Having had a knee injury myself from a skiing accident years ago, I know how frustrating and painful knee problems can be. The knee is a complex joint prone to injury and degeneration. The long-term use of anti-inflammatories and painkillers usually prescribed for knee pain aren’t great in the long term for the liver and kidneys and can cause gastrointestinal damage so acupuncture is an excellent alternative. Click here to read the full research.
Acupuncture after the Grenfell tower fire →
After seeing the recent devastating events at Grenfell Tower, some of my colleagues decided to volunteer to support the local community with acupuncture. They set up a temporary street clinic under a nearby overpass and treated everyone - survivors, residents, police, members of the Red Cross, NHS staff, counsellors and local volunteers. They offered a place to sit and talk, giving people a chance to express their grief and shock at what had happened. They then used 'emergency acupuncture' to treat the PTSD that many had suffered. This often took the form of ear seed's or ear acupuncture and is a really simple but effective way to treat shock, grief and trauma. To read the whole story click here.
The benefits of Electro acupuncture →
Electro-acupuncture is relatively new compared to the traditional acupuncture treatments that were born in China 4,000 years ago. I mostly use it for pain management and have had great success with electroacupuncture and back pain. The electricity passes between two needles, covering more area than the traditional approach, creating a tingling and numbing sensation, it's an odd sensation but not unpleasant. As the electricity passes though the bodies connective tissues it helps the collagen fibres reorganise speeding up healing and decreasing pain. For more information click here.
The transformative power of trauma →
I have the privilege of hearing many peoples stories of trauma, struggle, difficulty and pain in my clinic. There is a verse from a Leonard Cohen song that I always think of in relation to how we can deal with the affects of trauma in order to let it become transformative:
"Ring the bells that still can ring
Forget your perfect offering
There is a crack in everything
That's how the light gets in. "
I love this magical transformative idea that our deepest hurts can become out greatest allies over time. I stumbled across this video (click the heading to take you to the video) this morning that echoes the sentiment perfectly. We can transform trauma and hurt into beauty and peace....
Acupuncture out performs sleeping tablets for insomnia! →
Patients having acupuncture for insomnia reported better sleep quality and vitality, along with less sleepiness and daytime dysfunction that those taking sleeping pills. An added benefit of acupuncture was that the positive effects were longer-lasting even after treatment stopped!
Click HERE to read the original article:
Asthma and Chinese Medicine →
In Chinese Medicine the prolonged use of steroid inhalers for asthma is thought to actually weaken lung function. Luckily there are other options to support the Lungs. Reducing dairy, refined sugars, greasy and processed foods that may cause a build up of phlegm and hinder breathing can help considerably. Drinking herbal teas such as lungwort, lobelia, ivy and thyme help expectorate any phlegm and reduce inflammation of the airways. Taking regular exercise and breathing deeply using the whole of the lung also helps to keep the respiratory system in good working order. Alongside all this regular acupuncture treatment is proven to work well to get to the root of the problem and over time reduce the need for steroid inhalers. Click here for more information.
Acupuncture Rivals Antidepressants For Insomnia And Depression
Recent research found acupuncture to be 90% effective in improving total sleep duration and sleep quality for patients with depression. Helping with insomnia led to direct improvements in the mental and physical health of the participants. Acupuncture treatments lowered relapse rates and produced similar results as antidepressants but with no side affects!
Acupuncture found effective for treating tinnitus... →
Recent research from China has proved electro acupuncture to be 89.6% effective for the alleviation of tinnitus. This is very significant given the chronic and debilitating nature of tinnitus and the limited treatment options available!
Three of my favourite points!
Here are three of my favourite points with instruction on how to use them to give yourself an acupressure massage at home. I use these points constantly in clinic and find them super effective!
Ear Seeds
Have you heard of ear seeds? Sounds really weird but they work amazingly! I've been using them a lot recently to great effect. They are very tiny seeds (or sometime tiny metal ball bearings) on a little piece of tape placed over acupuncture points in the ear. They stimulate the point staying on for a week or sometimes more. I've found them to be really effective especially for stress, anxiety and addiction and mean the points can be stimulated between treatments. If you'd like to try them for yourself get in touch for a free trial!
