Balancing Hormones and Emotions: How Acupuncture Can Help with PMT

Picture this: It's that time of the month, and you're grappling with a rollercoaster of emotions, painful cramps, and an insatiable craving for chocolate. Sound familiar?

You're not alone. Many women around the world experience the tumultuous journey of Premenstrual Tension (PMT). In this blog post, I’ll take you on a journey through the realm of PMT, exploring its emotional and physical symptoms, and revealing how acupuncture can be your natural, holistic ally in managing this monthly challenge. Honestly it doesn't need to be like this…

Photo by Sydney Sims on Unsplash

The PMT Puzzle Unveiled

Before we dive into the acupuncture magic, let's understand what PMT is from both the Western medical model and the TCM perspective.

• The Western Medical Model: Premenstrual Tension, often known as Premenstrual Syndrome (PMS), encompasses a range of physical and emotional symptoms that appear in the days leading up to menstruation. Symptoms can vary widely, but they may include mood swings, irritability, bloating, breast tenderness, and headaches. While PMS is common, it's by no means normal, and it can significantly impact a woman's quality of life.

• TCM Insight: In Traditional Chinese Medicine, PMT is seen as an imbalance in the body's Qi (energy) and blood flow. This imbalance can disrupt the smooth flow of energy throughout the body, leading to the symptoms experienced during PMT.

The Emotional and Physical Rollercoaster

Now, let's explore the emotional and physical symptoms that often accompany PMT:

• Emotional Symptoms:

• Mood Swings: One minute you're on cloud nine, the next you're in the depths of despair.

• Irritability and Anxiety: The smallest things can set you off, and anxiety creeps in.

• Depression: Feelings of sadness and hopelessness can take over.

• Fatigue: A sense of exhaustion that can leave you drained.

• Physical Symptoms:

• Bloating: Your jeans feel tighter, and you might even avoid wearing them.

• Breast Tenderness: Every hug becomes a pain.

• Headaches: Throbbing temples add to your discomfort.

• Cramps: A painful reminder that Aunt Flo is on her way.

• Food Cravings: Suddenly, you can't resist the allure of chocolate or chips.

Acupuncture - Your PMT Superhero

Now, let's explore how acupuncture can swoop in and help you conquer these PMT villains:

The Mechanism of Acupuncture: Acupuncture involves the insertion of ultra-thin needles into specific points on the body, stimulating the flow of Qi and blood. For PMT, it's like hitting the reset button on your body's energy flow. Here's how it works:

• Hormone Regulation: Acupuncture can influence the hypothalamus and pituitary glands, helping to balance hormone levels responsible for PMT symptoms.

• Stress Reduction: By triggering the release of endorphins (your body's natural feel-good chemicals), acupuncture can combat the emotional turmoil often associated with PMT.

• Improved Blood Flow: Enhanced circulation can alleviate cramps, headaches, and bloating.

Photo by Antonika Chanel on Unsplash

Evidence-Based Research

Studies have shown promising results for acupuncture's efficacy in managing PMT. Have a look at these studies:

 1.    Acupuncture for premenstrual syndrome: a systematic review and meta-analysis

This systematic review and meta-analysis, published in the journal BMC Women's Health, found that acupuncture is effective in reducing the symptoms of PMS, such as mood swings, irritability, and breast tenderness. The authors also found that acupuncture was safe and well-tolerated.

2.     Comparison of acupuncture and oral contraceptives for the treatment of premenstrual syndrome: a randomized controlled trial

This randomized controlled trial, published in the journal The Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine, found that acupuncture is as effective as oral contraceptives in reducing the symptoms of PMS. The authors also found that acupuncture was associated with fewer side effects than oral contraceptives.

Overall, the research suggests that acupuncture is a safe and effective treatment for PMS. Acupuncture can help to reduce the symptoms of PMS and improve the quality of life for women who suffer from this condition.

Dietary and Lifestyle Choices

While acupuncture is a powerful tool, it's also essential to support your body through dietary and lifestyle choices.

