Liz Kidd Acupuncture
Acupuncture in Aylsham & Fakenham
Welcome to Liz Kidd Acupuncture
Here at Liz Kidd Acupuncture, I am passionate about helping my patients reconnect to their healthy self.
As Abraham Lincoln said:
‘It’s not the years in your life that count, but the life in your years’.
For me, it is vital to know that the quality of our lives is absolutely the best that we can make it.
Whether you are:
- ·currently suffering from a recent injury
- coping with a longer-term condition that impacts your day-to-day life
- ·struggling with life’s changing phases
- ·or just feeling not quite right, out of sorts, not yourself
The joy of acupuncture is that it can help with any and all of these things, whether they are physical, mental or emotional.
What can acupuncture help with?
In clinic, I regularly see people for many different issues, such as…
- ·muscular or skeletal pain anywhere in the body
- ·arthritis, or wear and tear on joints
- ·migraine and headache,
- ·longer term conditions such as fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue, long covid, and rheumatoid arthritis
- ·mental and emotional health, including anxiety and depression,
- ·insomnia
- ·menopause and menstrual health,
- ·pregnancy support
Acupuncture is a time-tested therapy that has been practised for thousands of years, both as a stand-alone therapy and in combination with Western medicine. In the West, more people are turning to acupuncture for lasting solutions to their health problems. Robust scientific research backs up what many people have known for years ….
… acupuncture works
Hi, I’m Liz
I’m an acupuncturist, mum of two boys and lover of the beaches and countryside of our beautiful county of Norfolk.
It is a delight to treat all my patients, whatever they need help with. When someone says they feel better, lighter or more like themselves since their last treatment then that is a happy day for me because their quality of life has improved!
I qualified at the College of Integrated Chinese Medicine, earning a BSc (Hons). This means I can integrate two schools of acupuncture – TCM concentrates on the symptoms of a patient’s illness and is well suited for treating a wide range of physical, mental and emotional conditions, whereas Five Element Acupuncture focuses on treating the underlying constitution of the whole person, hence on the person who has the illness, rather than the illness itself. Being able to use both gives me multiple powerful ways to treat you.
My membership of the British Acupuncture Council (BAcC) guarantees Liz Kidd Acupuncture follows a rigorous code of safe practice and hygiene.
Liz Kidd Acupuncture
How Acupuncture Can Help
Acupuncture can help the mentally, physically and emotionally. Here are just some of the amazing things I can help you with
Pain Issues
If you have physical pain, whether from a recent injury, an old injury, arthritis or wear and tear on joints or muscles, then acupuncture can help you.
My experience tells me that people I see in clinic feel the benefit of treatment for conditions such as:
Muscular skeletal issues including ~ neck pain ~ back pain ~ sciatica ~ shoulder conditions ~ muscular stiffness
Arthritis (knees, hips, fingers, toes, neck, back)
Acupuncture provides relief by creating a local “micro-injury” which stimulates the production of our natural painkilling ENDORPHINS, increases BLOOD FLOW and reduces INFLAMMATION. Creating a ‘micro-injury’ (the needle insertion) can stimulate the body’s own healing response which can help with old, chronic injuries.
Chronic Pain
So often chronic conditions also come with the unwelcome additional challenges of fatigue, insomnia, anxiety & sometimes digestive disturbances.
~ migraine & headache ~ chronic fatigue ~ fibromyalgia ~ long covid ~ rheumatoid arthritis
Acupuncture treats these conditions as well as the “headline” condition, treating you as an individual not a symptom.
In April 2021, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has published a new guideline for chronic pain. We are delighted to see that acupuncture is one of only four treatments recommended, while most painkillers should no longer be prescribed.
Women’s Health
Menstrual Imbalances
Pain during the menstrual cycle, known as dysmenorrhea, is an extremely common condition. It can occur in the run up to, or during, or after the period. Painful periods can be caused by varying western conditions such as endometriosis or fibroids, or hormonal factors or it may be that no apparent cause can be found.
My diagnosis pays close attention to the pain, what it feels like and where it is. The appearance of the menstrual blood can determine the state of the flow. What your mood, energy, sleep and digestion may be like at different times during your cycle are all factors that I would consider.
As with all conditions, acupuncture attempts to find the root cause and has been proven to be very effective at treating this type of pain.
Pregnancy Support
Acupuncture can help with ~ morning sickness ~ tiredness ~ migraine ~ headache ~ backache ~ pelvic pain.
From week 36, regular, weekly PRE-BIRTH TREATMENTS can help with preparation for labour. A study in in 2002 concluded that “…acupuncture reduces the experience of pain in labor.”
