Helen Riddington Acupuncture Chelmsford, Essex and Halesworth, Suffolk

Come & speak to me on the British Acupuncture Council stand between 11am and 1pm.


What a great summer! As the weather is starting to change though, you may notice a difference in the way you feel, so here are some tips for making an easier transition into autumn/winter:

- Do regular light exercise, outdoors if you can eg a brisk walk each day will move your qi (energy) to boost your physical & mental health and you will enjoy more daylight
- Try not to fall into the trap of watching more TV now the evenings are darker. An early night with a good book will be of more benefit
- Eat a nourishing & balanced diet. Replace all that salad & fruit you ate in the summer with lightly steamed vegetables and stewed fruit.
- Boost your kidney energy (the essence of the body's energy in chinese medicine) by visualising white light travelling into your lower abdomen as you breathe in and breathing it out through your spine.


Making small, positive changes can have a big impact on how you feel, including how you view yourself and others as well as your outlook on life.

The Five Ways to Wellbeing are:

Connect: Send a text, meet up for a coffee or call someone; take time to make a new friend, or focus on making a little more effort with the friends and family who are already in your life.

Be active: Dance around the house, join a sports group or go out for a walk; anything that raises your heart rate, makes you breathe faster and makes you feel warmer, counts.

Take notice: Visit the park, sit in the garden or take up mindfulness; take time out to stop, take notice and focus on something else to enjoy and feel calm.

Learn: Sign-up to a course, find a recipe book or watch an instructional video on YouTube; try something new by taking up a new hobby, set an enjoyable challenge or learn a new skill.

Give: Feel good by doing something for someone else; support a friend by doing something nice for them, volunteer for a community group or help out a stranger.



Helen Riddington Acupuncture supports the Anglia Ruskin University Back Care Awareness Initiative with a special offer during Back Care Awareness Week. Acupuncture is recommended as a first line treatment for back pain by NICE (National Institute for Clinical Excellence) who advise the NHS

My website has been re-designed to make it more mobile friendly - it will display differently according to the device used to view it. I hope that you like it!

An ideal present for Christmas or any occasion. Either for someone you think could benefit or as a treat for yourself - people in China use Acupuncture to keep them well and to help them relax; not just when they have a problem. Gift Vouchers are available in any denomination. Please contact me for further details.

Men and women equally seek help with Acupuncture and I have had good success in treating Prostatitis/Chronic Pelvic Pain. A helpful book on the self management of such conditions is "Teach us to Sit Still" by Tim Parks. One of my patient's found this book invaluable in recognising that he was holding onto a lot of pelvic tension which was actually a major contributor to his condition.

During March I attended further post-graduate training on increasing Fertility with Acupuncture. Whether or not there is a diagnosis for the infertility, Acupuncture can help increase the chances of conceiving either before considering, or alongside, IVF.

This takes place during week beginning 27th February 2012 and aims to spread the word about the benefits of Acupuncture. See introducing acupuncture.
New patients will receive 10% off their first treatment or 20% each, if both themselves and a friend have a treatment during this week. Come and give it a try!

Thinking about trying Acupuncture for yourself? Book an appointment for Friday 3rd February 2012 and I will donate £3 from every treatment to The Samaritans. It's a great cause and you will be benefitting not only yourself, but someone else too!.

Acupuncture has a 'significant' effect on patients with mystery symptoms - and could be added to the list of available treatments for undiagnosed health problems, research shows. Click Here for further information.

Treatments are now available at Moulsham Mill in Chelmsford. Please contact me for further information.

Whether it be dealing with the excesses of christmas, boosting your immunity, your mood, or strengthening your resolve to keep those New Years Resolutions - acupuncture may help. The NADA Protocol; auricular acupuncture used in cases of addiction can be useful for giving up smoking and weight loss. Increased immunity to help keep colds and flu at bay and beating the blues have previously been covered below. Stay happy and healthy in 2011!

Myself and other therapists offered 15 minute taster sessions in return for a £5 donation to Interact, a local charity for young people with learning disabilities. Look out for further similar events where you can enjoy the benefits of an Acupressure Massage and charities can benefit from your contribution.

Does the weather dictate the way that you feel? Do you wonder why your emotions fluctuate like the weather? There are many factors that affect our emotions and acupuncture can work well in balancing our emotional state, allowing us to step back from our feelings, thus being better able to cope. Traditional Chinese Medicine does not differentiate between physical and emotional health, as western medicine tends to do (though this link is becoming more recognised). Consequently this aspect is always considered as part of the whole person. Maintaining our emotional balance means that we are less reliant on external factors, such as the weather (which are out of our control anyway!), for our happiness and wellbeing.

During the summer, we often feel that we are able to eat more healthily with plenty of resh fruit and salad, which we are told is good for us. All too often I see patients who eat a lot of cold food believing they are doing the right thing, when in fact it is contributing towards their condition. The stomach is a warm environment, so it has to work twice as hard to digest cold food - first to warm it and then to digest it, using twice as much energy.

