FAQ/What we want the World to Know!

+ What is Acupuncture used to treat?

Acupuncture can help with many conditions, in many different ways. Some immediate benefits reported by patients are: reduced inflammation, pain reduction, improved sleep, improved digestion, and an overall increased positive outlook on life. At your first visit we will discuss particular areas of concern and come up with a customized treatment plan tailored just for you. Following is a list of conditions that have been proven to be treatable with acupuncture. If you do not see your ailment listed, do not despair; as noted throughout my site acupuncture brings the entirety of the body back into balance, so it can help with many more ailments than are listed below (this is the same list you’ll find at the World Health Organization website):

• LOW BACK PAIN
• NECK PAIN
• SCIATICA
• TENNIS ELBOW
• KNEE PAIN
• PERI-ARTHRITIS OF THE SHOULDER
• FACIAL PAINS
• TEMPORAL MANDIBULAR JOINT
• DISFUNCTION
• SPRAINS
• HEADACHE
• DENTAL PAIN
• ACUTE AND CHRONIC GASTRITIS
• RHEUMATOID ARTHRITIS
• INDUCTION OF LABOR
• BREECH BIRTH PRESENTATION
• MORNING SICKNESS
• NAUSEA AND VOMITING
• POST-OPERATIVE PAIN
• STROKE
• ESSENTIAL HYPERTENSION
• PRIMARY HYPOTENSION
• RENAL COLIC
• LEUCOPENIA
• RADIATION AND CHEMO REACTIONS
• HAY FEVER
• BILIARY COLIC
• DEPRESSION
• ACUTE BACILLARY DYSENTERY
• PRIMARY DYSMENORRHEA
• ACUTE EPIGASTRALGIA
• PEPTIC ULCER
• ALLERGIC RHINITIS

+ How does acupuncture work?

Acupuncture works with a channel system that runs throughout the entire body. The channels, or meridians, carry energy, referred to in Chinese medicine as Qi (pronounced chee). By inserting needles at different points along these meridians, the energy gets increased, decreased, or redirected based on what is needed for relief and balance at that particular time and specific to each individual. Restoring balance allows the body to function at an optimal level. From a biomedical point of view, acupuncture also works to increase and redirect blood flow and body fluids to specific areas, relax tight muscles, release endorphins in the brain, and increase the overall healing response and capability of the body. The overarching goal, and why it can work on such a variety of complaints, of acupuncture is balance; if the body is in balance, there will be no disease or discomfort.

+ “But I hate needles!”

Correction. You hate shots, you hate IV’s, you hate when you give blood. These needles?! They are about the size of a strand of hair. You could probably not even call them a needle, you could call them a pin! Yes, let’s do that. The pins are solid, they are not hollow, there is nothing inside them--they don’t put anything into your body and they don’t take anything out. They enter into the skin half a millimeter, they hurt less than my hand pressure. Yes, it’s completely true- I find acupuncture less painful than acupressure!

In all seriousness, there are some people out there who are completely needle phobic. Interesting sidenote, did you know this is the only phobia that can be passed on genetically? Those people though, are few and far between, I’ve worked with some, and many actually like to use acupuncture as a form of exposure therapy (which works really well I might add). Most people I see though, hate the idea of what they think this needle will look and feel like. The reason for this is if you’ve never tried acupuncture before, the only previous knowledge you have to pull from is when you did get that shot in the 3rd grade that left your arm sore for months. This is so completely different, this could not be any more different!

+ Well, I’ve got a lot going on, should I wait to see my specialist first?”

I am not one to argue against any doctor’s word, I always stay within my scope of practice when discussing medication or surgical procedures, but one thing I will strongly educate my clients on is that you do not have to know exactly what is going on before you get acupuncture! We live in a world where if you wear a white coat, your word is gold. Well, we wore white coats in school too, but most acupuncturists choose not to anymore, because, well they are hot! Not the point though, anyone can wear a white coat. Start thinking, advocating, and researching your own options and trusting your own gut. Do not take anything as final, you know YOU best.

There are two other angles to this, hold tight… they are good. Number one, we tend to only see what we want to see. In other words, if you’re seeing a cardiologist, 9 times out of 10, they will say you have a heart problem, if you’re seeing a pulmonologist, well the problem must be with your lungs and why, yes, we see specialists for this exact reason. There is a common issue that can happen though, which is, when you look too closely at something, the picture of the person as a whole fades away, and it can be easy to lose sight of what else may be a factor. Seeing your acupuncturist at the same time will help you keep this perspective in check. You can think of us in the way a pregnant woman would think of a doula. We are here to help you, advocate for you, and when things get scary, help you see the big picture from a perspective that is unbiased and removed.

