What Is Acupuncture?

The British Acupuncture Council (BAcC) is the regulatory body for professional acupuncturists in the country. Members who practice under the BAcC work on a ‘holistic’ approach to health that is based on over 2500 years of developments and refinements in the Far East. A Code of Practice is observed which lays down stringent standards of safety, hygiene and sterilisation. These procedures have been approved by the department of health.

Western or medical acupuncture is a recent style of acupuncture that has been developed due to the popularity of traditional acupuncture. Doctors, physiotherapists and nurses who work on a western medical diagnosis but have a more limited knowledge and range of techniques practice this style.

I am a member of the BAcC practicing the Traditional ‘holistic’ approach. Every patient is seen as unique, my skills begin by obtaining information by a series of diagnostic tools involving; questioning, observation, pulse and tongue diagnosis. When all this information gathered I can perform a unique personalised treatment. For example a patient with a headache will very rarely have the same treatment as another, even if the headache may seem the same. A headache is very often only a symptom of the underlying problem.

Acupuncture is a system of healing often described as a means of pain relief, it is in fact however used to treat people with a wide range of illnesses. Its focus is on improving the overall well being of the patient, rather than the isolated treatment of specific symptoms.

According to traditional Chinese philosophy, our health is dependent on the body's motivating energy (known as Qi) moving in a smooth and balanced way through a series of meridians (channels) beneath the skin. Qi consists of equal and opposite qualities of Yin and Yang, and when these become unbalanced, illness may result.

By inserting fine needles into the channels of energy, an acupuncturist can stimulate the body’s own healing response and help restore its natural balance. The flow of Qi can be disturbed by a number of factors. These include emotional states such as anxiety, stress, anger, fear or grief, poor nutrition, hereditary factors, infections, poisons and trauma.

The principal aim of acupuncture in treating the whole person is to recover the equilibrium between the physical, emotional and spiritual aspects of the individual.