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Chinese Medicine
What is acupuncture?
Acupuncture, in practice, is the insertion of extremely thin needles through your skin at strategic points on your body. It is a key component of traditional Chinese medicine. Traditional Chinese medicine explains acupuncture is a technique for balancing the flow of energy or life force — known as qi or chi (“CHEE”) — believed to flow through pathways (meridians) in your body. By inserting needles into specific points along these meridians, acupuncture practitioners believe that your energy flow will re-balance.Many Western practitioners view the acupuncture points as places to stimulate nerves, muscles and connective tissue. (information paraphrased from mayoclinic.org)
Acupuncture treatment can help with:
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Allergies
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Headaches
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Morning Sickness
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Induction of Labour
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Malposition of the Fetus
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Neck Pain
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Dental Pai
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Depression
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Hypertension
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Sciatica
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Sprain
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Stroke
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Tennis Elbow
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Low Back Pain
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Bell’s Palsy
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Alcohol Dependence and Detoxification
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Earache
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Periarthritis of the Shoulder
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Knee Pain
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Abdominal Pain
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and more!
Is acupuncture proven to work?
Over the last couple of decades, there have been numerous studies to verify the efficacy of acupuncture for many conditions. You can visit the website of the World Health Organization (WHO) to know that the research supports acupuncture for more than 100 diseases and disorders! Or, you can visit or Testimonials page to read real life patients’ accounts of the effectiveness of acupuncture.
Where does acupuncture come from?
Acupuncture is generally held to have originated in China, being first mentioned in documents dating from a few hundred years leading up to the Common Era (BCE.) The first document that unequivocally described an organized system of diagnosis and treatment which is recognized as acupuncture is The Yellow Emperor’s Classic of Internal Medicine, dating from about 100 BCE. (paraphrased from Rheumatology (2004) 43 (5): 662-663.)
What is Acupressure?
Acupressure is a healing modality that uses finger pressure on acupuncture points. Initially, acupressure works by releasing tightness in tissues.
This can result in:
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Increasing blood and oxygen circulation
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Acceleration of healing
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Boost in immunity
Acupressure can be used as a complimentary health treatment and as a stand alone treatment.
Does acupuncture hurt?
No! Don’t let the fear of needles keep you from trying this important medical treatment. Acupuncture needles are designed to not hurt. You may experience something akin to a mosquito bite, or a little bit of soreness, but nothing truly painful! And if you are very averse to needles, you can try Auricular Therapy which utilizes the methods of acupuncture without any needles.
Acupuncture is an ancient practice that supports the natural capacity of the body to heal. It is effective in treating many conditions including pain, difficult pregnancies, insomnia, arthritis, high blood pressure and more. The acupuncture specialist might recommend herbs to aide the acupuncture treatment.
Cupping is one of the best deep-tissue therapies available. Toxins can be released, blockages can be cleared, and veins and arteries can be refreshed. The special cups are suctioned to the skin to stimulate the flow of blood, drawing toxins out, and encouraging fresh, oxygen-rich blood into the area.
An herbal specialist will review, in detail, the patient’s health history and current health concerns to address with medicinal herbs. Herbal recommendations will be made to support the whole individual.
Auricular Therapy
Auricular means "relating to the ear". Auricular therapy is a Chinese Medical modality that uses acuponts on the ear to benefit the patient. There are over 100 acupuncture points on the ear to treat the entire system including each organ, each limb, joint, and muscle, as well as each system like the endocrine system, the nervous system, the emotional system, etc. We can use needles, tacks, magnets, or even seeds to get results. Most often we use vaccaria seeds and the patient gets to wear them on the ear for 5 days for continued benefit.