Your First Visit

Your first visit will take a bit longer than your followup visits.  It will entail a series of questions regarding your health that are designed to determine where the pattern of disharmony or energy blockage is located.   Some questions may seem irrelevant to your condition, but they are very valuable to an acupuncturist in planning a treatment strategy.  The tongue will be observed for shape, color and coating and the pulse is felt for speed, strength and quality.  Local palpation and abdominal (hara) palpation may also be used to assist in discerning where the pattern of disharmony exists.  (Palpation is the process used by a health care provider to feels areas on patient's body to examine consistency, texture, location, and tenderness of a body part.)

What should I wear?

Wear comfortable loose clothing.   A pair of shorts, loose pants a tee-shirt or tank top is recommended.

What do the needles feel like?

The needles used within acupuncture are both sterile and extremely thin.  Most people are surprised to see how thin the needles actually are.  The sensation that you will feel is minimal.  Many times, you may not even feel the insertion of the needle.  They may remain in place for 10-40 minutes.

What will I feel when the needles are inserted?

Most people find the experience extremely relaxing and may even fall asleep during the treatment.

Acupuncture points are electrically sensitive.  Needle insertion stimulates the points allowing sensory receptors to communicate with your brain stimulating the release of neurotransmitters and endorphins.  These are your body's pain regulating mechanisms.  They relax the body and regulate the serotonin in the brain which affects your mental disposition.

What is the length of treatment?

Your first treatment will last about one to one and a half hours.  If this is your first acupuncture treatment, needling will be minimal to acclimate your body to experience.  Subsequent treatments will last from 30 minutes to one hour.

What other techniques may be used?

Oriental Medicine encompasses much more than just acupuncture.  At our center we may also use a variety of adjunct techniques:

Electro-acupuncture:  This will use a very small amount of electrical current to stimulate the acupuncture point on the body.  It is used in many conditions especially for needle sensitive patients.

Moxibusion:  this involves burning of an herb (artemesia vulgaris) on the needle, or slightly above the acupuncture point. 

Cupping:  This uses a glass and suction to help the body remove toxins and release muscle tension.

Gua Sha:  This is a rubbing technique that is generally done to the back.   Gua Sha moves stuck qi, mimics sweating and moves fluids.  This assists your body in releasing toxins and muscle tension.

Tuina: A type of oriental body work that stimulates meridians and acupuncture points with the use of massage techniques.

Other techniques: We also incorporate tools from other acupuncture styles or healing modalites to make use of your body's healing healing;  these include magnets, ion pumping cords, diode rings, pachi-pachi, triple bypass cords, sotai, oils and liniments.