Traditional Acupuncture
Evidence from ancient texts indicate that acupuncture has been in use for over two thousand years across Asia. It is growing in popularity with over 3 million practitioners worldwide.
It is said that the discovery of acupuncture came about following observation of effects on the functioning of specific organs when certain areas of the body were stimulated. Over the centuries, the understanding of the meridian pathways which are said to carry Qi, (pronounced as chee), through our body has developed and techniques increasingly refined.
Today, traditional acupuncture is recognized by most as a very effective complementary therapy
Traditional acupuncture is widely publicised for specific conditions such as pain management, joint pain; nausea, vomiting, dental pain relief; sports Injuries etc. The broader benefits continue to be an ongoing topic of discussion and research to prove its efficacy.
Treatments utilise traditional diagnostic and treatment methods such as pulse/tongue diagnosis and where applicable, the use of moxibustion; cupping; guasha;* herbal medicines. The practitioner may also recommend dietary advice, and exercises such as Tai Chi and Qigong (see glossary of terms below)..
We also offer the use of modern conventional methods such as blood testing for allergies; food intolerance and hormonal imbalances. These, either standalone or combined with fitness testing can offer an informed choice of appropriate nutritional supplements; and exercise prescription where applicable.
For effective pain management and conditions such as acne, we offer non thermal (cold) low light laser therapy using state of the art medical grade approved devices. This can be used independently or uniqely with traditional acupuncture techniques.
NB – Traditional acupuncture should not be confused with ‘Dry Needling Acupuncture’ currently offered by the NHS and many pain management clinics. Dry needling (also known as trigger point acupuncture) focuses on localised symptoms and not the deeper root causes treated by traditional approaches. Furthermore, traditional acupuncture requires several years of training compared with a few days of dry needling short courses for medical professionals. Always CHECK the length of training the practitioner has had specifically in acupuncture and if they are offering traditional treatments based on a differential diagnosis. This basically means that one approach does NOT fit all and a traditional acupuncturist will look at deep underlying causes and treat the ‘whole individual’ and not just a symptom.
All acupuncturists offering traditional acupuncture at our clinics have been extensively trained over several years in Chinese medicine and have additionally covered a broad level of conventional medical sciences. Our acupuncture practitioners are members of the British Acupuncture Council (BAcC); and the General Naturopathic Council, both recognised and approved bodies in the UK.