Acupuncture

Acupuncture across MedRehab Group

Acupuncture at MedRehab Group is delivered by registered acupuncturists inside a rehabilitation clinic, which changes what it is for. Rather than a stand-alone wellness treatment, it is one of the tools our team reaches for when pain, muscle tension or a slow recovery are getting in the way of physiotherapy, chiropractic or massage. The acupuncturist works from the same notes as the rest of your team, and a referral between them is a conversation, not a new intake.

Acupuncture is bookable at seven of our clinics; the list is at the bottom of this page. You do not need a referral, most extended health plans cover it when it is provided by a registered acupuncturist, and every needle used is sterile, single-use and disposed of after one treatment.

What acupuncture is, in plain terms

Very fine, sterile needles are placed at specific points on the body and left in place, usually for twenty to thirty minutes, sometimes with gentle stimulation. The needles are far thinner than the ones used for injections; most people feel a brief prick and then a dull, heavy or warm sensation at the point, which is the response practitioners look for. Traditional Chinese medicine explains the effect in terms of the body’s channels and balance. Research describes it in terms of the nervous system: needling changes how pain signals are processed, releases the body’s own pain-relieving chemicals, and reduces local muscle tension and inflammation. At our clinics your acupuncturist will explain it in whichever terms you find useful, and the treatment is the same either way.

Acupuncture or dry needling: what is the difference?

The two are often confused because they use the same kind of needle. Acupuncture is a complete system of assessment and treatment practised by a registered acupuncturist, who chooses points across the body according to a traditional framework as well as where it hurts, and treats a wide range of conditions. Dry needling is a single technique used by physiotherapists within a physiotherapy treatment: needles go into tight bands in a muscle, the trigger points, to release them, and that is the whole of it. If you have a specific knot in a muscle that will not let go, dry needling inside your physiotherapy appointment may be all you need. If you have a persistent pain problem, a condition that flares, or you want acupuncture in its own right, book an acupuncturist. Both are available at MedRehab Group and your team will tell you which fits. The dry needling page has the fuller comparison.

Conditions acupuncture helps with

The evidence for acupuncture is strongest for pain. Large reviews of trials find it provides modest but real benefit for chronic low back pain, neck pain, knee pain from osteoarthritis, tension-type headache and, particularly, migraine prevention, and for myofascial pain, the tight, tender muscle problem that underlies a great deal of neck, shoulder and back trouble. At our clinics acupuncture is most often used for:

• Persistent low back and neck pain, especially where muscle tension keeps returning
• Headaches and migraine, as a way of reducing how often they come
• Knee, hip and shoulder pain, including osteoarthritis
• Tight, painful muscles that limit progress in physiotherapy or massage
• Whiplash and other soft-tissue injuries after a car accident
• Work injuries under WSIB, alongside physiotherapy
• Sports injuries, tendon problems and slow-healing strains
• Stress-related muscle tension, jaw pain and poor sleep linked to pain

What acupuncture does, and what it does not

Acupuncture reduces pain and muscle tension for many people, and for most it does so without side effects beyond a little bruising or tiredness. The benefit is usually modest per session and builds over a short course; it is rare for one treatment to fix anything lasting. It is not a substitute for a diagnosis, which is why our acupuncturists work alongside physiotherapists and chiropractors rather than instead of them, and it is not a treatment for conditions that need a doctor. If your acupuncturist finds something in your history or assessment that should be looked at medically, they will say so and send you on.

You will find much wider claims for acupuncture online. Our acupuncturists treat what the evidence supports and are honest about the rest. If a course of treatment is not producing change after a reasonable trial, the plan changes or stops; nobody at MedRehab Group is paid to keep you coming.

What happens at your first appointment

The first visit is an assessment and is longer than a follow-up. Your acupuncturist takes a full history, including medications, pregnancy, bleeding disorders, pacemakers and any condition that affects where and how needles can be used, then examines the problem area and asks about sleep, stress, digestion and energy, because in the traditional framework those matter to the choice of points. Treatment usually starts at the same visit. You lie comfortably, needles are placed and left in for around twenty to thirty minutes while you rest, then removed. Wear loose clothing; most treatment can be done with sleeves and trouser legs rolled, and you are covered throughout.

Afterwards most people feel relaxed, sometimes tired, occasionally lighter or looser in the treated area straight away. Small bruises at needle sites are common and harmless. You can drive and return to work.

Who provides it

Acupuncture at MedRehab Group is provided by acupuncturists registered with the College of Traditional Chinese Medicine Practitioners and Acupuncturists of Ontario, the body that regulates the profession under the Traditional Chinese Medicine Act. Registration requires a recognised program of around two thousand hours and provincial examinations, and you can confirm any registration on the College’s public register. Several of our acupuncturists are also registered massage therapists, which is useful when muscle tension is the main problem: the two approaches can be combined in a plan rather than chosen between.

Physiotherapists and chiropractors in Ontario may also use needles within their own scope, as dry needling or acupuncture, under their own colleges. At our clinics that happens inside a physiotherapy or chiropractic appointment; when you book acupuncture, you see an acupuncturist.

Is acupuncture covered by insurance?

Usually through an extended health plan, and it depends on the plan and on who provides it. OHIP does not cover acupuncture. Most extended health plans through work do, typically to an annual dollar limit, and many of them require the provider to be a registered acupuncturist, which ours are. We bill most major insurers directly so you pay only what your plan does not cover. Acupuncture provided by a registered acupuncturist has been exempt from HST since 2014, so there is no tax on your receipt.

After a car accident, acupuncture can be included in the treatment plan submitted to your auto insurer under your accident benefits, alongside physiotherapy, chiropractic and massage. For a workplace injury, acupuncture is provided where it is part of a WSIB program of care that WSIB has approved. Tell us at booking and bring your claim number.

Questions we are asked most

Related services

Acupuncture is usually one part of a plan. Physiotherapy diagnoses the problem and rebuilds strength and movement, massage therapy treats the muscles directly, and chiropractic restores movement to stiff joints. Dry needling, the single-technique cousin of acupuncture, is available inside physiotherapy appointments.