Ancient Solutions to Modern Problems

 During your initial appointment we will discuss your chief complaint and review your medical history. An individualised treatment plan will then be formulated, taking into consideration your unique constitution and lifestyle.

As you sit comfortably and relaxed in a chair or lie down on your back, needles will be gently inserted at various points on your body,  most often below the elbows and knees. At the moment of insertion, most patients report feeling just a light tap. 

Once the needles are inserted, sensations that may arise include a feeling of heaviness, warmth, moving, tingling, numbness, or simply the presence of the needle. These experiences are specific to the person, their condition, their constitution and the location of the points. The overwhelming majority of people start to feel very relaxed and it's common to fall into a deep refreshing sleep. After 25-45 minutes, the needles are removed. 

 Ancillary therapies such as cupping, moxibustion, Gua Sha, and Tui-Na (Chinese medical massage.) will be included as needed.

 Wear clothing that is loose and comfortable. Most of the points are located on the limbs, back and abdomen. It will be easier to reach these points if your clothing allows access to these areas.

Please make sure you have eaten ( But not over eaten.) 2-4 hours prior to receiving a treatment, to avoid the possibility of feeling light-headed. Patients under the influence of drugs or alcohol, or who behave inappropriately will not be treated. 

It is also advisable to refrain from drinking coffee before the treatment as this can over excite the nervous system. 

 Acupuncture needles are not like the hypodermic needles you may have had your injections with in the GP’s surgery or in hospital

Acupuncture needles, by comparison, are very fine, and not hollow.  They also range in thickness from a 0.30mm thickness to a 0.10mm which most people would have trouble seeing the tip with the naked eye. Some are as fine as a human hair.  

Registered practitioners only use sterilised, single-use, disposable, stainless steel needles which are disposed of safely and permanently after treatment.

Moxa involves the burning of a processed form of the herb Artemisia Vulgaris near the skin or on the top of the needles. It creates a pleasant warmth which will penetrate the body and lift the energy levels as well as significantly improve blood circulation. Moxa has also been shown to improve levels of beneficial hormones and immune factors in the blood.  

Cupping involves the application of plastic or glass cups to the body, (The plastic cups can also be used in a sliding method as a cupping massage ). These techniques greatly increase blood circulation and assist in the removal of fibrin, dead blood cells and built up waste from the capillaries in the muscle tissue. Cupping works wonders for musculoskeletal pain, stress and emotional tension. 

Ciaran Sheils and Daila Azar both graduated with a BSC (Hons) degree in Traditional Chinese Medicine from London South Bank University and are  a members of the Association of Acupuncture Clinicians. The AAC are registered with the Professional Standards Authority (PSA) to ensure thorough training and adherence to strict safety guidelines.

The training included both Western and Chinese medicine. The course covered biomedicine, anatomy, physiology, pathology, sociology of health, medical evidence and research, mandarin language and three years of clinical work, under highly experienced Chinese Medicine practitioners at Phd level.  Since graduating he has continued to study and perfect his knowledge and skills. 

 Acupuncture for Pain 

Somewhat surprisingly, pain is still a theory in modern biomedicine without any hard proof about all of the processes involved, however the current research serves to indicate the following explanation:

The central nervous system consists of the brain and spinal cord and branches off into the rest of the body as the peripheral nervous system, these nerves have tiny fibres which reach up towards the surface of the body.

These fibres  are of several types, the types we are mostly concerned with are the 

nociceptor fibres and the proprioceptive fibres. Nociceptors allow for conscious awareness of pain by transmitting information to the midbrain via the spinal cord. Proprioceptors allow for awareness of the location of the pain also via the spinal cord to the midbrain.

Chronic pain is divided into two general areas -  Impingement - which statistics indicate is responsible for about 10% of cases and can  require manipulation therapy or surgery (Flexibility and mobility drills will correct many cases.) to relieve the pressure on the nerve, and neuropathic pain which accounts for approximately 90% of the pain and is due to traumatised nerves which continually fire for no scientifically discernible reason.

In a normal state the body releases enkephalins - natural pain killer steroids -  and endorphins - pain killers and feel good chemicals-  signalled from the midbrain as a response to the proprioceptive signals, however if there is a problem with nerve propagation and/or the proprioceptive signal is not  strong enough the enkephalins are not released and the pain continues. 

This is where acupuncture comes in!

Based on the rigorous logic of Yin and Yang found in the Book Of Changes, the ancient Chinese discovered the interlinked nature of the body’s neurological organisation and worked out how stimulating one area can relieve pain in a corresponding area - in short -  acupuncture increases the proprioceptive  signal strength to trigger the release of the enkephalins and endorphins and dilate the blood vessels thus restoring optimal blood flow and  normalises neurological function. 

To achieve this effect we utilise a distal needling form of acupuncture where the needles are never inserted into the site of the pain but on other corresponding areas of the body. 

For acute pain local needling is preferred and here there it is postulated that there is a different process at work, when the needle is inserted into the local area it irritates the nerve fibres which transmit a signal to the brain that the area is ‘under attack’ so to speak, the brain's response is to increase the blood circulation to the area and increase the production of healing factors (Phagocytes, white blood cells etc) as well as some pain killing endorphins, to increase the healing response. In addition to acupuncture. in our practice we utilise dry cupping and vacuum cupping massage as well as Gua Sha , which is  manual therapy using a small hand tool to release bound up fascia and increase blood circulation whenever this is needed. 

Systemic disorders 

Treating systemic disorders shares the same principles but applied in a different manner,  needling certain acupuncture points  switch the nervous system into the parasympathetic “rest & digest” relaxing branch which increases blood circulation to target areas, in addition certain acupuncture points have been shown to stimulate the release of  immune factors, beneficial neurotransmitters and hormones,  and to affect the central nervous system to regulate sensation and involuntary body functions, such as  blood pressure, blood flow, and body temperature, all of which can have a profound physiological and psycho emotional impact leading to a deep healing response.