"My chiropractor recommended acupuncture for a problem with my leg. That’s 99% better now, but the strangest thing is, since starting treatment I’ve had hardly any migraines. I used to get them once a week. I’m amazed, but I’ll keep going with the acupuncture!"
John, 42
"I suffer with fibromyalgia and acupuncture keeps it under control now. It took a good few months but even after the first treatment I felt so much better in myself that I found a new way of dealing with the pain. It just didn’t affect me in the same way any more."
Margaret, 51
"I got this ugly patch of eczema on my face and someone suggested acupuncture. I was terrified of the needles – but they’re only little things and they don’t hurt at all. It’s an interesting sensation – a real experience – you really feel something changing in your body. It works on lots of levels and I know that because as my eczema improved, so did my energy and my anxiety levels – things I’d never considered acupuncture might help."
Karen, 22
Acupuncture
People are often surprised by the ‘side-benefits’ of acupuncture. We’re used to going to the doctor for one thing – and treatment for that often brings unpleasant side effects. When you come for acupuncture it’s almost impossible to treat you for one thing. We can’t make a diagnosis until we know everything about your health – it’s just the way the system of medicine works. The aim is to get to the root cause of your symptoms, and so along the way you’ll find that other things begin to change as well."
How does it work?
Acupuncturists work with the concept of ‘Qi’, or life force. You can’t see it, and it can’t be measured scientifically (yet). Acupuncturists can assess the state of your Qi by taking your pulses at both wrists. Although you can’t see Qi, you can certainly feel it. It’s what makes you feel alive. It’s what shifts inside you when you get angry, feel sad or fall in love.
Qi should flow smoothly around your body to keep you in optimum health. All kinds of things can stop that from happening – poor diet, too many late nights, repeated emotional patterns, bad weather – the list is endless. If you put even a small dam in a river, it’s going to have consequences down-stream. Acupuncture points are a way of accessing the flow of energy to free up blocks – so ultimately it’s your own Qi that does the healing.
Prove it!
As I’ve said, Qi can’t be measured scientifically. What we can measure, however, it the effect of acupuncture on the body’s physiology. Post-acupuncture blood tests have shown raised endorphins and haemoglobin levels, and regulation of reproductive hormones.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) has an extensive list of clinical trials proving acupuncture’s effectiveness in a huge range of conditions including:
Anxiety / depression, Allergies, Headache / Migraine, Backache, Frozen Shoulder, Digestive disorders, Gynaecological conditions such as heavy and / or painful periods and PMT, Pregnancy Symptoms, Infertility and Neurological conditions.
Follow the link to the document to see whether your condition is listed. If you don’t see it there, do feel free to contact me to discuss whether acupuncture could help.