Paediatric Acupuncture for Children

Shonishin (children’s needle therapy) is a unique and specialized pediatric style of acupuncture that developed over 250 years ago in Japan. It recognizes that children do not like needles and has instead developed specialized treatment techniques, many of which are non-invasive and thus not frightening to the child.
In Shonishin, a variety of instruments have been developed based on the nine needles described in the classics. These tools can be pressed, rubbed, tapped or scraped on the skin instead of inserted, to give different kinds of gentle stimulation.
When applied for short periods of time in simple systematic patterns, these simple treatment techniques have been found effective for a wide variety of pediatric problems from birth through to age five or older.
As children get older, and/or their problems are more difficult or stubborn, specialized acupuncture techniques and insertion methods have also been developed and tailored to match the needs of children, so that they are comfortable and acceptable to both the child and the parent.