Chinese thinking on diet promotes warm foods, rather than cold and raw, such as lightly steamed vegetables/stewed fruit. Eating red meat once a week is also recommended for nourishing the blood or alternatively, the inclusion of iron rich foods in the diet. Regular meals are also important in ensuring nourishment and energy for effective functioning. Many conditions are aggravated by diet - poor digestion, tiredness, low energy, anxiety and infertility to name a few.

In Chinese Medicine, heat manifests in many ways and those with internal heat conditions can find their symptoms aggravated at this time of year as heat meets heat. Skin conditions are an obvious example, since the skin is known as the "third lung." Insect bites and over exposure to the sun/heat can trigger acute reactions, whilst chronic conditions such as eczema may also flare up.

Heat is not always obvious though - for example, Chinese Medicine also recognises "empty heat", particularly in menopause, whereby the balance of the body has been disrupted resulting in a residual heat. Emotional conditions also play a part in generating internal heat - imagine a kettle that bubbles along. If it boils, it eventually lets off steam, though most of us bubble along keeping our emotions supressed.

How individuals' experience both their external environment eg weather, time of year/day, living conditions, diet and their internal environment eg emotions, sleep, energy, bodily functions are the key to many symptoms and provide us with a picture by which to diagnose and treat appropriately.

Back to Wellbeing is the brainchild of a group of like minded professionals based locally and at Moulsham Mill. We are supported by Interact the charity and Healthy Living Solutions, an NHS organisation. We are delighted to offer you an opportunity to come and meet us all to chat over afternoon tea and biscuits and try some of the activities we offer on Saturday the 8th of May 2010 between 12 and 4pm. An NHS Health Advisor will be available for health checks and advice. Entry and tea is free, there will be a small charge for taster sessions. All proceeds from these are being donated to BackCare.

I will be offering acupressure massage and also available for advice and information on acupuncture. Feel free to come along or contact me for further information.

The change from winter to spring can find those of us who suffer from allergies, becoming more sensitive to our environment with runny/blocked noses, itchy eyes, tiredness, etc. Acupuncture can be very effective in better managing such symptoms, since it works on two levels - dealing with the symptoms themselves and addressing the underlying inbalance that is causing the symptoms. Diet is also frequently a contributing factor, since mucous production is aggravated by foods such as dairy and wheat, so this aspect is also addressed during treatment.

Treatments are now available at Chelmer Springs, within Riverside Ice and Leisure, in central Chelmsford within walking distance of the Railway Station.

Cold/Damp Conditions, Mar 2010

Those of us with "cold/damp" constitutions tend to notice that our symptoms are worse in winter eg respiratory conditions such as recurrent coughs & colds, asthma or joint problems, aches and pains. Chinese medicine recognises the existence of the elements within each of us eg hot, cold, damp, dry and acupuncture can help re-balance as appropriate to alleviate symptoms.

Besides fine needles, "moxa" may also be used for cold/damp conditions. Moxibustion is a technique using moxa (mugwort). The herb is heated and either applied to the needle or held above the acupuncture points/channels to warm them. Besides transmitting a deep warmth, moxa is able to move stuck energy that results in pain and can also stimulate the production of white blood cells to enhance immunity.

I have noticed the number of patients' that present with "one-sided" conditions. This is not unusual, since the body works in two halves, right and left and this is also the theory of yin and yang, which underpins acupuncture.

Yin and yang are two opposing forces, which, when balanced allow harmony and health and when out of balance create dis-ease. Yin is the female energy which governs blood, fluids and the left side of the body whilst yang is the male energy which governs qi (breath energy) and the right side of the body. The same principle also applies to the front, back, upper and lower body.

Balance of qi, blood and fluids is central to healthy functioning. In one-sided conditions, one side of the body is usually energetically "in excess" and the other "deficient." This can lead to aches, pains and tension, dizziness or numbness and acupuncture can help re-dress this imbalance. Common conditions include muscular skeletal disorders, vertigo, migraine and the effects of parkinsons disease and strokes.

This month has seen an increase in the number of people requesting cosmetic acupuncture. More than skin deep, cosmetic treatments involve a full consultation, body acupuncture to address constitutional imbalance (which affects skin quality and facial appearance) and facial treatment with or without needles.

Gua Sha is a Chinese form of facial massage which works on the energy meridians of the face. It stimulates blood supply and encourages collagen production, smoothing fine lines and giving skin a more full and rejuvenated appearance. Fine needles can also be used to further “lift” the face by encouraging better adhesion between skin and connective tissue.

Cellulite and skin conditions can also be treated with acupuncture.

Members of my Tuesday morning yoga group experienced the insertion of an acupuncture needle and were relieved to discover no pain!

We discussed the energy meridians of the body, upon which Traditional Chinese Medicine is based, the research into acupuncture and western theories of how it works and variety of conditions that acupuncture can treat. The difference between western medical acupuncture for pain relief and TCM acupuncture with its holistic, constitutional focus to treat a variety of conditions was also discussed.

Myself and other therapists offered 15 minute taster sessions in return for a £5 donation to PARC Essex, a charity offering play and support services to special needs children and young adults. After giving 13 clothed acupressure massages, my back has never felt so good! The massages helped to move my own “stuck” energy, as well as that of those treated, so all benefitted from the day.

Please contact me if you would like a presentation for your group/workplace or to host your own charity event.