Spire Manchester Hospital is pleased to launch a new acupuncture service led by Balwant Kaur, BSc, BA, PGDipSW, MBAcC, who a Member of the British Acupuncture Council.
Acupuncture is one of the main components of Chinese medicine. Chinese people and other eastern cultures have been using acupuncture to restore, promote and maintain good health for thousands of years. Chinese medicine is one of the few medical systems to hold its own alongside the more recent developments of western medicine. Acupuncture is now practised all over the world, approximately 3 million people are treated each year in the UK alone.
Can Acupuncture help you?
Many people choose acupuncture to help with a wide range of specific symptoms or conditions. Others choose acupuncture as a preventative measure to strengthen their constitution or because they feel generally unwell. Good health is not just the absence of pain or disease. Acupuncture can help to maintain the body's equilibrium by focussing on all aspects of wellbeing; physical, mental and emotional. Examples of conditions acupuncture can be used to treat include:
- Rheumatic & arthritic pain
- Anxiety, depression, grief, insomnia, panic attacks
- Migraines, headaches, sinusitis, tinnitus, facial paralysis
- Eczema, acne, skin complaints including aesthetic improvements using Facial Revitalisation Acupuncture (FRA)
- Coughs, colds, chronic viral infections, poor immunity
- Hay fever, asthma, angina, hypertension & circulatory problems
- Digestive, bowel & urinary problems
- Gynaecological, menstrual & menopausal problems
- Supporting fertility & IVF treatment
- A range of conditions experienced throughout pregnancy and support with childbirth
- Support with some chronic degenerative diseases such as multiple sclerosis and post-operative recovery
- Support with stress, weight loss and eating disorders
- Overcoming addictions to smoking, alcohol or drugs
- Acupuncture is considered suitable for all ages, including babies and children. It can also be used alongside conventional medicine.
Acupuncture Treatment
During the initial consultation a diagnosis, treatment plan and prognosis will be formulated.
Treatment involves the insertion of fine, single-use, sterile and disposable needles into acupuncture points on channels, just under the skin. Acupuncture needles are substantially finer than needles used for injections or blood tests.
The initial consultation (including treatment) may take up to 1 ½ hours, subsequent treatments are 45 minutes. Treatments are usually arranged once or occasionally twice a week to start with. Progress is reviewed regularly at agreed intervals and as you feel better treatments become less frequent. Facial Revitalisation Acupuncture treatments take 1 ½ hours each. A minimum course of six treatments is recommended.
Prior to treatment you should avoid alcohol, make sure you have eaten and try not to be over tired. Some people can feel drowsy after treatment in which case you are advised not to drive straight away. Occasionally symptoms get worse after a treatment before getting better; this is usually a good sign. It is important to feed back responses to treatment. Acupuncture is generally very safe; serious side effects are extremely rare (less than one per 10,000 treatments).
There is a standard fee for the first consultation (including treatment) and for each subsequent treatment. Please allow 48 hours notice if appointments need to be changed or cancelled to ensure that other patients have the opportunity to be seen.
Should my doctor know?
If you are seeing your doctor or a hospital consultant it makes sense to tell them that you are having acupuncture. Often it can be useful for an acupuncturist, with their patient's consent, to liaise with the doctor.
Professional Standards
The British Acupuncture Council requires its members to be properly trained in the theory and clinical practice of acupuncture including appropriate elements of western medical sciences. Members are bound by the Council's Code of Professional Conduct, which covers relations with patients, professional colleagues, and members of the public. Members are also bound by the Council's Code of Safe Practice and by local authority bylaws, which include stringent standards of hygiene and compliance with current health and safety legislation. Members are covered by full Professional Indemnity and Public / Products Liability Insurance. Further information can be obtained from British Acupuncture Council, 63 Jeddo Road, London W12 9HQ. Tel: 0208 735 0400.
Click here to visit their website at www.acupuncture.org.uk