OTHER TREATMENTS
Cupping
The suction and pressure provided by cupping can encourage energy and blood flow – really helpful for back pains, stiff muscles and tension. It can also improve the common cold, if treated at the onset of symptoms. I studied ‘Fire Cupping’ in China in the late 1980’s and despite the red marks and short lived bruises, clients and even my children enjoy the benefits – many Olympic swimmers sported the red circular marks from cupping treatments to help with all the sore muscles from such intensive training.
Chinese Dietary Therapy
Chinese Dietary Therapy is a vital part of my practice. Using food as an integral part of my treatment and advising on which foods can benefit certain conditions according to the ‘energetics’ of food based on the traditions of Chinese Medicine. If necessary, as part of a patient’s individual treatment plan, I look at which foods tonify blood, Qi, Yin and Yang, which foods help to resolve damp and phlegm and which flavours and cravings influence certain organs in the body​
Using food as medicine
Medicinal Mushrooms
The scientific community is increasingly acknowledging the functional qualities of medicinal mushrooms. A comprehensive review published in the International Journal of Molecular Sciences reveals that various types of fungi possess a range of beneficial properties. These include anti-allergic, antimicrobial, antioxidative, anti-inflammatory, anti-cancer, and immunomodulating properties.
Additionally, certain mushrooms have demonstrated protective effects on the liver, brain, skeletal and cardiovascular systems, as well as lipid and glucose metabolism. The presence of bioactive compounds, such as polysaccharide β-glucan and polysaccharide-protein complexes like lectins, lactones, terpenoids, alkaloids, antibiotics, and metal-chelating agents, contributes to these medicinal properties.
Neuro-Linguistic Programming
Neuro refers to your neurology, Linguistic refers to language, Programming refers to how that neural language functions. So, practically, I find some clients, who have emotional or lifestyle issues, and who express a desire to change, benefit from some NLP guided conversation during an acupuncture treatment , as NLP uses a wide range of methods and models which create an understanding of thought process and behaviour – It was developed by modeling excellent communicators and therapists resulting in a set of tools and techniques which could help you to get control of your mind, improve your emotional state and your life!
Gua Sha
Gua sha is an important hands-on medical treatment that has been used throughout Asia for centuries. Gua means ‘to rub’ or ‘press stroke’ sha is a term that describes the blood congestion in surface tissue that accumulates in areas where the patient may experience stiffness and pain; Sha is also the term for the little red dots that are raised from applying Gua sha. When Gua sha is applied in repeated even strokes, sha appears as small red dots called ‘petechiae’ and the pain immediately shifts. In minutes the small red dots fade into blended reddishness. The sha disappears totally in 2-5 days after treatment.
