Metropolitan Health Services

Acupuncture is a system of healing which has been practiced in China and other Eastern countries for thousands of years. Although often described as a means of pain relief, it is in fact used to treat people with a wide range of illnesses. Its focus is on improving the overall well being of the patient, in addition to treating specific symptoms. According to traditional Chinese philosophy, our health is dependent on the body's motivating energy - known as Qi - moving in a smooth and balanced way through a series of channels, called meridians, which lie beneath the skin.

Recent scientific studies, which attempt to explain how Acupuncture works, point to electric activity in the body, called piezoelectric effects, which often parallel the pathways of Qi and Meridians described by Traditional Chinese Medicine.

The skill of an acupuncturist lies in his or her ability to make a traditional diagnosis from what is often a complex pattern of disharmony, involving one or more conditions simultaneously. The exact pattern and degree of disharmony is unique to each individual and with traditional acupuncture will be treated as such with a personalised treatment plan.

A treatment session usually involves working with specific points on the body, with either insertion of fine acupuncture needles and/or the application of heat.