My Specialist GP is a Private GP practice with experienced GP’s who also have areas of special interest in Health. You can be a Member of our practice, ‘Pay as You Go’ or mix and match with your NHS GP. Our appointments are for 30 minutes and we are open Monday to Saturday. You can make appointments by phone, email or on our online booking service.
Our contact number is 01628 478036.
Click here to go to our website for full details.
Focus on Practitioners
We have many skilled and professional Practitioners based at The Marlow Clinic who offer a variety of therapies and treatments.
This month we are focusing on Dr Lucy Lui – Acupuncturist
Dr Lucy: Q&A for The Marlow Clinic
Introduction: Dr Lucy Liu, who is our Acupuncturist, has been practising acupuncture and Chinese medicine for over 25 years. She comes from a family of doctors in NE China and, after studying Chinese medicine at the prestigious Heilongjiang university for 6 years followed by hospital training, she was awarded her Doctor’s licence in 1994, followed later by her International Doctor’s licence, affiliated to the W.H.O.
She has worked both in China and internationally and, before moving to the UK, ran a Chinese medical clinic in The Gulf, working also with members of the Bahraini royal family. Dr Lucy is now recognized as one of the “go-to” alternative medical professionals in the area, especially for those experiencing chronic pain or illness in their daily lives.
Q1. Dr Lucy, firstly would you give us an idea of what exactly acupuncture is?
Well, it has always been a core part of traditional Chinese medicine which dates back over 3,000 years and, unlike so many so-called alternative remedies, it is now widely recognized by the mainstream medical profession as a valid complementary treatment to Western medicine.
Q2. How does it work?
It is based on the understanding of the flow of “Qi/Chi” energy around the human body via meridian pathways – and qualified practitioners use tiny sterile needles on the body’s classical acupuncture points that affect and control this energy flow, enabling them to treat a wide range of symptoms relating to pain and illness without the use of drugs and with no side effects.
Q3. How is it different to Western Medicine?
Traditional Chinese medicine looks at the human body holistically and aims to treat the whole person rather than just the isolated symptoms, and this approach makes it more successful in delivering long-term results.
Q4. Does it hurt?
As a rule no, although some people are more sensitive than others and may initially have a little discomfort for a few seconds – however the benefits that come from pain relief more than compensate for this!
Q5. What are the most common symptoms you treat?
Many of my patients come to me needing treatment for problems like lower back, shoulder and neck pain, high blood pressure, sinus issues, migraine, stress/anxiety, insomnia, infertility – or circulatory problems related to illnesses such as diabetes or arthritis. I also have a number of patients who suffer from rarer conditions such as tremors, Bell’s palsy, Lyme disease or who are recovering from strokes for example – and of course these have longer treatment cycles but I can deliver a better quality of life for these patients.
Q6. How could the clients of The Marlow Clinic benefit from Chinese medical treatment?
I know that many of us lead very busy business lives, are often time-poor and stressed out. Many will also sit hunched over a computer for hours every day but will disregard the associated headaches, stiff backs, painful joints, bad circulation, tiredness and general lack of energy – accepting these as the baggage that comes with the job. But, of course, these don’t go away but will gradually get worse and so will often end up affecting our business performance – and often affecting personal relationships as well. Life is a balance – we Chinese call it Ying and Yang – so if a body is out of balance then this affects its ability to perform properly. It’s the same for any business, you need to unblock the blocked channels and get it running more efficiently – otherwise the business will deteriorate and eventually stop working. It’s really very simple, a healthy person, like a healthy company, will perform better and live longer!
Q7. How many treatments do people need?
This will depend on a few important factors:
- Your age. Depending on the issue, the younger you are the less treatments you are likely to need – just one may be enough in some cases.
- How long you have had the problem and how much pain you are suffering. If you have recently noticed the issue then one or two sessions might be enough to deal with it – but, if you suffered for a long time then more sessions will probably be needed. It depends on the individual.
During our initial consultation I assess the treatment needed and suggest an initial course and, when completed, I then have a check-up and re-assessment with my patient – and we decide together on what may be needed in the future.
Note: Dr Lucy Liu is our resident Acupuncturist and is available Monday – Saturday. She can be contacted directly on 07736 762977
email: lucyliu6892@yahoo.com