Menopause
The misery of hot flushes, night sweats, brain fog, anxiety, insomnia, low mood can be debilitating for some. Acupuncture can provide support, whether this is in addition to HRT or instead of it. Whatever works for your body!
But don’t just take my word for it – Dr Louise Newson, the renowned menopause specialist, suggests Acupuncture can be helpful.
Mental Wellbeing
Mental and emotional health issues can include a wide spectrum of imbalances from feeling not quite yourself through to anxiety, depression and even PTSD. These conditions can manifest in many ways.
These are conditions that can affect your whole being – how you feel, think, your ability to interact with others and your normal daily functioning.
Any of this sound familiar:
~ difficulty falling asleep or staying asleep ~ headaches ~ digestive upset ~ mood swings ~ tearful ~ panic attacks ~ poor appetite or ~ sugar/caffeine cravings ~ feeling low ~ no motivation ~ fatigue ~ frequent colds?
What makes Acupuncture so helpful is its ability to treat body and mind together. They are utterly interdependent. Inseparable.
Stimulation of certain acupuncture points has been shown to affect areas of the brain that are known to reduce sensitivity to pain and stress, as well as promoting relaxation.
·They have been proven to alter the brain’s mood chemistry by altering levels of serotonin, endorphin and dopamine.
How Acupuncture works
Here at Liz Kidd Acupuncture, our treatments are evidence based. Acupuncture has been proven to:
- ·influence the flow of endorphins – the brain’s natural pain reliever,
- ·increase blood flow,
- ·reduce inflammation,
- ·promote local healing and
- ·regulate the production of hormones in several areas, including serotonin, oestrogen and progesterone.
There are two different ways we can try to explain this:
The traditional theory of acupuncture
This theory is based on the concept of qi, or energy flow. Simplistically, when somebody is in pain their flow of qi is considered to be stuck. Treatment selects points along the channel where the pain is, in order to encourage the qi to flow more freely.
The aim is to trigger your body’s own healing process and to restore physical, emotional and mental equilibrium. Treatment is designed to affect your whole self, not just your symptoms so, over time, you might begin to feel better in other ways too – you may sleep better, feel your mood is more even, have better energy, find other small niggles resolve, or reduce.
Or, in terms of modern science.
My professional organisation, the British Acupuncture Council, summarises this as follows:
There are studies that have proven some of the functioning mechanisms. These are technical, but some of the possible effects are [1]:
- ·modulation of sympathetic tone and motor reflexes (i.e. smooth the bodies fight and flight responses at an unconscious level)
- ·restoration of the default mode state (i.e. the section of the brain which is active when the person is not focused on the outside world)
- ·modulation of parasympathetic activity (i.e the sections of the brain which govern ‘rest and digest’ and other tasks only undertaken when at rest, and feeling safe.
- ·modulation or activation of the immune system.
A landmark study recently published in Nature showed a mechanism that is related to one specific acupuncture but not another. This study demonstrated that vagal-adrenal anti-inflammatory axis in mice was driven by the stimulation of the point ST36 but not ST25 [2.] The importance of this study is that it suggests a specific effect of an acupuncture point. In other words, the mechanisms of acupuncture are not simply general effects which occur regardless of where the needles are inserted.
[2] Nature 2021;Oct;598(7882)(1476-4687 (Electronic)):641-45. doi: doi:10.1038/s41586-021-04001-4
Acupuncture can help….
I am trained in both TCM (traditional Chinese acupuncture) and FIve Element Acupuncture. These two modalities, whilst overlapping in one sense, give me the tools to treat a comprehensive range of conditions and imbalances from both a symptom and a root cause perspective.
- pain management – acute and chronic
- back pain
- shoulder pain
- osteoarthritic knees, fingers, neck, hands
- tension headaches
- migraines
- gut issues
- long covid
- insomnia
- hormonal, menopausal and gynaecological issues
- stress related issues
- hayfever (allergic rhinitis) and other allergies
Got A Question?
Call or message Liz with any questions you may have
FAQs
First, we will talk, so that I can understand your medical history, your current condition, and what it is like living inside your body right now. I’ll read your pulse, maybe look at your tongue, and examine the site of any physical pain.
I will also want to understand things like your diet, your energy levels, your sleep patterns, what medication you may be on.
When I have understood all of those things, then I will decide on a combination of points which is suitable for your whole body.
Sometimes the needles may be inserted just for a few seconds, sometimes they may stay in for 15 minutes or so, and you can rest. If an alternative technique such as cupping or moxibustion is appropriate, then I will explain it to you, and give you the choice of having it or not.
