Actress Imelda Staunton relies on regular acupuncture to achieve equilibrium in her life and believes acupuncture has helped her to manage the menopause naturally, experiencing no symptoms other than tiredness. Read the full article from Times Online.

 Swedish striker Ibrahimovic scored for his country - for the first time since October 2005 - against Greece in the Euro 2008 football championships, having received acupuncture treatment for an ongoing knee injury. Read more here about his treatment.

A study published in the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology has recently reported on the effectivesness and cost-effectiveness of acupuncture in patients with dysmenorrhoea (period pain). Results suggest acupuncture over 15 sessions may help to reduce period pain by almost half.

I often see results working with people over 3-4 menstrual cycles and feedback from women suggests the results can be significant and have a real impact on women's quality of life.

A large study recently published in the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology has found that too much caffeine during pregnancy can double the risk of miscarriage. Women at risk of too much caffeine were consuming two cups of brewed coffee or four cups of black tea a day or more. 12.5% of women who consumed no caffeine miscarried wheras 24.5% of women who consumed 200mg of caffeine or more a day miscarried.

The study does not make recommendations but no caffeine in pregnancy would seem to be advisable.

An American new study has found that acupuncture alleviated pain in people experiencing neck and shoulder pain post surgery in almost 40% of people within a month, compared to 7% of people who took anti-inflamatory drugs.
 
I treat a lot of neck and shoulder problems, combining massage, acupuncture and heat treatments. Whether your neck and shoulder pain is a result of tension, overuse, injury or surgery, acupuncture offers a quick and comfortable and way of alleviating your discomfort without side effects.