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“Use Acupuncture from the outside in, and herbs from the inside out, then disease will find no escape” Sun Si Miao 孫思邈
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What happens during a Chinese Medicine treatment?
Classical Chinese Herbal Medicine
The initial consultation will begin with discussing your main discomforts and going over your medical history.
Various traditional questions may be asked about your lifestyle, diet, sleep, energy levels, bowel movements, urination, menstrual patterns (when relevant), or about the location and nature of any pain. Questions such as what improves the symptoms and what makes them worse may also be asked.
Other questions such as enquiring about appetite, abnormal sweating or lack of sweating, thirst, dizziness, aversion to wind, cold or heat may be asked depending upon the presenting condition or what is felt during the Pulse Diagnosis.
Traditional Pulse Diagnosis is a key part of the consultation and reflects what is happening within the body from an Eastern Medicine point of view.
Both radial artery pulses at the wrist will be felt and inspection of the Tongue for diagnosis may be performed.
Often I will perform Abdominal Diagnosis as well to expand and confirm the Diagnosis of your Pulse and key symptoms.
In some cases where the follow up consultations occur by Phone or the Internet, obviously it is not possible to perform Pulse or Abdominal Diagnosis, so I will focus on the current symptom picture and be informed by the previous Pulse and Abdominal Diagnosis. I may also look at the Tongue and ask a few more questions.
Chinese Herbal Granules
I then will prescribe a granulated Classical Chinese Herbal Medicine formula.
This formula is made up the following day after a Live Consultation, or sometimes the formula can be made up the same day as a Phone or Internet consultation if time permits, and then the formula will be posted to your home, or a clinic pick up time can be arranged.
I only use high quality water-soluble herbal granules. These granules have been tested for both the quality and presence of active ingredients within each herb as well as tested for any impurities such as herbicides, pesticides or heavy metals.
These high quality herbal granules also go through a process of essential oil extraction and re-introduction. This means that during the granulation process, the essential oils within each herb are extracted to preserve the therapeutic qualities found within the essential oils. At the end of the granulation process, these essential oils are reintroduced to the granules preserving the therapeutic potency of each herb.
Some cheaper herbal granule brands use a thicker bonding agent to act as a preservative. In my own clinical experience sometimes these thicker bonding agents can upset the digestive system. Plus I find such granules to have a slower therapeutic action for the client.
The granules that I use are water-soluble, thus they dissolve easily in boiling water and are easier to digest.
Because of the preservation of essential oils within each granulated herb, ginger smells like ginger, cinnamon smells like cinnamon. The feedback that I have obtained from clients over the years has been considerably more positive using the higher quality water soluble herbal granules compared to using other cheaper herbal granules.
A measuring spoon will be provided. Each dosage of herbal granules is combined with boiling water in a coffee cup and then mixed thoroughly to dissolve the granules. The herbs can be allowed to cool slightly but always should be taken warm or hot.
When using the herbal granules you do not need to spend extra time simmering herbs in a pot, all you need to do is boil the kettle.
Typically people will be instructed to take the herbs in boiling water twice a day, thirty minutes before meals or one hour after a meal so the herbs don’t compete for absorption within the digestive system. In severe cases you may be instructed to take the herbs three times a day.
Once the main symptoms have settled down, or for health maintenance, you may be instructed to take the herbs only once per day.
Acupuncture and Pyonex press needles
During the initial consultation, we will discuss your medical history and current main discomforts. The consultation will include Pulse Diagnosis taken at the pulses on your wrist, and sometimes the pulse in your feet may be inspected.
I may inspect your Tongue for diagnosis and may then perform an Abdominal Diagnosis once you are on the treatment table.
With the Master Nagano Style of Acupuncture I will also palpate the Acupuncture points and Acupuncture channels and may find a specific point that relieves other tender points or that improves a symptom or range of motion, or a point that improves your pulse diagnosis findings.
The needles can be removed after the Acupuncture technique is performed on a specific point, but usually the needles are retained for between 10-30 minutes, with 22 minutes being the average retention time.
