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Acupuncture is a safe, traditional Chinese health treatment in which needles are inserted into your body’s pressure points to bring pain relief and to treat medical conditions. In Australia, it's recognised as a viable treatment and can be included in extras cover for out of hospital services.
Acupuncture stimulates the nerves, causing the brain to release hormones and other helpful chemicals that help you heal faster and feel better.
An acupuncturist will ask you what's wrong and then insert thin needles into the skin at strategic points around the body. They'll place each needle wherever they think it will have the most impact on your condition, drawing from both Chinese medical tradition and Western medical understanding of the nervous system.
It's a calming experience, because you'll most likely be lying down for the entire session while the practitioner monitors your progress and gently repositions the needles when necessary.
Acupuncture cover is considered an "extra", so you'll either have to have a standalone extras policy or a policy that combines hospital and extras. If your extras policy includes acupuncture cover, it will usually be under the "natural therapies" section alongside therapies like remedial massage and physio.
Beyond that, here are a few factors you should consider:
The following table lists the health funds that offer acupuncture cover and what the benefit limits are.
The acupuncture tradition goes back more than 2,000 years, which is enough time for masters of the craft to develop treatments for almost any illness you can think of. However, it is important to remember that it should complement your existing medical treatment rather than replace it.
Here are just a few of the conditions acupuncture can help treat:
Acupuncture isn't just for pain and broken bones. It is becoming a more and more popular treatment for other "imbalances" like weight loss. Studies suggest acupuncture may help with weight loss when combined with more common methods like a healthy diet and exercise.
According to Chinese tradition, negative emotions like anxiety and over-worry can lead to imbalances in the digestive organs.
An acupuncturist will treat this with the "five point" technique by placing needles in five points in and around your ear. You heard that right! Your ear contains meridian points that affect all regions of your body, including these five related to weight gain:
If you're slamming back your vitamins, cutting out the toxins and tracking your ovulation cycles, you'd be glad to know acupuncture can fit right into your fertility routine.
To promote fertility, the acupuncturist will place needles around your legs, lower abdomen and lower back with the purpose of increasing blood flow to your uterus and ovaries.
If you're preparing for in vitro fertilisation (IVF), acupuncture can help to reduce stress, regulate hormones and encourage ovulation.
And since it takes two to tango, acupuncture can help men increase their stamina and energy levels, while also helping to improving sperm count and quality.
Getting stuck with a bunch of needles might not seem like the best way to spend your pregnancy, until you find out that it may help with a lot of the other pregnancy-related nuisances like fatigue, morning sickness, aches, pains and swelling. Best of all, you can get that qi flowing to both you and your baby throughout the entire pregnancy (and beyond).
Anyone ever say you need to add some more yin to your yang? Well maybe they didn't put it quite like that. In Chinese medicine, anxiety takes on many forms but they're all caused by a deficiency in one of the yin-promoting organs. Acupuncture will specifically target each one, like so:
Have a chat with your acupuncturist about your anxiety and they may also recommend some traditional Chinese herbs that can bring some of that healing yin back to all the right spots.
Your policy will most likely pay a percentage of the total bill for each claimable visit and you'll be responsible for the rest. Here are a few ways to get that refund:
Medicare doesn’t cover acupuncture treatment unless your doctor performs the procedure during a private consultation. In this case, you may be eligible for a Medicare rebate of $21. Acupuncture is also a WorkCover approved treatment.
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Picture:Antonika Chanel - Unsplash
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