Needles shouldn’t be painful. If you’re thinking about blood tests, don’t! An average needle is the width of a human hair, so often you don’t feel it at all when it’s first inserted. Sometimes you do, but it should be fleeting and over with. In order to know that I have reached the correct location, you should feel something. Again, it should be fleeting. It might tingle, it might ache, but whatever it does, it should come and then go.
Many people feel deeply relaxed during treatment. Some fall asleep!
Acupuncture uses very fine, sterile, single use needles at specific points on the body. These have been shown to interrupt pain signals, influence the flow of blood and lymph, increase the production of our body’s natural painkillers (endorphins) and more.
Traditional acupuncturists believe that the underlying principle of treatment is that illness and pain occur when the body’s qi (pronounced ‘chee’) or vital energy gets “stuck” or stagnates. There are many causes: emotional and physical stress, poor nutrition, infection or injury are among the most common. You might be familiar with knotted shoulders, bloated stomachs, stiff necks, feelings of frustration – these are some relatable examples of what we mean by “stuck energy or qi.”
There are a few things you can do to make sure you get the best from your investment in treatment at Liz Kidd Acupuncture:
- ·Please eat before treatment, don’t skip breakfast! Particularly so for your first treatment. A small percentage of people can experience a blood pressure drop which would always be worse if you haven’t eaten.
- There are studies which show that caffeine works on some of the same pathways as acupuncture. If you are able to avoid caffeine for a few hours before and after treatment, then that gives the needles a clear field to operate in.
- ·Don’t plan a really busy time for the few hours after treatment. Best to avoid the gym! The needles can carry on working behind the scenes for up to a day, and you will get the best return on your investment if you can allow your body to do that, rather than direct your resources into other avenues. This doesn’t mean ‘do nothing’, it means don’t overexert yourself.
- Listen to your body, and if it wants to rest, let it.
On occasions, a small bruise may appear. Occasionally, people can feel dizzy or tired for a brief time after treatment. These side effects are transitory and will resolve by themselves.
Acupuncture is safe when performed by a fully trained and qualified professional, and the risk of serious adverse events from acupuncture is extremely low. Acupuncture in the UK is not regulated by law, therefore the Professional Standards Authority (PSA) recommends seeing a professional on an Accredited Register, such as a British Acupuncture Council Member, such as myself. This is a quality mark of the highest standards of training, safe practice, and professional conduct.
In regard to the needles themselves, they are single-use, sterile needles which come in sealed packs, and all needles are safely disposed of after each treatment. A well-trained acupuncturist will always have a clean clinic, will cleanse their hands frequently, and will never needle you through your clothing.
I say to most people to expect to have 4 treatments relatively close together. Ideally weekly, but possibly fortnightly. After that, some people are done and need no more, some people need a couple more sessions fairly close together, some people may need a maintenance schedule, which could be monthly, or 3-monthly, or just a sporadic top up as and when required.
It will be your body which decides what future treatment plan is best.
Just call, email or send a message using the contact details found at the bottom of the page
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An initial treatment is 90 minutes, and costs £65, to get to know you, your current condition and your history; this includes your first treatment.
Subsequent treatments last an hour, and cost £48.
Liz Kidd Acupuncture is just me! Please give as much notice as you can of a cancellation, as that enables me to offer the slot to someone else who may be waiting.
I ask for the full charge to be paid if less than 48 hours’ notice is given of cancellation.
You can check whether your health insurer covers some or all of your acupuncture treatment on the British Acupuncture Council page
Liz Kidd Acupuncture’s Happy Customers
Don’t Just Take Our Word For It
Useful Information
Clinic locations
Aylsham
Randell’s Footcare
10 Penfold Street
Aylsham
Norfolk
NR11 6ET
Fakenham
Randell’s Footcare
Stratton Place
Bridge Street
Fakenham
NR21 9AN
Treatment Costs
Initial Consultation………£65
Session takes up to 90 mins and includes your first treatment
Subsequent Treatment….£50
Session takes up to 1 hour
Cancellation policy
Please give me as much notice as you can of a cancellation, as that enables me to offer the slot to someone else who may be waiting.
I ask for the full charge to be paid if less than 48 hours’ notice is given of cancellation.
Private health Insurance
You can check whether your health insurer covers some or all of your acupuncture treatment on the British Acupuncture Council page I am happy to provide you with receipts, including my professional registration number, to facilitate your claim.
Send A Message
Aylsham: Parking available in the town centre market place or the Butlands car park off Mill Road (footpath through to Penfold Street)
Fakenham: parking is conveniently available directly in front of the clinic in the Market Place car park.