Breathing is our source of life. A relaxed breathing ensures
make us feel good and healthy. When breathing is labored
can be scary. Whether it's asthma or hyperventilation, breathing problems are always serious.

The respiratory tract
Well-known forms of respiratory disease are asthma, chronic bronchitis and emphysema. These diseases are often confused because the syndromes partially overlap.
What the disorders have in common is that the air is not released through the
airways into the lungs. This is the result of chronic inflammation of (part of) the airways or lungs. This inflammation can have various causes. In asthma, this is usually an allergic reaction to an outside stimulus, such as air pollution, dust, pollen, pet hair or food. With chronic bronchitis and emphysema, this is usually a long-term exposure to harmful substances, such as tobacco smoke.
Other common but milder forms of breathing problems
are hyperventilation, shortness of breath and apnea (short breathing arrest). Bee
these complaints are the problems caused by an upset
breathing rhythm.

What Can Acupuncture Do?
The airways are an important part of our immune system
because they are in direct contact with the outside world. When the immune system does not work properly, we become more susceptible to diseases. Acupuncture treatment for respiratory problems strengthens the immune system, relaxes the airways and chest and reduces mucus production. With complaints such as hyperventilation and shortness of breath, acupuncture ensures that the rhythm of breathing becomes healthy again. Breathing becomes calmer and deeper. Your complaints diminish or disappear considerably. With a chronic respiratory disease, acupuncture ensures that the complaints diminish in such a way that daily life becomes a lot more pleasant again. How many treatments are needed depends on the nature and severity of your complaints. Your acupuncturist will tell you more about this.

Bladder complaints are common, especially in women. In daily life they can cause a lot of discomfort. You may think that this discomfort is part of you getting older or having gone through labor. Nothing is less true.

Cystitis
Urine is collected in the bladder and leaves the body through the urinary tract. Women have a short urinary tract, which means that outside bacteria can easily cause an infection to the bladder. Usually the bacteria come from the area around the anus. But bacteria can also reach the bladder through the urethra during sex. Men can also get a bladder infection, albeit less quickly. Cystitis can lead to prostatitis in them. The prostate is a gland that surrounds the urethra. A bladder infection gives annoying complaints; a feeling of pressure in the abdomen, a constant urge to urinate and pain while urinating. To know if you have a bladder infection, you can have a urine test done by your doctor.

Incontinence
We call incontinence not being able to control urine (or faeces). Urinary loss without urge is called stress or exercise incontinence. This often occurs after pregnancy or in older women and is caused by weakened pelvic floor muscles. The urine leakage occurs during sudden exertion such as sneezing, running or laughing. Another form is urge incontinence. This occurs in women and men. There is an urge, but it is not possible to hold the urine. Sometimes urge incontinence is caused by a bladder infection, diabetes or a neurological condition. The symptoms of urge incontinence resemble those of an overactive bladder. With the latter complaint, there is a strong urge more than eight times a day, but the urine can be retained.

What Can Acupuncture Do?
First of all, the acupuncturist wants to know what the cause of your complaints is. If that is clear, he can adjust the treatment accordingly. In the case of incontinence, the treatment is aimed, among other things, at increasing the muscle tension around the bladder and in the pelvic floor. With a bladder infection your general resistance is increased so that bacteria have less chance to multiply. Acupuncture treatment improves the functioning of the urinary tract. The big advantage of acupuncture is that it also has a preventive effect. How many treatments are needed depends on the nature and severity of your complaints. The acupuncturist will tell you more about this.

The word burnout comes from burned out and that literally means: burned out. Burnout is exactly how people with a burnout feel. All reserves have been used up. This total lack of energy has many consequences. Perhaps the most dramatic of these is that people with burnout no longer know how to enjoy life. They have been concerned with just survival for a long time.

