When pain has lasted longer than three months, it changes more than your body. It changes your sleep, your mood, your work, your relationships. You become an expert in managing around it.
If you've been searching for chronic pain support across Middlesbrough, Teesside, or the wider North East, you're not alone in this. Many of the people we see have been told they just have to live with it. They've tried medications, physiotherapy, painkillers, scans, sometimes surgery. They arrive tired, often sceptical, sometimes both.
Acupuncture is one of the few treatments with strong evidence for long-term pain relief, and it's recommended by the UK's National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) as a treatment option for chronic primary pain. We work with people experiencing back pain and sciatica, migraines and headaches, joint pain, neck and shoulder pain, and the kind of long-standing pain that doesn't fit a tidy diagnosis. The aim is not to promise a cure. The aim is to help your nervous system stop firing on full alert so that your body has a chance to settle.
What the evidence shows
NICE recommends acupuncture for chronic primary pain
The UK's National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guideline NG193 recommends acupuncture or dry needling as a treatment option to consider for adults aged 16 and over with chronic primary pain (pain that has lasted longer than three months without a clear underlying cause).
Acupuncture is one of few treatments with evidence of long-term pain relief
A 2018 individual patient data meta-analysis of 39 randomised controlled trials and over 20,000 patients found acupuncture was superior to both sham acupuncture and usual care for musculoskeletal pain, osteoarthritis, chronic headache, and shoulder pain. Pain-relieving effects persisted at 12-month follow-up, which is unusual in pain research.
Cost-effective compared to standard care
Evidence supports acupuncture as cost-effective for the management of lower back pain, headaches, and osteoarthritis when compared to usual care alone. This matters when chronic pain treatment can otherwise stretch across years and many appointments.
Acupuncture is a supportive treatment, not a cure. Individual results vary. References: NICE NG193 (2021); Vickers AJ et al., 2018, J Pain.
Frequently asked questions
What counts as chronic pain?
Pain is generally classed as chronic when it has lasted longer than three months, either continuously or in flare-ups. NICE distinguishes between chronic secondary pain (linked to a clear underlying condition such as arthritis or endometriosis) and chronic primary pain (pain that persists without a clearly identifiable cause). Acupuncture is recommended for both within NICE guidance.
How many sessions will I need?
Most people benefit from a course of six to eight sessions, usually weekly to start with. Pain that has been present for years generally needs longer than pain that has been present for months. We will be honest with you about what to expect and review progress regularly. We do not commit you to long programmes upfront.
Does acupuncture hurt?
Acupuncture needles are very fine, much thinner than the needles used for blood tests or vaccinations. Most people feel a brief dull or heavy sensation as a needle is placed, then nothing. Many people fall asleep during treatment. If you have a strong needle phobia, battlefield acupuncture, which uses tiny ear needles, may suit you better.
Will acupuncture interact with my medication?
Acupuncture does not interact with medication in the way another drug would. You can continue your prescribed pain medication, anti-inflammatories, or antidepressants while having treatment. We always ask about your full medication list at your first session, and we work alongside your GP and any other clinicians involved in your care.
How much does it cost?
Initial acupuncture consultation with Deanna is £80 and lasts 75 minutes. Follow-up sessions are £65. Battlefield acupuncture and ear acupuncture sessions with Anthony are £45 for 45 minutes. We will always be transparent about costs and never recommend more sessions than we believe are clinically justified.
Where is the clinic?
We are based at The House, 283 Acklam Road, Middlesbrough, TS5 7BP. Patients travel to us from across Teesside including Stockton, Yarm, Thornaby, Ingleby Barwick, Darlington, Stokesley, Northallerton, Redcar, Saltburn, Guisborough, and Hartlepool.