Category: Acupuncture

Acupressure as self-care for long COVID

Last weekend, I had the opportunity to attend an online conference from Hong Kong on Chinese medicine for COVID and long COVID.  Tele-health delivery of Chinese medicine has been encouraged in Hong Kong during the pandemic. Chinese medicine practitioners from Hong Kong, mainland China United Kingdom of Britain, United States of America and other countries... Read more

Acupuncture, post-COVID condition and long COVID

Since January 2022, in our Geelong clinic we have seen more and more patients who have had COVID-19. Some patients came to us within a few weeks of diagnosis, presenting with fatigue, brain fog, loss of smell, feeling cold and / or short of breath. Let us call this post-COVID condition. Others came to us... Read more

Morning sickness and self-care

Most pregnant women (half to two-thirds) will experience morning sickness in the first trimester. The degree of morning sickness varies from mild to severe (hyperemesis gravidarum). The symptoms include nausea, vomiting, loss of appetite and psychological effects (anxiety and depression) (Better Health Channel, 2022; Murkoff, 2016). Morning sickness is generally worse early in the day,... Read more

My life is upside down: insomnia, depression, anxiety and hot flushes during perimenopause: Part 2 Acupuncture and Chinese medicine

In part 1, we explained the complex factors contributing to menopausal related insomnia, hot flushes and mood changes.  This part 2 explains how Chinese medicine understands the complex interaction, and how acupuncture might provide a promising approach to comorbid depression and insomnia in perimenopause. For detailed information, please read a recent review by researchers from... Read more

Treatment principles used to support fertility in Chinese medicine

In the previous blog Fertility support in Chinese medicine, we talked about the importance of taking basal body temperature (BBT). Today I would like to briefly introduce the treatment principles used by practitioners in the Geelong Chinese medicine clinic to support fertility.  In Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), regulating menstruation is very important in treating infertility... Read more

Fertility support in Chinese medicine

What is infertility? WHO (2020) defines infertility as a disease of the male or female reproductive system by the failure to conceive after 12 months or more regular unprotected sexual intercourse.    Globally, infertility affects millions of people. Infertility can be caused by abnormalities of ovaries, uterus or fallopian tubes etc. for females,  while by... Read more

How do we put on weight? -Chinese medicine perspective

It is commonly known that weight gain occurs when there’s an imbalance between energy intake and expenditure. But how do we see weight gain in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM)?  There are four main reasons to gain weight from the TCM perspective (Li, 2014) : Firstly, heat in the stomach combined with poor digestion due to... Read more

Menopause, Sleep, Depression and Anxiety

In our previous blog, we talked about mid-life transition. In women, this transition is obvious as menstruation starts to become irregular. The average age for this transition is about 47 years old, and this phase may last for 4 years. People are familiar with hot flushes and night sweats, however changes in sleep and mood... Read more

Insomnia, Sleep and Sleep hygiene

Cannot fall sleep at night, frequent waking up, or waking up at 1 or 3 o’clock in the morning? You are not alone.  Based on a 2019 Sleep Health Foundation report that at least one in two adult Australians experiences one of the above mentioned sleep problems three or more times per week; and one... Read more

Mid-life wellbeing

I attended a seminar last week about mid-life wellbeing. The middle-age individuals are those between 45 to 65 years old. Mid-life is the phase when one faces physical, mental and societal challenges.  The top health issues during this phase are reduced immunity, weight gain, fragile bones, and increased incidence of cancer. On the one hand... Read more