Overload
Most people get a burnout because they live too long with great physical and / or mental tension. Feeling tension is not unhealthy in itself. The body responds to unexpected or exciting events by producing adrenaline. That has a reason; we become alert. Radical changes such as the death of a loved one or the birth of a child can also cause tension. That is normal. Feeling tense becomes a problem if it happens too often or lasts too long. If you are chronically tense, you will no longer relax. This often arises in work situations. If the workload is too high, the tasks are too complicated or the atmosphere is bad, this can structurally undermine our peace of mind. But a busy life, in which we combine work and caring for children and / or parents, can also cause long-term overload.

Symptoms
Burnout has many symptoms, the most important of which is fatigue. But a negative attitude and a negative self-image are also common. You can also suffer from: headache, dizziness, nausea, irritability, nervousness, stomach and intestinal problems, hyperventilation, menstrual and potency disorders, increased blood pressure, increased cholesterol and skin problems.

What Can Acupuncture Do?
Because a burnout clearly involves a lack of energy, acupuncture treatment is primarily aimed at restoring the energy balance in your body. As a result, you will notice that other complaints immediately decrease. The tension in your body disappears and your mind calms down. In addition, the treatment also tackles the specific complaints that you experience. The acupuncturist can also recommend additional therapy, such as breathing and relaxation exercises. How many treatments are needed depends on the nature and severity of your complaints. Sometimes a close collaboration with your doctor is advisable. The acupuncturist will tell you more about it.

RSI stands for Repetitive Strain Injury. This refers to complaints that arise because we keep making the same movement. This includes pain in the neck, shoulders, arms and fingers. The complaints cause a lot of discomfort and can considerably limit your freedom of movement. They can also lead to more serious complaints such as inflammation and chronic pain.

Always the same movement
The tennis arm and the mouse arm are the most famous examples of RSI. But anyone who moves their arms, hands or fingers in the same way for a long time for work, sports or hobby can get RSI. Think of people who are behind the cash register or who work on the assembly line. Or people who have to stand in the same position for a long time, such as hairdressers and people who work in construction. There are a number of things you can do to prevent RSI. You can take more breaks, move more during your work or improve your working conditions. Unfortunately, many people, despite starting complaints such as muscle fatigue, cramps or a numb feeling, continue their activities without changing anything. This way the complaints worsen and it eventually becomes RSI.

What Can Acupuncture Do?
With RSI there is a considerable energy blockage in the parts of your body that hurt. With acupuncture, this blockage is lifted and blood flow is stimulated. This nourishes your muscles, tendons and joints, making them function smoothly again. In addition, an acupuncture treatment increases your overall resistance, which immediately reduces the severity of your complaints. How many treatments are needed depends on the nature and severity of your complaints. The acupuncturist will tell you more about this.

Almost everyone has a headache at some point. The symptoms can vary from a nagging pain of a few hours to a migraine attack of three days. So there are different types of headaches. In all cases, your daily life is significantly disrupted. The nagging pain can lead to fatigue and irritability. With a migraine attack, all you want to do is lie in bed in a dark, quiet room.

Medical cause
Headaches can have many different causes. For an acupuncturist it is important to know whether you have been to your doctor, dentist or specialist with your complaints. It may be that the headache is the result of another condition, such as an ear or nasal cavity infection, an inflammation of the jaw, an elevated blood pressure or a crooked vertebra.

Tension headaches and migraines
The most common types of headaches are tension headaches and migraines. Tension headaches arise because the muscles of your shoulders and neck are tense. This decreases the blood flow to your head and causes a nagging pain. This pain can last for a few hours or a few weeks. In migraines, a throbbing or stabbing pain usually occurs on one side of the head that can last from a few hours to a few days. An attack is often preceded by various symptoms, such as nausea, vomiting, feeling tingling and seeing flashes.

What Can Acupuncture Do?
Because the complaints arise from disturbances in the energy balance of your body, the acupuncturist looks for the specific causes of your headache. He pays a lot of attention to the precise location of the pain, the type of pain and any other causes such as emotional pressure or stress. An acupuncture treatment for headaches is aimed at decreasing the excess of "rising" energy. Because your energy balance is in balance, the blood circulation improves so that your complaints decrease quickly. How many treatments are needed depends on the nature and severity of your complaints. The acupuncturist will tell you more about this.

