Acupuncture Treatment | Acupuncture Therapy | Wellbeing

What is Acupuncture?

Acupuncture has been practiced for many thousands of years in the Far East to treat a variety of conditions and symptoms. It can help with symptoms such as pain and stress, or to improve overall wellbeing by increasing energy and vitality. It takes a holistic approach, which means that we look at all aspects of your life, such as physical and emotional state along with lifestyle and medical history, in order to reach a diagnosis. As a result we are often able to find, and treat, the underlying patterns of disharmony as well as the specific symptoms.

Acupuncture is all about balance and equilibrium, when we experience pain and illness it can be a sign that our body is out of balance. This imbalance disrupts the free flow of our body's qi. It is the aim of acupuncture, therefore, to restore our body's natural equilibrium.

How Does Acupuncture Work?

Acupuncturists use tiny sterile needles at precisely located points to connect with your body’s qi. The aim is to trigger your body’s healing response and to restore physical, emotional and mental equilibrium. It also works to promote blood flow to certain areas, which in turn increase healing. Acupuncture is designed to affect your whole being as well as your symptoms so, as the condition being treated improves, you may notice other health problems resolve and an increased feeling of wellbeing.

Looking at it scientifically, the insertion of needles effects nerves, initiating the release of endorphins and other neurochemicals, this causes the brain to process things like pain differently. The use of certain points are said to activate our parasympathetic nervous system (responsible for rest and digest), which is why it is so relaxing. More recent studies using brain imaging have shown that the use of specific points deactivates pain centres, thus explaining its use for pain relief.

What Can It Help?

Acupuncture can be used to help with a variety of illnesses, both physical and emotional. Click here for a link to fact sheets, provided by the British Acupuncture Council, describing how acupuncture can help with different conditions.

There are many conditions that Rachel treats, but the most common ones we see in clinic are: