This Acupuncture Clinic Is Putting Women’s Health Back In Their Hands
read the signs
By Kiri Johnston | 13th November 2026Women are experts at pushing through. But when exhaustion, painful periods, poor sleep, and stress become part of everyday life, how do we know what’s normal, and what’s simply become our normal? OVA Acupuncture founder Dr Michelle Smith is encouraging women to listen a little closer.
For years, Michelle Smith believed she was doing everything right when it came to her health. Working in a high-pressure corporate role in Dubai, reporting directly to the CEO, she exercised six days a week, sometimes twice a day, and survived on more than five black coffees a day. She was fit, disciplined and, from the outside, appeared healthy. Behind the scenes, her body was telling a different story.
“I was doing what the wellness world was telling me to do, which I now recognise as over-exercising and under- eating, but back then I didn’t have a true understanding of health,” she recalls.
Anxiety attacks, cystic acne, hormonal disruption and eventually debilitating fatigue followed. Some mornings, she would cry in the car park before work. At her lowest, she could barely manage anything beyond getting through the working day and returning to bed. It was her mother who first suggested acupuncture, recognising the exhaustion Michelle herself had become accustomed to. What began as a personal turning point would eventually lead her away from corporate life and towards a career in Chinese medicine.
Today, as Founder and Clinical Director of OVA Acupuncture and Chinese Medicine, Michelle has built a practice dedicated to helping women better understand their bodies. With clinics in Camp Hill and Hendra, OVA combines Traditional Chinese Medicine with contemporary healthcare, working alongside GPs and specialists to consider the bigger picture.
“I do my best to create a space at OVA that is non-judgmental and that welcomes everyone exactly as they are,” she says.
For Michelle, one of the greatest challenges in women’s health is how readily symptoms become accepted as everyday inconveniences. Painful periods, fatigue and hormonal changes are often dismissed, particularly when women have spent years being told they’re simply part of life.
“Painful periods are indeed common, but they are not normal,” she explains, encouraging women experiencing persistent symptoms to seek professional assessment and support.
Her approach is grounded in education and investigation, with a personal motto of “test, don’t guess”. From menstrual health and fertility to pregnancy and perimenopause, Michelle believes understanding the body is central to making informed decisions.
“When we know more about our body and how it works, we are better equipped to make better decisions for our health.”
That commitment to accessible care is now extending beyond Brisbane with the launch of OVA Online, a dedicated telehealth service connecting women and couples in rural and regional Australia with registered practitioners specialising in fertility and women’s health. The service offers video consultations, with personalised Chinese herbal formulas and supplements delivered to patients.
Closer to home, OVA continues to expand its offering, including a new Signature Acu-Facial at Hendra, combining cosmetic acupuncture and LED light therapy. The clinic is also introducing its Pregnancy Circle, bringing expectant mothers together for guided conversation, meditation and gentle movement.
There is a personal milestone ahead, too. Michelle is expecting her first baby and preparing for maternity leave in early 2027, experiencing a chapter of life she has spent years helping other women navigate. As her practice continues to grow, her message remains simple: women deserve to feel informed, supported, and heard.
“If something doesn’t feel right in your body, listen to that voice in your head and advocate for yourself. You deserve to be listened to. You deserve to be treated with respect.” And perhaps that’s the real takeaway: knowing yourself well enough to recognise when something changes, and giving yourself permission to do something about it. Discover OVA Acupuncture and Chinese Medicine’s approach to women’s health here.
