EDN in OAK 2025

Stimulated by Dunning et al 2025.[1] Figure 1 from the paper... or you wouldn't have believed me. EDN – electrical dry needlingOAK – OA kneeOA – osteoarthritisIF – impact factorPEDN – periosteal electrical dry needlingPIEDN – periosteal and intra-articular electrical dry needlingEA – electroacupunctureWMA – Western medical acupunctureTENS – transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulationSAE – serious … Continue reading EDN in OAK 2025

Post-acupuncture ACSEH

Stimulated by Wang et al 2025.[1] Photo by Gildo Cancelli on Pexels.com ACSEH – acute cervical spinal epidural haematomapaACSEH – post-acupuncture ACSEHSEH – spinal epidural haematomaIF – impact factorrTPA – recombinant tissue plasminogen activator – key to acronyms I thought this was going to be another first for the blog – a paACSEH mimicking a … Continue reading Post-acupuncture ACSEH

MPS 2025

Stimulated by Steen et al 2025.[1] MPS – myofascial pain syndrome(s)PM&R – physical medicine and rehabilitationMSK – musculoskeletalLS – lumbosacralIF – impact factorTPI – trigger point injectionLA – local anaestheticDN – dry needlingSR – systematic reviewRCT – randomised controlled trialLTR – local twitch responseIMS – intramuscular stimulation – key to acronyms Review papers on MPS … Continue reading MPS 2025

Acupuncture AEs 2024

Inspired by a variety of recent case reports. AI generated image. AEs – adverse eventsPDP – personal development planCXR – chest x ray filmSPs – spinous processesBP – blood pressuremmHg – millimetres of mercury (units of fluid pressure)HR – heart ratebpm – beats per minuteTHA – total hip arthroplastyIBD – inflammatory bowel diseaseESI – epidural … Continue reading Acupuncture AEs 2024

WMA and athletes 2024

Stimulated by Chaabna et al 2024.[1] Photo by Chiara Caldarola on Pexels.com WMA – Western medical acupunctureSR – systematic reviewSM – sports medicineTCA – traditional Chinese acupunctureTCM – traditional Chinese medicine key to acronyms I spent the last weekend teaching on a WMA course in a sports clinic in Porto (HP Clinics), so this paper, … Continue reading WMA and athletes 2024

MSAT for MSK pain

Stimulated by a trip to Jaseng, Seoul, for their 4th annual academic conference, and a paper from the founder of Jaseng, published in Pain 10 years ago, Shin et al 2013.[1] MSAT – motion style acupuncture treatmentMSK – musculoskeletalcLBP – chronic low back painUS – ultrasoundTP – transverse processCAT – conventional acupuncture treatmentRCT – randomised … Continue reading MSAT for MSK pain

Where to needle 2023

…in infraspinatus and other muscles. Stimulated by Lee et al 2023.[1] Possible TrP locations in the infraspinatus muscle based on the frequency of finding EPZs. Yellow indicates the presence of EPZs in 90% to 100% of individuals. Green indicates the presence of EPZs in 50% to 80% of individuals. This is based on data from … Continue reading Where to needle 2023

MTrP needling in GP 2023

Inspired by Yehoshua et al 2023.[1] Needling upper trapezius or GB21 with a subject sitting up and an angle that is tangential to the upper ribcage (from BMAS Points Resource). MTrP – myofascial trigger pointTrP – trigger pointDN – dry needling (mostly MTrP or TrP needling)GP – general practice or general practitioner (whichever is contextually … Continue reading MTrP needling in GP 2023

Muscle vs fascia in LBP

Inspired by Cozacov et al 2022 and others.[1–3] Photo by Juan Pablo Serrano Arenas on Pexels.com LBP – low back painQL – quadratus lumborumHC – healthy controlUS – ultrasoundNRS – numerical rating scaleLTR – local twitch responseFM – fibromyalgiaOA – osteoarthritisDOMS – delayed onset muscle soreness key to acronyms This is a small but interesting … Continue reading Muscle vs fascia in LBP