Acupuncture uses thin, flexible, solid-metal, pre-sterilised, (not hypodermic!) needles.
These are inserted into carefully selected places on the body. Choosing where to put them depends partly on the theory being used (there are several traditions, see below) and partly feedback from the patient.
Feedback from the patient comes – for instance – from
- What the patient says, eg about the pain or the problem he wants acupuncture for
- The patient’s medical history and personality
- Pulse-taking the Chinese way
- Picture of the patient’s tongue
- Resilience of the patient’s body to touch and pressure
- Inspecting the patient’s skin for veins and other markings and its general colour
The Underlying Theory behind Acupuncture
The theory comes – at source – from a book put together probably 2500 years ago, Huang Di Nei Jing, which records a series of discussions between a seer-like doctor and an ancient Chinese Emperor.
Since then, the book has been pored over by specialists in Asian medicine, many of whom have developed their own theories, all based on the original book, but taking its ideas further.
As a result, there are distinct schools of acupuncture, for instance in Korea, Vietnam, Japan, Taiwan and of course China.
One of the most ancient of the book’s ideas got a huge boost when a school set up in England in the 1960s began to teach it. Its students have now taken this method back to China and taught it there!
Jonathan has trained in many of these traditions and continues to train in them.
Pain and Chronic Disease
Pain is your body’s way of saying ‘do something’ about me!
Probably most people come to acupuncture because of pain (see 4 treatments for Pain)
Chronic disease, however, is more like a status quo. You’re stuck with it, at least until you find a way to ease your discomfort. Often that means using drugs, but these always have secondary effects.
While acupuncture isn’t magic, it can often help your body raise its game, so you suffer less.
On the way there you find you sleep better, feel more refreshed in the morning, have a better appetite and digestion, and more energy.
Also, your immune system improves, so you fight off bugs more easily and take less time to recover from illnesses.
You may find you’ve become more confident and resilient, too. There are lots of benefits!
Many patients come initially for treatment of pain or discomfort, but as they get better, they come less often.
Eventually, many come only every few months, or sometimes once a year.
At this stage, acupuncture treatment aims to spot impending problems and do something about them before they become a nuisance.
How? Partly by talking about how your life is proceeding and partly by checking your pulses the Chinese way, examining your tongue and palpating your abdomen – just three ways out of many.
Caught early and you don’t get ill.
A small amount of periodical treatment can help keep you well. For example, some people come monthly, some quarterly, some annually and some just come back when their problem recurs!
For example, we recently saw someone who hadn’t been for almost twenty years!
Family Planning
They’ve had plenty of babies in China over the last 3000 years! – and many arrived after the parents had treatment for infertility.
You may wonder how acupuncture, for example, can help with male sterility or female infertility, and with the whole process of pregnancy, but many couples have benefited from it.
Many parents come to acupuncture only when they are well into the procedures of IVF (In vitro Fertilisation), when it can help too, but it’s worth getting treatment much earlier.
A large proportion of cases of infertility arise because of male sterility so this should be checked and treated right from the start, not just when the would-be mother has been through all the tests.
It is often hard for males to admit that the problem lies with them rather than their partners, but it can save a lot of time and heartache for both partners to start checks and tests together.
Jonathan has treated hundreds of couples and done many courses on the treatment of this. Some practitioners even specialise in it.
Maternal Health
During and after pregnancy, mothers often need help. Chinese medicine, including acupuncture, has been successfully treating mothers for thousands of years.
It’s a good idea to get treatment even before you decide to try for a baby: you want to be healthy first!
Then your chances of conceiving and carrying through a successful and comfortable pregnancy greatly improve.
Kinds of Acupuncture
Jonathan has trained in, and uses several different kinds of acupuncture, each developed over thousands of years.
These include
- 5 Element acupuncture
- Japanese ‘Kiiko Matsumoto’ acupuncture
- Modern Chinese acupuncture
- Dr Tan ‘Balance’ acupuncture
- Korean hand acupuncture
- Ear acupuncture
- Master Tung acupuncture
CPD – Continuing Practitioner Development
Each year, Jonathan has to complete a certain number of hours of further training.
You may think that there can’t be much more to it once you’ve learned how to insert acupuncture needles properly!
You would be very wrong!
Website
Jonathan has also written a huge website which explains how Chinese medicine works.
People from all over the world read it, and from the feedback he gets, readers include many full-time students of acupuncture as well as patients and, it seems, some lecturers.
YouTube Videos
Now he’s also making short YouTube videos. (A recent video was on ‘Stomach Cold and Deficient‘. You’ve probably had it! Click on that link to view the video and see why!)
These stimulate lots of comments and questions.
Author
For many years Jonathan lectured on Chinese medicine, and this experience, and evidence from his website, showed where people wanted to learn more.
As a result, he wrote books:
- On Stress (Qi Stagnation – Signs of Stress)
- On Exhaustion (Yin Deficiency – Burnout and Exhaustion)
- On Loss of Bounce and Enthusiasm (Yang Deficiency – Get your Fire Burning Again)
- On Phlegm (Yuck! Phlegm!)
- On Western Astrology and Chinese Medicine
Interested in finding out more?
Chinese medicine and acupuncture are big subjects. Help you receive often includes advice on what to eat, or not eat, and many other lifestyle matters.
- Nutrition
- Warming Foods
- Cooling Foods
- Common Diseases explained and treated in Chinese medicine
- Yin and Yang
- More on Acupuncture
Questions?
If you have a question, either ring (07950-012501) or email jonathan@lothianacupuncture.com!