As soon as spring comes, it starts; sneezing, coughing, irritated eyes and tightness. Hay fever often gives a feeling of general malaise. And that precisely in the period when you want to enjoy yourself to the fullest; spring and summer!

Hypersensitivity
Hay fever is a hypersensitive reaction of the body to pollen grains (pollen). In the spring the outside air is full of pollen grains because all trees and plants bloom and reproduce. The pollen is spread for reproduction, by insects or by the wind. You won't be bothered by the trees and plants that are pollinated by insects. These can be recognized by their brightly colored flowers. It is the wind-pollinating trees and plants that cause your complaints. Pollen grains are not harmful in themselves, but if you have hay fever, your body does consider these grains to be dangerous invaders. In fact, your defense mechanism is confused. To combat the invaders, your body produces the substance histamine. This substance causes the symptoms. Hay fever symptoms are diverse but are always caused by the mucous membranes of the nose, throat and eyes becoming over-stimulated. This can lead to sneezing, a runny nose, irritated eyes, breathlessness and fatigue.

What Can Acupuncture Do?
If you come to an acupuncturist during the period in which you already have complaints, the treatment is primarily aimed at relieving the complaints. Acupuncture therefore also works well with acute hay fever. But because the defense mechanism does not work properly with hay fever, the treatment focuses on that too. That is why acupuncture for hay fever is very suitable as a preventive treatment. We therefore advise you to start treatments well before spring starts. In the spring your defense mechanism will work optimally and you will have no or much fewer complaints. In the season itself you can opt for a follow-up treatment. How many treatments are needed depends on the nature and severity of your complaints. The acupuncturist can tell you more about this.

We all suffer from dry, irritated skin at one point or another. We immediately experience how annoying that is; the skin is itchy and flaky and red. If you are someone with a skin problem, this discomfort is a daily recurring fact for you. Especially when there is a serious skin condition. Not only the physical discomfort but also the emotional and social consequences can be quite drastic. You probably recognize that.

The skin
Our skin is an organ. As with the other organs, the healthy functioning of our skin can be disrupted. Both internal and external factors influence the functioning of our skin. Internal factors can be: the malfunctioning of an internal organ, the retention of waste products, a malfunctioning immune system or great emotional pressure. External factors can include wrong eating habits, drinking too little, too much exposure to the sun, the use of medicines and skin products or the weather conditions. The most famous skin conditions are eczema, acne, psoriasis and shingles. Eczema often develops as an allergic reaction to certain substances. With acne, there is an excessive production of sebum that leads to minor inflammation. Shingles is the result of a viral infection, and psoriasis is a chronic skin disease. In all cases, these skin conditions lead to a lot of physical discomfort. But the emotional and social consequences can also be major. Feelings of shame and isolation and a lack of self-confidence can severely disrupt daily life.

What Can Acupuncture Do?
With skin disorders there is always an excess of energy. The energy is locked up in the body and looks for a way out through the skin. The acupuncture treatment aims to release this excess energy. This quickly reduces the severity of the complaints. In addition, the treatment is aimed at strengthening the immune system and restoring your energy balance. This also reduces complaints. You quickly notice that living with a skin problem becomes a lot less annoying. How many treatments are needed depends on the nature, severity and duration of your complaints. The acupuncturist will tell you more about it.

One in five people regularly suffer from stomach and / or intestinal complaints. The stomach and intestines are part of our digestive system. If that doesn't work well, you can feel very uncomfortable. A malfunctioning digestion has a major influence on our sense of well-being.

Irritable or spastic bowel
The nerves in the colon cause the muscles of the intestines to contract. This will transport the food waste through your intestine. In an irritable bowel, these nerves are hypersensitive to all kinds of influences. If this hypersensitivity is accompanied by cramps, we call this a spastic bowel. An irritable bowel usually gives the following symptoms; bloating, diarrhea, which may or may not alternate with constipation, flatulence and abdominal pain. There can also be large fluctuations in your appetite. It is not generally possible to say which foods cause a nuisance. That is different for everyone.

