Acupuncture in Longridge
Since 2017, Tonic Acupuncture has offered Traditional Chinese Acupuncture treatments to those in Longridge and the surrounding areas. Our beautiful clinic is based in the heart of Longridge town centre, and as the demand for alternative therapies has grown, along with our patients singing our praises (thank you), so have we. If you are looking for acupuncture treatments to assist with your ailments or improve your overall wellbeing, look no further!
What is Acupuncture?
Derived from Traditional Chinese Medicine, Acupuncture has been practised for thousands of years to help the body heal from a variety of ailments, illnesses and injuries. Acupuncture involves inserting tiny fine needles into specific acupoints on the body, which are activated through the practitioner gently and purposefully moving them. There are around 2000 acupuncture points in Traditional Chinese Medicine connected by 12 meridians. Therefore, practitioners carefully and expertly choose a select few acupuncture points to stimulate, influence and rebalance the body.
What does acupuncture feel like?
For many, acupuncture is relaxing and therapeutic. When the needles are inserted, most patients report not feeling much at all, but you may feel a slight aching or pinching feeling once it is inserted and as it is gently removed. After your session, you may feel tired and experience slight bruising or bleeding, but this will quickly subside. Your practitioner will always recommend resting and rehydrating after sessions to allow your body the time it needs to rebalance and heal. As acupuncture looks to reset your body, the body needs good nutrition and space to allow this reset to occur. Our body can only speak in symptoms, a small headache or tiredness after a treatment is a good small signal that your body wants you to rest and drink lots of water.
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How can acupuncture benefit me?
Acupuncture is noted for its physical, mental and emotional benefits, and best of all, it is incredibly safe. There is growing evidence-based research that demonstrates the remarkable benefits of acupuncture when used alone and in conjunction with western medicine. Many patients choose to undertake acupuncture to complement a whole range of treatments.
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Acupuncture looks to help you understand your body better. It is not all about the needles. Your practitioner will guide with helping you to listen to your body’s needs. This way you can hear your body with the symptoms it whispers at you, instead of it needing to shout with big, scary, and long-lasting symptoms. Acupuncture sessions will involve you making some changes to your lifestyle, diet or mindset and your practitioner will guide you with these. However, a traditional Chinese acupuncture journey to better health and well-being will take you on a path of self discovery, enabling you to listen to what is good for you, allowing you to find a healthier future.
According to the teachings of Traditional Chinese Acupuncture, illnesses and other ailments are caused by the body’s life force Qi (pronounced chee) being blocked in the body. This energy allows our bodies to function normally and in harmony, which is why acupuncture seeks to remove any blockages and restore balance. Blockages are often caused by trauma, stress, poor habits, old scars and poor nutrition.
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The NHS (NICE) currently state that acupuncture shows strong evidence of efficacy in the treatment of Chronic tension type headaches and migraines. They also include that there is potential benefit (limited clarity of evidence) when using acupuncture in the treating of the following conditions –
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chronic pain, such as neck pain
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joint pain
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dental pain
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postoperative pain
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Advertising Guidelines (ASA) permit acupuncturists to say that acupuncture can have some short term positive effects on the following conditions –
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Overactive bladder syndrome
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Tension type headaches
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Migraine headache
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Chronic low back pain
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Neck pain or chronic neck pain
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Temporomandibular (TMD/TMJ) pain
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Adjunctive treatment for osteoarthritis knee pain
With many conditions, it is vital that you seek out advice from your GP before getting treatment with any complementary therapist.
You will never have a guaranteed response from a course of acupuncture, even when the evidence base is strong for your condition, the best way to know if acupuncture will work for you is for you to try some sessions. At Tonic Acupuncture, your acupuncturist will most certainly advise you if we felt your condition wouldn’t respond, our if we felt a different type of therapy would be more suitable to your health needs.
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As many of the government bases of evidence for acupuncture are out of date or, not fit for purpose, the above conditions are very limited. This is despite many acupuncture researchers producing excellent summaries and submitting them for review to NICE and ASA. If you would like more recent evidence of the effectiveness of acupuncture, please check out Evidence Based Acupuncture for some very detailed acupuncture study reviews.
Get in touch!
If you are based in the Longridge area and would like to learn more about how acupuncture could benefit your life and wellbeing, don’t hesitate to contact us today on 01772 230969 or email us at clinic@tonicacu.co.uk. We are proud to offer acupuncture and traditional Chinese medicine treatments to patients in the heart of Longridge town centre. If you would like to book an appointment, please visit our Longridge Clinic booking page.