ACUPUNTURE
Acupuncture is one of the many skills used in physiotherapy to help manage your symptoms. It aims to reduce pain and inflammation, and stimulate the body’s own healing chemicals. This promotes homeostasis (the bodies state of balance), which aids recovery and enhances rehabilitation. Your body is then able to achieve better results with other modalities, such as rehabilitation, strength and conditioning.
The very fine needles used in acupuncture are simply used to stimulate the flow of the QI (also know as the meridians), which channels through the body. The QI can be stimulated at skin layer, which then triggers the necessary chemical response in deeper muscles and organs.
What are the benefits of Acupunture?
- Reduce pain with a number of MSK conditions
- Increase function and assist with rehabilitation
- Useful if you cannot tolerate hands-on treatment
- Reduce inflammation and prompt the healing process
- Can assist with relaxation
- Help with mood
- Relieve stress and anxiety
- Improve sleep
What to expect?

Each person who performs acupuncture has a unique style, often blending aspects of Eastern and Western approaches to medicine. To determine the type of acupuncture treatment that will help you the most, your Physiotherapist at Optimum Physio may ask you about your symptoms, behaviors and lifestyle. He or she may also closely examine:
- The parts of your body that are painful
- The shape, coating and color of your tongue
- The color of your face
- The strength, rhythm and quality of the pulse in your wrist
An acupuncture session may take up to 60 minutes, although some appointments may be much shorter. A common treatment plan for a single complaint would typically involve one or two treatments a week. The number of treatments will depend on the condition being treated and its severity. In general, it’s common to receive 6 to 8 treatments.
About our physiotherapists
All our physiotherapists are registered with and regulated by the HCPC (Health and Care Professions Council) and the CSP (Chartered Society of Physiotherapy). They are a highly experienced team, and many have developed advanced and extended scope qualifications in areas such as diagnostic ultrasound and injection therapy. They combine vast experience gained across all sectors – private, NHS, and many areas within professional/elite sport.
What next?
If you are suffering with pain or injury that’s stopping you do the things you enjoy or need to do, if you have niggles that are annoying you, or if you have some specific sporting/fitness challenges you want to prepare for, then we can help.
If you would like to book an appointment, or would like further information, please contact us on 0121 622 5317 or email info@ophysio.co.uk
Private health insurance
Optimum Physio is recognised by all major private health insurers.
Depending on your insurer, you may need a GP referral before you can use your private health insurance with us. To make this process as speedy as possible, we have partnered with DocTap, who can provide same-day GP referrals to all secondary care services.
Once you’ve got your referral (if necessary), you’ll normally be offered an appointment with one of our physiotherapists at your preferred location, within 24 hours.
Private self-fund
No need to get a GP referral if you’re paying for a physiotherapist yourself. To ensure we remain competitive, our prices are set regionally and can be found at the bottom of each clinic page.
Offers and discounts
You can also get 10% off when pre-purchasing blocks of 6 or more treatments online. We recommend you speak to a physiotherapist first to determine how many sessions you need.
EXCELLENT Based on 178 reviews Zaheed Ahmed2025-06-11Trustindex verifies that the original source of the review is Google. Qasim is amazing. Recommend him to friends and family and I highly recommend his services to all. He has really helped alleviate my shoulder pain and trap pain. Will be seeing him regularly. Mohammed Asaf2025-06-05Trustindex verifies that the original source of the review is Google. I have been using Optimum Physio sporadically for over a decade now. Qasim always approaches any issues I have had with diligence and upmost professional detail. He is thorough and provides excellent service which involves tailoring treatment plans in accordance with specific problem areas. He approaches his work with care and a wholehearted effort to achieve results for the patient. Top notch. Ozzy Asad2025-06-04Trustindex verifies that the original source of the review is Google. Best physio I been to I play cricket suffered from a injury and thought I’d be out for weeks but mr shah worked his magic and I was playing a few days later highly recommended guys best in the game hamzah masud2025-06-04Trustindex verifies that the original source of the review is Google. I came to Qasim with an ongoing ankle sprain issue that had been flaring up on and off for a couple of years. He quickly identified the areas that needed work and gave me simple, effective exercises I could do at home to build strength. As my ankle improved, he gradually increased the intensity of the exercises to target other movements like jumping and running. He also helped relieve the pain during our sessions using massage, acupuncture, and deep tissue work on my calves to ease the stiffness I had when I first came in. The whole process was straightforward and easy to follow. I'm now back to 100% and able to comfortably play the sports I enjoy. juned hussain2025-05-22Trustindex verifies that the original source of the review is Google. Life-Changing Treatment – Shoulder Pain Gone After 2 Years! I had been struggling with constant shoulder pain for over 2 years – it affected my sleep, work, and even simple daily activities. After trying different treatments with little success, I finally decided to book in for a shoulder injection and rehabilitation. Honestly, I wish I had done this sooner! From the very first appointment, the care and professionalism were outstanding. The injection was quick and almost painless, and the physio guided me through a personalised rehab programme that actually made sense and delivered results. Within weeks, I noticed a huge improvement. Now, I’m completely pain-free and have full mobility back – something I hadn’t experienced in years. If you’re in pain and unsure where to turn, I can’t recommend this place highly enough. It’s not just treatment, it’s a total recovery plan. Thank you for giving me my shoulder – and my life – back! Munir Anwar2025-05-20Trustindex verifies that the original source of the review is Google. Not only excellent, but there when you need them Abdul-Jabbar Ali2025-05-14Trustindex verifies that the original source of the review is Google. Optimum Physio (Qasim Shah) booked a consulting room with First Medical Consultants in August 2024. We have continually requested payment from this company for the outstanding invoice but have been lied to and ignored on numerous occsssions. I would recommend people to be vary cautious about giving your hard earned cash to this dodgy company. Thomas Virtanen2025-04-17Trustindex verifies that the original source of the review is Google. Edit 17.4.2025: Due to a ClassPass problem my original reservation didn't show up in Optimum Physio reservation system and hence the office was closed and didn't get any service that day. However, Qasim fixed the situation and booked me another time to physiotherapy and I received a good tension relieving massage coupled with acupuncture that opened up my shoulder / back muscles and I feel a lot better now. Will definitely come again. Javed Pupar2025-04-11Trustindex verifies that the original source of the review is Google. Physio place is good, decent size. Qasim Shah is experience Physio, he knows his stuff.
EXPERT THERAPISTS THAT UNDERSTAND YOUR NEEDS
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