FAQs About Acupuncture

Yes you should tell your doctor that you are using herbs. No matter your doctor’s degree of training in herbs, let them receive the information respectfully. If your doctor is concerned that a pharmaceutical substance might interact with an herbal product, it is prudent to accept such advice. The effect of a drug can be either increased or decreased in the presence of some factors in the diet, including herbal use. Although it is likely that most such factors have little or no influence on drug metabolism, continued research will add to our knowledge of such interactions and responsible food and supplement manufacturers will be expected to inform their customers of any new findings. It is also be useful to consult with a qualified herbal expert.

All supplements, including herbs, vitamins, minerals, etc., must conform to Federal regulations that control their manufacture, labeling, and advertising. The manufacturer must meet state and local health and business regulations. Since supplements are legally classified as a specifically defined type of food, all supplements are required to be manufactured to the same high standards that are required of all foods. Any supplement that does not conform to these basic guidelines is subject to regulatory action by FDA. In addition, all supplement products are required by law to provide certain information about their formulation.

In acute conditions, results may occur in a matter of minutes. In chronic conditions, some results should be seen within two weeks or more than one month.

Most of the components of Chinese herbal medicine have very low toxicity compared to even common, over-the-counter Western drugs. When they are prescribed according to a correct TCM pattern diagnosis, they should have few, if any, side effects, only beneficial healing results.

The most common method of taking Chinese herbal medicine is drinking a liquid, prepared by boiling the selected herbs. There are also herbal pills, tinctures, and powdered extracts for those who do not have the time or taste for drinking the more traditional liquid form. Please consult your acupuncturist or herbalist about the right form for you. Individual formula might need for your specific situations.

Chinese herbal medicine may include vegetable, animal, and mineral ingredients, however, the majority of ingredients are from vegetable sources. Leaves, flowers, twigs, stems, roots, tubers, rhizomes, and bark are among the parts of vegetables used.

The decision to use herbs for promoting health is a personal one. One of the reasons may be the fact that herbs provide real health benefits while maintaining a remarkable safety profile. Medicinal plants and herbs used to be and continue to be the source of proven medicaments and of new and revolutionary drugs. If the active principles of drugs can be found in many plants and herbs, cheaply and easily bought at your home market or Herbalist, why not use them?

Prior to 1972 no insurance company paid for acupuncture, but now about 80% of the insurance companies are covering the treatments. It is necessary to check with your individual company. We will be happy to fill out the insurance papers or assist you in being reimbursed. Acupuncture treatments are totally tax deductible as a medical expense on your yearly tax report. Consultations or information are free. If you are considering treatment but would like to discuss your specific program with your doctors, se suggest you do so. We invite you to make an appointment for a consultation at our office. There is no charge nor obligation. Emergency and home-bound patients services are also offered.

That depends upon the duration, severity, and nature of your complaint. You may need only a single treatment for an acute condition. A series of five to fifteen treatments may resolve many chronic problems. Some degenerative conditions may require many treatments over time.

A first acupuncture session typically lasts about an hour, with follow-up sessions taking 30 minutes to an hour. You’ll be asked to lie or sit on a padded table, and to remove or loosen just enough clothing to get comfortable and to uncover areas to be treated. A therapist will take a detailed health history, and a practitioner of traditional Chinese medicine will also examine your tongue and take your pulse in several different places. The treatment can involve from two to 15 hair-thin disposable sterile needles inserted just under the skin, or deeper. Acupuncture shouldn’t hurt much. You may feel a “pinch” or sting and some warmth or tingling for a few seconds. If pain persists, tell the therapist right away. The therapist will leave the needles in place for a few minutes to an hour (20 minutes is typical), checking to make sure you are comfortable or to remove or manipulate some needles to stimulate the acupoints. Sometimes tiny amounts of an herb called mugwort (or moxa in China) are burned and held – painlessly – over the stimulation points. After the treatment, you’ll be asked to rest quietly for a while and then get up slowly, noticing any changes. You may feel a bit lightheaded from the treatment. People have widely different responses to acupuncture – even people with the same disease or symptoms. Some feel an immediate and strong effect. It may take several sessions for others to feel anything – and perhaps 10 percent of those who try acupuncture get no effect. You can learn to use some acupressure techniques yourself: Ask the acupuncturist to show you. It’s also taught through some health-care providers, or at community and senior centers, and in books and on videos.

