Acupuncture works to help maintain your body’s equilibrium. It involves the insertion of very fine needles into specific points on the body to regulate the flow of ‘qi’, your body’s vital energy. For a number of lifestyle and environmental reasons, qi can become disturbed, depleted or blocked, which can result in some symptoms of pain and illness or. In certain instances, traditional acupuncture can be an effective therapy to help restore balance and promote physical and emotional harmony.

Acupuncture has been researched and tested and as a result has been proved to be effective in treating many ailments.

Treatment is aimed at the root of your condition as well as your main symptoms. This approach helps with resolving your problem and enhancing your feeling of wellbeing.

You may notice other niggling problems resolve as your main health complaint improves.

Acupuncture can help treat nausea, vomiting, short-term relief for tension-type headaches, dental pain, and osteoarthritis of the knee.

Some people turn to acupuncture for help with a specific symptom or condition. Others choose to have treatment to help maintain good health, as a preventive measure, or simply to improve their general sense of wellbeing. Because traditional acupuncture aims to treat the whole person rather than specific symptoms in isolation, it can be effective for a range of conditions.

Who has acupuncture?

Many people come to acupuncture for help with specific symptoms or to relieve specific pains like osteoarthritis of the knee. Some use acupuncture because they feel generally unwell but have no obvious diagnosis. Others choose acupuncture simply to enhance their feeling of wellbeing. Acupuncture is considered suitable for all ages including babies and children. It can be used effectively alongside conventional medicine.

For condition such as arthritis affecting your hands, an acupuncturist may look at your tongue, check your pulse, ask about your diet and lifestyle etc. This vast range of diagnostic information allows acupuncturists to develop a treatment strategy that is unique to you. The focus of treatment is patient-orientated; the person is treated rather than the person’s disease. The treatment approach is a holistic and natural.      

Treatment is aimed at the root of your condition, as well as your symptoms. This approach can lead to a more permanent resolution of your problems.

On the 1st treatment, a consultation will be done and your health will be discussed with you in detail. The consultation provides time for us to discuss the priority of the treatment and any concerns or questions you have making you feel comfortable. The number of treatments required depends very much on the nature of your complaint i.e. the severity of it and its duration. Each person’s treatment and experience is different from another’s as acupuncture is rooted in ‘Holism’, tailoring the treatment to you.

Treatment usually takes place consecutively every week and becomes less regular as your health improves. A review of your progress is done after 4-6 sessions.

In 2009 the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence recommended that acupuncture should be made available on the NHS, as a cost-effective short-term treatment for the management of early, persistent non-specific lower back pain.

You can get more information on current scientific research into the effectiveness of acupuncture by visiting www.acupuncture.org.uk or by speaking to a BAcC registered acupuncturist.