Your first visit, what to expect?
Before We Begin
Before we begin the examination and diagnosis, I take a moment to get to know you. Not only your symptoms matter, but also how things are for you, what challenges you’re facing, and what helps you feel at ease.
Assessing Your Health
A consultation takes about one hour. Before starting the treatment, I carry out the anamnesis and check how you are doing and whether there has been any progress since your last appointment. I will read your pulse and ask you to show your tongue so that I can examine it.
By observing the pulse and tongue, I can make a diagnosis according to Chinese Medicine. Based on this diagnosis, I will create a personalized treatment plan and estimate how many sessions may be needed to address your complaint effectively.
The Acupuncture Treatment
When you lie down on the treatment table, a few very fine needles are placed in specific areas such as the legs, feet, hands, arms, or abdomen. Sometimes points on the back, neck, or head are also used. You can always keep your underwear on, including your bra.
The hair-thin needles are inserted with great precision, usually about 10 to 15 per session. All needles are sterile, individually packaged, and used only once.
Acupuncture is generally not painful. You may feel a brief, light prick as the needle passes through the skin. Once the needle is in place, you might experience a mild sensation such as tingling, heaviness, or a small “shock.” Acupuncturists refer to this as De Qì, it means that the Qi (energy) has arrived at the point and the treatment can begin to take effect.
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Below you can read more about other treatment techniques: auriculo therapy (ear-acupuncture), Chinese herbs, moxa, and cupping.
Healing with Chinese Herbs
A skilled herbalist will give you a correct diagnosis after doing the anamnesis. He will compose, by knowledge of hundreds of Chinese herbs and formulas, a personalized recipe for your complaint .
In recent years I have immersed myself in the study of Chinese herbs. And in the years to come I will keep training this craft.
Since prescribing herbal formulas to patients, treatment outcomes have improved significantly. As medicinal herbs are taken daily, the body can be strengthened or nourished from within.
There are formulas that help warm, or help cool. there are formulas that harmonize and soothe. Chinese herbs are used for chronic complaints that are difficult to treat with acupuncture alone.
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Auriculotherapy: The Ear as a Mirror of Your Health
Tiny needles are inserted into specific points on the ear, covered with a small plaster, and can remain in place for up to six days. You can shower, sleep, and move around as usual. If needed, I combine ear and body acupuncture within the same session.
Reflex points on the ear are especially sensitive when there is an imbalance somewhere in the body. Every part of the body can be found reflected in the ear: areas of the ear correspond not only to physical structures of the musculoskeletal or nervous system, but also to the organs, endocrine functions, and brain functions.
Auriculotherapy can be used to support smoking cessation or the reduction of other addictions. It can also help relieve pain through ear stimulation and offers support in cases of excessive stress or sleep problems.
VAS The Pulse as a Guide
In auriculotherapy, I use the VAS (The Vascular Autonomic Signal) as a diagnostic tool. The VAS is a subtle change in the pulse that occurs when a specific point on the ear is touched. This reaction comes from the autonomic nervous system and provides information about what the body needs at that moment.
By carefully listening to this small change in the pulse, I can determine which points on the ear are relevant for your treatment. The VAS helps make each session even more precise and individually tailored.
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Cupping: Moving Stagnant Qi
Cupping is a massage technique that is widely used in Eastern medicine.
Toxins in muscles and joints are not always easily broken down by the body. This can cause blockages and inconveniences. Cupping brings these toxins to the surface of the skin. Because of this, cupping helps detoxify the body.
Special glass cups are applied vacuum to the skin. The muscles and skin get well blooded, making it easier for the body to remove waste materials, resulting in overall relaxation.
A red spot may be visible locally after a cupping treatment. This is normal and the stain will disappear after a few days. When the redness has disappeared, there will also be an improvement in symptoms.
Cupping is not used in every treatment, but it is used, for example, for a cold, stiff muscles or back pain.
I have no experience with ‘wet cupping’, that is not a form of cupping therapy that I offer.
Moxa: Nourishing with Warmth
Moxa is an herb that’s called mugwort herb in English.
Moxa therapy is an addition to acupuncture treatment and part of Chinese medicine. It is used to combat pain and strengthen organs. It helps with scar treatment.
A moxa stick looks a lot like a big cigar. When you light it, it spreads an intense heat radiation over the acupuncture point, which is very pleasant and not at all painful.
During a treatment it is possible that the meridians, acupuncture points, reflex points and scars are treated. The heat treatment with Moxa gives a deep effect on a physical and energetic level. Moxa dissipates cold and strengthens the Yang energy.
