I wish more people knew that acupuncture doesn’t have to be expensive to be effective. As a migraineur and chronic headache sufferer, discovering acupuncture in my mid 30s was a real game changer. While treatment rarely keeps me pain-free for more than 10 days, regular sessions give me welcome relief from constant low level pain. But with a private acupuncture session costing up to £60 per hour, it was never going to be an affordable long term option for me. It’s thanks to community acupuncture that I can continue to have treatment on a regular basis.
At a multi-bed clinic you’re treated at the same time as other clients in an open plan treatment room. While you don’t get the undivided attention of your practitioner, in terms of treatment it’s really no different to a private consultation. Arrive at your allotted time slot, jump on the bed, briefly talk over your ailments and the acupuncturist gets to work sorting them out. Once the needles are in, you’re left to relax for 30-40 minutes. They out they come, off you trot, with change in your pocket and a balanced chi – what’s not to love?
OK it’s not for the body-shy and certainly it takes a few sessions to get used to lying half naked in a room full of strangers with needles sticking out of every orifice. However, you soon realise you’re not the only Pinhead in the room, and before long you’re floating off to Tibetan chants. With needles in – you say? Yes! Apparently the needles release endorphins, which helps you to feel relaxed. I quite often hear the regulars snuffling away oblivious to patient A beside them with chronic something or other. And if forty winks ain’t for you, then you can always ear-wig on your neighbour’s latest prognosis.
While it’s taken us reserved Brits longer to catch on, group acupuncture has been practised as part of Chinese Traditional Medicine (TCM) for thousands of years. So if you’re looking for affordable, ongoing pain relief for chronic conditions, it’s worth finding a local community acupuncture clinic near you. Find a British Acupuncture Council (BAcC) registered practitioner at http://www.acupuncture.org.uk. Remember that it takes time to get good results; acupuncture is a process, but one worth taking the time over.
If you live in Norwich, UK, go see Rebecca Geanty and her super team of acupuncturists at www.treatnorwich.co.uk
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