Upset stomach
In the stomach, our food is mixed with stomach acid, which causes it to be digested. The stomach acid is also a defense against the bacteria that enter with our food. A common stomach complaint is heartburn. This is usually caused by irregular and / or excessive eating. But alcohol consumption, a lot of cold food and smoking are also not good for the functioning of your stomach. Other common stomach complaints are nausea, regurgitation and bloating.

What Can Acupuncture Do?
The digestive energy must be directed downwards. In the event of disturbances in the energy balance, this energy increases. The acupuncture treatment is aimed at lowering the energy. This reduces complaints such as regurgitation, heartburn and vomiting quickly. Often there is also a local energy blockage in the intestines, which can be resolved with treatment. Furthermore, acupuncture ensures that your digestive system as a whole will function properly. In addition, the acupuncturist can supplement the treatment with nutritional advice, massage or herbal therapy. How many treatments are needed depends on the nature and severity of your complaints. The acupuncturist will tell you more about this.

In principle, a healthy menstrual cycle is free of complaints. Yet there are many women who suffer from both physical and emotional menstrual complaints. Sometimes the complaints are so bad that you cannot function normally for a few days. That is very annoying. Menstruation is a natural process that should not cause so much discomfort every month.

Before menstruation
Menstrual complaints often arise from the hormone changes that take place in the period before and during menstruation. Most complaints occur in the period before your period starts. We call this the Premenstrual Syndrome (PMS). The complaints can be emotional as well as physical. Many women with PMS suffer from mood swings, irritability, and sadness. Common physical complaints are pain in the abdomen, fatigue, headache, joint pain, back pain and sore breasts.

The cycle
In addition to premenstrual complaints, there are also complaints that arise from a disruption in the menstrual cycle. If the menstrual cycle is out of balance, menstruation can become irregular, last too long, or last too short. It can also lead to excessive blood loss, bleeding between periods, or menstrual pain. Many women think that all the complaints mentioned are simply part of menstruation. That is not true. A healthy period is regular, does not hurt, and does not elicit strong emotional reactions.

What Can Acupuncture Do?
An acupuncture treatment focuses on your hormone balance and the energy balance in your abdomen. However, the energy balance can also be disturbed elsewhere in your body, so that your period does not go well. Sometimes treatment is supplemented with herbal therapy. An acupuncture treatment balances your energy balance. This gives your menstrual period a healthy course and your physical and emotional complaints disappear. How many treatments are needed depends on the nature and severity of your complaints. The acupuncturist will tell you more about this.

If you are diagnosed with cancer, your life will change dramatically. In addition to the emotional and mental shock that you have to deal with, you usually immediately enter an intensive research and treatment process. Cancer treatments can have serious side effects. In the already difficult process, these side effects can be an additional physical and emotional burden.

Uncertainty
A period of great uncertainty begins, in which you can often be tense and anxious. This uncertainty can demand a lot from you. In addition, you can also have to deal with sometimes serious physical complaints, not only as a result of your illness but also as a result of the treatments. The side effects of chemotherapy, hormone therapy, immunotherapy and radiation can be severe. The most common complaints are fatigue, nausea, skin complaints, numbness in the hands and feet, loss of taste and loss of concentration. Hormone therapy can also cause menopausal symptoms. These side effects can also cause you to become discouraged and lose the energy to get through the treatment properly.

What Can Acupuncture Do?
In short and simply, acupuncture brings your energy balance back into balance, both physically and mentally, so that the aforementioned complaints can reduce or disappear. This is because (local) energy blockages or shortages are removed. In the case of fatigue, for example, there is clearly an energy shortage. The treatment will initially focus on feeding your energy. For complaints such as nausea, the treatment is mainly aimed at improving your digestion. After an extensive intake, the acupuncturist will draw up a plan that is completely tailored to your specific situation and complaints.

Furthermore, there is a good chance that during an acupuncture treatment the tension in your body decreases and your mind calms down. This relaxation can have a positive effect on your health and well-being. You will then feel fitter and stronger so that you can physically handle the treatments better. It is also likely that you will become more emotionally balanced. This can be very valuable in a period when you have to deal with a lot. You may want to reflect on what is happening and what has happened. Your outlook on life may change. Acupuncture can also be a valuable support for you in this possible process of reflection and reorientation.

