Acupuncture

Acupuncture involves the insertion of very thin needles through your skin at strategic points on your body. A key component of traditional Chinese medicine, it is used as a technique for balancing the flow of energy or life force — known as chi or qi (chee) — believed to flow through pathways (meridians) in your body. By inserting needles into specific points along these meridians, acupuncture practitioners believe that your energy flow will re-balance.

Acupuncture needles feel very different from the injections provided in a clinical setting. Acupuncture needles are hair-thin, single-use, sterile and small. Most people feel no pain or a slight pinch as the needles are inserted. As the needles are hair-thin, the sensation is less associated with the insertion and more about the body’s response to its presence. Once the needle is inserted, there may be a mild sense of heaviness, achiness or tingling. After treatment, most patients report a calm feeling of vitality and an improved sense of wellbeing. Generally, needles are inserted for 30-35 minutes while the patient quietly relaxes. Their removal is painless and often non-detectable.

The recommended frequency of treatments varies with each individual. Most new patients begin treatment with weekly sessions lasting one hour each. As patients experience improvement in their condition, treatments may be extended to every other week, every three weeks, monthly and eventually seasonally. Acupuncture has a cumulative effect with each treatment building upon the last. Typically, a series of 6-8 weekly treatments produces lasting transformation.