Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine Practice

Dear Friend,

Perhaps you've been putting up with a health condition for some time, and maybe you have tried medication, or other therapies, doing everything you can think of that will improve your health, and you're still having a hard time trying to figure out why it isn't working.

Here, at The Oriental Medicine Practice, in Bristol, we have observed over the last 24 years, that if you give yourself the right conditions: healthy and nutritious diet, appropriate exercise, relaxation, and non-invasive treatments such as acupuncture, shiatsu, nutritional therapies, bowen / NST, massage and reflexology, you will give your body the opportunity for it’s own natural healing powers to start working to take you to a state of health and recovery.

With over 50 years of combined experience between us, we are still astounded at the ability of the human body to recover, often after years of abuse. Naturally we are not implying that it is possible to recover from any condition using natural therapies, sometimes a more intensive approach is required and it is necessary to use pharmaceutical medication and / or surgery. But for those conditions that do not require this level of intervention, natural therapies, that do not produce negative side effects, can often produce results that can seem miraculous.

The treatment you receive from our practice is designed not only to help alleviate your suffering and symptoms, but to deal with the root cause of the problem so that you will not have to experience them again.

Acupuncture is part of a system of healing known as Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), which dates back over five thousand years. TCM is not only the oldest professionally recorded system of medicine on the planet, it is, the system of medicine that has treated the largest number of people in the history of mankind. As a system, Traditional Chinese Medicine includes the use of acupuncture, herbal remedies, massage, nutrition and lifestyle to stimulate the body’s innate healing abilities to restore health and balance.

Acupuncture, the insertion of fine, sterile, needles in specific points of the body, has been shown to be effective in helping a wide range of conditions, some of the more common ailments seen in our clinic are listed below:

Addictions
Allergies
Ankle Swelling
Arm and Shoulder Pain
Arthritis
Attention Deficit Disorder
Back Pain
Bed Wetting
Blood Pressure
Bronchial Conditions
Bursitis
Carpal Tunnel Syndrome
Circulatory Issues
Colds
Colitis
Constipation
Cough
Depression
Detoxification
Diarrhoea
Diverticulitis
Dizziness
Emphysema
Fatigue
Feet
Fibromyalgia
Flu
Gall Bladder Disorders
Gas
Gynecological Concerns
Hay Fever
Headache
Heart Problems Haemorrhoids
Hip Pain
Immune System Deficiency
Indigestion
Infertility
Injuries
Insomnia
Joint Pain
Kidney Problems
Knee Pain
Leg Pain, Cramps
Liver Problems
Neck Pain, Stiffness
Nervousness
Neuralgia
Pain
Pleurisy
PMS
Pregnancy Symptoms
Prostate Problems
Rheumatism
Sciatica
Shingles
Shoulder Pain
Sinus Trouble
Skin Problems
Sports Injuries
Stomach Problems
Sore Throat
Thyroid Conditions
Ulcers
Urinary Problems
Whiplash

If you have any questions about a specific condition we have not listed please feel free to email us, or call us at the clinic on 0117 907 8890.

What will happen when you first come to us.

It is natural for you to feel a little unsure, or even nervous, when you first come the Practice for treatment. When you arrive for the fist time you will be asked to fill out a short medical questionnaire. If you have booked for a free initial consultation you will have the opportunity to tell one of our practitioners more about your condition, and you will be able to ask any questions you want. Between you and the practitioner you will be able to decide whether a course of treatment at the Oriental Medicine Practice is an appropriate course of action.

If you have booked a full consultation and first treatment, your case history will be discussed in detail, we will probably ask you questions that seem to have no relevance to your condition. However, traditional Chinese medicine sees the body as a whole, and a symptom associated with the head could have it’s root in one of the internal organs, so we would ask you questions about your digestion if you came to us with headaches, for example. Depending on how complicated your case history is this consultation can take from twenty minutes to three quarters of an hour to complete.

You will, of course, have chance to ask any questions, and if you want, we will explain your diagnosis, how we intend on treating it and how many treatments we think you will need. (This is always the difficult part as the response to treatment is so individual.)

As a general guideline, the longer you have had your condition, the longer it will take to treat it, so acute conditions like colds or flu, will normally only need one or two treatments. Conditions that are more recent, like sudden pain from an injury or seasonal allergies may require 3 or 4 treatments before symptoms are reduced. Chronic conditions like PMS, asthma, back pain or other problems that you have had for many years may take anywhere from 4 to 10 treatments until you notice significant changes.

What Will Happen in the Treatments?

Whichever therapy you have chosen to help your condition we will always suggest changes that you can make to your lifestyle and diet that will help you improve your health faster.

Acupuncture:

What happens during an acupuncture treatment?

After taking your case history, we will explain, in non-technical language, what we have found, and your traditional Chinese diagnosis, and how it applies to your symptoms. We will then explain where we are going to insert the needles, and if necessary, leave the room to let you adjust any clothing. You will be invited to make yourself comfortable on the treatment couch.

