Acupuncture is part of a complete system of diagnosis and treatments in Chinese medicine, whose premise is that  health is maintained by the smooth flow of energy – or Qi – through pathways in our bodies called channels.

Channels act as pipes that maintain balance and health through our body’s skin, muscles and organs. They are like the pipes in your home supplying heat and water so that your home can function smoothly.

If a pipe becomes clogged, you have got problems. When injuries, emotions, disease, stress or poor lifestyle choices disrupt the circulation of Qi, blood, lymph, and other fluids in your body, you begin to feel worse and medical symptoms appear.

In my clinic, as with those of other licensed Acupuncturists, single use, sterile disposable needles are used at all times. A clean environment is maintained by me scrubbing my hands with anti-bacterial solution between treatments and swabbing each point to be used on my patients with alcohol wipes prior to needle insertion.

Needles are about the width of a human hair, more than 20 of these would fit inside a hypodermic needle used in a hospital and this illustrates how thin they are. I insert needles using a plastic guide tube, this is placed against the skin with a needle inside it and with a quick tap the needle goes in, painlessly.

Once a needle is inserted I may manipulate it slightly, twisting gently clockwise or anticlockwise, depending on the condition being treated.