Patient stories: treatment with TCM at our clinic

Story 1: chronic back pain (L4–L5 disc herniation)

Andrey, 47, Moscow. Arrived in March 2026 with an L4–L5 disc herniation. In Moscow he had been offered surgery; he wanted to try conservative management first. Dr Li Yun Fan worked on the musculoskeletal programme for 10 days, combining acupuncture with TuiNa massage and moxibustion. The programme was adjusted twice based on how his back responded.

What he reported: the pain that woke him at night stopped doing that by the second week, and he was able to sit through a full working day without the painkillers he had started carrying. He continued his course of physiotherapy at home. His own summary was careful: the programme gave him function back, and he understood it was management rather than a cure.

• Programme: musculoskeletal recovery, 10 days
• Main methods: acupuncture, TuiNa, moxibustion
• What changed: night pain stopped; he could sit through a workday without analgesics

Story 2: women's health — cycle restoration

Elena, 38, St Petersburg. Her menstrual cycle had been disrupted after a long period of stress; a gynaecologist in Moscow had proposed hormonal therapy and she declined. On a colleague's recommendation she came for a 14-day women's health programme.

Dr Se Li Tsun combined acupuncture with a course of Chinese herbal formulations, adjusted every three days as her sleep and energy shifted. What changed by the end: her cycle returned to a regular pattern and the fatigue that had been constant for two years receded enough that she could work a normal week. She notes explicitly that she continued to see her gynaecologist in St Petersburg, and that the two worked in parallel.

• Programme: women's health, 14 days
• Main methods: acupuncture, individually adjusted herbal formulations
• What changed: cycle regularity returned; chronic fatigue receded

Story 3: anti-stress after burnout

Dmitry, 42, Yekaterinburg. An IT manager with two years of severe burnout: insomnia, anxiety, constant exhaustion that no amount of sleep fixed. He took a 7-day anti-stress programme, which combined acupuncture with moxibustion, gentle movement and a course of Sanya Bay walks.

What changed: he slept through the night within the first week. The anxiety did not disappear, but it stopped dominating his days — he described it as the difference between a background alarm he could not switch off and one he could. He was clear that the programme did not resolve the workplace cause, and that he continued to see a psychologist at home.

• Programme: anti-stress, 7 days
• Main methods: acupuncture, moxibustion, gentle movement, walking therapy
• What changed: sleep normalised; anxiety moved from dominant to manageable

Story 4: weight loss with catgut embedding

Olga, 35, Novosibirsk. Weight before treatment: 84 kg. After a 14-day programme with catgut embedding, a calorie-controlled diet and daily activity: 76 kg. Eight kilograms in two weeks.

Her own account was more cautious than the headline number, and worth repeating: the catgut embedding worked on her appetite regulation, but the weight loss required the dietary change she made at home and continued afterwards. She was clear that the embedding alone had not done it.

• Programme: cleansing and weight reduction, 14 days
• Main methods: catgut embedding at acupoints, dietary counselling
• What changed: 84 kg → 76 kg with diet and activity alongside the treatment

What patients consistently mention

Across 19 years of operation, from 2007, we have treated more than 10,000 patients from Russia and the CIS. Most of our guests come back to us, or recommend us to people they know. What they single out:

• The professionalism of the physicians — every one of them has more than 40 years of experience
• A Russian-speaking coordinator present at every stage, from the first message to the return flight
• The doctor explaining what they are doing and why, rather than performing procedures silently
• The pace — being able to walk on the beach between sessions instead of spending the day in a building
• Transparency: the programme cost was fixed in writing before the first session, with no additions later