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Well, that’s the last of our pre-Christmas treatments completed and we’re now closing for the holidays. Our 2019 Christmas opening times are shown below.

We’d like to wish all our clients a Very Merry Christmas and a Happy and Healthy New Year!

If you’re wanting to book an appointment over the festive period then please check our 2019 Christmas opening times:

• Christmas Day – CLOSED
• Boxing Day – CLOSED
• Friday 27th December – CLOSED
• Saturday 28th December – 08.30 – 13.30
• Sunday 29th December – CLOSED
• Monday 30th December – 11.00 – 19.00
• Tuesday 31st December – 08.30 – 13.30
• New Year’s Day – CLOSED
• Thursday 2 January – 08.30 – 13.30

Some appointments on the open days have already been booked. If you book online, our booking system will show the available times on the day you choose, or you can phone 07865 593972 or email for an appointment.

Why not carve out some “me time” and book in for a relaxing cupping massage in the new year!

One of the questions I often get asked about at our Open Events is “how should I prepare for my acupuncture treatment?”

First of all, you really don’t need to do anything before coming for your treatment. We’ll totally get by, even if you come along completely unprepared – promise! 😊

However, you might find the following tips will help you to get more from your session.

Have something light to eat before you attend

Very occasionally, a client can feel a little lightheaded or even faint when having a treatment. This is more likely to happen if it’s your first ever acupuncture treatment. Or if you have acupuncture on an empty stomach.

I check with new clients that they have eaten. On the odd occasion that someone has forgotten or simply not had time to eat before their appointment, then I can provide a biscuit or two to remedy the situation.

Wear loose fitting, comfortable clothing

If you wear clothes that are loose (particularly at wrist and ankles) then I can more easily adjust sleeves, trousers etc. to reach the acupuncture points that best fit your needs.

We can roll leggings up, but if this restricts your circulation then you may not feel comfortable during the 20-30min treatment and that will be counter-productive.

If you do forget or have to come straight from work for example, then it’s not a major problem. I may ask you to remove outer layers of clothing (please, always keep your underwear on) but I keep the clinic warm and there are towels and screens for modesty.

Consider what you want to get from your treatment

Clients often have a specific reason for booking for acupuncture. This is helpful as it provides a focus for treatment and allows us to measure progress eg. 50% reduction in pain.

Acupuncture is a holistic therapy however, treating the whole person. Please let me know if there is more than one issue causing you concern but also consider which one is your priority, as this guides the treatment.

So, now that you know how to prepare for acupuncture, why not book your appointment now.

 Book Now

South Scarborough Acupuncture is closed on Monday 26 August 2019 for the Summer Bank Holiday. We don’t want our clients to miss out on a critical treatment! Therefore we added some extra hours to our usual schedule, to accommodate appointments that might otherwise be missed. Here are our 2019 August Bank Holiday opening hours:

• Thursday 22 August – 08.30-13.30
• Thursday 22 August – OPEN DAY – 14.30-16.30
• Saturday 24 August – 08.30-13.30
• Monday 26 August – CLOSED
• Tuesday 27 August – 08.30 – 17.30
• Thursday 29 August – 08.30 – 13.30
• Friday 30 August – 13.00 – 17.00 (extra hours)

Of course, several appointments on these days have already been booked. Others will be booked as clients attend clinic this week. If you book online, our booking system will show the available times on the day you choose, or you can phone 07865 593972 or email for an appointment.

Why not treat yourself and book in for a relaxing cupping massage for the holiday!

Which is it better for you to attend? An open event or free consultation?

They both offer the chance to see the clinic and meet the acupuncturist before deciding whether you want to have a treatment. Both also allow you to discuss alternatives to acupuncture treatment if you’re unsure about needles.

Each has major benefits and just a few drawbacks, so here’s what to consider ahead of time.

Open Event

Our Open Events are usually scheduled for a couple of hours in an afternoon or an evening. We vary when they’re held to try to make them accessible to everyone. Check this page here to find out when our next Open Event is.

Some of the benefits of attending one of our Open Events include:

• Not being tied to a specific time. You can drop in at any time within that slot. If you plan on attending but something crops up, then you simply come along to another event, you don’t need to cancel an appointment.
• You can bring someone else with you. Whether you want their input to your decision or you think that you might both want to know more, you’re welcome to bring a friend or family member with you.
• You can ask as many questions as you like until the Open Event closes.

Whether the following are drawbacks for you will depend on your personal priorities but they could include:

• Lack of privacy. There may be other people attending the Open Event at the same time as you, in which case you may choose not to share personal information in the company of others. You can still ask general questions or you may then wish to book a free consultation to discuss any personal issues. Alternatively you may be fortunate enough to have the clinic and practitioner to yourself.
• You won’t be able to have a treatment on the same day as attending the Open Event. Events are scheduled to coincide with the end of our clinic day.

