Acupuncture is a system of healing that has been practiced in China for at least 3,500 years. The philosophy behind the treatment is that energy lines or meridians circulate around the body. These meridians contain our energy flow or “qi”. It is when this qi is impaired through the body that imbalance and illness occur.
With the insertion of fine needles at various points on the meridian, the energy can be moved or redirected to where it is needed most. In this way the body’s balance can be restored and the illness resolved.
In contrast, many Western practitioners view the acupuncture points as places to stimulate nerves, muscles and connective tissue. Some believe that this stimulation boosts your body’s natural painkillers.
However, it is more than that these days. By embracing newly developed knowledge and technology there are three main techniques our clinic widely uses now.
Tradition Acupuncture
Tradition Acupuncture as a technique is for balancing the flow of energy or life force (Qi)— believed to flow through pathways (meridians) in your body. The flow of energy can be disrupted in many ways; emotional upset, physical trauma, poor diet or overwork are all common examples.
By examining this underlying cause and how it has affected the body, the most appropriate treatment for the patient can be selected. By inserting needles into specific points along these meridians, acupuncture practitioners believe that your energy flow will re-balance. Quite often the practitioner needs to gently move or twirl the needles after placement or apply heat or mild electrical pulses to the needles.
Tradition Acupuncture is most commonly used acupuncture technique to treat all kinds of disease and increasingly it is being used for overall wellness, including stress management.
Fu’s Subcutaneous Needling (FSN)
Fu’s Subcutaneous Needling (FSN) is a new acupuncture technique which use a modified acupuncture needle to stimulate areas where nearby trigger points or tightened muscles so as to treat musculoskeletal conditions and other conditions.
Tightened muscles (TM) and Myofascial Trigger Points (MTrPs), which are commonly associated with pain. Myofascial Trigger Points are described as hyperirritable spots in skeletal muscle that are associated with palpable nodules in taut bands of muscle fibres.
Spontaneous Electrical Activity (SEA), one of the MTrP features, can be recorded easily by electromyographers.; Therefore, it can produce an incredible pain relieving effect. For some acute pain condition, such as muscular and ligaments strains, tennis elbow, or acute back pain, it can have almost instant pain-relieving results.
FSN needle is a disposable dry needle which consists of a solid stainless-steel needle and a casing soft pipe. The needle is accurate delivered into subcutaneous level by an applicator device. Once the needle is in subcutaneous level, the needle tip is withdrawn and rest into the casting tube, then a left-right swipe manipulation, like windscreen swipe, is performed. After a few minutes’ manipulation, the tightened muscles will be relaxed and in most of cases, the pain caused by tightened muscles will decrease or disappear.
The subcutaneous layer can be twitched by mechanical forces, so FSN relieves pain fast and quickly than traditional acupuncture. Our patients describe the FSN as “magical needle”.
Based on Tightened Muscles theories, FSN has been extended to other medical conditions, such as chronic non-productive dry cough, constipation, dizziness, weak bladder, periods pain, or avascular necrosis.
Scalp Acupuncture
Chinese scalp acupuncture is the most significant development that Chinese acupuncture has made in the past 60 years. A contemporary acupuncture technique integrating traditional Chinese needling methods with Western medical knowledge of representative areas of the cerebral cortex.
It has been proven to be a most effective technique for treating acute and chronic central nervous system disorders. Scalp acupuncture often produces remarkable results with just a few needles and usually brings about immediate improvement, sometimes taking only several seconds to a minute.
Conditions commonly treated by scalp acupuncture: Vertigo, multiple sclerosis, Parkinson’s disease, cerebral palsy, phantom pains, residual limb pain, complex regional pain, peripheral neuropathy, migraines, speech disorders.
Preparation before the treatment
No special preparation is needed before a treatment although it is best to arrive feeling as prepared as possible. It can be useful to make a note of what you want to talk to your acupuncturist about just in case you forget. It can also be important not to have a heavy meal before treatment, but at the same time not to have no food at all. Acupuncture points are situated in all areas of the body.
Sometimes the appropriate points are far removed from the area of your pain. Your acupuncture practitioner will tell you the general site of the planned treatment and whether you need to remove any clothing. A gown, towel or sheet will be provided. You lie on a padded table for the treatment.
What you can expert during the procedure
Acupuncture needles are inserted to various depths at strategic points on your body. The needles are very thin, so insertion usually causes little discomfort. People often don’t feel them inserted at all. Between five and 20 needles are used in a typical treatment. You may feel a mild aching sensation when a needle reaches the correct depth.
Your practitioner may gently move or twirl the needles after placement or apply heat or mild electrical pulses to the needles. In most cases, the needles remain in place for 10 to 20 minutes while you lie still and relax. There is usually no discomfort when the needles are removed.
What you can expert after the procedure
Some people feel relaxed, and others feel energized after an acupuncture treatment. But not everyone responds to acupuncture. If your symptoms don’t begin to improve within a few weeks, acupuncture may not be right for you.
Common Questions
What is acupuncture? Acupuncture is a system of healing that has been practiced in China for at least 3500 years. That practitioners carry out treatment by inserting a few fine needles into points on your body. These points are located and linked on ‘channels’ or ‘meridians’ along which energy known as Qi flows.
How does acupuncture work? According to Chinese medical theory, illness arises when the flow of Qi in the meridians becomes unbalanced or is blocked. The points are carefully chosen by the practitioner in order to disperse any blockages and to bring your Qi into a better balance, its focus is on improving the overall wellbeing of the patient, rather than the isolated treatment of specific symptoms. The more this balance is achieved and maintained, the healthier you become.
What can acupuncture help? The most common ailments presented to an acupuncturist tend to pain related conditions. For example: neck/back pain, headaches, migraine, sciatica, trapped nerves, sports injuries, frozen shoulder, slipped disc, arthritis. However, acupuncture capable of successfully treating a wide range of conditions including:
- Stress: depression, anxiety, insomnia, tiredness, weak immune system, etc.
- Women’s problems: PMT, painful, irregular periods, infertility, menopause, etc.
- Men’s problems: prostatitis, impotence, low sexual drive, infertility, etc.
- Digestive problems: constipation, diarrhea, IBS, ulcers, etc.
- Internal problems: heart and circulation problems, stroke, diabetes, asthma, etc.
- Allergies: hay fever, sinusitis, asthma, eczema, etc.
- Skin problems: Acne. Eczema. Alopecia. Psoriasis. Hair Loss. Herpes. Urticaria. Vitiligo
Do the needles hurt? Modern acupuncture needles are extremely fine (25-50 times thinner than a hypodermic needle) so that treatment is usually almost painless, you feel a sensation that lasts for a few seconds, which can be an ache, numbness, a tingling, or a sensation of heat.
How are needles sterilized? Acupuncturists always employ single use pre-sterilized disposable needles when treating patients. Each needle is disposed of in a sharps box after use. This ensures that no infection can be transmitted between patients.
How long will a course of treatment take? Each patient takes a different length of time to get better. An acute symptom can often be cleared in one to four treatments in quick succession, but chronic problems usually take longer. For a patient has a chronic and degenerative condition, the practitioner might tell them what she or he thinks treatment could achieve. How much can be accomplished in these situations is not always easy to assess until a few treatments have been carried out.
Can I still have preventative treatment if I do not have a complaint? If you have no symptoms this doesn’t matter. Your acupuncturist can still observe your pulses, tongue, facial colour and emotional balance to assess your Qi. Treatment can then harmonize any imbalances that have started to occur.