When to start?
Acupuncture gives the best results if it is started at the same time as regular treatments. It is then most likely that any side effects will not occur or their severity will be limited. But it can also be useful to start acupuncture at a later stage. Long-standing complaints can then also diminish or even disappear. How many treatments are needed depends entirely on your situation and the severity of your complaints. The acupuncturist will tell you more about it.

Menopause is the phase in which you say goodbye to your fertile years as a woman. Your role in life changes. It is a natural process. Physical and emotional complaints can arise through changes in the hormone balance. These complaints are part of it. But for some women they become so intense that functioning in daily life becomes a problem.

The complaints
We speak of the transition from the moment that menstruation has not occurred for a year. That moment is usually somewhere between 45 and 55 years old. But much earlier you can experience complaints related to the impending menopause. The hormonal changes can start from the age of 35. The production of estrogen and progesterone decreases and that can lead to all kinds of physical symptoms. The most famous are night sweats, hot flushes, palpitations, vaginal dryness, fatigue and headaches. But there is also a lot going on in the life of a woman in transition from an emotional point of view. You have to say goodbye to your youthful and fertile period. Many women find that a difficult process and feel depressed, emotional or moody.

What Can Acupuncture Do?
Within acupuncture, menopausal symptoms are associated with a reduced reproductive energy, called Jing. This energy is stored in the kidneys and can be compared to a battery. An acupuncture treatment therefore focuses on the proper functioning of your kidney energy. In addition, your hormone balance is brought into balance. This reduces the intensity of your complaints. Moreover, your complaints will occur less often. When you regularly undergo acupuncture treatment, you will find that living with menopause doesn't have to be so uncomfortable. How many treatments are needed depends on the nature and severity of your complaints. The acupuncturist will tell you more about this.

Obesity
The most common cause of obesity is too much (unhealthy) food and too little exercise. You are overweight when you weigh more than is normal for your height. There are several ways to measure that. Yet it remains difficult to determine because what is normal? In any case, there is always overweight when your weight becomes a danger to your health. We call that obesity. To know if this is the case with you, it is best to rely on the judgment of your doctor. Obesity increases the risk of cardiovascular disease, diabetes, joint disorders, gallbladder disorders and shortness of breath. But that's not all. Severe obesity can also have emotional and social consequences. Feelings of depression, loneliness, and isolation can cause many problems.

What Can Acupuncture Do?
Obesity is not a strictly physical problem for an acupuncturist. He approaches body and mind as a whole. He naturally examines the physical causes of your obesity. How is your energy balance? Are the organs involved functioning properly? An acupuncture treatment ensures that your digestive system works optimally. But the acupuncturist also wonders why you have become overweight.
Do you always feel hungry?
Do you eat out of displeasure?
Stress?
An acupuncture treatment ensures that you will experience a physical and mental balance. This removes the need to overeat. In combination with any nutritional and / or exercise advice, this ensures that your overweight disappears in a healthy way. How many treatments are required differs per person. The acupuncturist can tell you more about this.

Burning, nagging, stinging or stinging. Pain has many manifestations. Whatever form you suffer from, pain takes a lot of energy. Often people with pain complaints have already tried everything to get rid of it, but nothing seems to really help. Pain management can indeed be complex. In addition, the perception of pain is very personal and can vary greatly.

Acute and chronic pain
Pain can be divided into acute pain and chronic pain. Acute pain lasts for up to six months and is caused by tissue damage, such as a wound, a muscle tear or a pinched nerve. In acute pain there is therefore a direct and logical connection with its cause. This type of pain is transient. When your pain complaints persist for more than six months and / or when no clear cause can be found, we speak of chronic pain. This does not necessarily mean that you suffer from your pain complaints to the same degree every day. The intensity of chronic pain can vary and sometimes the pain may even be absent for a while. The perception of the same pain complaints can also differ greatly from person to person. Pain is very personal. Regardless of your pain perception, chronic pain often has a major impact on your daily life and on your state of mind. It can be very tiring and at times make you despondent. People with chronic pain are the largest group of pain patients. In the Netherlands, the number is estimated at more than two million.

