Best crack on with an update so.

Finally the season has turned.  We’ve welcomed Spring in the clinic by adding splashes of green colour here and there. From a Traditional Chinese Medicine perspective the energy of Spring which the colour green resonates with relates to Liver energy.  It’s all about growth and movement and new beginnings.  It’s our way of having a little tune in with the current season.

Finally got around to framing the collection of Continuous Professional Development certificates.  They are currently on display in the office (just in case you ever want to check out our credentials).  The thing about being a life long learner and a bit of a junkie for acupuncture courses is that the information gleaned absolutely guides practice so YOU benefit.  Win win situation, we enjoy learning you’ll enjoy feeling better.

We’ve been very fortunate in doing our bit for the environment and now drive around in an Eco car.  It’s a nifty little thing and a full on electric car.  At present you will no doubt often see it plugged into a socket in the clinic having a recharge whilst you are inside having a recharge of sorts. It is amazing how it teaches you to be a more economical driver.

We’ve been very fortunate to have a Student Acupuncturist helping out in the clinic. It is another win win situation.  The Student gets to observe treatments and results  which is often very different to a college student clinic. We get to discus cases with another practitioner.

Thanks to our existing clients, who have been wonderful in spreading the word about the clinic we have been busy with a lot of new folk through the doors.  Having just done some number crunching it shows that between 85-95% of our clients are connected to somebody who has been very happy with the results from their acupuncture treatment here at Essex Acupuncture Room and as such recommended us.  Also, whilst on the number front, around 80% of our clients attend for musculoskeletal problems/concerns.

So folks as you can see, whilst the blog may well have been quiet, Essex Acupuncture Room clinic hasn’t been.  Right now its time for a watering of all the lovely planting that’s been done outside the clinic.  Photo’s to follow.

So lets say Joe/Josephine Blogs attends Essex Acupuncture Room with a pain issue and there and then on the recliner improvement occurs between 50-100%. The improvement isn’t actually just from sitting and relaxing in the recliner (though no doubt that helps) it’s from insertion of acupuncture needles into specific points relative to the person and the pain.

What happens next?

A) Joe/Josephine jumps for joy or even sheds a tear of relief if the pain has been particularly bad.

B) Says thanks, pays and re-books the next appointment session which may be in a couple of days or a week.

C) Goes home spreading the news about how this amazing medicine called acupuncture had like really and truly helped

D) All of the above

Answer is D.

It’s so simple really.  You want to feel better, acupuncture makes you feel better.  You want friends and family to experience the wellness too and are not selfish, so share the news with all and sundry. And that my friend is how the Mutual Admiration Society for acupuncture at Essex Acupuncture Room exists and  grows.  Acupuncture is working for you and you are working for it by being an ambassador for the impact it can have and we aren’t just talking about pain here.

We are fortunate, and extremely grateful that our clients so willingly become the voice for our clinic.  That said, the shrinking violet gene never hit us, so we have no qualms in nudging folk to spread the word.  Would a hairdresser, window cleaner, or fitness instructor shy away from clients wanting to promote the service they provide, we think not. Why should we be shy about a medicine which helps folk!

Membership to our M.A.S. is always open.

The British Acupuncture Council is hoping that it’s members (of which Essex Acupuncture Room is one of it’s 3000+ members in the UK) will do what they can to promote this medicine.

We’ve already done the passive side of promotion by putting it on our Website, mentioning it on Twitter and Facebook.  Sure that is all fine and dandy, but hey don’t they say that actions often speak louder than words so we’ve also done more hands on promotional work.

Here’s the next part of Essex Acupuncture Room actively promoting Acupuncture Awareness Week.  We are going to do a draw for some free treatment sessions, First prize is a course of 4 free treatments and two runner up prizes of one free acupuncture treatment (think of it as a taster).  To enter the draw you do actually need to live locally or be happy to travel (travel expenses are not covered in the draw!).  All we want you to do is to like our Facebook page and add a comment of why you would like to win the draw.  All new likers who comment will be put into the draw and names will be pulled on the 25th February.  Feel free to share this with your friends/relatives/neighbours/colleagues because that’s how the word gets out.

Looking forward to meeting the winners soon

First off, this Sunday the 10th of February we will have a stall at a local Body Mind and Spirit show, all monies raised go to Charity.  For us it’s a double bubble positive event, we are connecting with a charity which serves the local community (which gives us a sense of giving back to the community) plus we are giving acupuncture a voice within the local community setting.  Sometimes acupuncturists are so tucked away in their clinic (busy doing their medicine) that they are not always heard.   So we will be out there making just enough noise in case someone is still looking for acupuncture and hasn’t found it yet.  We’ll be there with the tools of our trade for you to check out and ask questions.  Pulse and Tongue diagnosis is available and a brief consultation to discus your health needs.  Folks the entrance is free to this event, it’s a great way to see what this club has to offer plus you get to have tasters of so much.  It was amazing last year and now that it’s a bigger building it surely can only be better again.

There is another part to our plan to raise awareness of this wondrous medicine, it will be revealed next week……………….. nothing like a build up eh,

The positive qualities of the Black Snake are reputed to be

• Insightful                
• Intuitive
• Thoughtful
• Wise
• Logical
• Rational

Some say the year of the snake brings unexpected changes  (ooh, think surprises and the likes )

As London is virtually on our doorstep we thought we would share what celebrations are planned for the day up there.  We all know London likes to party, and will do so at the drop of a hat so have a peak here at what is in store.

Meanwhile how apt that Essex Acupuncture Room is actually spending Chinese New Year at this promoting the new change to the clinic (you did know we have moved into our new premises didn’t you?) and the styles of acupuncture used in the clinic.

