Pregnancy & Acupuncture

Many conditions which routinely crop up during pregnancy are eminently treatable using Acupuncture. In my clinic, I treat woman regularly for pregnancy related symptoms such as morning sickness, back pain, pelvic pain, headaches, tiredness, heartburn, constipation, depression and anxiety as well as high or low blood-pressure. Acupuncture has also been shown to be particularly good at stopping bleeding or spotting in the early months of pregnancy.

Acupuncture is a safe treatment for both you and your baby throughout your pregnancy. Even when there are no problems associated with your pregnancy, intermittent sessions of acupuncture can do wonders for energy levels as well as keeping you and baby well and healthy as your pregnancy progresses. A healthy mother-to-be is better for baby and means uncomfortable symptoms are far less likely to occur.

Moxibustion (a form of gentle heat treatment) is an adjunct to Acupuncture and is very successful treatment for turning breech babies. Often times I have found that just 1 or 2 treatments are all that is needed.

Acupuncture has also been proven effective in clinical trials in helping induce labor after baby’s due date has passed. There are several considerations here in terms of the health of mother and baby and I only use such treatments in consultation with a client’s obstetrician. Treatment is very mild and, when successful, usually results in the beginnings of labor 24 to 48 hours after treatment.

If you are experiencing morning sickness or other difficulties at any time during your pregnancy, please don’t hesitate to call for more information and make an appointment.

Lower Back Pain & Acupuncture

Lower back pain (lumbago) is such a common complaint that not a day goes by in my clinic where I don’t treat it. It’s estimated that as many as 80%- 85% of us will have some sort of back pain at one time or another in our lifetime.

There are many types and causes to lower back pain. The vast majority of the types of back pain I treat are muscle pain and stiffness through injury, over exercise or trauma, trapped nerves, sciatica, pain due to herniated discs, post-surgical pain and pain that comes from age, being over weight, menstrual problems and women in late pregnancy.

Relief from back pain can be very quick. In acute, intense cases such as from sciatic pain or herniated discs, Acupuncture treatment is necessarily frequent, usually involving a course over several days. Chronic back pain is also incredibly common and in these cases a more medium to long term course of treatment is more appropriate to help eliminate pain and bring about in many cases, a long lasting recovery.

Here at Wisdom for Health we endeavor to provide you with the best treatment possible for your complaint. In some cases of back pain, Acupuncture is most effective. At other times, Massage, and at other times a combination of both provides the best results. We will always advise you as to what is the best course of treatment to take.

If you suffer from lumbago, lower back pain, or sciatic pain, please don’t hesitate to call us for more information and to make an appointment.

Fertility & Acupuncture

Figures suggest that as many as 1 in 6 couples have difficulty in conceiving. The good news is that Acupuncture is proven to assist and increases your chances of conceiving either naturally, or in combination with other forms of fertility treatment such as IUI or IVF. I have treated many couples successfully down through the years helping them to conceive naturally or in tandem with ART (Artificial Reproductive Therapy).

Acupuncture helps increase your chances of conceiving and bringing your pregnancy to full term in several ways:

• Acupuncture is highly effective in regulating your menstrual cycle and resolving menstrual issues.
• It helps to stimulate ovulation.
• It treats many underlying conditions that may contribute to infertility such as polycystic ovaries, endometriosis, amenorrhea (scant or absent periods) and weight gain.
• It reduces the effects of stress which create hormonal disturbances and imbalances which interfere with a man or a woman’s natural rhythms.

In most cases I treat women for fertility issues. There is very little that Acupuncture can achieve in terms of a man’s sperm count or sperm mobility but it does help significantly in cases where male partners are highly stressed and need treatment for these stress related issues. The health of the father to be is always an issue in fertility issues. A consultation with the father to be therefore is something I offer and where appropriate, Acupuncture or Massage treatment, dietary and/or lifestyle changes are advised.

For women who are trying to conceive, a course of treatment that involves Acupuncture and/or massage, lifestyle & dietary advice over several cycles is usual. If treatment is successful, further treatment for the first few months of pregnancy is also the norm. This helps to reduce the risk of miscarriage and increase the chances that you will have a healthy pregnancy that will go to full term.

If you are having difficulty conceiving and would like to find out more please don’t hesitate to call us and make an appointment.