What Can Acupuncture Do?
Pain has traditionally been the best known indication for acupuncture. Acupuncture treatment can have an analgesic effect for acute pain. This is because while stimulating certain acupuncture points, pain-relieving and anti-inflammatory substances are released that ensure that you experience less or no pain. In addition, there is a good chance that the treatment has a relaxing effect on you, so that you will feel less pain. In addition to the direct effect mentioned above, the treatment of chronic pain uses the holistic approach associated with acupuncture. This means that an acupuncturist not only looks at your pain complaints but also at your health as a whole. Because the cause of chronic pain is less clear, this approach can be of great help. An acupuncturist takes the time to listen to your story and experiences. To make a diagnosis, he looks at the energy balance in your entire body. The disruptions in it give him a lot of information about your pain complaints. There is a good chance that the underlying cause of your chronic pain can be tackled. The treatment aims to restore the balance in your body. The acupuncture treatment will be supplemented with lifestyle and nutritional advice. In this way, you will receive instruments with which you can promote your health and with which you can better deal with the pain when it arises again. How many treatments are needed depends on the nature and intensity of your complaints. The acupuncturist will tell you more about this.

For more information about recent scientific research into the efficacy of acupuncture in pain, we refer you to the Dutch Acupuncture Knowledge Center.

Unscrew a bottle or open an envelope; they are simple everyday actions. Unless you have a rheumatic disease. Then these simple actions can be a great challenge. People with a rheumatic disease are often very limited in their daily life, simply because many actions hurt or fail.

Pain and stiffness
Rheumatic diseases include more than 200 different diseases of the joints or surrounding tissue. These are not all equally drastic. Temporary conditions such as bursitis or tendinitis are painful but not permanent. The chronic joint disorders are permanent and have a major impact on our daily functioning. Bechterew's disease, osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis and juvenile chronic arthritis (JCA) are examples of chronic rheumatic diseases. In all cases, the complaints mainly consist of swelling, pain and stiffness. This makes moving difficult and painful.

Causes
A rheumatic disease can have various causes. Acute conditions, such as acute rheumatism, are often caused by inflammation of the joints. The chronic conditions often arise due to a combination of factors. Most of the time, the immune system is seriously disturbed. There may also be a predisposition, although that is never the only cause. Physical overload, such as moving incorrectly and / or too much or being overweight, often makes the complaints worse. But being under mental or emotional stress for a long time can also increase the complaints.

What Can Acupuncture Do?
An acupuncture treatment is primarily aimed at combating your pain complaints and improving the functioning of your joints. Because complaints such as swelling (inflammation), stiffness and pain are caused by energy blockages, the acupuncturist will remove them. This reduces the swelling and stiffness and reduces the pain. Acupuncture cannot heal damaged joints, but it can counteract the worsening of the complaints by strengthening the immune system. Your overall resistance improves, which increases the quality of life. A few treatments are usually sufficient for acute conditions. Multiple treatments are required for chronic complaints. The acupuncturist will tell you more about this.

Every in five adults has suffered back pain from time to time. One person suffers from it once. For the other it is a recurring problem. In that case the complaints can become chronic. Back complaints have a major impact on our daily functioning. After all, the back is an important part of our musculoskeletal system. When every movement hurts, everyday life can become tiring and stressful.

Lower back pain
There are many forms of back pain. The most famous are hernias and sciatica. They have a clear, physical cause. But more often people suffer from so-called nonspecific back complaints. It is not clear what the exact cause is. The pain is almost always in the lower back. Some people experience a mild, nagging pain, for others the pain is excruciating. The pain is often accompanied by muscle cramps, stiffness and radiation to other places. Back complaints are usually caused by incorrect posture or by making incorrect movements, for example heavy and / or incorrect lifting. But lack of exercise, obesity, high work pressure or tension can also lead to back complaints. Sometimes acute back pain is caused by suddenly making a wrong movement. That is called spit. Physique, hereditary factors, organ problems or abnormalities in the spine can also play a role in the development of the complaints.

