I have attached it to this post and hope that you find it interesting . . . It is entitled – Good Point/Sore Point and is a regular slot in this publication.

Good point 

Zhong – KID 4

 It is said that a ‘fool breathes from throat, a wise man breathes from his dan tien, and a sage breathes from his heels.’

 The person of the Dao breathes with his heels; the mass of people breathe with their throats. – Chuang Tzu

 

 Deep breathing brings harmony to all organs. – Mary Burmeister

 

 What does this mean to you?

When we are severely stressed our breathing becomes shallow, when we are ‘centred’ and relaxed we may breathe deeper . . . but the heels? I am sure some of you understand or we can think of more to this, but I don’t really have a concrete feel for it. But in the clinic, I have seen and used Da Zhong as a great point that can see yield results as soon as the point is needled.

When would you choose it?

I usually use this point for asthma cases where they have an inability to breathe in. This is usually a pattern of ‘excess above and deficient below’, where the lungs tend to full resulting in the kidneys tending to deficiency. With patients such as this there is usually anxiety and/or fear. 

How would you use it?

The point is a practical ‘here and now’ point. Ask your client to breathe in and out – and at the same time palpate the region of KID 4. When you get it right, your client can have the revelation of suddenly breathing deeper! It is often the case that patients also become a lot calmer and experience a deep sense of peace.

What happened one memorable time you used it?

The best time I have used it was with an 8 year old boy who had chronic asthma. He came to the clinic with his mum. He had hunched shoulders and obvious inhalation problems. She was tense as well – isn’t it hard when one of our kids are ill?

So trying to use as few needles as possible, I settled on KID 4 as the key point. As soon as the pin went in, he sighed, his chest fell, and you could see him relax. The best part was the corresponding sigh from his mum. After I thought: Two treatments from one needle . . . even better than the one needle treatment!

Your name, training and where in the country you practise

My name is Giles Watts – I practice in Leeds, West Yorkshire. I have trained at the Northern College of Acupuncture and enjoyed leaning from Kiko Matsumoto.

  

Sore point

Bai Hui DU 20

OK, what’s your problem with it?

This is a personal problem with it really and there’s two parts to it. First, when I had one of my first acupuncture treatments, the practitioner needled DU 20. Second . . . it feels too ‘spiritual’, and I don’t feel as if I should use it . . .

 The first experience is easy to explain – I was needled on DU 20 and left the clinic feeling about 12ft above the pavement. Although it was ‘interesting’, I found it also too strong and akin to suddenly finding you have suddenly developed mild vertigo. Thankfully, this passed within a few minutes, but it left me wary of this point.

 The second part is a resistance to using this point. My reasoning goes that it is too ‘spiritual’ to use. OK, so I haven’t found much in TCM to make this point a contraindicated for needling, but I do have resistance. In other frameworks it is considered the ‘crown chakra’ . . . maybe I am mixing my frameworks of reference?

So what do you expect from it?

I know this point is used for a lot of good treatments – and I have heard it being used for raising qi, subduing Liver Fire, for headaches, depression etc.

Are you sure you’re doing it right?

In writing this, I should say that I have no complaint about the point location, needling techniques or functionality of DU 20.

What would it take to make it a good point?

I will endeavour to reflect on this and see what my intuition tells me. Potentially an experience from years ago has coloured my clinical use of this point. Perhaps when I had my experience it was just simply the wrong point at the wrong time . . . 

Acupuncture has been shown to be better or equal to treatment with some antidepressants.

Studies in China have shown that electroacupuncture has equal or better effects that drugs such as amitriptyline. It is also of note that the side effects were much less than the treatment with orthodox drug regime.

As one of the main referrals for acupuncture, depression and anxiety are well treated in acupuncture clinics across the UK. If you have a question or would like to have a free informal chat then call me.