Last angle, I promise. Getting help for the pain, injury, illness, or disease alongside doctors appointments will not hurt anything. If the problem was not severe, it may just resolve (woohoo!) and if there is something really deep going on, your specialist will still find it and as an added bonus, you will get relief throughout the process. There is no need to wait, in fact, I discourage it, especially if you were referred to a specialist by your PCP. That means an imbalance has been long standing in” your body, and you should introduce acupuncture right away.

+ “My pain came back, it’s not working”

Acupuncture tends to be used as a last resort for many, and when people walk through the door, they want to be healed yesterday. It’s a funny concept, but that is indeed, generally the case. When has anything lasting ever been a quick fix? Ever? The answer is quite simply, that it hasn’t, nor will it. Your pain has been in your body most likely for many years, it will take work and rebalancing the system over and over again to make it stick. Acupuncture is very effective, but not if you come 3 times spread out between the course of 5 months.

I always tell people that it’s not a question of “if” the acupuncture will work but rather, “when”. The when depends on you. Your regularity with treatments, your commitment to doing your “homework”, your lifestyle, and your willingness to change and heal (yes, some people are not quite there yet).

+ “I felt worse before I felt better, what’s up with that!?”

When in life is anything linear? Okay, maybe in calculus, but goodness me, don’t make me go back there! Healing does not happen in a straight line that steadily increases in a positive, upward slope at precisely point-two degrees per day. Sure, there may be periods of that, but for the most part, no-to-the-way!

If things get worse, if you feel more pain, if you feel sad, if emotion surfaces, if you “clear out” physically (yes, think bathroom), if you get more energy, if you lose energy, if your pain shifts to another area, if something surfaces… THESE ARE ALL HEALING REACTIONS.

Even though I find my needles pretty dang magic, they indeed are not. They cannot put anything into your body that was not already there. They can only direct and move energy. This is done specifically and intentionally, but they cannot inflict harm in any way. Whatever comes up after a treatment, was something that was already a part of YOU.

Instead of freaking out and thinking that acupuncture “caused” something, try thinking about it in a different way. Try thinking of it as acupuncture “moved” something. Usually the stronger the “adverse” reaction, the more has been pushed down, the more really needs to move and surface so that true, authentic healing can take place. Acupuncture is many things, but it is certainly not a band-aid. This is a path for those who really and truly want to heal, and sometimes that will mean the surfacing of old wounds.

+ “You mean I need to come more than once”

Yes, dear, yes. Acupuncture is cumulative! Meaning, every treatment will build on the last. Let me break it down to you in this way, if you felt great after your first acupuncture visit and it lasted a day--FABULOUS! After the next one if things behaved in a perfectly linear fashion, you’d feel marvelous for two days, and so on and so on. If you want to feel better quickest and have that “better feeling” last the longest, come in regularly at first- work with me per my suggestions until you are mostly symptom free and then dial your treatments back. Side note: you have my word, I will never “swindle” you. I want to see you get better, I want to see you live your best life!

+ “I’m healed—so, I don’t need to come anymore?”

This segways nicely from my last sentence in the above paragraph and it just so happens that this is probably the biggest misconceptions out there, not even just in reference to acupuncture! One of my clients the other day told me that as she was headed out the door to her acupuncture appointment, her husband said, “You’ve been getting acupuncture for years, aren’t you better yet?” She told me she just giggled and smiled to herself. She gets it.

Unfortunately though, many people don’t. Our way of thinking about healthcare and medicine is completely backward. We wait until it is broken before we invest. It’s alarming to think we spend more time taking care of our cars than our bodies… but it’s totally true.

Then, we get our course of antibiotics or our flu shot and “we’re good.” Likewise, I see this in my own treatment room, the symptoms go away and the appointments drop off. I get it—when we feel good we don’t think about appointments for our health; they are harder to justify. But, this is THE POINT of preventative health care. The best situation is to feel good, stay in balance, and keep up with it so that serious illness does not manifest in the future.

When you’re “better,” I highly, highly, highly recommend you stick to a regimented treatment schedule. Yes, appointments can be further apart, but for your own health and longevity… don’t let them go completely. Shift your way of thinking, be like my client above, like you have the best kept secret to life… get regular acupuncture… even when you’re healthy.

The majority of my clients are here now, getting monthly treatments. That means their symptoms have resolved and they continue to come in regularly to keep them away and prevent future imbalance, ailments, and/or disease.