Photo by Heather Barnes on Unsplash

Embrace foods rich in calcium, magnesium, and B vitamins. These can help alleviate cramps and mood swings.

Calcium

• Dairy products, such as milk, cheese, and yogurt

• Leafy green vegetables, such as kale, spinach, and collard greens

• Sardines and salmon with bones

• Fortified foods, such as orange juice and cereal

Magnesium

• Leafy green vegetables, such as kale, spinach, and Swiss chard

• Nuts, such as almonds, cashews, and peanuts

• Seeds, such as pumpkin seeds and sunflower seeds

• Whole grains, such as quinoa and brown rice

• Legumes, such as beans and lentils

B vitamins

• Whole grains, such as oats, brown rice, and quinoa

• Legumes, such as beans and lentils

• Nuts and seeds

• Meat, poultry, and fish

• Eggs

• Dairy products

• Leafy green vegetables

Regular Exercise: Physical activity can reduce stress and boost endorphins.

Stress Management: Practices like meditation, yoga, or mindfulness can work in harmony with acupuncture.

So, there you have it! PMT doesn't have to be a monthly battle you dread. Regular acupuncture, along with thoughtful dietary and lifestyle choices, can help you find balance, ease your symptoms, and embrace your natural rhythm. It's time to bid adieu to the PMT woes and say hello to happier, healthier cycles.

If you live in Moffat, south-west Scotland, or nearby areas, don't hesitate to reach out. Let's work together to make your PMT journey smoother and more enjoyable. Remember, life is too short to let PMT steal your sunshine!

Stay tuned for more health and wellness insights from my TCM garden room clinic in Moffat, where ancient wisdom meets modern wellbeing.

A Heated Discussion

Hello and welcome to Summer!

At the time of writing, we’ve just had a momentary reprieve from our unusual Scottish heatwave with some much-needed rainfall. We’re not used to such hot weather here, are we? I know some of my patients have reported struggling with keeping cool and the heat has made it tricky getting to sleep at night.

When I look through the Chinese Medicine lens to understand what is out of balance with a patient, it is helpful to ask them if they feel more hot or cold in terms of body temperature. Some of us are ‘caul tatties’ no matter what the weather, whereas others report having cold hands and feet - perhaps the hot weather has been easier for them to bear?

However, those of us whose body temperature runs on the warmer side may be finding the additional environmental heat particularly uncomfortable. In clinic I commonly hear this from women in perimenopause and menopause. Perimenopause means "around menopause" and refers to the time during which your body makes the natural transition to menopause, marking the end of the reproductive years. In Chinese medical terms, this is a time when the body’s internal cooling system begins to work less efficiently resulting in additional warmth. In Western Medical terms this equates to fluctuating oestrogen levels.

Common menopausal heat-related symptoms manifest as vasomotor symptoms like hot flushes, night sweats and feeling physically hot. Other menopausal symptoms which Chinese Medicine sees as caused by a less efficient cooling system include anxiety, irritability, mood swings insomnia, restlessness and drying of body fluids.

For my ‘warmer’ patients I have been incorporating heat-clearing points into several of my treatments alongside hands-on massage to reduce tension. Some recommended lifestyle tweaks and tips have included:

o   staying well hydrated. If you get bored drinking plain water add a slice of lemon or cucumber or brew your favourite herbal tea and let it cool

o   place a pair of socks in the fridge for 2 hours before bedtime then wear them to bed to cool your feet

o   reduce energetically ‘heating’ drinks like coffee and alcohol

o   swap spicy food with energetically ‘cooler’ foods like:

🥒Cucumber

🍉Watermelon 

🍊Grapefruit

🥬Lettuce

If you are busy and stressed look after your mental health by building in small moments of ‘you’ time during your week; if you are feeling low and lethargic, call a friend and go for a walk outside of peak sun hours or invite them round for a refreshing drink of cool peppermint tea and a slice of watermelon - I bet you’ll both feel better for it!

Somewhere in the middle of a wee Yin and a big Yin is a place of balance. I’ll meet you there…if we can find it for long enough!