I only use very high quality disposable Acupuncture needles that are made in Japan.
Seirin Acupuncture needles are widely regarded as one of the best and most gentle Acupuncture needles around and are made with surgical stainless steel. They are super smooth to a microscopic level and generally you don’t feel the needles being inserted. If the needle is close to a pore of the skin or a hair follicle, and a slight discomfort is felt, I will take out the needles and re-insert them.
I may use Pyonex press needles that are also made by the Seirin Acupuncture Needle Company in Japan and thus are very high quality.
These are microscopic needles that look like a little circular button attached to an adhesive plaster. They are completely pain free upon application. The adhesive plaster is made from micropore surgical tape that allows the skin to breath.
Pyonex needles are ideal for a person who is needle phobic or for children, however commonly they are used at the end of the Acupuncture treatment in order to continue the treatment of certain key Acupuncture points over the days following the Acupuncture treatment.
Moxibustion and Heat Therapy
I also may use either a heat lamp over the affected area, or I may use high quality Japanese Moxibustion punk that are made into small cones or into rice-grain size moxa grains for direct Moxibustion heat therapy.
“Moxa” (灸) is the dried and refined leaves of the Mugwort plant (Artemesia Vulgaris). It is burned over the skin until either a warm sensation is felt or a small concentrated heat sensation is felt and then the Moxa is removed. The Moxa does not burn the skin in a normal Moxibustion Treatment.
The name for Acupuncture therapy in China is “Zhen-Jiu”, literally “Needle-Moxa”(针灸). Moxa therapy is excellent for invigorating blood flow, treating painful conditions, warming cold areas and strengthening the function of the body. It is used for weak or under-functioning areas and traditionally is used to build the person’s vital energy or “Qi” ( 氣).
Moxa is extremely useful in the recovery process after surgery or for acute muscular-skeletal injuries.
I can also employ the use of a “Tiger Warmer” which is a small metal tube with an incense stick inside.
The incense stick is lit and creates a mild warmth on the metal tube covering the incense stick. The Tiger Warmer is then applied directly to the skin in flowing movements creating a soothing feeling of gentle warmth on the skin.
The gentle warm flowing movement of the Tiger Warmer is quite relaxing and comforting for the person receiving it while also therapeutically encouraging blood flow in the local body tissues, and benefiting the flow of vital energy in the Acupuncture meridians of the body.
Some scaring techniques such as rice grain size Moxibustion scaring do exist in Chinese Medicine, however these techniques are only done in a very few select cases for severe conditions with permission from the client. I do not normally use such techniques on Australian clients. For the vast majority of people it is not necessary.
Traditional Suction Cupping
Traditional therapeutic suction cupping has a long history going back to ancient Egypt! It is believed that ancient Celtic people also used hollow animal horns combined with fire to create a therapeutic suction cupping effect on the body.
In the middle ages, suction cupping was popular in France and Europe, however the French appear to have learnt cupping from the Vietnamese.
Some older Greek clients have told me that cupping was used therapeutically in their families when they were children. I was told that cupping was brought to the Greeks when Alexander the Great conquered parts of Asia.
Traditional cupping is often performed in Acupuncture clinics. I normally use a Korean glass cupping set with a pump that provides the suction in the cup. Traditionally in Chinese Medicine we use a flame inside a glass cup to create the vacuum suction effect, however I prefer to use the Korean pump cupping without the flame so there is greater control over the pressure of the cupping and so that people uncomfortable with the flame cupping can relax.
Cupping improves blood blow in the local body tissues and is excellent for tight muscles, especially when the tension is at the deeper layers of the muscle tissue that is harder to get to with massage.
Cupping draws the blood to the surface of the skin and traditionally is used both at the beginning of a cold and flu when there is a slight “chill and tightness” in the neck and upper back. Plus, it is used during a cold and flu when there is a cough or lingering internal heat or cold.
