There are several styles of acupuncture practised in the UK. Mine is called Five Element acupuncture, and it's a little different from what many people expect, both in where it came from and in what it's like to be treated this way.
What are the Five Elements?
In Chinese medicine the Five Elements, sometimes called the Five Phases, are Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal and Water. Traditionally they're five kinds of energy moving through nature and through us, each linked with a season, a set of organs, a colour, a sound, an emotion and much more.
- Wood: spring, growth, planning
- Fire: summer, warmth, connection
- Earth: late summer, nourishment, a sense of centre
- Metal: autumn, letting go, what we value
- Water: winter, rest, reserves
This is a traditional framework, not a description of proven physiology. As a way of seeing the whole person, though, many people find it rich and meaningful.
A Coventry story
Five Element acupuncture as it's practised in the UK owes a great deal to Professor J.R. Worsley, born in Coventry on 14 September 1923. He studied with Five Element teachers in Asia in the 1950s and 60s, then came back to Britain and founded the College of Traditional Acupuncture in Kenilworth, Warwickshire.
So when you come for treatment in Coventry, you're being treated in the city where the man who did so much to bring this style of acupuncture to Britain was born.
What makes it personal
At the heart of Five Element acupuncture is the idea that each of us has one element which is, in the tradition's words, most out of balance. It's called the "Causative Factor". Writing in Medical Acupuncture in 2015, Neil Gumenick calls it "the one primary elemental imbalance at the root of a patient's symptoms."
To find it, a Five Element practitioner like me pays close attention to four things:
- the colour, a hue that can be seen in certain areas of the face
- the sound of the voice
- a subtle odour
- the emotion that seems most present
That's why a first session includes a long conversation. I want to know about you as a person, not just the reason you came in. Two people arriving with the same complaint might be treated quite differently, because treatment is aimed at the person rather than the label.
You don't need to know anything about the elements before you come. You simply talk while I watch and listen, and the traditional diagnosis is my job, not yours.
What treatment involves
I often use only a few needles in a session, placed gently. I may also use moxa (a dried herb that's gently burned for warmth) and, where helpful, cupping, gua sha or massage. Many people find sessions calm and relaxing.
What acupuncture can and can't claim
I want to be straightforward about the evidence. NICE recommends that acupuncture can be considered for chronic primary pain, for preventing chronic tension-type headache, and for preventing migraine where the usual preventive medicines haven't suited. The UK advertising regulator also accepts evidence for short-term relief of chronic low back pain, neck pain and jaw (TMJ) pain, and temporary relief of knee osteoarthritis pain alongside other treatment.
The focus on the whole person is part of the Five Element tradition and part of why people enjoy it. It isn't a promise to treat other conditions, and it isn't a replacement for your GP.
If you'd like to explore the elements for yourself, start with my guide to the Five Elements.