This month I’m explaining how to apply the ancient concept of Yin and Yang to your modern lifestyle as a way of helping you find balance, offsetting periods of stress and consequently protecting your health.

This is a bit embarrassing but for most of my life I thought the Yin and Yang symbol was something to do with being a hippy. I’d mostly see the contrasting nestled tears atop tiny silver trinket boxes in shops selling buddhas or on the backs of ageing Hawkwind fans. When I started studying Chinese Medicine, Yin and Yang theory was one of the first things I was taught; it’s a fundamental concept underpinning the acupuncture treatments you’ll receive from a TCM (Traditional Chinese Medicine) practitioner. Very simply – good health depends on a balance between Yin and Yang.

You can apply the concept of Yin and Yang to anything; they are opposites, like the black and white symbol that depicts them, yet never 100% black or 100% white. Yin and Yang are interrelated with a bit of one in the other hence the spots of black and white in the famous representation. The balance is constantly changing because just like life, nothing stays the same and too much of one can deplete the other and vice versa.

Confused?

Read on or click here for a more detailed explanation.

In the context of modern living, Yang activities exert more mental or physical energy compared to Yin ones that are nourishing and help build your energy. Vigorous exercise, running, spinning and HiiT classes are super-Yang compared to tai chi or slow, stretchy yoga classes – it’s no surprise these are often advertised as Yin Yoga classes.

Working a stressful job that leaches into your free time is a depleting force and over time it will leave you spent. Conversely rest, sleep and acupuncture are restorative, as are many ways you prefer to feed your soul, still your busy mind and rehabilitate your physical body – meditating, walking in nature, reading, creating, playing an instrument, listening to music, prayer, preparing beautiful food with love … you get the drift.

 It's all about finding a balance between that which depletes you and that which nourishes you. Choosing everything from the depleting menu will do exactly what it says on the tin if you do it repeatedly. Choosing everything from the restorative menu is rarely the solution either. Not enough movement, sleeping too long, sitting on the couch watching TV all day, no social contact and poor mental stimulation can be damaging too – you need to move your Qi to stay healthy!

Just like your acupuncture point prescription, what works for you in terms of finding the right mix of Yin and Yang activities might not work for someone else; walking six miles might energise you but could wipe someone else out for days. Considering the constantly shifting forces of life, this combination might not even work for you at a different point in time; if a family member becomes unwell and needs your help, what gives? This makes balance an elusive and challenging state to find and maintain but one worth persevering with.

How to take action

Start thinking about how spend your time in a typical week, write a list and ask yourself, does this nourish me or drain me? If one list is way longer than the other then it might be time for a rejig, especially if you are starting to feel out of sorts. If you don’t know where to begin, feel stuck or don’t have the energy to change, book in for a treatment and we’ll work together to get you there.

Happy New Year 2023! But is it really YOUR New Year?

At the start of this month on the socials I recommended supporting your mental health this January by recognising that not everyone’s personal New Year starts on January 1st. So, if you didn’t feel like it was time for making changes then no need to beat yourself up about not having any New Year’s resolutions. My New Year feels closer to March, others identify with Imbolc, St Brigid’s Day on February 1st and my friend Hannah’s New Year begins in September. Each to their own right?

Yes, it’s true your minds and bodies might have felt somewhat sluggish after overindulging during the festivities but is there really the need for extreme action while we are still in the deepest depths of Winter?

According to Daoist philosophy which underpins Chinese Medical Theory, Winter is the most Yin time of year. What does this mean? Well, in stark contrast to the warm, expansive, and active nature of Summer, Winter is a cold, quiet and contemplative season. We are encouraged to conserve our energy for the coming Spring by going to bed early and rising later. Warming, nourishing slow cooked soups and stews are comforting and considered easier for digestion. Our attention turns inward, helping us to reflect on the previous year.

So why on earth would we choose, during this time to about turn from Christmas couch-potato to super-gruelling exercise sessions that overexert us? Are we expending all the energy we were conserving for Spring, so by April we are exhausted and lacking the motivation to put into action our best laid plans as the Wood energy shoots up with the new green growth?

