I have been battling with a pain in my sternum/chest due to a trauma I had to this area over 10 years ago. Since having children 5 years ago it became more server and chronic and I started to have problems with my upper back, shoulders and neck. I have seen many specialists and undergone lots of physiotherapy both of which had not been successful. I am limited to the amount of pain relief I can take for I am very sensitive to them and experience strange side effects.

I came to Lin in desperation. I was in a lot of pain and I couldn’t lift my arms any higher than shoulder level. I was limited to movement and having two young children to look after I was struggling badly. Life was very difficult for me and I was starting to feel extremely miserable and depressed.

My first session with Lin was wonderful. She was very friendly and listened to my problem with great care and attention. She reassured me with what she was going to do and where on my body the needles would go. After the treatment the results were instant. I could move my arms much more freely and the pain levels decreased dramatically. I was amazed!!

I have been back again for a few more sessions to make sure the results are lasting and now I’m well on my way to a pain free and happier life. I would recommend Lin to anyone for she has been my saviour.

Katy (30y, Manchester) has had pain in her chest/sternum, collar bone, upper ribs, shoulders, in-between scapulas, and the back of the neck.

Her pain in sternum started ten years ago after she was accidently punched on the chest. It was mild at first, about two or three times a year. But it got much worse when she had her first child five years ago. She has pain not only in her sternum, ribs, below the shoulder joints, but also at the back of the neck and in between the scapulas possibly due to her protective posture. She describes her pain as throbbing, constant (24/7) and 8/10 (eight on scale from 0 to 10). She wakes up at night by the pain when she turns. She says the pain is intolerable when she breathes deeply, coughs and sneezes.

When I examined her, she expressed pain upon my finger touching (not even pushing) her collar bone, sternum and 2nd – 4th ribs. When she lifted her arms forward and upward, she couldn’t go above the line levels her shoulders. When she lifted her arms sideways, she couldn’t go above the shoulder line either. When she tried to reach her scapulas with her arms, she didn’t seem to have problems although a bit painful. She had restricted shoulder joints movements. Even one small movement causes her great pain.

All in all, she has experienced difficulties in her daily life. She has struggled with putting on cloth, holding the driving wheel, even holding her children. She has been to several doctors and therapies, has had some tests, nothing has made any difference so far. She needs to take tramadol and paracetamol daily.

On her first visit, I used battlefield acupuncture first on her left ear. Straight away, her pain went down from 8/10 to 2/10 and she lifted her arms to the point almost straight up. Then I gave her some body acupuncture and left them in for about 25 minutes. At the end of the treatment, she experienced only mild pain when she took a deep breath.

A week later, on her second visit (which was this week), she told me that she only took one painkiller for the whole week. She still experiences pain in her chest area, but nothing like throbbing, only mild pain. As the pain at the front alleviated, she felt more at the back of the neck and especially in between her scapulas. She was happy with the fact that she had kept the movement of her arms since the first treatment. She moves her arms a lot as it has been a novelty for her. In general, her pain was 2/10 at the time. I applied the similar treatment – battlefield acupuncture plus body acupuncture, only this time the focus was on the back. A moxa burner was used on her back as well. Her pain went down to 1/10 after treatment. Guess the best part? She moved her shoulders around freely and merrily, saying “This movement was virtually impossible a week ago!”

What’s more rewarding than this – watching a 30-year old woman moving her shoulders around freely and merrily?

Read her testimonial here

See all patient stories

A colleague asked me to have a chat with a client of hers today. This gentleman has suffered abdominal pain for quite a while. Due to ulcerative colitis his whole colon was taken out and instead a pouch was made to connect small intestine and anus. That was the operation a few years ago. He has been in pain whenever he eats. He is under the monitor of the hospital and there is nothing wrong with inside and the pouch.

When I saw him, he was in pain 4/10 even just after taking painkillers. His pain was in the lower abdomen towards the anus area. He wanted to know whether his pain could be managed in some way so he won’t need to have another surgery. Due to such a short notice (no appointment till the next one), I offered him a quick pain relief way to see if he would response – battlefield acupuncture. This is a method of needling five auricular points. He was surprised to find himself pain-free only after the first needle in. Those five needles were all I did today, and his pain was 0/10 from 4/10 in one minute! Not a bad start. An appointment was made for next week. More detailed treatment plan will be made with a long-term pain relief target.

On 2^nd July 2011, Lin was honoured to run a workshop for Manchester Migraine Education Day in Salford Royal Hospital.

Acupuncture has been known as good at prevention as well as symptoms alleviation. See fact sheet.

Although most people had heard about acupuncture being a technique involving the insertion of fine needles into specific points to regain balance within the body, they still weren’t quite sure about the typical session. Therefore, apart from explaining how acupuncture can be effective, Lin spent more time on demonstration.

Acupuncture is such a broad topic, there are more than one way to treat migraine. Lin chose several ways that she had found very effective in practice to demonstrate. Here are some pointers:

• Standard body acupuncture: Based on typical TCM differentiation, involving points locally and distally. Although good for both prevention and alleviation, personally Lin prefers prevention. Moxibustion can be used at the same time in some cases.
• Quick body acupuncture: This is a special way to treat migraine, mainly based on Meridian theory. Under the influence of Dr. Tan’s balance method and Master Tung’s acupuncture, Lin only needles a few distal points, but with very quick result. Though seen as an acute solution, it has fairly good long-term results given certain treatment course.
• Auricular acupuncture: Our ears are such amazing parts that every structure of the human body could be mapped on the auricle. The possible mechanism of pain relief is that endorphins have been released into the blood by stimulating certain points on the auricle. The headache line on anti-tragus is the part often used in this case. This is a method can be used separately or combined with body acupuncture. Lin prefers the latter.
• Battlefield auricular acupuncture: This is a great way to relieve pain quickly, which has been used in US Air Force. It favors the processing and modulation of pain in the central nervous system involving the hypothalamus, thalamus, cingulated gyrus, and cerebral cortex structures. Only three points on each ear are used.
• Korean hand acupuncture: There is a close relationship between the hands and the brain. Korean hand acupuncture has 14 micro meridians just as the macro ones along the body. Therefore, points on hands can be treated by needles or even pellets (perfectly for those who are needle-phobic).

So, there are many ways, which can be used separately or together. If you would like to try, there should be one for you.

PS: Instruction of auricular acupuncture, battlefield acupuncture and Korean hand acupuncture will soon be updated under the ‘treatment’ menu.

I am a chronic pain sufferer due to an injury at work when I damaged my back whilst lifting a resident at home lea care home in 1999.  As a result I sustained a prolapsed and herniated disc in my lower back, resulting in nerve damage. My condition is inoperable and as a result I was directed towards pain management.

I have attended several courses and have been prescribed the full gamut of medication. Over the years my condition has deteriorated with similar symptoms in my neck. I have tried most aids and have seen chiropractors and an osteopath on a regular basis.

My doctor recommended Lin to me and at that time I was on quite a high amount of prescription drugs. During my time in Lin’s care I have experienced unprecedented levels of pain relief and am virtually free of medication. I have got a new lease of life and my condition is now under control for the first time in many years. I cannot praise Lin highly enough and wouldn’t hesitate to recommend her to anyone in my situation.

Eileen, Stalybridge