Free Consultation

Our Free Consultation is exactly that! We recommend that you attend the clinic for this consultation because this allows the acupuncturist to observe the severity of any condition. If however you are unable to attend in person, then the free consultation can be conducted by phone. If you would prefer a phone consultation then please request this when booking.

 Book Now

To book a free consultation please use the online booking button above and select a free 15min “can acupuncture help me” consultation.

Some of the benefits of booking a free consultation include:

• Not having to wait until the next Open Event. You can book a date and time to suit your schedule, usually within the next week.
• The opportunity to discuss your specific health needs and concerns in complete privacy, one-to-one with the acupuncturist.
• The possibility of having a treatment immediately after the free consultation should you choose to proceed. Please note however that this depends on the timing of the consultation. If you would like the option of proceeding to treatment then please phone/text Sara on 07865 593972 or email her at sara@southscarboroughacupuncture.co.uk 

Again, any drawbacks will depend on your personal priorities but they could possibly include:

• Being tied to a date and time for your consultation. If you book a free consultation and either fail to show, or cancel with less than 24 hours notice, then you will not qualify for a further free consultation. You would then need to pay a consultation fee to book a future appointment.
• You’re limited to 15min. If you know you like to chat or if you have a lot of questions, we recommend focussing on the most important issues at the beginning of your appointment.

Next steps

Whether you decide to attend an open event or free consultation, we hope to see you soon and help you on your way to a healthier future.

South Scarborough Acupuncture is closed on Spring Bank Holiday Monday 2019. We don’t want our clients to miss out on a critical treatment! Therefore we added some extra hours to our usual schedule, to accommodate appointments that might otherwise be missed. Here are our 2019 Spring Bank Holiday opening hours:

• Thursday 23 May – 08.30-13.30
• Saturday 25 May – 08.30-13.30
• Monday 27 May – CLOSED
• Tuesday 28 May – 08.30 – 17.30
• Thursday 30 May – 08.30 – 13.30
• Friday 31 May – 13.00 – 17.00 (extra hours)

Of course, several appointments on these days have already been booked. Others will be booked as clients attend clinic this week. If you book online, our booking system will show the available times on the day you choose, or you can phone 07865 593972 or email for an appointment.

Why not treat yourself and book in for a relaxing cupping massage for the holiday!

We all feel a little anxious from time to time. For some of us it can be triggered by an upcoming exam, for others it could be having to give a presentation. A certain level of nervousness is a normal part of life. For some people though, that anxiety sticks with them after those events have finished and when there is no apparent cause. This can interfere with normal daily life. For many people, acupuncture can provide relief from anxiety.

The cause of your anxiety can be totally different to that of someone else. In fact, your symptoms can also be totally different.

Acupuncture considers the whole person – your combined physical and mental health. Especially since problems in one area can then create issues in the other. Every acupuncture treatment is designed and tailored to fit a specific individual.

How acupuncture works for anxiety

A little bit of science here. The British Acupuncture Council has identified research showing that acupuncture treatment works by:

• Acting on areas of the brain known to reduce sensitivity to pain and stress, as well as promoting relaxation and deactivating the ‘analytical’ brain;
• Regulating levels of neurotransmitters and hormones, helping to combat negative affective states;
• Activating the parasympathetic nervous system. This initiates the relaxation response.
• Reversing changes in levels of cytokines that are associated with anxiety;
• Reversing stress-induced changes in behaviour and biochemistry.

But what if I’m scared of needles?

Of course, if the thought of needles makes you anxious, then you may think that acupuncture can’t help.

We can however, use the same acupoints but use acupressure instead of needles. Acupressure can also be combined with a cupping massage. A massage in itself can be very relaxing. We will never pressure you to have a treatment that you aren’t comfortable with and you can change your mind at any time.

What next?

Book in for a free 15 min consultation to discuss how anxiety affects you and how we can help.

South Scarborough Acupuncture will be closed over the bank holiday weekend but we don’t want our clients to miss out on a critical treatment! We are therefore adding some extra hours to our usual schedule, to accommodate appointments that might otherwise be missed. Here are our 2019 Easter opening hours:

• Thursday 18 April – 08.30-13.30
• Friday 19 – Monday 22 April – closed
• Tuesday 23 April – 08.30 – 17.30
• Wednesday 24 April – 08.30 – 13.30
• Thursday 25 April – 08.30 – 13.30
• Friday 26 April – Open Day
• Saturday 27 April – 08.30 – 13.30

Of course, several appointments on these days have already been booked and others will be booked as clients attend clinic this week. If you book online, our booking system will show the available times on the day you choose, or you can phone 07865 593972 or email for an appointment.

