Traditional Chinese Acupuncture

Traditional Chinese Acupuncture and Five Element Acupuncture.

Traditional Acupuncture is used as both therapeutic and preventative medicine that works by balancing the body's energies and systems. Illness, injury and stress disturb the flow of energy through the body leading to a range of symptoms. Acupuncture treatment is usually accompanied by an increased sense of well being and of general health as well as addressing specific complaints. Every patient is treated as an individual with a personalized treatment plan.

There are several styles of Acupuncture practised in the UK. The form of Acupuncture practised by members of the British Acupuncture Council is termed 'Traditional Acupuncture' to distinguish it from the more limited western acupuncture practised by some medical practitioners. Five Element Acupuncture is a holistic form of acupuncture.

Regulated and accredited practitioners undergo years of training and study to recognize subtle signs and to prescribe effective treatment. All British Acupuncture Council members adhere to strict codes of conduct and practice.

Which Conditions can Acupuncture Help?

In 1979 the World Health Organization published a report ("Acupuncture: Review and Analysis of Reports on Controlled Clinical Trials") on conditions that respond well to Acupuncture. This is still the best official list available today. The WHO identifies the following symptoms, diseases and conditions that have been shown through controlled trials to be treated effectively by acupuncture:

low back pain; neck pain; sciatica; tennis elbow; knee pain; periarthritis of the shoulder; sprains; facial pain (including craniomandibular disorders); headache; dental pain; tempromandibular (TMJ) dysfunction; rheumatoid arthritis; induction of labour; correction of malposition of foetus (breech presentation); morning sickness; nausea and vomiting; postoperative pain; stroke; essential hypertension; primary hypotension; renal colic; leucopenia (low white blood cell count); adverse reactions to radiation or chemotherapy; allergic rhinitis, including hay fever; biliary colic; depression (including depressive neurosis and depression following stroke); acute bacillary dysentery; primary dysmenorrhea; acute epigastralgia; peptic ulcer; acute and chronic gastritis.

The World Health Organization identifies that Acupuncture Therapy is appropriate for the following conditions:

For more information, please see a summary of the report findings here.

For more information please contact the British Acupuncture Council.