What is Traditional Chinese Medicine? (TCM)
Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) is an ancient medical system that has evolved over 3000 years and may help you regain your natural healing ability by optimising the energy flow in the meridians in your body . TCM is an integral part of Chinese culture that includes acupuncture, Chinese herbs and tai chi, where it’s practised alongside Western medicine to compliment the medical and health services.
What is Acupuncture?
Acupuncture involves inserting very thin needles through a person’s skin at specific points on the body, to various depths. An acupuncturist will insert needles into a person’s body with the aim of balancing their energy.
Conditions it may help include different kinds of pain, fatigue, stress, anxiety and pregnancy related nausea.
How does Acupuncture Work?
Acupuncture stimulates points on or under the skin called acupuncture points or acupressure points, releasing this qi or energy. One major hypothesis is that acupuncture works through neurohormonal pathways. This technique is a complementary medical practice that entails stimulating certain points on the body, most often with a needle penetrating the skin, to alleviate your pain or to help you with various health conditions.
How long is an Acupuncture treatment?
In our clininc, the initial acupuncture session is usually between and hour and 75 mins. Then each follow up session may last 45 minutes to an hour, with the needles being retained for 20 – 40 minutes. Depending on your condition, the number of sessions may vary.
What is involved in the initial consultation?
During the first acupuncture session, the acupuncturist will assess your general health. As each acupuncture session is unique to the individual. This will facilitate the most effective acupuncture point selection for you.
The investigative process will include questions relating to your current symptoms; past treatments, patient and family medical history, diet, digestive system, sleeping patterns and emotional health. Also, the pulse on both wrists will be taken to determine how energies are flowing in the body. As part of the diagnosis, the acupuncturist will assess the structure, color and coating of your tongue.
During this comprehensive evaluation, the practitioner will observe your emotions, voice and self-presentation. This will further aid in your diagnosis and development of a treatment that will assist in harmonizing your overall energy. A Traditional Chinese Medicine diagnosis will then be determined and and from this diagnosis the acupuncture points will be chosen. Those points will then be needled on the patient and then they will relax and allow the needles to do their work for 20-40 minutes depending on the condition.
The first session may last up to 75 minutes. Subsequent sessions will last approximately 45 minutes. Dietary and other recommendations may also be discussed in the consultation. Acupuncture needles are inserted to various depths at strategic points on your body. The needles are packaged and pre sterilized and are only used once. Acupuncture 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. After they are taken out they are disposed of in a sharps container and never used again.