After explaining the sensations you will experience we will insert the needles (90% of our clients do not feel them going in). The needles are very thin (0.2mm), solid, sterile and disposable. You will always be treated with new needles fresh from a sterile packet. When the acupuncture points are stimulated you will experience a dull aching sensation, or an electrical, tingling sensation. This is a positive sign that the needles are doing their job. In most cases the needles will stay in for about 20 minutes.

We will turn down the lights, play some soothing, gentle music, and leave you to relax. Most of our clients find that acupuncture is very pleasant, and that they feel relaxed and rejuvenated after a session.

Did you know that there are many different styles of acupuncture being practiced, but that only one style has over 30,000 professional level texts written on it, and over 100,000 research papers published on it each year?

The style of acupuncture that we use is a style known as TCM (Traditional Chinese Medicine). As you look for information on acupuncture you will probably find information on many different styles; Japanese acupuncture, Korean acupuncture, Five Element Acupuncture, and others.

We use, and recommend, TCM acupuncture, as this is the style practiced and taught in China, it is the predominant professional style of acupuncture practiced world wide, and has over 30,000 professional texts written, and over 100,000 research papers published every year. No other style of acupuncture can boast this level of research and study.

What to look for when choosing a practitioner

Now that many of the established alternative medicine treatments have been intensively researched there can be little doubt that therapies such as acupuncture do, indeed work. However the difficulty many people have, is knowing what to look for when searching for a practitioner. In our opinion you should look for the following attributes:

Experience: – we would recommend that you see a practitioner with at least 5 years experience as a professional practitioner, and that they have experience in treating the condition that you that you are going with.

Qualifications and Registration:- check that your practitioner is registered with one of the main national registers, and that they are properly qualified, and have not just attended a short one or two weekend course.

Free Initial Consultations:- Does the practitioner offer a free initial consultation to see if you feel comfortable in receiving treatment from that person? In our experience, you will have better results from your treatments when you feel relaxed and confident with the practitioner you are seeing.

Other therapies that we practice: (please click on the link below to find out more)

• Acupuncture

• Cosmetic / Facial Rejuvenation Acupuncture

• Shiatsu
  

• Nutritional Counseling
  

• Food Intolerance Testing

• NST - NeuroStructural Integration Technique (Bowen Technique)
  

• Holistic Massage
  

• Reflexology

Who Are We?

My name is Keith Ferris, I started practicing traditional Chinese massage in 1970 whilst studying martial arts. I gradually became more interested in the healing arts and in the 1980’s I studied, and qualified in, shiatsu and acupuncture. After completing a three year course in acupuncture at the London School of Acupuncture and Traditional Chinese Medicine, I studied traditional Chinese massage and acupuncture in Shanghai. Having travelled numerous times to China over the last 15 years I have been fortunate to have studied with some of the leading Chinese professors of Traditional Chinese Medicine and acupuncture.

I have taught Oriental medicine, including acupuncture at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels for 16 years, and in 2004 I was appointed as visiting professor to The Zhejiang Medical University in Hangzhou, China. I also hold qualifications in nutrition and belong to several professional bodies including The British Acupuncture Council, The British Register of Complementary Practitioners, and The Register of Nutritional Therapists. I have now been practicing professionally for over 20 years, and have completed over 20,000 recorded treatments.

As a qualified, professional practitioner, I've spent more than two decades working with people of with many different conditions; muscular-skeletal problems such as arthritis, sports injuries, back and neck pain, digestive conditions such as IBS, ulcers, indigestions, inflammatory bowel conditions, poor absorption; gynecological conditions such as menstrual pain, irregular periods, endometriosis, thrush, infertility, delayed start of labour ; emotional conditions such as anxiety, panic attacks, depression, anger, fear; and many others, including fatigue, insomnia, skin conditions.

I’ve lost count of the long hours and late nights spent reviewing the latest scientific research in the areas of acupuncture and natural health. Over the years, I’ve learned what works and what doesn't.

Liz Ferris

Liz (yes, we are related, we’ve been married for 20 years), started her shiatsu practice in 1982, and has been teaching since 1987. Liz has remained passionate about bodywork and has expanded her repertoire of skills to include Bowen / NeuroStructural Integration Technique and cranial-sacral therapy, she is also a fully qualified and registered acupuncture practitioner. In her practice she treats a wide range of conditions including musculo-skeletal conditions, digestive, hormonal, reproductive and emotional conditions.

Claire Mincher

Claire has been practicing acupuncture since 2002. As part of her training she attended an advanced clinical training at the Zhejiang College of Traditional Chinese Medicine in China, where she was awarded a Certificate in Clinical Acupuncture. Claire is a qualified massage practitioner, specialising in holistic and deep tissue massage.

Dona Bratchie

Dona’s interest in Reflexology began after she started having treatment to help her conceive her second child. She qualified from the International Institute of Reflexology. Dona uses Reflexology to help treat a wide range of conditions.