What is Acupuncture?

Acupuncture is one of the major methods of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) that has been used to treat various health conditions for about 3,500 years in China and its surrounding countries. Based on TCM theories, Qi, a vital energy of life circulates along 20 meridians of the body. The quality, quantity and balance of Qi can be influenced by many things such as seasonal changes, imbalanced diet, emotional stress, sedentary life style, physical trauma and excessive activities. The disturbance of the free flow of the Qi could be revealed as a wide range of symptoms and illness. Acupuncture restores the balance of Qi through needle insertions into points along meridians so that conditions can be treated.

How should I prepare for the treatment?

. First visit lasts about 1 hour and a half to 2 hours. Follow-up visits are about one hour.

. For initial visit, we will review your medical history. Please bring a list of medicines and supplements that you are currently taking, and a very brief explanation of what each one is for.

. Please wear loose and comfortable clothes so that it can be easily rolled up above the knees and elbows.

. Please do NOT come to the acupuncture treatment with an empty stomach. Don’t eat a big meal right before the treatment either.

How many treatments will it take to get better?

It depends on your condition, body constitution, life style and age. Generally speaking, acute conditions are easier to treat and take shorter time to resolve with intensive series of treatments. You may see great results in one treatment. For chronic conditions it usually takes longer. We do ask you to commit to your treatment plan because the effectiveness of each treatment builds upon the previous one. However, each patient should be able to see some improvement in 3 to 4 treatment. We will refer you to other healthy care providers if we are unable to meet your needs.