Wishing you the best of health

Giles

As well as acupuncture, I also spend time looking at practical ways in which you can improve your health – perhaps by looking at diet or exercise, if these areas need attention. These help maintain changes, and are key to maintaining and improving health. As the founder of medicine stated:

Let food be your medicine, and medicine be your food -Hippocrates

Diet and exercise are important to our health, and with the acupuncture make a very effective medicine. However in some cases, I will work in conjunction with other practitioners. These include chiropractic doctors, such as Mark Butterworth of Headingley Chiropractic Clinic, nutritional therapists, such asGlyn Blackett of York Nutritional Therapy, who are dedicated and skilled practitioners. If necessary I will refer you back to your GP should you need further medical examinations.

We can discuss this if you would care to contact me .

Cupping has been practiced for over 7000 years

Recently I was visited by a Muslim student from a Leeds school who told me of it’s use and promotion in Islam, so I decided to research this. Although historically cupping predates the Qur’an, it is interesting that Islam has adopted and indeed promoted it’s use. 

The word for cupping in Islam is ‘Hijama’ which comes from the word ‘hajm’ – meaning ‘sucking’. In Islamic tradition, it is said to bring good health, and a is a reward from Allah.

Cupping uses glass, wooden or bamboo cups. These are placed on the body on specific points when a slight vacuum is created in the cup – either by warn ming the air or by a vacuum pump. This causes a slight raise in the skin, and blood to be drawn to the area. It can be used for both treatment and/or diagnosis.

There are different styles of cupping -

1. Dry Cupping – where the cup is place on the skin and is left static.
2. Sliding Cups – here the cup is used to massage the area Oil is used to allow the cup to slide on the skin. This is a gentle and lovely way to relax the body.
3. Cupping and letting –  this involves letting blood before or after the cup has been applied. I do not use this technique as there are easier ways to treat conditions that could require this technique.

There has been a recent video on Youtube of the BBC morning news (January 2012) – it is a brief discussion about Acupuncture and Insomnia. It gives the very positive view of acupuncture for this condidtion and some good common sense ideas.

Wishing you a good nights sleep!

Giles

The British Acupuncture council has gathered  lot of evidence that supports the fact that Acupuncture can have a very good effect when it comes to treating migraines.

All the uncontrolled trials demonstrated that acupuncture is highly effective, often helping over 80% of patients.

This is considerably more effective than a likely placebo response which has been estimated to be from around 30% to as high as 50% (Tavola et al 1992). In all the controlled studies, treatment was shown to be more effective in at least one measure (i.e. pain intensity or frequency of attacks), with statistical significance reached in two studies (Vincent 1989, Tavola et al 1992). In the comparative study (Hesse et al 1994), acupuncture performed as well as the standard therapy with the added benefit of a lower incidence of side effects. Overall the evidence supports the hypothesis that acupuncture is effective in the treatment of migraine.

It is a key area that I treat. If you would like a chat about whether it is suitable for you then call me – 077 914 76330, or email.

Regards

Giles

A collection of current research shows that acupuncture at time of embryo transfer is of benefit and increases the chance of pregnancy and live birth. Generally research needs to be carried out for specific gynecological areas and the evidence so far is inconclusive. Other evidence supports treatment of nausea (morning sickness) and  reduces the levels of stress. The abstract is linked here.

Again I am pleased to announce that the Daily Mail has published an article that supports my experience that acupuncture is good for stress. It comes as no surprise that this is the case as it parallels my experience in clinic. What is surprising is that it shows that Acupuncture prevents it as well! This does come as a surprise (to me too!)

So if you have a problem with stress, then there is a solution that may help – Acupuncture.

Wishing you health

Giles

Acupuncture research has been seen to have a very positive effect on the immune system when dealing with cases of bronchitis and asthma. This has been reflected in my clinical experience, and I am interested in treating you if you have one of these conditions. Although acupuncture in this case is not a panacea for all ills, the research does suggest it has a significant effect on these conditions. If you would like to know more then please contact me.

Wishing you the best of health

Giles

Thanks for looking at this page – I am in the process of giving handy tips for health by running a series of videos about common points. This video is about the use of Large Intestine 4. It is a commonly used point for headaches, tooth pain, and colds.

You will have to excuse the basic nature of the video – I am not techno-minded, and am sure things will improve!

Wishing you the best of health

Giles