Why do people choose to use complementary medicine such as shiatsu, acupuncture and herbs? 

There are as many reasons as there are people who use it but the most common reasons I see in my clinic are: 

Chronic disease  Living with an illness long term can be hard work, mentally and physically. Many people enjoy having a complementary medicine practitioner in their team to work with symptoms of their condition, side effects of treatment and to reduce stress. I have a particular interest in CFS/ME, fibromyalgia, long COVID, post viral cough, chronic respiratory disease and autoimmune disorders. 

Mental health support  Anxiety, depression and mental stress are very common in our modern age. Many people add shiatsu, acupuncture and herbal medicine to their self care toolkit to support their mental health. This includes hormonal mood disorders such as PMS and the more severe PMDD, both of which can be exacerbated during peri-menopause. 

Just because you like it!   You don’t need to be unwell to seek treatment. Some people come on a regular basis for what they call “a tune up”,  just to keep things ticking along.