Acupuncture rarely hurts. Patients feel a brief sensation upon insertion and relax for 10-30 minutes. Most patients feel very relaxed during treatment and experience the best night of sleep of their lives after their first session. Acupuncture uses very fine needles inserted into various points on the body to elicit a response from our immune system, nervous system, and muscular/skeletal system. The objective is to move energy. The energy of a body part can become imbalanced after an injury, a surgery, overuse as well as neglect. Over time, people come to experience this imbalance as some sort of pain, or discomfort. Other therapists use more of their hands and other tools to move energy; acupuncturists use needles.

We try to work with as many insurance plans as possible as a convenience to our patients, the major ones being Aetna, Cigna, Blue Cross / Blue Shield (BCBS), and United Healthcare. Many smaller companies are also beginning to cover acupuncture, but each has to be treated on a case by case basis. We would be happy to find out for you.

First, your acupuncturist will ask about your health history. Then, he or she will examine your tongue’s shape, color, and coating, feel your pulse, and possibly perform some additional physical examinations depending on your individual health needs. Using these unique assessment tools, the acupuncturist will be able to recommend a proper treatment plan to address your particular condition. To begin the acupuncture treatment, you lay comfortably on a treatment table while precise acupoints are stimulated on various areas of your body. Most people feel no or minimal discomfort as the fine needles are gently placed. The needles are usually retained between five and 30 minutes. During and after treatments, people report that they feel very relaxed.

That all depends on what we’re trying to treat and what our goals are. If the problem is chronic and/or more severe, it will take longer. If the problem is acute but the damage severe, it will take longer. The bottom line is that Acupuncture is not a magic bullet that should only be tried once if there’s a problem. Consistency of any treatment program is the biggest factor in healing. If somebody is already feeling fine and just wants to feel better, getting the most from their bodies they can naturally and safely get, then they can pamper themselves to a session whenever they want. Severe cases can benefit from treatment at least 2-3 times per week. Treatments can decrease when you start to feel better and we can determine a reasonable visit plan.

Hundreds of clinical studies on the benefits of acupuncture show that it successfully treats conditions ranging from musculoskeletal problems (back pain, neck pain, and others) to nausea, migraine headache, anxiety, depression, insomnia, and infertility. Below is a list of diseases, symptoms or conditions the therapeutic use of acupuncture can be beneficial for: Abdominal pain Acne Adverse reactions to radiotherapy & chemotherapy Alcohol dependence & detoxification Allergies Anxiety Autoimmune disease Bell’s palsy Blood pressure Bronchial asthma Bronchitis Cancer pain Cardiac neurosis Colic Colitis Common Cold Competition stress syndrome Constipation Cough Craniocerebral injuries Dementia Dental pain Depression Dermatitis Diabetes Diarrhea Digestion Drug dependence Dysentery Dysmenorrhoea Earache Epigastralgia Eye problems Facial pain Facial palsy Female urethral syndrome Fever Fibromyalgia & fasciitis Frozen shoulder Gallstones Gastritis Gout Headache Heel & Foot pain Herpes zoster Hiccough Hot flashes Hyperlipaemia Hypertension Hypo-ovarianism Infertility Insomnia Knee pain Lactation deficiency Leukopenia (low white blood cells) Low back pain Ménière disease Menopause Migraine Morning sickness Nausea Neck pain Neurogenic bladder dysfunction Neuralgia Nose bleed Obesity Osteoarthritis Paralysis following a stroke Periarthritis of shoulder Peripheral neuropathy Polycystic ovary syndrome Postoperative pain Premenstrual syndrome Prostatitis Radicular and pseudoradicular pain syndrome Raynaud syndrome Reflex sympathetic dystrophy Retention of urine Rheumatoid arthritis Rhinitis Schizophrenia Sciatica Sexual dysfunction Shingles Sinusitis Sore throat Spasms Spine pain Sprain Stiff neck Stress Stroke Swelling Tennis elbow TMJ Tobacco dependence Tonsillitis Toothache (post extraction pain) Ulcer Urinary-tract infection Vomiting Water retention Whooping cough And more…