Why on earth would we start depriving our bodies of the nourishment and warmth it desires, instead cutting out complete food groups and eating chilled salad leaves straight from the cooler? Pass the steaming bowl of soup please.

Moderation isn’t particularly sexy but maybe it should be. Extremes are dramatic and make for better stories. Fasting, endurance, pushing through, suffering, punishing yourself but getting there in the end, pats on the back, all the likes, well done mate what a legend. Yep, we’ve all been there. Society favours the extreme, doesn’t it? What kind of nick are you left in though once the applause has gone? How are you showing up for the rest of your life? Maybe a wee bit wrung out? Nae wonder. It’s still the middle of Winter. Look at nature, what are the animals doing…they are hibernating, not going guns blazing building nests and eating all the nuts.

The middle way for self-improvement in Winter looks more like this: showing yourself some self-love and kindness by simply moving your body every day or making better food choices but in a gentle way. Taking time for yourself to rest, I mean really rest. That means resting your mind as well as your body. Finding stillness in a way that resonates with you – deep thought, meditation, yoga, walking in nature, music, art.

As we move from Winter towards Spring take note of when you feel yourself feeling more like getting out and about, connecting with others and putting plans into action. Could this be a better time of year for you to make some changes to improve your health and wellbeing? Equally if January the 1st feels right for you, then you go for it. It’s all about finding what works best for you. Just like your one-to-one acupuncture treatments there’s no one size fits all.

Reframing Winter

I’m curious about how you feel about Winter. What beliefs do you hold true about Winter, how do you feel during this season and the run up to it?

You might be one of the many who dreads the long, dark, cold days in a season which, in Scotland, let’s face it, goes on even longer than the 12 inch version of Fools Gold by The Stones Roses (showing my age now). Do you long for a return to the warmth and sunshine of Summer, do you crave a trip to the sunshine wearing short sleeves and less wool content?

Let me let you in on a secret - that’s how I used to view Winter. I kind of hated it and dreaded it coming.

What if I told you that I don’t feel like this any more about Winter? Would you wonder how I shifted my perspective? Maybe? Well, if you are curious read on…

It all started with my thoughts. I began to change the way I thought about Winter - essentially retraining my mind to replace negative associations with with different, more positive themes.

Instead of focusing on the things I didn’t like, I began writing a list of things that I liked or that Winter provided the opportunity for in ways that other seasons didn’t. Things like:

·      Layering up to full cosy with favourite soft wool hat, bright gloves then getting out into nature for a long walk. Coming back home all rosy cheeked and curling up on the sofa with a warm drink and a chocolate ginger biscuit

·      The sound of crunching snow and ice underfoot - bonus if the day ends with one of those sunsets that turn pink against a whitened landscape

·      The dark nights when it’s blowing a hoolie outside and you are inside feeling all safe and toastie with your jammies on

·      Creating a comfy, cosy ambience with soft blankets and scented candles

·      Dark evenings or even afternoons bring extra opportunities for candle lit baths with favourite bath bubbles and essential oils

·      How on earth can I write this without writing ‘hygge’ (which, in case you are still struggling with the pronunciation, rhymes with “shoo-ga” rather than “jiggy” but I can’t stop myself wanting to say “getting hygge (prounced like jiggy) with it”.

Anyway you get the idea, right? You’ll have some of your own to add, let me know what they are, I’d love to know.

This approach worked so well for me that in more recent years I took to going loch swimming and paddleboarding through the Winter months. I even hacked a hole in thick ice with an axe for the thrill of entering ice cold water for a short dip (disclaimer: do not do this at home). I swear that feeling of celebrating with a hot drink when dried off and cosy and sharing the extreme experience with my equally adventurous/mad (delete as appropriate) cold water bestie was only enhanced by the season.

