Acupuncture 针灸

Fine sterile needles at selected points, chosen after the consultation rather than from a chart.

A physician placing a fine needle at a point on a patient's brow, with several needles already in place across the forehead and cheek. The patient is lying down with eyes closed.

What it is

Acupuncture uses very fine needles — roughly the width of a strand of hair — inserted at specific points on the body. Every needle is single-use and sterile, and is disposed of after your session.

Which points are used is decided after the consultation, not before it. The physician takes your pulse, looks at your tongue, and asks about sleep, digestion, energy and what brought you in. Two people arriving with the same complaint are commonly treated at different points, because in TCM the pattern behind the complaint is what is being read.

Standard acupuncture 普通针灸

Physician Joy inserting a needle at a point on a patient's lower leg, the patient lying on a treatment couch. — Physician Joy places fine sterile needles along points on the lower leg. Needles are inserted one at a time, and most patients feel a dull ache or warmth at the point rather than a sharp sensation.

Standard acupuncture uses fine sterile needles at selected points on the body. Points are chosen based on the pattern identified during consultation, and the needles are usually left in place for around twenty minutes while you rest. Most people feel a dull ache, warmth or heaviness at the point rather than sharpness.

Front and back acupuncture 前后身针灸

In this approach, points are treated on both the front and back of the body within the same course of treatment, usually across two positions or two sessions. It is used where the pattern calls for points that cannot all be reached while lying in one position.

Fertility acupuncture 备孕调理针灸

Fine acupuncture needles in the skin of a lower abdomen beside the navel, a practitioner's hands resting either side and a towel folded over the hip. — Fine needles placed at points along the lower abdomen. Points are selected according to the phase of the cycle, and the needles stay in place while you rest.

A man and a woman seated side by side holding hands, a clinician in a white coat opposite them holding a clipboard. — A consultation covering both partners. Fertility care usually begins with questions about cycle, sleep, digestion and daily routine before any treatment is planned.

Fertility acupuncture follows a course timed around the menstrual cycle, with points selected according to the phase. Treatment is usually planned over several cycles rather than single sessions, and is often combined with herbal medicine and advice on diet and rest.

Slimming acupuncture 瘦身针灸

Needles in the abdomen connected by clips and leads to an electrical stimulator. — Needles placed on the abdomen and connected to a mild electrical stimulator. The current is gentle and adjusted to what the patient finds comfortable.

Slimming acupuncture combines body points with dietary and lifestyle guidance. Sessions are typically run as a course over several weeks, and treatment is planned alongside changes to eating and daily routine rather than on its own.

Facial acupuncture 面部美容针灸

Physician Joy inserting fine needles at the Yin Tang and Bai Hui acupoints.

Facial acupuncture uses much finer needles than those used on the body, placed shallowly at points on the face. Sessions usually run as a course, and body points are often treated in the same session according to the pattern identified.

Auricular acupuncture 耳针

A close-up of an ear with short needles in place at points on the upper ear. — A short needle placed at a point on the upper ear. Auricular needles are much shorter than body needles and sit just under the surface.

Auricular acupuncture, also known as ear acupuncture, applies the principles of acupuncture to specific points on the ear. It is a subcategory of acupuncture in which only points on the ear are used.

In TCM the ear is understood as a map of the body, so stimulating points on the ear can influence the body as a whole. The ear contains many blood vessels and nerve endings, and TCM holds that working with these points supports the body's own healing processes.

What a session is like

You lie down, usually for about twenty minutes with the needles in place. Most people feel a brief pinch as each one goes in, then a dull warmth, heaviness or spreading sensation around the point — in Chinese this is called 得气, and it is what the physician is working towards rather than something to endure.

The room stays quiet and the physician checks on you during the session. A good many patients fall asleep. If anything feels sharp rather than dull, say so at the time — a needle can be adjusted or removed straight away.

Before your first session

Eat something beforehand — arriving hungry is the most common reason someone feels lightheaded — and wear clothing that moves easily above the elbow and knee.

Tell the physician at the start if you are pregnant or trying to conceive, take blood-thinning medication, have a pacemaker or other implanted device, or bruise very easily. None of these means you cannot be treated. They change which points she uses and how, which is why she needs to know before rather than after.

If needles worry you, say so. It is a common thing to say and not an awkward one — the physician will talk you through each step, and moxibustion and tui na are hands-on approaches that use no needles at all.

Afterwards

People commonly feel relaxed, and sometimes a little tired for the rest of the day. Small bruises at needle sites happen occasionally and fade on their own. Drinking water and leaving a heavy training session for another evening is the usual advice.

How the following few days feel is worth noting and mentioning at your next visit. TCM treatment is adjusted visit by visit, and what you report back is most of what the adjustment is based on.

Prices for every treatment are on the pricelist. View the pricelist

Book this treatment

This page describes what the treatment involves. It is not medical advice, and it is not a promise about what any individual course of treatment will do. What is appropriate for you is decided at consultation.