Acupuncture

For thousands of years, acupuncture has been incorporated in many forms. When cavemen felt pain in the lower back, they used hot rocks and placed them in strategic places on the low back and this helped to alleviate pain. They then used bones of animals and carved them to have sharp edges and used that to prick the skin and let a drop of blood out (a process called blood-letting which is still used now in Modern Chinese Medicine). Over the many years, the Chinese developed these basic principles from knowledge that was passed down from generation to generation and made super fine needles out of gold that were sterilised and reused every time. Now in the modern times, we have adapted the same knowledge and use disposable stainless steel needles.

Acupuncture is gentle and very safe. It is considered a ?direct? treatment to promote free flow of Qi (energy) and blood. Scientific evidence states that acupuncture works via the nerve endings underneath the skin in the muscles. The body then secretes endorphins upon needle insertion, which directly increases the patient?s pain threshold. When this pain threshold is increased, with light exercise will help accelerate the natural healing process the body goes through. This alternative therapy has no side effects because it?s using the body natural pain reduction system, rather than using painkillers in conventional medicine which for some people, can trigger off side effects.

Point location is based on the meridians that are affected and by utilising these points, we are able to ?open the gates? to promote the free flowing of Qi and blood to alleviate pain. It is important that the patient has regular treatments and maintenance within the ?pain-free period? to ensure that the energy continues to flows well as so to prevent the pain from coming back. Acupuncture is usually coupled with moxibustion and/or electro-acupuncture to enhance the therapeutic needs for the patient

Electro-acupuncture

Electro-acupuncture and traditional acupuncture go hand-in-hand. It involves the practitioner clipping electrodes from a battery powered device onto the needles already placed on the body. Continuous stimulation is then programmed and the intensity controlled (by the practitioner/patient) which is equivalent to the practitioner standing beside the patient and continuously stimulating the needles by hand. The benefits of having electro-acupuncture done is that it provides a more relaxing form of stimulation as the manual stimulation (although quite beneficial in its own way), can be quite painful and intense for the patient. Also having one session with the electro-acupuncture is equivalent to 4 times normal acupuncture sessions without the electro-acupuncture. This is great for accelerating the healing process.

Moxibustion

Moxibustion (warming needle) is used in conjunction with traditional acupuncture. It involves slow burning of a single herb AiYe (#33406;#21494;) rolled into a pencil like form held 1 inch above the skin. This enables the heat to be transferred from the top of the needle directly down to the point to further promote Qi and blood movement with heat. Not all patients require this form of treatment but it is recommended for patients who have a condition based on a cold syndrome. Heat from the moxibustion will expel this form of ?coldness? from the body to help alleviate pain. This is particularly useful for women with menstrual pain and difficulty with regulating their period.

Cupping

Cupping is the process of using a bamboo/glass cup and reducing the air pressure inside the cup using fire and then placing it on strategic locations around the body creating suction on the skin. It is mainly used to target a wider area on the skin to remove toxins and improve blood flow to the area. It may leave a dark pigmentation on the skin but that is the normal process of healing. In fact, the more discolouration, the more toxins you have in the body. It is also used with acupuncture to remove heavy blood stagnation by removing toxic blood (purple old blood) from the body to promote new and fresh blood to nourish the area. Cupping is best used when a patient has a common cold and flu. Mobile cupping involves spreading massage oil on the skin, fire cupping on the area and moving the cup up and down the back.

Chinese Herbal Medicine

Chinese Herbal Medicine dates back (like Acupuncture) thousands of years ago. Many herbs were abundantly grown in the wild and were used to treat many types of diseases. The herbs then were combined and hence provided a change in the properties which then targeted another part of the body for different kinds of disease. With the knowledge accumulated over the years this was then developed in the last two thousand years and is now used in modern times to treat various conditions.

Chinese Herbal Medicine is more of an ?indirect? treatment to move the blood and promote energy flow. The herbs are boiled in a non-aluminium pot and then the liquid removed and drank as a tea. The liquid is then absorbed through the body and then into the meridians to balance and harmonise the body and promote the movement of Qi and blood.

Modern times have demanded a more convenient way to prepare herbs to adapt to the busy lifestyles so we now provide herbal granules to suit your busy life-style.