Booking an appointment
Before arriving to an acupuncture appointment you will be asked to fill up a medical history questioner. It may seem detailed and maybe slightly unrelated to your main concern but as you are probably aware, Holistic medicine is about looking at the body as a whole entity, every bodily system is connected, all groups of symptoms may indicate a certain imbalance in the body that we can address. All behavioral patterns or your lifestyle choices can affect the balance of your body’s health for better or worse.
Getting ready for treatment
- Acupuncture points are located all over the body so it may be helpful to wear clothing that allows easy access to these areas.
- Try not to come to a treatment straight after a heavy meal or on an empty stomach.
- Try to avoid drinking caffeine drinks just before the treatment, it may interfere with your pulse reading and also may prevent you from being relaxed for treatment.
- If you usually scrape your tongue, try to avoid it on treatment day, as your tongue is an important diagnostic tool in Traditional Chinese Medicine.
On your first appointment
For your initial treatment, we will discuss your health history and the main issues that are preventing you from having a balance happy pain free day-to-day life. Also, I may test for areas of muscular tension or pain.
In Chinese Medicine we also use the tongue and the pulse as a diagnostic tool. I will check your pulse for rhythm and quality. I will also be looking on the shape, coating and colour of your tongue.
A treatment will typically involve one or two treatments a week depending on the condition being treated. Thus, the amount of treatments you will require will vary depending on the severity of your condition. Generally, usually between 6 to 10 treatments are needed but again the frequency varies.
It is also up to you whether you are coming only to relieve yourself from a single symptom, or whether you are coming to treat the cause of the symptoms. Again it’s up to you whether you want to change your life in a better physically and happier you and maintain a level of optimum health into the future.
Based on all the information you have provided to with, I will make a full diagnosis of your condition and put together a treatment plan that best suits your condition and goals. This may include lifestyle and dietary advice.
Firstly I will ask you to get on the treatment table and I will explain to you which areas of your body I will need to work on and if you need to remove any clothing to access these areas. I use different techniques that can help with restore you to optimum health. You can read all about it on my treatment page.
After treatment some people feel relaxed and some people feel energized. It depends on you, on your symptoms and on the type of treatment that we performed. It will be good if you allow yourself to take it easy for the rest of the day and give yourself a little time to rest. Also, it is advisable not to drink any alcohol on the day of treatment and drink plenty of water to help your body with recuperation.