From a Chinese Medicine perspective (and most sensible people) this ice challenge is not the best thing to do in Winter. Instead, we are encouraged to keep our bodies warm, wear a scarf round our neck at all times, no draughts up our low back (though to be honest that’s not the first reason you won’t see me wearing a crop top) and keep your feet warm; please no walking across stone cold floors in bare feet.

You’ll always hear me banging on in clinic about eating soups and stews to support our digestion and in Winter these choices feel so right. If you are a bit of a caul tattie, with cold hands and feet, try adding warming herbs and spices like cinnamon and ginger to your porridge or make a fresh ginger tea with a slice of lemon. Soups, stews, cinnamon and ginger…they sound so nourishing and warming to me, Winter’s really not so bad, is it?

The Queen is Dead. Long Live Mr Messy.

The longest serving monarch in British history, Queen Elizabeth II died peacefully yesterday, and the nation now enters a period of national mourning. Social media channels are filled with photos and fond dedications to The Queen for her dutiful and steadfast service. She was a well-loved figure and even non-royalists acknowledge that her death signifies the end of an era. As with any death, we will mourn the loss in our own way or not at all, depending on our relationship with our monarch.

What I find interesting is how a public period of national mourning is likely to impact the individual privately and how it may reignite feelings around personal loss, possibly returning people to a moment of grief they thought they had dealt with. Grief has a habit of not behaving itself and thank goodness it is now widely accepted that Kubler-Ross’s linear model of grief (denial, anger, bargaining, depression, acceptance) is far too neat to express the reality of our messy grieving emotions which, if they were lines look more like Mr Messy than a well-kempt one-way road.

As the mood of the nation drops, our mental health can take a bit of a bashing and we can feel out of kilter. Look out for yourself, your family and friends, your neighbour who lost their partner last year in case this national loss triggers a return to grief and a drop in mood and motivation. Let’s face it, even before yesterday these aren’t the easiest of times to process with positivity after reading the news. As individuals we might feel hopeless or unable to influence the wider economic and political situation but as a community, we can take back control by continuing to be good-hearted, kind people to one another.

Acupuncture offers an evidence-based approach to supporting you through your feelings of grief, sadness and low mood and is available right here in Moffat. I am an expert in treating stress, anxiety and trauma and have conducted research with people in the Grenfell Tower community who were experiencing trauma and loss after the tragic fire, who reported many benefits following acupuncture treatment.

Besides one-to-one treatments I offer a low-cost community stress clinic option to keep the service accessible to as many in the community as possible while sustaining a small business. Feel free to message me about this.

In the meantime I’ll be thinking of my Nana who died in February this year, also peacefully, at the age of 93. She was a huge fan of the Royal Family. She was our Queen.

RIP Her Majesty, the Queen.

HOW TO FIND THE CLINIC

Restore me, garden clinic is tucked away out of sight so it’s not always obvious where to come when you visit the clinic for the first time. So I’ve made a short video so you can see visually where the location is on Well Road, where you can park if you are driving and where to find the clinic in the garden when you arrive.

When driving from the centre of Moffat I like to use Claudio’s restaurant as landmark. It’s at the very bottom of Well Rd. From Claudios continue up Well Road. Circle Park is on your right hand side. Keep going up the hill. You’ll pass houses on both sides of the road and the road will start to bend round to the right as you continue uphill. Pass a bench on your left, some scrub on your right. Keep going. You’ll see a small green area on your right with a bench by the turn off to your right for Ballplay Road, keep going. Redacres is the next house on your right with grey gates (and sometimes fairy lights) before you reach the fork with Alton Road. Welcome!

If you are driving, you can park on the road outside Redacres or just inside the gates to your left. You will find the clinic by walking past the front of the house, past the greenhouse and following the little path to paradise. See you there!

🌱GREENER CHOICES IN CLINIC

When you choose to work with me to support your health and well-being, besides adhering to scrupulous clinical hygiene standards demanded by my professional body The British Acupuncture Council, you can feel confident that the impact of my work on our planet is important to me.

I’m making small changes in clinic where I can.

