What is Acupuncture?

A Medicine with 2,500 Years of Wisdom

Acupuncture is a key component of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), practised for over two millennia to maintain health and restore harmony in the body. It involves the gentle insertion of ultra-fine, single-use sterile needles into specific acupuncture points. Based on Chinese Medicine’s understanding of the body, this process creates micro-stimulations that trigger the body’s natural healing responses—enhancing circulation, reducing inflammation, and releasing the body’s own pain-relieving chemicals.

Through these subtle but powerful effects, acupuncture helps restore systemic balance and supports the body’s capacity to heal itself.

At A D Acupuncture, our clinic in Brockley, South East London, we draw on both classical wisdom and modern clinical research to guide our approach.

A Holistic Approach to Health

Acupuncture is a holistic healthcare system that considers the entire person—not just symptoms. It can support a wide range of conditions, from muscular tension and chronic pain to hormonal imbalance, organ function, and emotional wellbeing.

Our practitioners are registered members of the British Acupuncture Council (BAcC), the UK’s largest professional body for traditional acupuncturists, which provides extensive research and clinical resources across a wide spectrum of health concerns. We are also members of the Acupuncture Fertility Network, a professional group dedicated to advancing fertility-focused acupuncture through postgraduate training and clinical excellence.

If you’d like tailored guidance on how acupuncture might support your specific health needs, you’re always welcome to get in touch for advice.

Your First Consultation

Safe, effective acupuncture begins with understanding you as a whole. Before treatment, we will take time to discuss all aspects of your health—your current symptoms, lifestyle, medical and family history, and overall wellbeing. This comprehensive approach allows us to design a treatment plan that is entirely bespoke, helping to bring about meaningful, lasting transformation in your health.

You can explore some of the most common reasons people visit A D Acupuncture here.

Ancient Wisdom, Modern Recognition

Acupuncture continues to gain recognition in the UK as an evidence-based and robust approach to healthcare. The NICE guidelines now recommend acupuncture as a first-line treatment for chronic pain—an acknowledgement of its effectiveness and safety. The NHS recognises and promotes acupuncture delivered by members of the British Acupuncture Council.

Despite its growing mainstream acceptance, acupuncture remains grounded in the principles refined over thousands of years: treating the root cause of imbalance, not just the surface symptoms.

“Acupuncture is a holistic cumulative medicine that looks at both the manifesting symptoms and the underlying causes. We are putting out fires while looking at why fires keep starting, we are doing it all!”

Along with acupuncture, diet therapy is also a part of Chinese Medicine and integrated into all treatments at A D Acupuncture.

TCM  diet therapy not only looks at what we eat, but also how we cook and eat. Due to the complexities of TCM diet therapy, and to encourage patients even more in their lifestyle changes, A D Acupuncture supports patients with specifically designed recipes, created by master recipe writer Tom Mitchel Dawson.

Alice and Tom put their expertise together on a mission to create delicious yet achievable meals that target specific diagnoses within Chinese Medicine. With Alice’s incredible knowledge of TCM nutrition, and Tom’s ability to put ingredients together and create food that is easy to make and so tasty, the result is wonderful. This work means patients can leave their acupuncture appointments with a selection of recipes that help them discover new and interesting ways to eat certain foods and cook in certain ways. We feel this is a more accessible and exciting way to bring about changes to your diet. 

We believe in pragmatic and individualised way of working, and diet therapy is no different. No long lists of foods to stop eating, no strict diets, no sudden overhaul, no fad ingredients or wonder superfoods, no counting or number crunching. This is about seeing food and mealtimes differently, under a different lens, to bring about long-term change to your health, whilst nurturing your relationship with food.

“If we assume we eat three meals a day, that is 21 opportunities a week to support and work with our body. Looking into diet therapy means you start to realise the control you can take over your health all from the comfort of your home. We have all heard the saying, you are what you eat, and we know diet matters, but TCM diet therapy will teach you how to eat for your specific health concerns”

Both Moxibustion and GuaSha are ancillary skills that work alongside acupuncture and are encoportated into treatments where appropriate.

Moxibustion is the burning of a herb, moxa, or Chinese Mugwort, on or close to the skin to warm up acupuncture points. This warming affect can create a more nourishing and dynamic treatment.

Moxa can be seen in treatments where there is pain and inflammation, as well as a common therapy to support energy, digestion, and menstrual health. It is famously integrated into our NHS, and advised by midwives, for its use helping to turn a breech baby. Moxa quickly becomes everyone’s favourite part of the treatment, due to its comforting and calming warmth.

Moxibustion is a key part of acupuncture and our founder, Alice, has published research into the therapy in the Journal of Chinese Medicine, the largest English-speaking Chinese medical journal in the world. Due to this work Alice has an incredible knowledge of this therapy and how it can bring about change for you and your health. Here in Brockley, moxa is being used for a huge array of reasons and patients love it!

If you want to take a look at this research, you can do so here.

To find out how Moxibustion could form a part of your acupuncture appointments, let’s chat!

Gua Sha

GuaSha is a friction-based technique, primarily used for muscle tension. It involves using a tool and some oil on the skin to pull across the surface of the skin. It feels similar to a massage, instantly leaving patients feeling lighter and standing taller, as well as long lasting changes to pain. This amazing process is not only therapeutic but also diagnostic, meaning GuaSha can be used to gain a better understanding of where tension is being held, and what muscle groups are involved.

This technique works by its ability to upregulate the immune system and promote the body’s anti-inflammatory response. GuaSha is frequently requested by patients after their first experience, as they fall in love with the feeling and the results.

“Needles are so powerful, but sometimes you need more contact with the body than that. Whether it’s using heat from moxa or pressure from GuaSha, you are able to talk to the body in a different way. These techniques are deeply rooted within Chinese Medicine and for good reason. While you might not be familiar with these skills right now, they are soon to become firm favourites.”