What to expect

Acpuncture treatment involves the insertion of extremely fine, sterile needles into specific points on the body. These points correspond to the pathways of 'Qi' or 'energy' which flow throughout the body. The belief in Chinese Medicine is that when Qi is not flowing well this leads to illness and disease. Carefully selected points are used with the aim of restoring the flow of Qi.

TCM acupuncture uses a powerful system of diagnosis to understand where the constitutional imbalances are in your body. Your first appointment will consist of a detailed discussion about your health, with questions tailored specifically to your symptoms, for example if you suffer from migraines the time of day, exact location on the head and the nature of the pain are all significant to the TCM diagnosis.

Other diagnostic tools include taking your pulse and looking at your tongue. The pulse tells an acupuncturist more than just your heart rate, it reveals the balance of Qi in each of the main organs.

During your appointment I will carefully explain how understanding Chinese Medicine concepts such as Qi, Yin / Yang, fullness / deficiency can help you understand why you are feeling the way you are.

Discussion about lifestyle behaviours which may be having an impact on your health and wellbeing will also help you make changes to complement your acupuncture treatment.

Acupuncture has NHS and NICE approval for treating chronic health conditions such as osteoarthritis, migraines and lower back pain. There is strong scientific evidence for its effectiveness in these areas, you can read about this here on the British Acupuncture Council website.

At Hand to Heal I frequently treat patients who are looking for help with the following conditions;