ACUPUNCTURE
About Acupuncture
Acupuncture is a branch of the Traditional Chinese medicine that has been practised for over 2000 years. Chinese medicine is based on the concept of holism, and to address the cause rather than limiting treatment to symptom management.
Many people come to acupuncture to help relieve specific conditions such as tension headaches, migraines, neck or back pain, osteoarthritis of the knee and temporomandibular joint pain. Some use acupuncture because they feel generally unwell but have no obvious diagnosis, some choose acupuncture simply to enhance their feeling of wellbeing.
Acupuncturist will treat the whole person, not just the condition which they have, so each patient’s treatment plan will be different.
Touch2Heal’s Acupuncture Therapy
Our acupuncturists conduct a detailed case history, asking questions about medical history, sleeping patterns, symptoms, appetite, digestion issues and the like. They finish with an examination of the tongue and a check on the pulse before selecting salient points on the body to correct imbalances.
Very fine single-use pre-sterilised needles are then inserted into the selected locations on the body. The depth the needles go can vary and they will stay in your body for approximately 5 – 20 minutes. Needles may be placed in the immediate area of concern or at other locations where stimulation is required to effect an increase in energy elsewhere. For example, if you suffer from headaches then the needles might be inserted into your foot or hand.
It may come as a surprise but treatment is fairly painless. Many patients get an instant feeling of relaxation as the stimulation involved causes a release of endorphins.
Is Acupuncture Suitable For You?
Acupuncture has now become firmly established in the West as an alternative therapy for treating a wide range of illnesses and conditions. It can often alleviate many problems associated with stress and tension including chronic headaches as well as physical problems and injury.
Acupuncture has been shown to be effective at improving fertility in men and women. Postgraduate training in this field with Zita West and the Fertility Support training allows us to keep up to date with the latest knowledge
Our acupuncturists are fully qualified members of the British Acupuncture Council (BAcC) which is the leading self-regulatory body for the practice of traditional acupuncture in the UK.
Fertility
Few people are actually truly infertile, yet more and more couples are having difficulty conceiving. They are a number of recognised factors such as age, high level of stress, inadequate nutrition, poor sleep, immune issues, poor sperm or follicle quality. It takes 90 days for a follicle/egg to change from dormant stage to ovulation and 72 days for the lifecycle of the sperm.
Acupuncture stimulates the peripheral nervous system, which effects the central nervous system, which regulates the autonomic nervous system. Generally speaking, the results of this are pain relief, relaxation, and inflammation reduction. All of them are very important in fertility.
Stress will increase the level of cortisol which in turn suppress the normal level of reproductive hormones. In women it may lead to abnormal ovulation, anovulation or amenorrhea and in men it will reduce the testosterone level which in turn is linked with a lower sperm count.
Ailments Responding To Acupuncture
Conditions we commonly treat
Below is a list of common problems that respond well to acupuncture. The list isn’t exhaustive so if you are suffering from something not listed then please feel free to chat to one of acupuncturists to see if we can help
- Back Pain
- Sciatica
- Bulging/Slipped/Prolapsed disc
- Neck and Shoulder pain
- Frozen shoulders
- Tennis elbow
- Headaches and migraine
- Hip/knees/ankle pain/arthritis
- Fibromyalgia
- Irregular/painful periods
- Fertility issues / IVF support
- Menopausal symptoms
GOVERNANCE
We work to a strict code of practice and are registered with the British Acupuncture Council.
