Oxford Acupuncture

Your first appointment takes an hour and a half (follow-ups are 45 minutes) because the acupuncturist needs to take down detailed information about your condition - how long you've had it, how it's changed and what other treatments you've tried. She also wants to find out about your general state of health - your sleep, appetite, digestion and lifestyle. This information helps to uncover imbalances which might be causing or worsening your condition, and to tailor the treatment to your individual needs.

As well as asking questions, the acupuncturist will take your pulse in three different positions on each wrist. Unlike doctors and nurses, she is not feeling solely for the pulse rate, but more for the shape and strength in the different positions.

Practitioners of Chinese Medicine believe that your vital energy, or 'Qi' flows around your body in twelve channels, or meridians (and it's along those channels that acupuncture points are found).