What we treat


At Kenmore Centre for Health we treat people, not conditions, and we individualise care. We usually use a combination of therapeutic tools rather than a single standardised intervention which is typical of research studies. The goal of our practitioners is to understand your health history and apply their knowledge and skills to support your desired outcome. We provide care with the goal of supporting Men’s Health, Women’s Health and Children’s health.

Due to advertising regulations required by the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA), we are only able to advertise conditions we treat that are currently supported by evidence of a very high standard. This is called ‘acceptable evidence’. The single largest volume of acupuncture research has focussed on musculoskeletal and neurological conditions (1), so it is not surprising that the ‘acceptable evidence’ relates to these areas.

We are able to access all of the evidence (there are 16,442 Acupuncture Randomized Controlled Trials on the Cochrane Library Database) to provide care for clients for the full range of symptoms that is expected from an acupuncture and Chinese medicine practice, we just can’t advertise these.

The following are some examples of what we treat which is supported by ‘acceptable evidence’.

  • Migraine Prevention If both topiramate and propranolol are unsuitable or ineffective (2,3)
  • Chronic Tension type headache (2,4)
  • Chronic non-specific Low Back pain (5,6)
  • Neck pain (7)
  • Shoulder pain (7)
  • Plantar heel pain (8)
  • Reducing pain and improving function in knee osteoarthritis.(9)

The Chinese Medicine Board of Australia states that Acupuncture & Chinese medicine may also be able to assist with (10) :

  • Management of pain, stress and fatigue related to some autoimmune disorders, in consultation with other treating health practitioners
  • Management of pain, fatigue and nausea related to many chronic diseases
  • Management of vomiting or nausea arising from chemotherapy
  • Pain relief and management
  • Stress
  • Depression related to chronic pain by managing the underlying chronic pain.
  • Acupuncture as an adjunct treatment that may assist with IVF treatment. There is continuing research about how acupuncture can assist with the effectiveness of IVF treatment, and you should consult your treating practitioner/s about how acupuncture may be able to help you (11-13).
  • Pregnancy related aches and pains
  • Pregnancy related Nausea and vomiting

In addition we also have a particular interest in :

  • Supporting natural fertility through lifestyle advice and assisting with symptoms of stress which have been found to affect fertility. (14-19)
  • Musculoskeletal health
  • Helping people to better health. We treat people, not just conditions, so feel free to call us if you would like to know if we can help.

References

1) Lu L, Zhang Y, Ge S, Wen H, Tang X, Zeng JC, Wang L, Zeng Z, Rada G, Ávila C, Vergara C, Chen R, Dong Y, Wei X, Luo W, Wang L, Guyatt G, Tang CZ, Xu NG. Evidence mapping and overview of systematic reviews of the effects of acupuncture therapies. BMJ Open. 2022 Jun 6;12(6):e056803. doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2021-056803. PMID: 35667716; PMCID: PMC9171228.

2) NICE 2021. Headaches in over 12s: diagnosis and management. Available from: www.nice.org.uk/guidance/cg150.

3) Linde K, Allais G, Brinkhaus B, et al. Acupuncture for the prevention of episodic migraine. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2016;2016(6):CD001218. Published 2016 Jun 28. doi:10.1002/14651858.CD001218.pub3

4) Acupuncture for Patients With Chronic Tension-Type Headache: A Randomized Controlled Trial Hui Zheng, Tao Gao, Qian-Hua Zheng, Ling-Yun Lu, Ting-Hui Hou, Shu-Sen Zhang, Si-Yuan Zhou, Xin-Yu Hao, Lu Wang, Ling Zhao, Fan-Rong Liang, Ying Li Neurology Jun 2022, 10.1212/WNL.0000000000200670; DOI: 10.1212/WNL.0000000000200670

5) Baroncini, A., Maffulli, N., Eschweiler, J. et al. Acupuncture in chronic aspecific low back pain: a Bayesian network meta-analysis. J Orthop Surg Res 17, 319 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1186/s13018-022-03212-3

