Member of The British Acupuncture Council BAcC
A Truly Integrated Therapeutic approach in Manchester, Lancashire & the North West
Acupuncture in Manchester
What is Acupuncture?
Acupuncture uses ultra fine, sterilised single-use needles into specific points in the body as selected by the practitioner. The locations of the points used will be chosen based on your individual symptoms and presenting conditions. The needles work by stimulating/sedating the nervous system and helping to balance the flow of your body's electricity, known as 'Qi'. In Chinese Medicine (Holistic) style acupuncture we also look at your tongue and feel your pulses to help with diagnosis. An overview of diet, lifestyle and emotional environments can also be extremely useful in helping understand your condition and the most effective strategy for getting you back on track.
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The needles typically stay in place for 35-50 minutes in total, but this may be shorter if massage or Acupressure are also being used.
What does it feel like?
The needles are that fine, quite often there is little or no sensation felt as they are inserted, although sometimes they 'hit the spot' right away. Once all the points are in place, I will very gently manipulate the needle until a mild 'nerve' type sensation is briefly felt. For most people it may feel like a dull ache, heavy feeling or just a slight tingle.
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During the session, you will be given time and space to relax and let the needles 'work their magic'. You may experience deep relaxation, feelings of local and general heaviness or become more aware of the flow of circulation and energy in the body.
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If your visit is for acute pains, you may even feel an immediate shift or improvement in your symptoms.
What will I feel like afterwards?
Quite often the important shift the happens during a session is from 'fight or flight' to 'rest and digest' in the nervous system. This may be experienced initially as feeling super relaxed, spaced out or sleepy immediately after a session and feeling either more peaceful, more energised or 'more balanced' in the following hours or days. Sleep can often be improved too.
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The general effects of a single session may be felt for hours or days after and appointment, but if you are returning quickly to a high pressured, fast paced or stressful environment, the effects may be shorter lived.
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If you have had treatment for a pain or injury, you may experience soreness, a temporary increase in symptoms or new sensations as your body makes adjustments. After a good nights sleep or two, your body will have had a chance to process the new 'programming' from the needles and the impact on your symptoms may be more strongly felt.
How many sessions will I need?
For new or acute problems (24hrs-2 weeks), symptoms can be expected to resolve fully fairly quickly, often in 1-3 sessions.
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For longer standing issues a good place to start is by committing to a short course (5 sessions) of treatment and taking a more holistic approach by being prepared to make changes to diet and lifestyle and adding wellbeing practices to support the healing process. The effective of acupuncture is cumilitive and most clients will have their appointments initially at weekly intervals. Recommendations for longer term strategies may also be made based on individual cases.
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For information on Acupressure, take a look at our Acupressure & Massage page here.
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Acupuncture prices:
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Acupuncture is used in conjunction with other therapies for BodyMind Balancing. My current availability is limted to onsite appointments using this fully integrated therapeutic approach. These start at £300 for a 2 hour session.
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