In the interests of investigative journalism, Rugeley Mercury reporter Ellie Piovesana has gone under the needle to find out more about acupuncture.

To help her, she visited Tony Braines, a Kung Fu teacher, who turned to acupuncture after suffering problems with his knees and ankles, and now practices the ancient technique part-time.

Tony prefers to treat people in their own homes, but invited Ellie to his home, where his front room has been converted into a mini-surgery.

Ellie said: “When Tony invited me round for a treatment, I was a little apprehensive. Why on earth would anyone want to have needles stuck into them and how could it possibly make me feel better?”

As Ellie sat on the couch, Tony announced that he was going to stick needles in her hands and legs.

Ellie said: “The needles were as fine as a strand of hair and much smaller than I imagined.

“He pushed the first one into a point just below my knee and wiggled it gently. I could feel it but there was no pain.”

The body consists of thousands of pressure points, all of which have a different effect on the body when stimulated and acupuncture can be used to treat almost any disorder.

Tony put a needle between the thumb and index finger on each of Ellie’s hands – a point that is supposed to relieve stress and tension.

And now Ellie is convinced that acupuncture can work.

She said: “That night I floated home and enjoyed the best night’s sleep I’d had in ages.”

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