Acupuncture
Acupuncture is one of the oldest, most commonly used medical procedures in the world alongside Chinese herbal medicine and Qi Gong. The origins of acupuncture lie in ancient China and can be traced back over 4000 years (The first Chinese Medical Textbook was written 2,500 years ago).
One of the major benefits of acupuncture is that it is drug free and has a holistic approach to any illness, linking body, mind and soul to aid and assist your own body in the prevention and heeling against disease and illness. Acupuncture is acknowledged as being effective in treating and managing musculoskeletal, neurological, cardiovascular, digestive, immune, respiratory, gynaecological and urological disorders.
Listed below is just a few of the common conditions that acupuncture can treat:
- Musculoskeletal disorders/ Injuries
- Headaches + Migraines
- General Aches, Pains, energy levels
- Digestion Disorders (Diarrhoea, Constipation, IBS, Bloating, Reflux)
- Sleeping Difficulties
- Blood pressure, circulation
- Women’s Health
- Sinus disorders
- Arthritis (Rheumatoid, osteoarthritis, Gout)
- Emotional balancing (Stress, Anxiety, Anger)
- Minimising side effects of cancer treatments (Nausea, Pain, Fatigue)
How Does Acupuncture Work?
Acupuncture is considered to be a family of procedures, not one single exact approach to pain or disease management. All acupuncture practices involve the stimulation of specific points on the body using a variety of techniques, usually needles. The type of acupuncture that has been studied most so far in clinical, scientific research settings is the type that uses thin, solid, metal needles to lightly puncture the skin.
Acupuncture is usually done by hand, with a trained practitioner carefully inserting the needles into specific points in the body inserted into the skin. Normally about 10 to 20 thin needles are used at one time. The needles are small enough to fit inside of a normal-sized needle that would be used to take blood, making the process relatively painless for most people.
Acupressure is often thought of as simply “acupuncture without the needles” and uses targeted massage-type techniques to stimulate energy in the body by pressing on certain points.