What Can Acupuncture Do?
The acupuncturist will elaborate on the nature and location of your pain. It may be that your back pain is caused by energy blockages elsewhere in your body. Low back pain can often be associated with kidney energy, for example. In this way, an acupuncturist can not only effectively combat pain and relax the muscles, but also tackle the cause of your complaints. Your energy management is also brought back into balance. The big advantage of this is that additional complaints such as insomnia and fatigue disappear quickly. How many treatments are needed depends on the nature and severity of your complaints. The acupuncturist will tell you more about this.

Sleep well and unhindered; it seems so obvious. But for many people, sleeping is not a matter of course. Sleeping is a problem for them. Sleeping problems are serious. A lack of sleep directly affects your well-being and behavior. And ultimately your health.

Always awake
Not everyone needs the same amount of sleep. Some people need three hours of sleep, others need eight hours. We speak of a sleep problem if you have trouble sleeping for more than a few days. The most common sleeping problems are not being able to fall asleep properly and / or stay asleep and waking up too early. The term insomnia (insomnia) is used when there is a structural, long-term lack of nighttime sleep.

Causes
Sleeping problems often arise from tension or fatigue. But pain, alcohol consumption, staying active too long in the evening or a restless sleeping environment can also disrupt the sleep rhythm. The consequences of too little sleep are serious. It can lead to concentration problems, irritability, loss of appetite and resistance. There is a great temptation to use sleeping pills. They seem to offer a solution, but as soon as you stop, the problems return. In addition, sleep aids often have side effects and can be addictive.

What Can Acupuncture Do?
In acupuncture, sleep problems are seen as a disruption of our natural rhythm. That rhythm is formed by two energies: action (yang) and rest (yin). In the yin-yang symbol you can see how these energies flow into each other. This can also be seen in our daily pattern: we get up and become active. During the day we become calmer. This is how we prepare for our night's rest. This natural rhythm is easily disrupted in our busy existence. This natural energy balance is restored with an acupuncture treatment. The shortage of yin energy is supplemented or the excess of yang energy is slowed down. The acupuncturist will also talk to you about your living, eating and sleeping patterns. If necessary, you will receive additional advice. How many treatments are needed depends on the nature and severity of your complaints. The acupuncturist will tell you more about this.

Exercise is healthy for body and mind. We all know that by now. But if you exercise too much or too hard, it can harm your health. Exercising too intensively is often the result of the high pressure you feel, from the environment or within yourself. If the pressure gets too high, physical injuries can occur. It can also make you quite nervous and tense.

Sport and energy
When you start exercising, it is wise to build it up well. Your body has to get used to the heavier load. If you train too hard too quickly, the risk of injury increases. But even if you, as an experienced athlete, demand too much of yourself, you can suffer from injuries. Or from mental overload. In addition to specific sports injuries such as tendinitis and muscle strains, problems such as burnout, concentration problems and fatigue can occur. And just before a competition, you can suffer from headaches, stomach pain or intestinal cramps.

What Can Acupuncture Do?
The acupuncture treatment is aimed at restoring the energy balance. Both a shortage and an excess of energy can cause complaints. In addition, the acupuncturist immerses himself in the complaints themselves and their backgrounds. Where is your complaint? Does he keep coming back to that place? What is the training and eating pattern like? The treatment stimulates blood flow. This nourishes your muscles, tendons and joints so that they remove and heal waste products faster. Because your physical energy comes into balance, your inner balance is also restored. How many treatments are needed depends on the nature and severity of your complaints. The acupuncturist can tell you more about this.

Tai Chi and Qi Gong
The acupuncturist can recommend Tai Chi or Qi Gong as an additional therapy or training form. This is a form of movement in which wide, slow movements are made with attention and consciously breaths. It is a beneficial method for body and mind. It is ideal for athletes who want to train less or if you, as an athlete, want to work on (preventing) mental overload.

