Acupuncture for Neck Pain

A stiff, sore neck can make driving, working at a screen and sleeping comfortably harder than they should be. In a large UK trial, people with chronic neck pain who had acupuncture had a third less pain a year later, and acupuncture has beaten sham treatment in pooled studies of thousands of patients. Our practitioners have been treating pain in London for 25 years.

Book an initial consultation or call 0207 935 2030 for a free 15-minute chat.

What causes neck pain?

Most neck pain comes from the muscles, ligaments and joints of the neck rather than anything serious. Common causes include long hours at a desk or on a phone, sleeping awkwardly, stress, wear and tear with age, and whiplash. It often spreads into the shoulders and can trigger headaches.

See your GP if neck pain follows an accident or fall, or comes with numbness, weakness or pins and needles in your arms, problems with balance or walking, fever, or unexplained weight loss. Shoulder stiffness may be a separate problem; read our frozen shoulder page.

How acupuncture can help

For chronic neck pain, acupuncture can reduce pain and stiffness and make it easier to turn your head and get on with your day. It works best alongside regular movement and changes to posture and workstation set-up, and many patients find it helps them cope with pain with less reliance on painkillers.

We also see people with recent neck strains and whiplash, and neck pain linked to stress or headaches. We’ll assess what’s driving your pain, use acupuncture as one part of a plan, and tell you honestly if we think another approach would suit you better.

Researchers think acupuncture works partly by changing how nerves and the brain process pain signals, including the release of the body’s own pain-relieving chemicals. The exact mechanisms are still being studied.

What the research shows

• MacPherson et al., 2015 (Annals of Internal Medicine) — 517 people with chronic neck pain recruited from UK GP practices. A course of acupuncture alongside usual care reduced pain by 32% at 12 months, significantly more than usual care alone.
• Vickers et al., 2018 (Journal of Pain) — combined raw data from 39 trials and 20,827 patients with chronic pain, including neck pain. Acupuncture outperformed both sham and no acupuncture, and most of the benefit was still there a year later.

Results vary between people, and acupuncture is not a replacement for medical assessment.

What to expect

Your first appointment lasts an hour. We take a full history, look at any scans or reports you bring, check how your neck moves, and agree a plan with you. Treatment uses very fine, single-use needles in the neck, shoulders and hands, left in for 15 to 20 minutes. Where suitable we may add electro-acupuncture, cupping or a heat lamp to ease tight muscles.

Most people start with weekly sessions and we review progress together after four to six. Initial consultations start from £80; see clinics and fees for details.

Why The London Acupuncture Clinic

• 25 years treating patients in London
• Degree-qualified practitioners who work alongside GPs and consultants, with close links to physiotherapists and chiropractors
• Open seven days a week, with early-morning and evening appointments
• Receipts for insurance claims on request

What our patients say

“I initially went for a sore neck – was much improved after just one session and pain free after the 2nd.” — F.C., Google review