Victoria Bennett – Sydenham Acupuncture

Victoria is the Sydney Self Defence Centre’s in house health practitioner with over 8 years experience working in Health and Fitness Centre’s such as Fitness First, Vision and Balmain Fitness.

Victoria specialises in providing effective pain relief for acute and chronic sports injuries. Using a combination of Massage, Acupuncture, Gua Sha/ IASTM, Cupping and Moxibustion, Victoria is able to tailor her sessions according to the patient’s need in order deliver rapid results to decrease your healing time and get you back to the training floor!

In addition to sports injuries, Victoria also offers herbal medicine consultations and relaxation sessions perfect for parents in need of some TLC while the kids are in class. Relaxation sessions include a combination of swedish massage along with 5-Element acupuncture. In these sessions, only the finest Japanese stainless steel needles are used (painless) and points are selected based on traditional Chinese pulse diagnosis to “tune up” your health. These sessions are available for 1 hour for singles, or 90 minutes for couples.

Cupping
Cupping is an ancient technique used to draw out stagnation and toxins from the muscles. Whilst many online articles will report that cupping can cause capillaries to ‘rupture’, causing bruising, this is not correct. When cupping is used applied correctly it brings stagnant blood that is already in stiff muscles back to the surface of the skin in order for it to recirculate, bringing healthy oxygenated blood back into the muscles.

Lancets can be used in conjunction with cupping to remove congealed blood that can be trapped in the muscles from long term injuries such as frozen shoulders, or for cosmetic purposes such as removing rosacea or broken capillaries.

Gua Sha / IASTM
Like Cupping, Gua Sha can also be used to draw stagnated blood to the surface of the skin, resulting in the appearance of small red petechiae called ‘sha’, that fade in 2 to 3 days. In the last 10 years Physiotherapists, Osteopaths and Chiropractors have realised the incredible effects of Gua Sha, adopting this technique into their practices under new western labels  re-naming the technique “Instrument Assisted Soft Tissue Mobilisation” or the “Graston Technique”  both of which are gaining rapid popularity across professional sports teams.

Regardless of the name of the therapy, or the material of the tool being used Gua Sha and IASTM therapies can be used to rapidly increase joint mobility and reduce pain caused from long term injuries, often even preventing the need for surgeries. Gua sha is one of the most (if not THE MOST) effective therapy for whiplash, knee pain, ITB strains, back and shoulder pain, tennis/golfers elbow and carpal tunnel syndrome.

In addition to musculoskeletal disorders, Gua Sha is also proven to improve the immune system by removing blockages in the lymph nodes, as well as providing rapid relief for migraines and respiratory conditions.

Moxibustion Therapy
Moxibustion is the burning of the herb, Artemisia vulgaris, AKA ‘Mugwort’. Moxa can take many forms, including cigar-like moxa rolls, rice grain moxa, and compressed smokeless sticks or cones. When burnt, moxa is used either directly on the skin, held above the skin in the cigar shaped rolls, or in conjunction with acupuncture, with compressed moxa hats used on-top of the needles to take heat into the acupuncture point.

Direct Moxibustion is ideal for treating acute injuries where there is edema and swelling such as ankle sprains, herniated discs and spinal problems, acute lower back sprains, or calf cramps. This therapy is non invasive and does not require pressure from the therapist, giving immediate pain relief on areas that are otherwise too painful to touch.

When used in conjunction with acupuncture, moxa will induce a very deep state of relaxation during the session, with a subtle boost in energy over the following week. This therapy is also ideal for giving an energy boost to anyone suffering from Chronic Fatigue, digestive disorders, or menstrual pain.

To make a booking CLICK HERE