Port Douglas Acupuncture

(and also Cairns Acupuncture and Massage)

Please phone Tanya on 0408 054 538 or email tanyagalvin@Hotmail.com

Port Douglas Acupuncture

Acupuncture Treatment - Fix Low back pain, Relieve neck/shoulder pain, Headaches, Arthritis, Infertility, low energy, Relieve aches and pain, Long Lasting benefits, Painfree insertion & quick clinical results, Internationally experienced & 11 years clinical practice, 60 minutes. Port Douglas Mobile Massage

Traditional Chinese Medicine

Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) practitioners believe that disease results from a disruption in the body's energy flow and that this disturbance produces negative effects on one's mind, spirit and body. TCM treatments centre around herbal medicines and acupuncture designed to restore the body's balance of energy flow.

Acupuncture

Acupuncture is completely inconsisitent with our Western view of medicine, anatomy and physiology – yet good research studies indicate that it works. Although, ideally, the mechanism of action of a treatment should be known, it is far more important that it is proven to be safe and effective. The practice has existed for some 5000 years, and in modern times acupuncture has gained in popularityin the Western world after American doctors became aware of the therapy and saw it in acition in the 1970s.

Health is considered to be a balance of yin and yang in the body in traditional chinese medicine, and good health results in a free flow of 'vital energy' called qi. The insertion of acupuncture needles at specific points that are considered to be qi pathways is said to be able to treat illness. There are 12 main and eight secondary channels or pathways called 'meridians'. Acupuncture literally means 'needle piercing' and over 2000 anatomic acupuncture points for therapeutic purposes have been described.

Diagnoses are made by the acupuncturist by observing and questioning the patient. Fine, disposable, sterilised stainless-steel needles are inserted throught eh skin to a depth of 3 to 5mm and there is usually little, if any, pain felt by the patient. Dozens of medical conditions are said to be able to be treated by acupuncture, especially musculoskeletal pain. The FDA approved the use of acupuncture needles in 1996 and in the USA there are nearly 20,000 licensed acupuncturists.

The speficif course nad duration of acupuncture treatment depends on the nature and severity of depressive symptoms. A typical course of treatment might involve 10 to 12 weekly sessions, with each session usually lasting form 45 minutes to 1 hour long.

Western understanding of acupuncture is very limited and it is thought that the needles stimulate the central nervous system, thereby releasing chemicals into the muscles, spinal cord and brain, promoting the body's natural healing abilities. It is also thought that acupuncture may altern brain chemistry by changing the release of neurotransmitters and hormones that positively impact on mood. In addition to needles, acupuncturists also stimulate acupuncture points with heat, pressure, friction, suction or electromagnetic energy impulses.

Acupuncture has shown a lot of promise for the treatment of depression.

A meta analysis (combining the results of several studies) published in 2008 found that acupuncture significantly reduced depressive symptoms. The eight randomised trials included in the meta-analysis enrolled 477 patients with depression; 256 of them received active acupuncture and 221 received sham acupuncture (where needles were placed incorrectly or in locations not specifically addressing depression symptoms). In seven fo the studies, the patients were suffereing from major depression; and in one study the patients had depressive neurosis. Patients from seven studies received manual acupuncture (or plus electro acupuncture), while those in the remaining study received laser acupuncture. Total acupuncture sessions ranged from 10 to 30. Four trials reported that acupunctrue significantly improved symptoms, as assessed by scores on the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HDRS).

30 patients with depression after suffering a stroke received electro acupuncture and routine acupuncture was used in 30 matched control patients. The scores on the Zung self-rating Depression Scale (SDS) were significantly different from baseline in the electro acupuncture group and significantly better than the SDS scores for routine acupuncture.

The authors of a Chinese Study involving 440 patients said that the therapeutic effects of acupuncture were similar to or better than prosac but with fewer side effects.

A randomised controlled trial (RCT) including 42 depressed patients found that acupuncture cobined with antidepressant medication was more effective an antidepressant medication alone.

A systematic review and meta-analysis published in the journal of affective disorders condcluded that acupuncture modalities were as effective as antidepressants.

An RCT of 61 pregnant women with depression found that eight weeks of acupuncture at specific points was more effective than either non-specific acupuncture or massage in terms of reducing symptoms.

A paper at a Maternal-fetal medicine conference held in 2010 descrived a study of 150 women with major depressive disorder n pregnancy. Those who received acupuncture specific for depression experienced a significantly greater decrease in depression severity, when compared to control acupuncture or massage.

Acupuncture is generally safe, especially when performed by a trained professional. So overall, despite western doctors having no clear idea of how acupuncture works, a growing body of evidence suggests that it may be worth trying!

Port Douglas Acupuncture 0408 054538

Port Douglas Acupuncture