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I get a lot of calls from people suffering with sciatica.  They experience tingling and burning in their lower backs and the discomfort often goes down the path of the sciatic nerve into the leg. They report numbness and pain and often experience muscle weakness resulting from interrupted nerve signals. They want to know if acupuncture can help them. Acupuncture can indeed be effective in treating sciatica. It works by stimulating the body’s own ability to release anti-inflammatories and painkillers to reduce inflammation and pain in the lower back.  It targets the muscles and nerves involved in the problem area to release tightness, decreasing muscular

I’ve recently been contacted by a number of people asking if acupuncture can help them with sleep issues. Sleep is problematic for many people.  It has been estimated that as many as one in three people in the UK find it difficult to achieve good quality refreshing sleep. There are many different patterns of poor sleep. Some people find it hard to fall asleep. Some get to sleep quickly but can’t stay asleep.  Some are disturbed by vivid dreams.  Some are kept awake by pain, or by worry, or by low mood.  Sometimes the issue is hormonal imbalance, for example during the menopause. If you

There are two contrasting theories as to why people get sick – germ theory and terrain theory. Germ theory suggests that there is usually a specific cause for any disorder, for example a bacterial infection. The cause is bacteria. A physician thinking in this way would use anti-biotics as a first line of treatment. Whether it is bacteria or a fungus or a virus, the doctor diagnoses a specific agent as the cause and the treatment plan would be to deal with that agent. Terrain theory on the other hand argues that it is the health of the body’s internal environment that is the fundamental

This is a question I get asked by almost all my new patients, and I can certainly understand why! Most people only experience a needle insertion as an injection at the dentist’s or when giving a blood sample at the doctor’s surgery. People associate needles with disagreeable sensations. I would stress that acupuncture is very different. Acupuncture needles are very fine and are usually painless on insertion. There can be a quick sting or a tingling sensation, but any discomfort is fleeting.  Sometimes there can be a dull ache where the needles are. Many of my patients find an acupuncture session extremely relaxing and it

How does acupuncture work? I get asked this question all the time, and very often what people really want to know how does it help their pain. How can needles really help with musculoskeletal problems and pain?  This is the question. An acupuncturist might say that these issues are usually caused by qi and blood stagnation and that a treatment would aim to restore a normal flow of energy in the body and thus facilitate healing. Language like ‘qi and blood stagnation’ can come across as jargon.  What does it really mean? One way to explain it would be to imagine that you have a