Treatments

Edmond is passionate about Chinese medicine and dedicated to using this wonderful healing system in the treatment and prevention of illness and disease. He believes in a patient-centred approach and encourages active participation in formulating a therapeutic management plan to optimise your health according to the principles and methods of Chinese medicine. Treatment  options include: acupuncture, herbal medicine, moxibustion, cupping, acupressure massage, TDP lamp therapy and buqi therapy. Dietary advice, self-massage, relaxation techniques and remedial exercises (qigong) may be  prescribed as part of a lifestyle management program to consolidate the benefits of treatment.
Acupuncture
Acupuncture is the ancient healing art of inserting ultra-fine needles into specific points along energy pathways on the body in order to activate the body's motivating energy, known as qi. The flow of qi can be disturbed by any number of factors. These include emotional states such as anxiety, anger or grief, as well as poor nutrition, hereditary factors, infections and trauma. Acupuncture acts to restore the natural flow of qi bringing a holistic balance back to the body.

Auricular Acupuncture
Auricular acupuncture is a type of 'micro-acupuncture' that utilises well-defined reflex relationships between specific points on the ear and external or internal regions of the body for diagnostic clues or therapeutic measures. Contrary to popular belief, auricular acupuncture is not a more recent form of acupuncture than 'body acupuncture', although it has been substantially developed in recent years. It is well-known for its use in the field of addiction. However, its scope of treatment is actually far wider.

Koryo Hand Acupuncture
Koryo hand acupuncture is another type of 'micro-acupuncture' that utilises well-defined reflex relationships between specific points on the hand and external or internal regions of the body for diagnostic clues or therapeutic measures. However, unlike many 'micro-systems', it not only maps corresponding areas of the body on to the hand but it maps all the energy channels of the body and their respective points as well. This makes it a very powerful and versatile system.

Chinese Herbal Medicine
Chinese Herbal Medicine is one of the great herbal systems of the world, with an unbroken tradition going back to the 3rd century BC. Traditionally, practitioners used medicinal ingredients from all the 'three kingdoms'; vegetable, animal and mineral. However, the majority of these are from vegetable sources, such as: leaves, flowers, seeds, twigs, stems, roots, tubers, rhizomes and barks. Currently, UK law only permits herbalists to prescribe substances from the vegetable kingdom and so animal and mineral products are not used. Every herb has a unique action. Cleverly combined together they perform a multitude of tasks that help bring a holistic balance back to the body. All herbs are of the highest quality and are prescribed individually to meet each patient’s needs. They can be dispensed in a variety of ways: powders, granules, pills, tablets, capsules or teas.

Acupressure Massage
Acupressure massage is the stimulation of acupuncture points using the fingers to relax muscles, relieve tension and harmonise the body. Edmond frequently uses it to help loosen, relax and warm problem areas before  acupuncture and to gently mobilise joints at the end of treatment.

Cupping
Cupping therapy involves the creation of a vacuum in glass, bamboo or plastic cups placed over specifc acupuncture points or problem areas of the body. Depending on the type of cupping used, the strength of suction and the area of application, it can be used to move stagnant Qi or Blood, expel pathogenic factors or strengthen the body. It is often used in treating musculoskeletal conditions, although it has many other applications.

Moxibustion
Moxibustion involves the application of a smouldering herb (mugwort) to specific acupuncture points or problem areas of the body.  It is considered especially effective in chronic conditions. However, it has many uses, one of which is turning breech babies!

TDP Lamp Therapy
The TDP lamp is a recently invented device that has become popular as a smokeless alternative to moxibustion. These devices emit a special band of thermo-electromagnetic waves through a special "black" magnetic emission plate consisting of 33 different mineral elements. These waves penetrate deeper into the body than emissions of normal infrared devices. In China, it is known as the 'Magic Lamp', and is widely used in hospitals and clinics in conjunction with acupuncture treatment, or applied separately, to alleviate pain, reduce inflammation, promote blood circulation and metabolism.

Buqi Therapy
Buqi therapy has its foundations in the ancient Chinese art of energy healing, known variously as: 'qi transmission', 'energy-force transmission' , 'outgoing-qi therapy' or 'distant qigong therapy' and involves the transmission of qi or energy-force to the patient from a distance. Together with qigong, a system of self-healing exercises, Chinese energy healing constitutes one of the four major branches of traditional Chinese medicine.

Although buqi therapy utilises traditional methods of transmitting qi or 'energy-force' to patients for healing purposes, it has a slightly different theoretical framework for understanding the root causes and pathological changes that occur in disease. In particular, there is an emphasis on the role of postural and emotional imbalances in the cause and progression of disease. Treatment involves correcting these underlying factors  and expelling the resultant build up of toxic products. The principles and techniques of buqi therapy can be applied to both acupuncture and massage therapy to give 'qi needling' and 'qi massage', respectively. In 'qi needling', a vibrational force is transmitted through the needle while in 'qi massage' this vibrational force is transmitted through the hands which are in contact with the body. Remedial or therapeutic exercises, known as qigong, are prescribed to patients in order to consolidate the effects of buqi therapy.

Buqi therapy can be used to treat a wide range of chronic and acute conditions from physical through to emotional and mental issues.