01

Goal

My goal is to help you achieve optimum health and wellness. Having evolved over thousands of years, acupuncture is one of the oldest continually practiced medical modalities in the world. Acupuncture is used to prevent and treat disease, relieve pain, balance mood, enhance athletic performance, increase fertility, and improve overall health and wellness.

Acupuncture is a safe, effective, chemical-free way to promote your body's self-healing abilities.

Modern research has shown that acupuncture is a safe, effective, chemical-free way to promote the body's remarkable self-healing abilities. An acupuncture treatment involves the insertion and manipulation of flexible, hair-thin needles at specific points on the body. Most patients find the sensations produced by acupuncture treatment to be deeply relaxing both mentally and physically.

Acupuncture returns the body to its natural state of balance and harmony.

02

What is Acupuncture?

Several thousand years ago, East Asian practitioners discovered that the body forms disharmony as a result of the various physical and mental stresses of life. East Asian Medicine theory explains these disharmony as an imbalance of opposing forces called yin and yang. This imbalance disrupts the movement of the body's vital energy (Qi) along the meridian pathways, which are channels through which the body's energy is thought to flow. Acupuncture restores the smooth flow of qi. By inserting and manipulating hair-thin needles at specific points, I am able to return the body to its natural balance and promote the body's ability to heal itself.

Is Acupuncture Safe?

Yes. Acupuncture is used by every year. Acupuncturists are required to undergo extensive education, including detailed study of human anatomy and training in Clean Needle Technique. As required by law, I use pre-sterilized, disposable, single-use needles to ensure your complete safety.

03

Your First Visit

When you arrive for your first acupuncture appointment, we will ask you to complete a comprehensive intake form. The acupuncture intake form asks questions about your current state of health, past illnesses, and family history. These questions are important because the holistic approach of Asian medicine takes everything into account. Your current symptoms may not seem related to past health issues, but our bodies are complex landscapes and everything that happens to them leaves its mark.

After reviewing your intake form, we will discuss your condition, and I will examine your pulse and tongue, which are two of the basic diagnostic methods of Asian medicine. The acupuncture points I choose will depend on your condition, but you can expect approximately 10 needles. Once the needles are inserted, I will leave you to lie comfortably for 15-20 minutes with the needles in place. Many people find acupuncture treatment deeply relaxing, and it is not uncommon for patients to fall asleep during this time.

04

What does Acupuncture feel like?

Many first-time patients are concerned that acupuncture needles will feel like hypodermic injections at the doctor’s office. They won't. Acupuncture uses hair-thin, flexible needles that you will hardly feel when I insert them. When I gently stimulate the needles they may produce a unique sensation that Asian medicine calls de Qi. Patients often describe de Qi as a heavy, achy pressure, or spreading, traveling feeling. You may also feel an "electrical" sensation moving down the meridian pathways, though this is less common. Most patients find these acupuncture sensations deeply satisfying and leave the treatment feeling relaxed both mentally and physically.

The benefits of acupuncture are cumulative, so more then one treatment is necessary. For acute conditions you can expect to have 10 to 15 treatments, but you will usually begin to feel relief after just the first few. Chronic conditions may take longer to respond, depending on the type, severity, and duration of the condition. Preventative treatments and treatments for general well-being may also be scheduled on an as-needed basis.