For example, I’m switching to more environmentally friendly Acurea ECO acupuncture needles which:

🌱 are sterilised using gamma ray technology - a cleaner process with less environmental impact

🌱 use 100% recyclable needle packaging

🌱 have 100% biodegradable guide tube wrappers

🌱 use bamboo guide tubes rather than plastic guide tubes

AND with every box purchased a donation is made to the Chinese Medicine Forestry Trust.

Pop on over to Instagram to watch a short video I made about making greener choices in clinic which includes a short demo of needle insertion using my new bamboo guide tubes.

Looking forward to seeing you in clinic to support you with your health and wellbeing while being kind to our planet.

ADAPTING TO CHANGE

This article was originally published in The Green Handbook on 25.8.20

When I opened my acupuncture and reflexology clinic last March 2019, with so much great excitement, I could not have predicted its sudden closure just one year later. In March 2020, following guidance from The British Acupuncture Council and with a mixture of sadness and acceptance, I contacted my patients then shut up shop, unsure of what lay ahead.

In times of great change, I find comfort in the bamboo analogy: bend and adapt to changing circumstances rather than resisting it and breaking.

In all honesty, to begin with, I felt far from flexible as I wrestled with the challenges of lockdown and getting through home-schooling with my boys, who preferred to be active outdoors. It felt like hard work and was unsustainable, energy-wise. So, I switched things around – rather than trying to do everything, I focused on a few things we enjoyed doing together. Thus movement, gardening, and arts and crafts became the cornerstone of our outdoor ‘home-school’. Instead of sticking to rigid plans, adapting in ways that worked for us as a family meant the days started feeling less of a chore and more like fun.

As the jungle drums began to suggest that a shift out of lockdown was imminent, I felt momentarily unsteady again, anxious about safety and the unknown changes ahead. The worry made me feel tired and heavy. So, I began to channel my thoughts towards what I would need to make my clinic safe again in preparation for future reopening. I knew I would need to remove all my soft furnishings and replace them with wipeable covers that could be disinfected between patients, but it was proving really hard to find fairly priced, good quality, aesthetically pleasing products.

I’ve been designing and sewing fleece products for the reflexology community for the past 7 years, so it made sense to try and make something myself. Working with PVC was initially quite challenging because unlike stretchy fleece, it is very unforgiving (no room for mistakes and works best with minimal sewing). On a scorching hot weekend at the end of May, I wrestled with swathes of white PVC in a bid to design a line of new products. The resulting ‘collection’ consisted of covers for bolsters, massage tables, Lafuma chairs (zero gravity chairs used by the reflexology community) and pillowcases. On June 1st, I tentatively launched my new collection aimed at facilitating a safe return to work and by teatime I had more orders than I had material to make them with.

A hectic couple of months followed, yet I was grateful for this opportunity to work again and to play a small part in helping my therapist colleagues return to doing what they loved.

At the time of writing, I am delighted to have reopened my practice again but I’m taking it one day at a time. Standing at my clinic door I watch the bamboo planted last year, swaying gently in the breeze – a poignant reminder of our ability to adapt to unforeseen change and our collective capacity for resilience.

by Nicola Wardhaugh

Nicola Wardhaugh runs a reflexology and acupuncture clinic in Moffat www.restoreme.co.ukNicola’s wipeable covers are available at www.singerslanereflexology.com

How acupuncture can help your migraines.

~ MIGRAINE AWARENESS WEEK ~

Here's my local acupuncturist banging on about the benefits of acupuncture again but what does the research actually say about acupuncture and migraines?

Executive Summary

Acupuncture helps migraines and beside me saying it and my patients who have benefitted saying it, there is wider evidence to prove this statement is true!

What the research says

Cochrane Systematic Reviews are considered to be the gold standard in terms of research - a bastion of reliability and trustworthiness. In 2016, they conducted a systematic review of trials investigating the effectiveness of acupuncture with migraines and concluded that:

"The available evidence suggests that adding acupuncture to symptomatic treatment of attacks reduces the frequency of headaches" (Linde et al. 2016).

