Who are we?
Dr Elen Williams BSc (hons), MBBS, MSc, MRCGP, BMAS
Dr Elen Williams is a GP and Member of the Royal College of General Practitioners working in East London. She qualified from Barts and The London Medical School. At University College London she read Pharmacology BSc (hons) and obtained an MSc in Mental Health Sciences Research. She brings over 15 years of clinical experience, combining Western and Traditional Chinese Medicine acupuncture for patient wellbeing. Dr Elen is a clinical tutor and examiner for medical students. Her special interest is in persistent pain and her research interests include mental health. She has worked on studies looking at supporting carers of those with a family member or friend affected by psychosis.
Dr Yen Yen Khor BM, MRCGP, DFSRH
Dr Yen Yen is a GP and Member of the Royal College of General Practitioners who read Medicine at the University of Southampton qualifying in 2007. Dr Yen Yen has a special interest in long Covid and women’s health, in particular period problems and menopause with hot flushes. She has held hospital posts in Obstetrics and Gynaecology and holds a postgraduate diploma in sexual and reproductive healthcare. Dr Yen Yen has undertaken further studies in Traditional Chinese Herbal Medicine and is a trained acupuncturist. She is fluent in Mandarin and Cantonese.
What is acupuncture?
Acupuncture originates from China from around 2,000 years ago. It uses very fine needles to stimulate predefined points in the body, which can lead to a beneficial, therapeutic response and greater wellbeing. Acupuncture can be explained in Western medical terms as well as using the Traditional Chinese Medicine, TCM, system.
Western medical explanation of acupuncture
Acupuncture leads to an increased production of endogenous opioids, the body’s own natural opioids. Opioids work through binding to opioid receptors, and acupuncture has been found to increase the number of opioid receptors. This increase in receptors means the body’s own natural opioids and opioid painkillers can have a stronger pain-relieving effect. Acupuncture stimulates the release of other chemicals within the body like serotonin and cannaboids, and it is through these chemical processes that therapeutic changes occur. Needling muscular trigger points can lead to a reduction of pain.
Traditional Chinese Medicine explanation of acupuncture
Qi – vital energy – flows in a wave-like manner through meridians – energy pathways – to create a circuit within our bodies. When this flow of qi is blocked or out of balance health problems occur, which may be fixed through restoring balance to the body. Treatment strategies involve determining the source of the imbalance, and this relates to organ systems or yin yang imbalance. Overwork, incorrect diet or emotional upset can disturb the balance of qi within the body. Acupuncture can be combined with Traditional Chinese herbal medicines.
What conditions can acupuncture help with?
Persistent pain, e.g. pain present for more than three months. Acupuncture has been shown to improve chronic pain, and a course of acupuncture is recommended by the NICE (National Institute for Health and Care Excellence) guidelines for persistent pain. This persistent pain can be in any location in the body, e.g. knees, hands, shoulder, elbow etc.
Headache: tension type and migraine headaches. A course of acupuncture is recommended by the NICE guidelines for chronic headache and migraine. There is good evidence to show that acupuncture can help to improve headache.
Facial pain: there is evidence to show that temporomandibular pain can be improved in the short-term by acupuncture.
Low back pain and neck pain: acupuncture has been shown to be effective at providing short-term relief of chronic low back pain and chronic neck pain.
Side effects from cancer treatment: there is good evidence that acupuncture helps reduce nausea experienced from chemotherapy. Acupuncture is widely used to support people receiving cancer treatment.
Overactive bladder syndrome: short-term improvements have been found with electroacupuncture.
Women’s health including fertility, pregnancy and birth preparation.
Other conditions may improve with acupuncture such as post-viral fatigue such as that experienced with long Covid however, research for acupuncture and long Covid is still being undertaken and good evidence for efficacy in long Covid does not exist yet. Acupuncture has been used to help with mental health conditions such as low mood and anxiety. Acupuncture can be helpful for stress; insomnia; irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) and menopause symptoms such as hot flushes. If you would like to try acupuncture for another condition please contact us, and we can discuss this further. We will advise you to see your GP or specialist doctor if we think your condition cannot be treated with acupuncture or TCM herbal medicine.
What happens during an acupuncture session?
A consultation will take place during which you explain your symptoms and any impact on your life. An examination might involve inspection of your tongue and pulse, and checking the affected area of your body as necessary for a diagnosis to be established. Fine, sterile, single-use needles will be inserted through the skin and left for around 20 minutes depending on the condition being treated and your personal preference. The number of needles varies and can be as few as two or three needles. Sometimes we will stimulate the needles manually or using very low voltage electricity during the treatment.
How many sessions will I need?
This depends on how you respond as an individual to acupuncture. Some people require one session and others require several sessions. Usually for persistent pain more sessions are required: although you may experience a benefit after a few sessions, we generally recommend 10 weekly sessions in line with NHS pain clinics. Sometimes people like to start with regular weekly sessions and as they experience relief in their symptoms reduce their sessions to once a month or less.
What conditions can Traditional Chinese Herbal Medicine help with?
Traditional Chinese Medicine, TCM, can help with a wide range of health conditions. Dr Yen Yen has a special interest in treating women’s health - period problems such as heavy periods or painful periods; menopause symptoms with a special focus on hot flushes; lethargy; and long Covid symptoms. Please contact us if you have another condition for which you would like to try TCM herbal medicine and we can discuss suitability. If we do not think that TCM herbal medicine will be helpful we may ask you to consult with your GP or specialist doctor.
What happens in the TCM herbal medicine consultation?
By video or telephone consultation Dr Yen Yen will assess and diagnose your condition based on Traditional Chinese Medicine principles. Dr Yen Yen will prescribe personalised powder form Traditional Chinese herbal medicines that you will receive by postal delivery. The herbal medicines are usually prescribed week by week with a follow up consultation in between, to ensure that your treatment is personalised for you.
To book a TCM herbal medicine consultation please email elen@xuan.health
Can I have a GP consultation with you?
Whilst we are GPs and will apply our medical knowledge and understanding to your care, the service we offer is for acupuncture and Traditional Chinese Medicine herbs. You may find that acupuncture helps reduce your pain or other symptoms, and reduce your need for painkillers or medication. We suggest that you speak to your registered doctor about how to reduce your dose.