Christopher Booth

About Christopher Booth

Chris has been practicing traditional Chinese medicine in Darlinghurst for almost a decade.

He is extremely well qualified, with an undergraduate diploma from the Sydney Institute of Traditional Chinese Medicine and a Masters in Traditional Chinese Medicine from the University of Western Sydney.

Chris is experienced in treating a wide range of conditions, and over many years of practice has developed specialties in the areas of treating chronic fatigue and persistent skin conditions (particularly acne, psoriasis and eczema) – both of which generally see extremely good results with a combination of acupuncture and Chinese herbal medicine in our clinic.

The clinic is located in Darlinghurst, on the edge of the Sydney CBD. Chris offers in clinic or distance (telephone) consultations, depending on your condition and circumstance.

In addition to treating patients, Chris is the founder of The Herb Booth, Australia’s first online Chinese herbal medicine dispensary. The Herb Booth team dispenses herbal formulas for Chinese herbal medicine practitioners all over Australia, and is the only dispensary in the country to be recognised with a Licence to Manufacture Therapeutic Goods by the Therapeutic Goods Administration.

Chris is an active member of the Australian Acupuncture and Chinese Medicine Association.

If you’d like to discuss your condition before making an appointment, please feel free to contact us any time.

www.christopherbooth.com.au

What is Traditional Chinese Medicine?

Traditional Chinese medicine, also known as Chinese medicine or TCM, is the umbrella-term for the healing modalities of acupuncture, Chinese herbal medicine, Chinese massage, dietary therapy, lifestyle coaching and movement therapies such as Tai Chi and Qi Gong. These tools each have there own strengths and weaknesses and are used in varying combinations depending on your illness. Acupuncture, herbal medicine and massage are used moreso to treat disease; while diet, lifestyle and movement therapies are often used prevent disease and promote longevity.

The theory behind treatment is to restore balance within the body. At a very simple level, disease arises when Yin and Yang are out of balance. That is, one or the other is deficient or in excess. Treatment seeks to correct your individual pattern of imbalance so that health can be restored.

The beauty of this system is that it is completely holistic. The focus is not on an individual symptom but rather on solving the problem of the underlying disharmony. Once solved, not only does your symptom disappear but so do many of your other, seemingly unrelated, health complaints. Everything is connected in Chinese medicine.

Chinese medicine's unique diagnostic methods allow the practitioner to think outside the Western medical circle that just about all other main-stream health modalities are tied to. It's treatments also present a unique angle of attack providing an extra option for those people that modern medicine has been unable to help.

One common misconception with Chinese medicine is that its use is restricted to back aches and quitting smoking. While it is excellent at addressing both of these, its scope is much broader. Whether it is sports medicine or gynaecology, skin disease or neurological disorders, the chances are that Chinese medicine has been treating it for a long time.

Acupuncture

What is Acupuncture?

Acupuncture is a treatment technique that involves the insertion of a number of extremely fine needles into various acupuncture ‘points’ along the Qi (energy) pathways within the body.

How does Acupuncture work?

In Chinese medicine ‘speak’, each energy pathway connects with an internal body, and the stimulation of points along this pathway can influence the functioning of that organ. Put simply, any abnormalities of the flow of energy through these channels, such as a stagnation or blockage, may result in disease, pain or a host of other symptoms. Needling points along this channel removes the blockage and encourages a smooth flow of energy, which, in turn, promotes healing.

In what types of cases would we recommend Acupuncture?

As we already know Chinese Medicine uses a range tools to treat disease. The main ones are acupuncture and Chinese herbal medicine. Most treatments involve a combination of the two but this depends on the diagnosis.
For example, a patient with frozen shoulder or sciatic pain may get sufficient benefit from acupuncture alone, while a patient with chronic insomnia may only need to use herbs. In most conditions, however, acupuncture and Chinese herbs combined, achieves the best results.

Is Acupuncture painful?

Acupuncture should produce a very mild sensation in the form of a dull ache, throb or electric shoot. This is a sign the needle is in place and is doing its work. This sensation can, in fact, be described as pleasurable and pain relieving, in the same way someone might describe a deep massage. Acupuncture needles are extremely fine so insertion does not give the same sharpness or “sting” that an injection or blood test does. Most patients are fairly indifferent about the sensation experienced during acupuncture, so please don’t be concerned about any pain.

Electro-Acupuncture

Electro-acupuncture is an excellent enhancement to traditional acupuncture techniques and I use it regularly in my practice. Electro-acupuncture is used most commonly to treat pain, musculo-skeletal and neurological disorders and involves passing a mild current between two needles and is very effective at improving Qi/energy and Blood circulation to an area.

Chinese Herbs

Herbal Medicine

Chinese herbal medicine is vast and is considered by many to be the backbone of Chinese medicine. General practice involves the use of between 200 and 300 different herbs. These are rarely used singly but rather in combinations known as formulas. Each formula may consist of between 2 and 20 different herbs - the average is about 12.

Individually tailored herbal prescriptions

Your condition is unique, and so may be each herbal formula. One of the key benefits of Chinese herbal medicine is its ability to be intricately tailored to suit the individual. Herbs can be added, removed or changed from your prescription as your condition improves and changes. It should NOT be a one size fits all approach.

In this practice every herbal formula is constructed from scratch based on the patient’s condition. Although these formulas may be based on one of the thousands of classical prescriptions that Chinese medicine offers, it is always reviewed, and potentially changed and tweaked as the condition changes.

What do the herbs look like?

Herbs are available in a number of different forms. In this practice, granulated herbal extracts are the norm and are prepared much like making a cup of instant coffee. Simply dissolve the granules in hot water and drink it like a tea.

You may have come into contact with Chinese herbs in raw form. These herbs are dried leaves, twigs, roots, bark, seeds, nuts, etc.; and are boiled in a large pot, reduced and drunk as a tea. Although this is herbal medicine in its most natural form, in reality is extremely time consuming and not conducive to the Western lifestyle.

Side Effects

It is unlikely that you will experience side effects from using Chinese medicine. Occasionally people note a slight light-headedness following acupuncture, or loose bowel movements after taking herbs. If this is the case, your treatment can usually be modified to avoid these reactions.

Can Chinese medicine be used in conjunction with modern medicine?

In most cases yes. There are very few reports of adverse interactions between Chinese medicine and conventional medicine. In fact, the two are routinely used to complement each other. For example, TCM is often used to treat the side effects of modern drugs, and to strengthen patients undergoing chemotherapy, radiotherapy or other heavy treatments. However, it is important that you discuss any medications you are currently taking (herbal and otherwise) with Chris at your initial consultation. He will then be able to assess any risks and modify any formulas appropriately.

Contact Details

I understand you might want to have a chat before you commit to making an appointment. Please contact me any time using one of the options below:

1. Make an appointment to see me at the Darlinghurst clinic:

Holdsworth House Health
Suite 3, 32A Oxford St
Darlinghurst NSW 2010

Apppointments: 02 9331 7202

See below for a map of the clinic location.

If you can't make it to Darlinghurst for health or distance reasons, please contact me directly to see if your condition is able to be treated remotely using herbal medicine via telephone/distance consultation.

2. Email me directly at chris@theherbbooth.com.au

3. Phone me directly on 1300 650 402.













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