture reduces chronic pain — including back, neck, shoulder and osteoarthritis pain — beyond placebo (Vickers et al., The Journal of Pain, 2018). It is not presented here as a cure, and what is realistic for your specific pain is discussed at your first visit.
Two Cochrane reviews found it lowers headache frequency — migraine attacks roughly halved for about half of patients treated, with benefit persisting at six months, and a similar pattern for tension-type headache when added to usual care (Linde et al., Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, 2016). Separate reviews report a small-to-moderate reduction in anxiety symptoms compared with control treatments, evidence the authors call promising but still developing — so it is offered as a complement to, never a substitute for, medical or psychological care.
We have HICAPS on-site for eligible treatments, so if acupuncture is included on your extras cover, you can claim your rebate instantly at the end of your in-clinic session. Check with your fund to confirm your level of cover.
Selina Spanswick, our senior acupuncturist, registered with the Chinese Medicine Board of Australia under AHPRA. She specialises in acupuncture only, for pain management and recovery, so every session gets her full focus within that specialty.
Every plan is built around what the current evidence actually supports, reviewed with you at each visit rather than promised in advance.
Shop 9, 100–102 Bay Road, Waverton NSW 2060 · 0467 467 567
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