Japanese acupuncture

Acupuncture is a system of healing that began in China more than two thousand years ago. Very fine needles are placed at specific points on the body to help it heal itself.

In traditional terms, good health depends on strong, freely flowing qi, or vital energy, and a balance between yin and yang. When qi is weak or blocked, or yin and yang fall out of balance, pain and illness can follow. Acupuncture works to strengthen qi and clear the blockages in the meridians, the channels it flows through.

Japanese acupuncture and Toyohari

Acupuncture came to Japan from China about 1,500 years ago. Over the centuries, Japanese practitioners adapted it in their own way. Japanese styles were shaped by a long tradition of blind practitioners, who worked by touch, and by Zen Buddhism.

Japanese acupuncture is known for being gentle in approach yet effective. The needles are finer than in most Chinese styles, and insertions are shallower.

Robert practices Toyohari, a Japanese meridian therapy, and combines it with traditional Chinese techniques.

What happens in a treatment

Toyohari uses four ways of assessing your health:

1. Your health history. What hurts, how long it has, and what else is going on in your health.
2. Your tongue. Its shape, size and color, and its coating, show a good deal about your overall state of health.
3. Your pulse. Chinese medicine describes at least 20 pulse qualities, such as soft or wiry, superficial or deep. Robert reads the pulse at both wrists.
4. Your abdomen. Gentle touch on the abdomen shows more about the state of different organ systems.

Together these show Robert which systems need the most support. The treatment then has two parts. The root treatment strengthens and balances the underlying pattern and your overall vitality. The branch treatment works on your symptoms directly.

Does acupuncture hurt?

Rarely. Toyohari uses a very gentle “touch needle” technique, where the needle touches the skin but isn’t inserted. For pain and inflammation, Robert usually inserts needles, and most people feel little or no discomfort.

You may notice a slight pinprick, a mild tingling or a dull ache where a needle goes in. Now and then a needle finds a “zingy” spot, but the feeling passes quickly. Bleeding is rare, and when it happens it is less than a pinprick.

Do I need to get undressed?

It depends on where the problem is. Robert may need to reach your back or hips for back pain or sciatica, for example. He will tell you what needs to be uncovered before you start.

How soon will I notice a difference?

Some people feel better after the first visit. For others it takes several sessions. The effects tend to build from one visit to the next, and a typical course is 5 to 15 weekly sessions. Robert will give you a plan at your first visit. See what to expect at your first visit.

What the research says

Research suggests acupuncture can help with chronic pain. A 2012 analysis of acupuncture for chronic pain pooled data from clinical trials on back and neck pain, osteoarthritis, chronic headache and shoulder pain, and concluded that acupuncture is effective for treating chronic pain.

Studies also point to how it may work. Acupuncture appears to prompt the body’s own pain-relieving chemistry. A 2010 study in mice, published in Nature Neuroscience, linked acupuncture’s local pain relief to adenosine, a natural compound that dulls pain signals.

Many doctors and physical therapists recommend acupuncture for pain, sports injuries and injuries from accidents. See the conditions Robert treats.

Often used alongside acupuncture

• Moxibustion: gentle warmth from aged mugwort, applied near specific points.
• Herbal medicine: Chinese herbal formulas and European remedies to support your treatment between visits.
• Flower essences: gentle remedies for stress and emotional imbalances.