Acupuncture

Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) has been around for centuries. The body has channels known as meridians. The channels correspond to 12 organs in the body and extra channels too. Each organ has points along the meridian; some have up to 57, others 19. Each point has many functions.

The body also has qi and blood circulating through the channels. In TCM, Qi is the energy source of the body; blood is the mother of qi. Yin and Yang balance the body, Yin is night, and Yang is day. TCM is all about getting the balance right in all of the above.

Treatments

There are different forms of treatment:

Needling:

Sterile needles are placed into point locations to encourage flow of Qi and Blood. Points are determined by the consultation. There are different lengths of needles and width for patient comfort. A sensation of Qi moving can be felt during the treatment. Needles are retained for 20 mins.

I am also qualified in Dry Needling and this may be used.

Dry Needling helps trigger points, which are taut bands of fibre within the muscles. They can cause discomfort, either within that muscle or they can refer pain elsewhere. They can be made from overuse of the muscle or even just postural imbalances.

Electro acupuncture:

Small electrodes are linked to the needles to encourage stimulation to the area needed. Electrical pulses are then sent via a machine. A slight sensation will be felt, similar to pins and needles.

Cupping:

Cups to encourage blood flow and remove blockage of a channel. Olympic athletes are now using cupping to aid recovery from exercise.

Two different cups may possibly be used. One is plastic with a suction tool, the other, glass with a flame to encourage the suction.

Used either during the treatment or directly afterwards the length of time they are kept on depends on the
condition.

It is important to remember that marks will be left on the area where the cups have been.

Moxibustion:

Fixed herbs can be placed onto a needle, sometimes stuck onto the skin itself and they also come in a stick form.

They are lit to encourage heat to the area.

A warm sensation will be felt around the area used.

With this method you can be more specific to where you want the heat to be.

Ear needling:

The ear maps the whole body. Look at your ear and imagine a foetus in the womb, with the ear lobe being the head and the outer ear the spine.

You can needle the ear for the same conditions that you would the body. Small needles are inserted to the ear and can be used in adjunction with needling of the body.

Ear seeds are sometimes placed to retain after treatment for benefits, especially anxiety or depression.

Heat therapy:

To encourage blood flow to the area needed. Due to the size of the lamp it aids treating bigger areas at the same time. A warm sensation will be felt during the treatment.

Consultation

During a consultation in depth information is taken regarding your complaint. As explained above by looking at the overall wellness of the body it is easier to understand your condition and therefore work out a treatment plan for you.

Towards the end of this process, Tongue diagnosis will take place. The Tongue is the only organ that we can physically see and it maps different organs on the service area. It therefore shows a true reflection of what is happening inside your body. In pulse taking it’s not just your normal heart rate which is looked at but there are other pulses that are used to help diagnoses. Different organs on each wrist help indicate another way to help understand the body’s condition.

You will need 1.5 hours for your first appointment which will discuss the above and then a treatment will take place. At the end you will possibly be given naturopathic or post care advice to aid your recovery. Please see the naturopathy page for more details.

Follow up treatments

Depending on the condition you will need at least 6 sessions in total to see an improvement. It is best to remember that each case is individual and therefore this could change either way. The follow up treatments are 1 hr.

List of Conditions

Below is a list of conditions that I have personally seen but Chinese Medicine can treat most problems. If you can’t see your complaint please get in touch for moreinformation

• Fibromyalgia (Please see Fibromyalgia page for more details)
• Frozen shoulder
• Sickle cell
• Lupus
• Knee Pain
• ITB syndrome
• Menopause
• Fertility
• Amenorrhea
• Insomnia
• Tinnitus
• Diarrhoea
• Profuse Sweating
• Anxiety
• Depression
• Post Bladder Cancer
• Hay Fever

To book an appointment please either go to the contact page or you can speak directly to Sara on 07896123978

By healing ourselves, we therefore help our bodies become better. There are many ways of naturally helping our bodies to become more functional. Sometimes we chose this path when things have gone wrong and sometimes before they do. As a Naturopath I will give you advice on ways to improve your health. Here is an idea of what maybe suggested to you to enhance your recovery:

Bach Flowers:

Bach flower’s go back many years. They are remedies made from essence of plants. They are used to help balance someone’s emotional state from a negative to positive. This can be used in all walks of life. A few examples: fear of flying to constantly making the same mistakes or even PMT. When you purchase Bach flowers you will notice that there are so many, 38 to be exact! This is because they are taken from many different plants. Some remedies are in sync with your star sign and others help them according to what emotion you are going through. Here are a few examples of what feelings can be helped with Bach flower remedies.

• Fear of known things
• Exhaustion
• Shock
• Always making the same mistakes
• Procrastination
• Bitterness
• Unable to let go
• Indecision between two options and many more

The remedy is made from the essence of the flower and very slight drop of organic brandy to preserve. They are mixed together in a small 30ml tincher with 2 drops from each bach flower recommended and then added with water and a tsp of organic brandy to preserve (apple cider vinegar can be used instead if needed). 4 drops 4 times a day are to be taken. You take them until you feel you don’t need the need to anymore, so if you don’t reach for them, then you don’t require them!

 

Tissue Salts:

There are essential minerals that are required for the body to function. They are as follows:

• Calcium fluoride, phosphate and sulphate
• Iron phosphate
• Potassium chloride, phosphate and sulphate
• Magnesium phosphate
• Sodium chloride, phosphate, sulphate
• Silicon dioxide

When they are out of balance problems within the body can occur. Tissue salts can aid recovery. They can help many things but are broken down according to the condition which will then indicate which appropriate tissue salt will help. An example of this would be Silica, which is Silicon dioxide. This looks after skin, hair, nails, connective tissue, nerves, glands, bones and cartilage. For any problems regarding these, the tissue salt Silica would be recommended. Tablets can be taken orally or even grounded to make a paste with organic butter for direct areas. The amount would depend on the severity of the problem.

 

Nutritional Advice:

Using food to help recovery is very important. Sometimes certain foods can cause reactions within the body and for specific conditions, vital not to include in your diet. During your acupuncture consultation you will be asked information regarding your current diet. Suggestions will be made taking your complaint into consideration. This could be changing a certain food group, elimination, detoxing, adding more nutrient foods, looking at what fluid you are drinking or supplements. It is therefore very important to be completely honest whilst you have your consultation so that the correct suggestions can be made.

 

Herbal Medicine:

Herbs are another great way to heal the body and have been around for centuries. As part of naturopathy, you could receive some suggestions for specific remedies. This will compliment your treatment to help achieve the desired result.

Herbs can help all our body systems, including the below:

• Cardiovascular
• Urinary
• Musculoskeletal
• Skin
• Hormones
• Digestive
• Respiratory
• Immunity
• Nervous

They come in many different forms: tea’s, tinctures, creams and of course from the supermarket shelve, where they have been grounded down for food preparation.

Naturopathy is normally suggested via acupuncture treatments to help aid recovery. To book an appointment please either go to the contact page or you can speak directly to Sara on 07896123978