Cupping therapy is just one of the treatments you can book at the South Scarborough Acupuncture clinic. Cupping involves placing special cups directly onto your skin. Suction pulls the skin and tissue up. The cups can then be moved around over oil, as a massage. Alternatively they can be left in place, over acupoints, instead of using acupuncture. Cupping is a great option if you are nervous of needles, as no needles are needed.

What does Cupping Therapy look like?

At South Scarborough Acupuncture we use dry cupping, using glass cups with a rubber suction bulb. The bulb allows us to control the amount of suction to a level that you are comfortable with. Glass cups ensure that they can be hygienically cleaned.

When you have conventional massage, the therapist applies pressure, pushing the skin, tissue etc. into the underlying body framework. Cupping works in the opposite direction, pulling the skin, tissue etc. away. For many people it can be more relaxing than a conventional massage. When used as moving cupping, both techniques, cupping and massage, work to improve circulation of blood and lymph drainage, clearing toxins from the body. However cups can also be applied to acupoints instead of needles and then left in place for 10-15min. Here they work in a similar way to acupuncture in response to a Traditional Chinese Medicine diagnosis.

Cups can leave marks on your body (Michael Phelps sported a batch of them back in the 2016 olympics). These bruises don’t usually hurt like a normal bruise would but do think about your diary. Have you got any upcoming events that you wouldn’t be able to wear your favourite glad rags to because the marks might show? The marks can take anywhere from an hour to several weeks to fade away. It varies from person to person and we can’t predict how long the marks may stay for you.

If you’re interested in trying out cupping for yourself then take a look at our booking page here. You can book a cupping massage or have a Traditional Chinese Medicine diagnosis and have cups on the acupoints instead of acupuncture. Or book in for a free 15 min consultation to discuss what would suit your circumstances the best.

To celebrate the opening of South Scarborough Acupuncture and to help us grow our client list, our treatment fees have been reduced for a limited period. That period ends soon and we’ll be charging regular prices from Thursday 2 May 2019. Don’t miss out on these health savings.

Book now for a treatment in April and you can save £10 on an initial consultation and £4 on any follow up treatment. An initial consultation usually costs £50 but book now and pay just £40. Follow up treatments and massage therapy are normally £40 but you can currently pay just £36.

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Suffer from hay fever? Want to reduce menopause symptoms? Need more energy to deal with day to day life? Find out about the conditions that acupuncture can help with. If you’ve never tried acupuncture before, then our lower prices make it a great time to give it a try. And you’re not committing to having needles if you book an initial consultation. We’ll discuss your health history and your health goals. Whilst acupuncture can probably get you to your health goal quicker, we can also consider alternatives such as ear seeds, cupping and moxa. You’re always fully in charge of your treatment and we aim to keep you comfortable every step of the way.

Perhaps you simply want a relaxing treatment with no needles involved? Book in for a cupping or acupressure massage. Our light and airy treatment room has sea views that help you to relax from the minute you arrive.

Take advantage of our reduced treatment fees before 2 May 2019 when regular pricing is resumed. You can pay by cash or by card.

We are open on Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays. We also open later on Mondays each week and on alternate Saturday mornings so there is usually an appointment time convenient for everyone.

If you come into clinic with musculoskeletal pain then I will often carry out a postural assessment as part of our initial appointment. I do this by asking you to stand straight so that I can check your alignment. Are your feet facing straight ahead or are they turned inwards or outwards? Do you lean forward or back? Is one shoulder higher than the other?

Doing this can provide me with additional clues about where your pain may stem from. We can often feel pain in an area of the body away from the root cause, for example hip pain can result from an ankle injury. Locating the path of any misalignment can help me to provide you with a better targeted treatment.

Learning from Western Medicine practitioners

Yesterday I sat in with an orthopaedic surgeon whilst he conducted an examination of a patient. He started by asking some of the same questions that I ask about pain. For example, what (if anything) makes it feel better and what is it worse for. He then went on to palpate (gently press) around the patient’s painful knee. Finally he asked her to stand and to walk around a little. This let him check for anywhere that was bending in or out where it shouldn’t (misalignment). He discovered that a knee sprain was not able to mend because the patient’s ankle was twisting with each step they took. This pulled on the muscles attaching to the knee. He advised her to wear shoes with good arch support to correct this. This should allow the knee to mend in its own time.

So if you come to clinic with musculoskeletal pain don’t be surprised if I ask you to stand up so that I can take look at you. And if you’ve twisted an ankle recently please don’t think it’s unimportant to tell me about it because you’ve come with a bad back. The two could be connected.