FREEDOM ACUPUNCTURE

 The body has an innate ability to heal itself given the right environment and available building blocks.  Acupuncture hastens the healing process by utilising those key ingredients, thus supporting the body's own healing process.  In doing so, you are not simply treating symptoms, but rather treating the core problem and in many cases, finding a permanent solution to a health problem.

An Acupuncture treatment involves the insertion of very fine needles at strategic points on the body.  The location of those needles depends on the issue being treated & the style of acupuncture being used.

The body is a complex system of organs, skin, bone & muscle, which is regulated by many systems including the nervous system, hormone & immune systems.  The insertion of acupuncture needles at specific points on the body helps to influence these systems to push the body towards an optimal state of well being also known as homeostasis.  In the western world acupuncture is mostly used to treat various types of pain, but as mentioned above it can also be used to treat many other issues related to the immune and hormonal systems, to treat emotional disorders, digestive problems and respiratory conditions.  In recent years acupuncture has become popular for optimizing fertility health.  As acupuncture is non pharmaceutical it does not add to the body’s chemical load when taking multiple medications, and is a great alternative when the side effects of pharmaceuticals outweigh the benefits. 

Acupuncture has stood the test of time, with some sources stating it can be traced back to China 6000BC.  There are now well over 20 000 clinical trials to support the efficacy of acupuncture, so no-one can say “there’s no evidence to support acupuncture” because there is indeed an overwhelming amount evidence.  Acupuncture can be used as a stand alone treatment or to complement other conventional approaches.  If your issue involves pain, inflammation or tight muscles, acupuncture will achieve great results  with this.

There are multiple 'systems' acupuncturists learn to treat using acupuncture.   For example scalp acupuncture, Korean Hand Acupuncture, ear Acupuncture (Auricular Acupuncture) or Abdominal Acupuncture etc etc. Each system alone can treat any part of the body or any aspect of health.

At Freedom Acupuncture, Jacqui has learnt several different systems for treating various ailments.  In a treatment she may use one or several of these techniques.

Distal Acupuncture

Also sometimes known as Balance Acupuncture.  This technique involves insertion of needles that are far away from the area of pain or symptoms.  For example, needles may be placed on the arms or legs to treat the back or the ankles to treat the neck.  This system often leads to quicker relief compared with local needling, it also avoids potentially irritating the inflamed or painful areas directly.  This system is grounded in the principles of Meridian Theories as it involves inserting needles at specific points along the body's meridians to elicit physiological changes in the body. It can address a wide range of issues from pain to systemic health issues.   

Motor Point Acupuncture

This is a modern technique is mostly used  to correct musculoskeletal pain or tightness by stimulating an individual muscle via a motor point.  What is a Motor Point?  A motor point is  a very precise point where a nerve attaches to a muscle.  Once the point is located the muscle is stimulated with a battery operated device which makes the muscle pulse or twitch, the outcome is like a "reset" on a muscle's function, improving strength and movement and relieving pain. This approach is particularly effective for musculoskeletal issues like chronic tightness, weakness, trauma and muscle spasms. To determine which muscles needs treating is often found by muscle testing prior to the treatment.

Dry Needling

The term dry needling is often used by physical therapists to represent any kind of acupuncture done by physical therapists.  But strictly speaking dry needling involves inserting a needle into myofascial trigger point of a muscles. A Trigger Point is like a tight knot in a muscle which often results in referred pain.  There can be some overlap between trigger point locations and motor point locations but they rely on different assessment and treatment principles.  Combining the two techniques in an acupuncture treatment can address muscle pain from multiple aspects.

Electro-Acupuncture

Electroacupuncture is a therapy that combines traditional acupuncture with a small electrical current. Thin needles are inserted into specific points on the body usually close to the area of pain, a device then runs a mild electrical current between two points, providing more stimulation than manual acupuncture alone. This technique can be used to treat a wide variety of conditions, including neurological disorders and musculoskeletal issues.  

Neoclassical Acupuncture

This style of acupuncture is a modern take on the interpretation of some ancient acupuncture text books.  Many of these books are difficult to interpret as the meanings of words have changed over thousands of years. The founder of this technique, Slate Burris came up with his own interpretation of these text books.  When he applied the theory he discovered that one needle (sometimes two or three needles) could put the body in an optimal state.  This then enabled the body to heal itself, no matter where or what the issue was.  This meant the practitioner did not need to know anything about the issue being treated, they simply needed to locate ‘the point’ on the body that would open the body to an optimal state.  The precise point is found by palpating various parts of the body in search for tender areas, these tender points are then applied to various charts to find the most effective point to use.  Experience has shown this system is most effective for treating disorders relating to the immune system, for some pain and gut issues.  This system does not treat all conditions but experience has shown it can sometimes produce exceptional results when nothing else has worked. Because it’s not always clear on what it will and will not be effective for, for this reason it is probably better to use when there is multiple issues, as it’s likely to relieve some issues, but not all, then any remaining issues can be dealt with by using other means of acupuncture which are more targeted.

Cold Laser

The use of Cold 3B laser had been around for the past 30 years, although has only really taken off as a healing modality in the past 10 yrs.  Cold laser has very good anti-inflammatory properties, and is often used as an adjunct in acupuncture treatments.  It is very safe and ​can be used anywhere on the body including the scalp.

Wet Cupping

Wet cupping involves the pricking of the skin with a diabetic lancet prior to the applications of suction cups, once the cups are applied a few drops of blood are drawn to the surface.  This then sends a message to the brain there has been major trauma in the area of the cup, but there is no trauma just a few pin pricks and sometimes a bruise.  It is playing tricks with the brain to ramp up the body's natural healing process.  To locate the optimal location for the cups, the area of pain is pressed to find tender areas, these then become the target location for the cups.  This is only used for issues involving musculoskeletal pain.

  Call or email us with your health concerns, and we can give you an idea if acupuncture will help. We will do our best to give you honest feedback.