Acupuncture acts via various physiological mechanisms, which vary with the type of acupuncture treatment used. In summary, it regulates your body, activating its inbuilt self-healing mechanisms, prompting it to return to a state of 'homeostasis', ie health and balance.

Some of the specific ways it can act include improving blood flow, stimulating the release of neurotransmitters and other pain-relieving biochemicals, reducing inflammation, modulating the immune system, and regulating the nervous system.

Note there are many different types of acupuncture treatments available, which each have different functions.

For more information about acupuncture's various physiological effects, check out www.evidencebasedacupuncture.org.

Acupuncture has “moderate to strong evidence of effectiveness in the treatment of 46 conditions” and evidence of effect for 117 conditions. There have now been over 13,000 studies into how acupuncture works (including almost 1000 systemic reviews).

Much less that you would expect - most of my clients who are nervous about needles have been pleasantly surprised by how comfortable and relaxing my acupuncture treatments are.

To ensure your session is as comfortable and stress-free as possible, I only use high quality, sterile, surgical stainless steel needles, and also apply a range of comfort measures to minimise any discomfort involved and ensure your session is as comfortable and relaxing as possible.

Let me know if you are nervous about needles (or have needle phobia) before your treatment, and we can discuss whether ‘minimally invasive’ acupuncture is right for you. This involves using minimal quantity of extra fine needles in low sensitivity areas only.

Acupuncture has a cumulative, compounding effect, meaning that a series of regular 'doses' (treatments) are needed to experience the full benefits.

The number of treatments you will need depends on factors such as your age, the severity of the issue, how long you have had it for, your lifestyle, and what your overall health is like.

It takes a course of treatments to experience the full effects of acupuncture. For a short term issue, you may only need a couple of sessions to experience relief. For chronic and severe conditions, you may need regular treatment over a long period of time to experience the full effects.

I am registered with all major health funds, and offer on-the-spot claiming for acupuncture treatments.

Note a couple of funds, including HCF, are not able to be claimed through my Healthpoint terminal - you can claim with those manually (online).

I am also registered as a Chinese herbalist, so you can claim for Chinese herbal consultations if covered by your health fund.

.Acupuncture has a cumulative, compounding effect, meaning that a series of regular 'doses' (treatments) are needed to experience the full benefits.

As a general rule, for minor or recent issues, only a few treatments may be needed. For chronic issues, a long period of regular treatment is often needed to experience the full effects.

For women’s health / gynaecological issues including pelvic pain, it takes several cycles of weekly treatment to experience significant changes - expect to work together over at least 3-6 cycles. For fertility, expect to work together weekly over at least 3-12 cycles.

Acupuncture from a trained acupuncturist is “one of the safer medical treatments available”, according to this 2021 research review published in the British Medical Journal.

Acupuncture is safe to use alongside medications including includes immunosuppressants and blood thinning medications, when administered by a licensed acupuncturist.

Some medical interventions can make people less responsive to acupuncture. One of these is steroid injections. If you are looking for help with pain relief, I advise waiting at least 8 weeks after your last injection before starting acupuncture, to ensure you get the full benefit from treatment.

All information you provide, and what happens in our sessions, is kept strictly confidential.

The exception to this is where I am legally required to break this, but these scenarios are rare.

There is 3 hour free patient parking at Flecker House - enter the carpark from either the Upward or Grafton St entrances, and park in any of the patient allocated carparks