6) Qaseem A, Wilt TJ, McLean RM, Forciea MA. Noninvasive Treatments for Acute, Subacute, and Chronic Low Back Pain: A Clinical Practice Guideline From the American College of Physicians. Ann Intern Med. 2017 Apr 04;166(7):514-30

7) Andrew J. Vickers, Emily A. Vertosick, George Lewith, Hugh MacPherson, Nadine E. Foster, Karen J. Sherman, Dominik Irnich, Claudia M. Witt, Klaus Linde, Acupuncture for Chronic Pain: Update of an Individual Patient Data Meta-Analysis, The Journal of Pain, Volume 19, Issue 5, 2018, Pages 455-474, ISSN 1526-5900, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpain.2017.11.005.

8) Thiagarajah AG. How effective is acupuncture for reducing pain due to plantar fasciitis? Singapore Med J. 2017 Feb;58(2):92-97. doi: 10.11622/smedj.2016143. Epub 2016 Aug 16. PMID: 27526703; PMCID: PMC5311890.

9) Tian H, Huang L, Sun M, et al. Acupuncture for Knee Osteoarthritis: A Systematic Review of Randomized Clinical Trials with Meta-Analyses and Trial Sequential Analyses. Biomed Res Int. 2022;2022:6561633. Published 2022 Apr 21. doi:10.1155/2022/6561633

10) Chinese Medicine Board of Australia https://www.ahpra.gov.au/Resources/Advertising-hub/Resources-for-advertisers/Chinese-medicine-examples.aspx

11) Shen C, Wu M, Shu D, Zhao X, Gao Y. The role of acupuncture in in vitro fertilization: a systematic review and
meta-analysis. Gynecol Obstet Invest. 2015;79(1):1-12

12) Qian Y, Xia XR, Ochin H, Huang C, Gao C, Gao L, et al. Therapeutic effect of acupuncture on the outcomes of in
vitro fertilization: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Arch Gynecol Obstet. 2016 Dec 19.

13) Jo J, Lee YJ. Effectiveness of acupuncture in women with polycystic ovarian syndrome undergoing in vitro
fertilisation or intracytoplasmic sperm injection: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Acupunct Med. 2017
Jan 11.

14) Louis GM, Lum KJ, Sundaram R, Chen Z, Kim S, Lynch CD, Schisterman EF, Pyper C. Stress reduces conception probabilities across the fertile window: evidence in support of relaxation. Fertil Steril. 2011 Jun;95(7):2184-9. doi: 10.1016/j.fertnstert.2010.06.078. Epub 2010 Aug 5. PMID: 20688324; PMCID: PMC2975045. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/20688324/

15) Szkodziak F, Krzyżanowski J, Szkodziak P. Psychological aspects of infertility. A systematic review. J Int Med Res. 2020 Jun;48(6):300060520932403. doi: 10.1177/0300060520932403. PMID: 32600086; PMCID: PMC7328491. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32600086/

16) Roger J. Hart. Physiological Aspects of Female Fertility: Role of the Environment, Modern Lifestyle, and Genetics. Physiological Reviews 2016 96:3, 873-909

17) Ilacqua, A., Izzo, G., Emerenziani, G.P. et al. Lifestyle and fertility: the influence of stress and quality of life on male fertility. Reprod Biol Endocrinol 16, 115 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12958-018-0436-9

18) Sharma, R., Biedenharn, K.R., Fedor, J.M. et al. Lifestyle factors and reproductive health: taking control of your fertility. Reprod Biol Endocrinol 11, 66 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1186/1477-7827-11-66

19) F, Krzyżanowski J, Szkodziak P. Psychological aspects of infertility. A systematic review. J Int Med Res. 2020 Jun;48(6):300060520932403. doi: 10.1177/0300060520932403. PMID: 32600086; PMCID: PMC7328491. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32600086/