Acupuncture
Acupuncture in North London - Finchley, Hendon and Barnet
Acupuncture
What is acupuncture?
Acupuncture works to help maintain your body's equilibrium. It involves the insertion of very fine needles into specific points of the body to re-balance the flow of 'qi', your body's vital energy. Qi flows through channels called "meridians". There are 12 meridians that form a network that carries the energy to each organ. Qi consists of Yin and Yang and these two opposite, but complementary, forces need to be in balance otherwise disease or illness occurs in the body.
The flow of qi can be disturbed by many factors, physical, mental and emotional: anxiety, stress, anger, fear or grief, poor nutrition, weather conditions, hereditary factors, infections, poisons and trauma. By inserting fine needles into the meridians, an acupuncturist can stimulate the body's own healing response and help to restore its natural balance.
In certain instances, traditional acupuncture can be an effective therapy to help restore balance and promote physical and emotional harmony.
Treatment is aimed at the root of your condition as well as your main symptoms. This approach helps with resolving your problem and enhancing your feeling of wellbeing.
You may notice other niggling problems resolve as your main health complaint improves.
Acupuncture originated in China and other far eastern cultures where it still features in mainstream healthcare, both as a stand-alone therapy and in combination with conventional western medicine. Acupuncture is now widely used and accepted all over the world. In the
UK more and more people are finding out what acupuncture can do for them.
What happens during treatment?
The initial assessment carried out by the practitioner focuses on the patient's medical history and detecting the body's imbalance. When the acupuncture needles are actually inserted, they are usually left in place for between 15 and 30 minutes and often the acupuncturist will try and manipulate the needles so that you will feel a dull bursting or numb sensation around their site of insertion. This sensation is called "de qi" or "obtaining energy". Other methods of stimulating the acupuncture point, include moxibustion (application of heat), and placing a cup over the acupuncture point (cupping).
Who has acupuncture?
Many people come to acupuncture for help with specific symptoms or to relieve specific pains like osteoarthritis of the knee. Some use acupuncture because they feel generally unwell but have no obvious diagnosis. Others choose acupuncture simply to enhance their feeling of wellbeing. Acupuncture is considered suitable for all ages including babies and children. It can be used effectively alongside conventional medicine.
What can it do for me?
Some people turn to acupuncture for help with a specific symptom or condition. Others choose to have treatment to help maintain good health, as a preventive measure, or simply to improve their general sense of wellbeing. Because traditional acupuncture aims to treat the whole person rather than specific symptoms in isolation, it can be effective for a range of conditions.
Remember that acupuncturists treat the person, not just the condition which they have, so each patient's treatment plan will be different. However, you can always ask your practitioner about other patients' experiences, to give you an idea of what to expect. Many people return to acupuncture again and again because they find it so beneficial and relaxing.
In 2009 the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence recommended that acupuncture should be made available on the NHS, as a cost-effective short-term treatment for the management of early, persistent non-specific lower back pain.
You can get more information on current scientific research into the effectiveness of acupuncture by visiting the British Acupuncture Council website (www.acupuncture.org.uk) or by giving us a call.
Benefits of Acupuncture
Acupuncture is primarily used to ease symptoms of pain and discomfort. Other than pain relief, acupuncture is useful in treating a very wide range of ailments. Studies suggest that there are a number of conditions which acupuncture can help to treat, including dental pain, nausea and vomiting, provide short-term relief of tension-type headache and provide temporary adjunctive treatment for osteoarthritis knee pain.
Acupuncture is a very safe form of treatment, which has few side effects, or complications. Combining acupuncture and Tui Na can be quite effective in treatment.
Acupuncture during pregnancy
It is safe for you to have acupuncture while you are pregnant, but you must let your acupuncturist know before you begin your treatment. This is because some acupuncture points cannot be used during pregnancy.