The cupping process traditionally is believed to “draw toxins to the surface” such as “wind-cold” and “ wind-heat”. This includes when one has been out in a windy environment and gotten a slight chill causing tightness of the muscles in the neck and shoulders. A person is particularly vulnerable to environmental wind when they are very tired, often during exposure to wind while sweating when the pores of the skin are open. Or if a person has just come out of a very hot room and immediately goes into very cold or windy weather.
In the clinical experience of modern Chinese Medicine Doctors, cupping appears to help relax the inflammatory process in both the tissues of the body and in the Lungs. Modern research supports this (eg. “Cupping Therapy as an Anti-inflammation Therapy and Immunomodulator in Cancer Patients”, Nooshin Abbasi et al. Journal of Gastrointestinal Cancer (2023) 54: 3-5).
Even though it is best to get cupping early after becoming unwell, cupping can be used for both Acute and Chronic conditions.
After receiving cupping treatment it is common for a small round discolouration to appear on the skin. As the blood is sucked to the surface of the skin, thus improving blood flow in the local tissues, if there is any type of “stagnation” in the body this will show up in the cupping marks.
When there are darker cupping marks appearing on the body after receiving cupping this can indicate that the blood circulation is stagnant in the local area. If there is a lighter discolouration on the skin, this may indicate that either wind or cold that has lodged in the local area. Very pale dark cupping marks that disappear after taking off the cups may also indicate that the blood in the body needs to be strengthened.
The skin discolouration that may occur after therapeutic cupping usually disappears after a few days or after a week or more if there is more severe stagnation.
Many elite athletes use Chinese Medical Cupping regularly for recovery from injury and for helping to improve blood flow in their muscles while training. It is very common to see Olympic athletes in swimming and cycling events with cupping discolorations on their backs or legs. So when we receive therapeutic cupping we are in very good company!
Please Note:
Heat Cupping using a naked flame if performed correctly should not blister the skin. The lip of the cup only becomes overheated when the person giving the cupping has not been properly trained in Chinese Medicine and usually has not completed a tertiary level Degree course in Chinese Medicine.
Traditional Cupping therapy should not be a scaring or blistering technique. It is not what cupping should be.
If there is a specific need to use a more intensive technique, this should always be performed with the consent of the client in advance.
“Gua Sha”
Gua Sha (刮痧) also called “scraping” or “spooning” is a traditional Chinese Medical practice that is often done at home in many Asian societies.
Gua Sha is sometimes traditionally performed very intensely, however this is not the style that I practice.
Gua Sha can leave a discolouration on the skin similar to therapeutic cupping that normally goes away after a few days or a week depending upon the level of stagnation in the body that the individual has.
Sometimes this discolouration is very light and mild, other times the discolouration can be darker, however if I think a darker discolouration will remain after treatment, I will always inform the client and seek their consent to continue.
Gua Sha, like cupping therapy is often used for colds and flu or for muscular-skeletal conditions. Commonly a light application of Gua Sha is all that is needed to open the skin pores and allow the environmental influences such as wind or cold to be released after being out in the cold and windy weather.
At the very early stage of a cold or flu, when the person only feels a slight chill, aversion to wind and cold and tightness in the neck or upper back and no other symptoms, this is the time to have Gua Sha as soon as possible.
For deeper heat related conditions, or for Chronic problems related to lingering cold and flu symptoms, a combination of Gua Sha and Cupping can also be used.
“Gua” (刮) means to scrape or remove.
“Sha” (痧) means a toxin that is acute.
Traditionally “ Sha” is often called “wind toxin”
The traditional purpose of performing Gua Sha is to bring the blood to the surface of the tissues, thus pushing out any environmental factors (traditionally called “toxins”), and move the blood circulation to relieve discomfort.
However, Gua Sha can be used for other purposes. Such as invigorating blood flow in many chronic conditions such as chronic cough, improving blood circulation and assisting muscular function in most muscular-skeletal conditions, and can also be used in some fatigue conditions along side other treatments such as Herbal Medicine or Moxibustion.