The study found that if people have six days with migraine per month on average before starting treatment, this would be reduced to five days in people receiving only usual care three and a half days in those receiving acupuncture.

What is acupuncture actually doing to alleviate my symptoms?

Acupuncture affects the body in the following ways to alleviate symptoms: by providing pain relief, reducing inflammation and by affecting intracranial blood flow and serotonin levels.

If you are interested in the detailed pathophysiology, here it is:

Acupuncture can help in the treatment of migraine by:

• Providing pain relief - by stimulating nerves located in muscles and other tissues, acupuncture leads to release of endorphins and other neurochumoral factors and changes the processing of pain in the brain and spinal cord (Zhao 2008, Zijlstra 2003, Pomeranz, 1987)

• Reducing inflammation - by promoting release of vascular and immunomodulatory factors (Kim 2008, Kavoussi 2007, Zijlstra 2003).

• Reducing the degree of cortical spreading depression (an electrical wave in the brain associated with migraine) and plasma levels of calcitonin gene-related peptide and substance P (both implicated in the pathophysiology of migraine) (Shi 2010).

• Modulating extracranial and intracranial blood flow (Park 2009).

• Affecting serotonin (5-hydroxytriptamine) levels in the brain (Zhong 2007). (Serotonin may be linked to the initiation of migraines; 5-HT agonists (triptans) are used against acute attacks.)

Not all people are the same; not all headaches are the same

What’s really interesting is that unlike Western medicine, which incidentally I’m not bashing because I like to work together with your medical professional, Chinese Medicine treats each person as an individual with their own set of symptoms. In other words, not all headaches are the same.

Some people experience visual field disturbance, some people don’t. Some people’s migraines are triggered by stress, others aren’t. Some people feel stabbing pain behind one eye, others don’t. There is no one treatment that fits all in my clinic. Everyone brings their own set of symptoms and health history to the party.

If you are suffering from migraines that are interrupting your ability to enjoy life in the way you would like to, please get in touch. Quite often us acupuncturists are the last port of call when all other approaches have failed. Some patients have commented that they wished they hadn’t waited so long to give it a go.

If you feel unsure about acupuncture you may arrange to pop up for a no obligation chat to meet me, see my lovely clinic and I’ll explain my approach.

Message me for more information and to book yourself in. I've no doubt that you will love my riverside clinic surrounded by nature. My patients tell me they feel better just showing up!

References:

Linde  K, Allais  G, Brinkhaus  B, Fei  Y, Mehring  M, Vertosick  EA, Vickers  A, White  AR. Acupuncture for the prevention of episodic migraine. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews 2016, Issue 6. Art. No.: CD001218. DOI: 10.1002/14651858.CD001218.pub3.

Photo by Nik Shuliahin on Unsplash

How acupuncture is treating trauma around the world

Did you know that acupuncture is commonly used in disaster response situations to treat trauma?

In 2017 and 2018 Acupuncturists Without Borders sent teams of acupuncturists to Puerto Rico to treat trauma in the communities affected by Hurricane Maria.

It never fails to amaze me what impact a few points can make to people's lives. 

We invite you to view When the Birds Stopped Singing, a new AWB video profiling trauma healing and disaster relief work in Puerto Rico. AWB has sent three teams to the island since last December (including a service trip happening right now) to provide treatments in underserved communities hit hard by Hurricane Maria.

Fortunately, while most of us may not have experienced the after-effects of a natural or human-made disaster of this scale, some of us will have experienced trauma or severe stress in other ways that are holding us back.

The effects of acupuncture can be subtle yet so powerful in supporting people through difficult times and to help them live life fully again. The wonderful thing is that ultimately, it is you: your body and your mind, that is making these changes. The treatment and the acupuncturist are but facilitators. 

Ask me about the small group community acupuncture sessions that I run at reduced rates, to calm busy minds.

If you are more suited to one-to-one treatment, a confidential service is waiting for you, from a quiet and private clinic room in Moffat, surrounded by nature, whenever you are ready. 

Have a peaceful weekend.