Other Manual Therapies

Some of these therapies are included without added fee during or at the end of an acupuncture session. Some of them are therapies I can teach you to continue with at home and may have a cost for instruction or needed tools or product. Feel free to ask me what might be right for you.

Wearable press needles

For those wanting an at-home treatment option, press needles are very tiny specialized acupuncture needles attached to your skin with stickers. Because the ones I use are only 0.3mm, 0.6mm, or 0.9mm long, they do not enter past the skin layers, so they can be safely worn for days and can be easily thrown in the garbage when you are finished with them.

Press needles can be mailed to patients with instructions of how and where to apply them. I may also put them on you during or at the end of your acupuncture session to prolong the benefits or be able to gently stimulate points that you find otherwise too sensitive.

I can include a few press needles for free as part of your treatment, as suitable or you may choose to buy some from me to use them at home.

To find out more about press needles, you can check out my instructional video on how to use them.

* Note that they should not be applied to open or broken skin and should be removed if you find you are sensitive to the adhesive.

Ear acupuncture or ear seeds 

Ear acupuncture is a whole TCM treatment system of its own. Paul Nogier, MD is the most recognized creator of today’s modern ear acupuncture system, using a representation of a whole person on the ear. Imagine how you were shortly before being born, in fetal position upside-down. Now place an image of that on the ear and you can imagine the Nogier ear chart.

Ear acupuncture is often employed to calm the nervous system and is commonly used to treat and help manage addictions–drug, smoking, alcohol, food, and so forth. It can, however, also be applied for a wide range of conditions. 

Ear seeds use the same system, but instead of needles, small seeds (vaccaria seeds; known in TCM as wang bu liu xing), magnets, or metal balls are place on the points and held with little stickers so they can be worn for a few days.

I might put ear seeds on you during treatment with instructions to leave them on for three or more days, no longer than a week, occasionally stimulating them by pressing on them. I might also mail them or give them to you for your own home treatment.

If you want fancy ear seeds, I have beautiful Swarovski crystal ear seeds in various colours with a gold-plated metal ball to stimulate the points. There is little to no cost for the plain ear seeds. The Swarovski seeds are $2 each.

* Note that they should not be applied to open or broken skin and should be removed if you find you are sensitive to the adhesive.

Cupping 

Cupping is another common technique. I now use special silicone cups, but glass, bamboo, or plastic cups are also available.

Suction is obtained with the silicone cups by simply squeezing or pressing on them and then applying them to the chosen area of the body, ensuring a seal, and letting go. Glass cups (and bamboo, though these are not common in North America) are applied using a flame which is quickly inserted and removed from the cup (generating negative pressure suction). Plastic cups use of a small pump to remove the air.

The cup can either be left stationary or moved with the assistance of oil. Sometimes cups are placed over needles to increase stimulation. The purpose is to relax muscles, warm and promote the free flow of Qi and blood, dispel Cold and Dampness (TCM terms), and reduce swelling and pain.

I think of cupping like a “reverse massage,” lifting up and stretching the tissue to release it instead of pressing on it.

Cupping is likely to leave some temporary skin marks that look like bruises or hickeys. They are purplish or red in colour and go away after as little as an hour if the suction was very mild or the time left in one spot is minimal. Moving the cups with oil makes cupping marks less likely. There is also the risk of blisters is cupping is left too intense, so if you apply the cups on your own at home, make sure you follow the instructions not to leave them for too long or too tight.

I can teach you how to use the silicone cups at home. Physiotherapists and other manual therapists are now using this traditional therapy and it is sometimes called myofascial cupping or myofascial decompression.

I don’t charge extra for cupping done as part of an acupuncture session, but it is dependent on time I have to do it.

Acupressure 

Acupressure is a highly recognized form of treatment and it is often incorporated into some forms of massage treatments, including tui na, the Chinese medicine form of massage.

I do not do much tui na or acupuncture in my practice, but I’m happy to instruct you on how you can use this wonderful therapy on your own.

For some basics tips, check on my instructional blog: How to do acupressure and tips to find acupoints.

Electroacupuncture 

Electroacupuncture is the use of an electric device that transmits a mild electrical current either via pads place on the body or via clips that are attached to acupuncture needles.

I don’t use a lot of electroacupuncture in my practice, as I find manual stimulation of the needles is normally enough and most effective and comfortable. However, there may be situations, such as in stroke recovery or specific techniques where electroacupuncture is a suitable therapy. It will always be set at an intensity that remains comfortable. There is no added fee for electroacupuncture.