We don't need to tell you anymore that smoking is bad for your health. Most smokers would like to quit. That is often easier said than done. Quitting smoking is difficult because of the strong withdrawal symptoms. Because of this you are quickly inclined to start smoking again.

Addictive
Besides the physical addiction to nicotine, it is especially the mental dependence that makes quitting smoking so difficult. Especially in exciting situations; when we are restless, depressed or irritated, this mental dependence often arises. Or at a fun party if you are happy. At such times it is quite difficult not to smoke. Even if your physical addiction has long since passed.

Withdrawal symptoms
The withdrawal symptoms arise as soon as the body's nicotine needs are no longer met. It starts with discomfort that can eventually lead to insomnia, headaches, irritability, agitation and binge eating. It is precisely when you used to reach for a cigarette that you feel the withdrawal symptoms the worst. Your body will be used to the new situation within a few weeks. The withdrawal symptoms therefore pass quite quickly. But those first weeks are the most difficult.

What Can Acupuncture Do?
The acupuncturist is your ally in quitting smoking. With an acupuncture treatment your withdrawal symptoms diminish in such a way that you can easily stop smoking. Often your withdrawal symptoms disappear completely. You have to be motivated to really stop. Your motivation is the most important condition for a lasting result.
Acupuncture treatment focuses on the physical and mental aspects of your withdrawal symptoms. The lung energy is stimulated, the vitality increases and feelings of restlessness and irritation disappear. You will soon feel more energetic, which increases your motivation and willpower. On average, three treatments within a four-week period are required to successfully stop smoking. Ear acupuncture is usually used, with small indwelling needles to support the treatment. The acupuncturist will tell you more about this.

Having a child; it seems so obvious. Yet for many people it is not. Sometimes a pregnancy simply does not occur. Many then try treatment with IVF, ICSI or IUI. Such a treatment is an intensive process. Acupuncture can be used to increase the chance of a natural pregnancy or to make the IVF / ICSI / IUI process less stressful. Research has shown that this significantly increases the chance of pregnancy.

Reduced fertility
Sometimes reduced fertility has a clear medical cause, such as problems with the ovaries or fallopian tubes, or you have the condition endometriosis. The tissue that lines your uterine wall grows elsewhere in your body. Furthermore, a poor physical condition of the woman or man can lead to a low quality of the egg or sperm cells. In many cases, however, there is no real medical cause. We then speak of 'misunderstood sterility'.

IVF and acupuncture
IVF stands for in vitro fertilization. During IVF treatment, the eggs are fertilized outside the woman's body and placed back again. To increase the chances of success, the woman undergoes hormone treatment beforehand. The IVF process is intensive and exciting, both physically and emotionally. Research shows that the chance of a pregnancy per cycle is on average 20 to 25 percent. When acupuncture is used in addition to the treatment, the chance of pregnancy greatly increases. Other treatments in which acupuncture can be used are ICSI (intra-cytoplasmic sperm injection) and IUI (intra-uterine insemination).

What Does Acupuncture Do?
An acupuncture treatment restores the energy balance in your body. This has a positive effect on your menstrual cycle, your hormone balance and the quality of the eggs. In men, acupuncture has a positive effect on the quality of the sperm. This increases the risk of a natural pregnancy and reduces the risk of miscarriage.

During IVF treatment, acupuncture has the following effects:

• it regulates your menstrual cycle
• it stimulates blood circulation in ovaries and uterus
• it improves blood flow and thickening of the endometrium
• it improves the quality of the egg
• it improves sperm quality
• it reduces the contraction of your uterus upon replacement
• it reduces the side effects of the medication

IVF treatment can also be an emotionally intensive process. Acupuncture treatment calms you down and increases your sense of confidence. This increases the chance of a successful treatment. If you are planning to undergo IVF, ICSI or IUI treatment, it is recommended that you make an appointment with your acupuncturist six to eight weeks in advance. He or she can draw up a treatment plan together with you, so that you get through this intensive period well and if possible with a good result.