We also like to party, though perhaps not quite on the London scale!  For our party we will join a few of our favorite  acupuncturists for some fun at what no doubt will be a fabultastic Chinese Meal out. How are you going to bring in the Year of the Snake?

Here’s a few photo’s though there are still bits-n-bobs to be done. It’s looking rather glam compared to before, would you enjoy coming here for acupuncture??

Once we’ve hit Spring, photo’s of the outside will be posted (just waiting for a splash of colour) to show it at it’s best.

• “Ha ha ha, am I imagining this?,  my pain has gone”
• ” I feel like I have just had intravenous Valium”
• “Hey it’s not hurting any more”
• “Pardon, what do you mean I’ve been asleep for an hour!”
• “I can’t believe I can move my arm like this, the pain in my shoulder had stopped me doing this for months”
• “Period pains? huh what period pains!”
• “My knee feel really stable, no more problems with stairs”
• “My sleeping has improved tenfold, its brilliant”
• “Wow”
• “My energy level has really improved”
• “My hot sweats are virtually gone”
• “I want all my friends to come have acupuncture”
• “Everyone should try acupuncture at least once in their life”
• “I am so relieved not to feel so tetchy and panicky, the calmness I get during treatment seems to last for ages”
• “I love acupuncture”
• ” It’s weird but definitely wonderful.  My back pain has gone, yet no needles were ever put there”.
• “First time having acupuncture for pre-birth preparation and I’ve had the best labour”
• “We’re expecting twins”
• “There was no way I could move like this when I arrived”

Now you see why we love this medicine.  Being an acupuncturist is just the best and boy do we appreciate this.

Here at Essex Acupuncture Room, we love to reflect on how things have been.  We think of it as a stock take of the past year.  Here’s some musings:

• Essex Acupuncture Room Community Acupuncture has evolved with a sole practitioner.
• We have moved on, from the comfort zone of our foundation college learning’s to also embracing other methods with resounding results.
• Treatment of pain issues whether it’s osteoarthritis, shoulder impingement problems, tennis elbow, back pain, bursitis, headaches, carpal tunnel, or neck pain have become a main focus.
• Thanks to the implementation of different styles of acupuncture clients are getting the results they want in a relatively short time frame.   Neck pain of 3 years standing, resolved within 2 sessions (though the person still completed a course of treatment). Leg pain of unknown origin within 4 sessions the intensity was hugely reduced to a negligible level, that person had been suffering for 15 years with this.  Folk came in struggling with walking & stair descending within 6 sessions they reported that their knee’s feel like they have been “oiled”
• We have had the privilege to help and work alongside couples on their fertility and pregnancy journeys, with lovely successes.
• Our past and current clients have been amazing ambassadors, referring in their friends and family, this is what creates our current workload.
•  We have a great network of local therapists who refer their clients to us when they believe acupuncture is what is needed. Thank you kind folk.
• Instead of putting money into paid advertising, we preferred to put it into the business to reduce our fees.  Our vision is occurring, we don’t want this medicine to be an elite one, the greater the volume of folk that experience it the better… we say. Why should working class folk be excluded from this wonderful medicine, on financial grounds (oops that’s a different blog).
•  Social networking (not a dirty word by the way) has enabled us to connect with and learn from fellow acupuncturists across the globe.  You my fellow cyber acupuncture mates have opened up so so much to us, and we thank you for that.

We salute you 

Unless you’ve been hiding away on a remote island with no access to radio, television or social media you’ll surely not have escaped the news about Prince William and his wife Kate expecting their first baby.  Sadly according to reports she is suffering from an extreme form of morning sickness, otherwise known as hyperemesis gravidarum.

Pregnancy should be a magical happy time, it’s about growing a new human being, how more amazing can it get!.   To be plagued with ailments such as morning sickness, really can spoil this time for many women.

A priority when treating pregnant women, is safety, for both the woman and the unborn child.  Drugs are often contraindicated during pregnancy, and rightly so.  As such a lot of women think they just have to put up and suffer with ailments during pregnancy.   Absolutely not so, as far as acupuncture is concerned.  Acupuncture has been safely and effectively used during pregnancy for thousands of years.

In the UK the Derriford maternity acupuncture unit in Plymouth has treated an amazing amount of women, very successfully for more than 2 decades.  Currently there is actually a campaign to save this service and signatures on the petition are needed (thanks).

For the record, a study by Caroline Smith, Caroline Crowther and Justin Beilby done in Australia and published in 2002 documented that acupuncture is an effective treatment for morning sickness.

Do pass this information on to any pregnant woman you know that there’s no need to suffer, there are alternative methods for treating their symptoms. Phoning their local acupuncturist for a chat about their concerns is a good first step.

With this in mind Essex Acupuncture Room is really keen to undertake a study (albeit a small one) to build onto the existing body of evidence to support the use of acupuncture in the management of osteoarthritic pain of the knee.

We hope to present our findings to local GP’s to demonstrate that this valuable medicine deserves a place in the health arena.  In this day and age when the focus is on patient choice, then surely if acupuncture works (which it does of course) it should be an accessible choice for folk.

The study will involve 6 treatments usually on a weekly basis, The cost will be just £20 per session which will last for up to 90 minutes.  The aim is to start from 9th of January 2013 on Wednesday mornings between 9.30-1pm.

So if you, or someone you know who you think would benefit from this, do contact us either by phone or email. Also we would like to ask a favour of you,  would you mind sharing this with anyone (local to our clinic) who you think might like to  join this group.  Thank you so much with your help with this, it’s very much appreciated.

Looking forward to hearing from potential folk who want better knee’s