What is Morton’s Neuroma? Morton’s neuroma is thickening of the tissue around one of the nerves in the foot. The body most likely forms this tissue to protect the nerve from stress and pressure. For many athletes with foot pain, this can feel like you are stepping on a pebble, or that you have a fold in your sock. When the foot pain progresses, it can feel sharp, burning, tingling, and very irritating. Your toes may also feel numbness, burning and tingling. Most often, Morton’s neuroma is located in the padding below the 3rd and 4th toe at the ball of the foot area. Causes of Morton ..read more

The thyroid is a small, butterfly-shaped gland in the front of your neck that makes two thyroid hormones: thyroxine (T4) and triiodothyronine (T3). Thyroid hormones control how the body uses energy, so they affect nearly every organ in your body, even your heart. Health care professionals use thyroid tests to check how well your thyroid is working. Tests may include thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH), T4, T3, thyroid antibody tests and thyroid ultrasound. Thyroid tests help health care professionals diagnose thyroid diseases such as Hyperthyroidism—when thyroid hormone levels are too high Grav ..read more

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a new acute respiratory infectious disease, and the global epidemic is still spreading since the outbreak in December 2019, becoming a major global public health event. Until now, there is still no effective clinical therapeutic drugs that can cure the disease. The World Health Organisation reported that four candidate drugs, including Remdesivir, are ineffective or have little effect on COVID-19. In China, Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), in combination with Western medicine (WM), has made important and lasting contributions in the battle against COVI ..read more

Being a new mother is a life-changing moment. Starting your own family and going into another stage of your life is a unique and fulfilling experience for many, but it can also bring a new set of challenges and responsibilities that comes with looking after your baby, the family and yourself. Many mothers rush back to their daily routines after birth, expecting for full recovery without any assistance, however, some may instead never fully recover from having children.  According to the principles of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), labour and birth t ..read more

Migraines/headaches are difficult to treat, and current treatment options have many unwanted side effects, such as exacerbating headache pain in those with chronic migraine. Therefore, while the primary treatment for migraines is drug therapy, acupuncture is gaining increasing attention as a viable addition to the treatment management of migraine patients due to its measurable effects on both the duration and frequency of migraine attacks.  Many studies suggest that acupuncture is a safe, helpful and available alternative therapy that may be beneficial to certain migraine patients. Based ..read more

The luteal phase of women’s cycle is the time from ovulation until your period starts. A normal luteal phase should be 14 days which gives a fertilized egg enough time to implant and start to signal to your body that it’s there. A luteal phase lasting less than 12 days is too short for this to happen and the uterine lining begins to slough off before a fertilized egg has had a chance to implant and initiate the hormonal changes necessary to sustain a pregnancy.   Most luteal phase defects include a diagnosis of low progesterone. This causes up to 1/3 of the pregnancy loss in the early sta ..read more

With a seasonal transition just around the corner, it’s that time of year again, when calls come in B&Q Acupuncture clinic requesting  acupuncture help with hay fever and sinusitis.  Hay fever is the common name for a condition called allergic rhinitis, which means an allergy that affects the nose. Hay fever is caused by the nose and/or eyes coming into contact with environmental allergens, such as pollens, dust mite, moulds and animal hair. Symptoms of hay fever include: sneezing a runny or stuffy nose itchy ears, nose and throat red, itchy or watery eyes headaches   Can ..read more

A frozen embryo transfer (FET) is a cycle where a frozen embryo from a previous fresh IVF cycle is thawed and transferred back into a woman’s uterus. In recent research, frozen embryo transfers are 10% more likely to result in a live birth than a fresh one, making frozen transfers a popular option for fertility specialists, doctors, and couples who were unsuccessful in their previous attempts of conception. If you have decided to start frozen embryo transfer cycle, it is worth to prepare your body and mind for it as soon as possible, as it could assist to increase the success rate. Here are so ..read more

Follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH), is a hormone produced by the pituitary gland to stimulate the ovaries to develop follicles. It is checked routinely between days 2-4 of the menstrual cycle. The reason is woman’s FSH level fluctuates daily at different days of the cycle. Ideally most doctors would like to see this level to be below 10 mIU/mL. An FSH level of 12 or over is considered to be a warning sign.  Many women cannot start IVF or IUI cycle due to high FSH level as their bodies may most likely response to IVF drugs poorly. FSH level indicates poor egg quality and less egg reserve ..read more

In Australia, the IVF success rates (clinical pregnancy) range from 44.9% for patients under 34 years, to 11.7% for patients over 43 years. If you have decided to start IVF treatment, it is worth to prepare your body and mind for it as soon as possible, as it could assist to increase the success rate. Here are some tips to prepare your egg retrieval in the IVF journey. 1. Have fertility friendly diet. You should drink at least 1.5L a day of mineral or filtered water. Increase antioxidants, dark leafy greens, whole grains and healthy fats in your diet, such as blueberries, raspberries, pomegran ..read more