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There are a great many benefits to receiving both Osteopathy and Acupuncture in the same treatment. Acupuncture, like Osteopathy, is also a physical therapy. Acupuncture itself is many thousands of years old, and has stood the test of time, and has developed over many centuries and generations.
Acupuncture can help with tissue healing, promoting tissue repair, and relieve pain. Many things happen around the area of needling, but likely include a local release of endorphins (for pain-relief) and changes in blood flow (relieving inflammation) and promoting tissue healing. In many ways, it seems that the micro-trauma of an acupuncture needle can set in motion and optimise the changes needed for tissue-healing, for both acute and chronic injuries and conditions.
Of course, all this depends on your own preference. Some patients prefer Osteopathy alone (and even within an Osteopathic scope of practice - may prefer, perhaps, not to have any manipulation, etc). Some patients may prefer mainly . Andrew Still, the founder of Osteopathy, once defined Osteopathy as 'what works'. And this is a good definition: simple, and practical. Of course, in Andrew Still's time (the mid and late nineteenth century mid-West of North America) Acupuncture was virtually unknown (at least, outside of the Chinese communities) and yet, historical records suggest that Andrew Still at least had contact with Chinese doctors, and was most probably profoundly influenced by them - and this contributed to the development of Osteopathy.
Both Osteopathy and Acupuncture are wholistic models. They view the body as a whole, a unit - where the function of one part will affect the function of others (unlike the reductionism of modern Western medicine, where one part is frequently seen in isolation, almost as if it has a completely separate existence to the rest of the body). Both Osteopathy and Acupuncture emphasis the importance of general health (or optimal health) whether this may be called the 'physiological reserve' in Osteopathy, or an 'abundance of qi and blood' in Chinese medicine.
Practically speaking, the spine, the vertebral column, behaves globally - where one region will influence another (what we might call 'global biomechanics'). And the neck is very much influenced by the shoulders and upper back, with many muscles crossing this region. Acupuncture has, as part of it's conceptual framework, the idea of 'meridians' or channels of 'energy flow' (which admittedly does sound a bit poetic or esoteric). Acupuncture also sees connections between the upper body and lower body for instance (according to the meridian pathways). Osteopathy has observed the phenomena of 'muscle-chains' (we might even say anatomy- trains) and a muscle frequently has a referral pattern: muscles of the lower back or pelvis referring pain down the leg, or muscles of the shoulder (rotator cuff) referring pain down the arm.
Sometimes these two models (one Osteopathic, and the other from Acupcuncture) overlapp, and appear to be describing the same thing. For practical purposes, I go ahead and treat - both treating where the pain is - and also treating any referral pattern - or muscle-chain (and yes, this can be using the meridian assoicated with that area). I may give Cranial Osteopathy (for example, when treating headaches) lightly holding the head, at the same time as Acupuncture (perhaps with neeedles in the hands and feet) and this does seem to give very good results. Again 'what works'.
Osteopathy can be very useful in addressing any altered global biomechanics (any muscle imbalance, a torsion, assymettry - even a scolisis perhaps), and Acupuncture can be very useful in also relieving that muscle imbalance, and the pain and discomfort that may result from it.
I trained in Traditional Acupuncture many years ago, in London (qi and blood, the five phase theory, etc). I also hold the Western Medical Acupuncture scope of practice in Osteopathy, here in NZ.
These two modalities, both Osteopathy and Acupuncture, work very well together - and often give the best results in any treatment.
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