Gua Sha is traditionally used to invigorate blood flow thus helping the flow of vital energy or “Qi” (氣) over certain Acupuncture meridian points that relate to the body’s internal organs. Historically in Chinese Medicine practice this has been used to help strengthen the body’s overall function and improve energy levels and is also used when the person is healthy and without illness as a form of preventative medicine.
Other traditional non-insertion Acupuncture meridian tools for external use
In ancient times there were nine needles used in Acupuncture practice. Only one was used for Acupuncture therapy skin insertion, other tools were used for bleeding, “fire-needling” and Acupuncture point or meridian massage.
In Traditional Japanese Acupuncture practices, some of the Acupuncture meridian tools for brushing, tapping, dispersing or massaging the meridians or Acupuncture points are still being used today. These tools can be used either at the beginning or the end of an Acupuncture treatment or as a part of the treatment to improve the flow of energy within the meridians.
Non-insertion Acupuncture tools can be used to relax an area of the body or can be used for dispersing stubborn areas of stagnation. Often these tools are made of silver and are applied by brushing or tapping the meridians and surrounding tissues. The use of these non-insertion Acupuncture tools after an Acupuncture treatment can feel quite soothing and relaxing. I normally used these tools in conjunction with an extended Acupuncture treatment or briefly to complete the treatment.
Treatment Prices
Initial Consultation
Initial consultation (with Acupuncture treatment or Classical Chinese Herbal Medicine consultation) ~ $140 (60-90 minutes)
Double initial consultation (Acupuncture and Classical Chinese Herbal Medicine) (up to 90 minutes) ~ $160
Extended 2-hour Initial consultation for Classical Chinese Herbal Medicine: $200
Follow up consultations and treatments
Follow up consultation (Acupuncture treatment only or Herbal medicine consultation only) ~ $85 (60 minutes)
Follow up 90 minutes Herbal Consultation (per person) ~ $115
Follow up for combined Acupuncture treatment and Chinese Herbal Medicine consultation ~ $115 (up to 90 minutes)
Extended 2-hour follow up consultation for Classical Chinese Herbal Medicine: $170
Follow up treatments plus additional therapies
Follow up Acupuncture consultation with extra treatment (Moxibustion or Cupping or Gua Sha etc.) ~ $115 (up to 90 minutes) Follow up Acupuncture treatment with added Pyonex press needles:
$85 plus an additional charge of $5 -$15 depending upon the number of Pyonex used.
Follow up treatment with Pyonex press needles only (No Acupuncture needles inserted): $85
Cupping only treatment (often combined with some therapeutic massage): $100 (up to 60 minutes)
*The above prices may vary if travel outside of the Gold Coast is required.
International Online Consultations
Please contact Mark directly for consultation fees and appointment availability.
How much does a Chinese Herbal Medicine granule formula cost?
The weekly cost of a Chinese Herbal Medicine granulated formula varies according to the herbs needed and the daily dosage required.
In Classical Chinese Herbal Medicine Formulas we tend not to use some of the most expensive herbs in Chinese Medicine such as Cordyceps (Dong Chong Xia Cao - 冬虫夏草) , however some of the commonly used herbs such as Ginseng (Ren Shen-人参 ) or Pinellia (Ban Xia – 半夏) are more expensive than others.
The daily dosage needed for the individual may affect the weekly cost of the herbs. For severe or acute problems a higher daily dose is often initially prescribed. For milder problems, younger people or for maintenance treatment a lower daily dose of herbal granules is often used. Or a half dose may be prescribed for health maintenance after the main complaints have ceased or greatly minimised.
To give an example about dosage, a granule formula lasting 2 weeks and a day at the higher daily dose might cost around $65 per week. This same formula taken at the lower daily dosage would last around 3 weeks, thus bringing down the weekly cost of the formula to around $46.60
The weekly cost of a granulated herbal formula can vary from $45 to $78 approximately. To reiterate this depends completely upon the herbs used and the daily dosage required for the individual’s needs.
“Jing Fang benefits people.”
经方惠民 jīng fāng huì mín
Professor Huang Huang