No, although acupuncture has gained an outstanding reputation as a therapy, it has limitations. Some illnesses require special doctors. Some need individualized herbs. Acupuncture is excellent in treating functional disorders. Today scores of diseases are responding favorable to acupuncture. It is a natural method with no side effects. It is suggested that persons suffering maladies and those afflicted with pain make an appointment for a no-obligation evaluation. Hundreds of patients have responded favorable, and are now leading pain-free, productive lives.

Objective scientific evidence shows that acupuncture has a physical basis and proves that it does not work by hypnosis or suggestion. More study has shown that the function of acupuncture is linked with the nerve system, endocrinology system and immunology system. For example, acupuncture stimulates secretion of endogenous hormones (endorphin, etc.) in the brain or spinal cord for pain control. Acupuncture also increases white blood cells and antibodies, thereby increasing the body’s resistance to inflammation.

Acupuncture therapy treats patients without drugs. It is a completely natural treatment so it does not have side effects as drugs usually do. Acupuncture therapy raises patients’ own inner forces by enhancing them to allow patients to cure themselves. Acupuncture therapy can raise patients’ own activity of the immune system, thus preventing disease. Additionally, acupuncture benefits many people who have not been helped by conventional medical methods.

It is highly effective in the treatment of both acute and chronic pain problems, asthma, and some chronic situations.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO) acupuncture therapy is effective in 47 kinds of diseases: acute sinusitis, bronchial asthma, toothache, hiccup, chronic duodenal ulcer (to relieve pain), constipation, diarrhea, facial paralysis, headache, migraine, trigeminal neuralgia, incomplete paralysis after apoplexy, peripheral neurologic diseases, Meniere’s syndrome, neurogenic bladder dysfunction, nocturia, intercoatal neuralgia, arm and neck syndrome, frozen shoulder, tennis elbow, sciatica, backache, osteo-arthritis, and many more. It is especially effective in treating muscular and nerve system diseases. Clinical experience has proved that acupuncture is effective in stress reduction, weight control, deep relaxation, enhanced physical function, rejuvenation of skin and complexion. It has helped patients withdraw from drugs, smoking, alcohol addiction, and it also relieves insomnia, palpitation, anxiety, depression and impotence. It also relieves deafness, tinnitus, corrects sports and athletic injuries improving athletic performance and is most effective in weight control.

No, acupuncture therapy is not limited only to the insertion of presterilized needles. Acupressure is the use of the finger instead of needles to accomplish the same purpose. Acupuncture may be divided into body acupuncture, ear acupuncture, scalp acupuncture, etc. Acupuncture may also be combined with electrical and moxibustion. These combinations are called electrical acupuncture and needles moxibustion. Another method has vacuum cupping the therapies and skin acupuncture therapies. The type of acupuncture to used is determined according to the patient’s condition.

Acupuncture is a form of healing that is based on the use of needles to correct malfunctions in the body. It was found over the centuries that in all patients the same skin areas became hypersensitive in the presence of a specific illness or organ dysfunction. The sensitive areas varied consistently according to the organ malfunction. Acupuncture affects the energy level and the functioning of internal organs by either stimulating or depressing their action. Acupuncture works through the insertion of thread-like, stainless steel needles in specific points on the body. These points are grouped along energetic channels (or meridians) that cross the body. Upon insertion the patient may feel a slight sensation, but the needles are designed to be virtually painless. Disposable needles are used one time only and then discarded. Therefore, no disease can be transmitted.

Acupuncture has been used in China more than 3,000years and for decades in Europe (England, France, Germany), Japan the Soviet Union. At present acupuncture is practiced throughout the world by 150,000 licensed acupuncturists. After its effectiveness in surgical anesthesia was established worldwide, it aroused interest in modern medical circles. Some physicians in the U.S. began to study acupuncture in an effort to learn the reason for its effects.

Acupuncture is a form of healing which is more than three thousand years old and yet has really only come into the vocabulary of the average American in the past few years. Although many people have been skeptical about acupuncture, it has gained increasing acceptance as more and more people have been treated and helped by it. The fact that acupuncture benefits many of the people who have not been helped by conventional medical methods is indicative of its potential usefulness in this country.

TCM views patients holistically, composed of body, mind, emotions and spirit. When these elements are out of balance, disease develops. Factors such as stress, emotional upset and poor diet can all contribute to this imbalance. TCM helps restore patients’ health by bringing harmony to body, mind and emotions. TCM treats the entire body. A patient may come in for treatment for a specific ailment and find that, unexpectedly, long-term unrelated conditions have improved also. The various components of TCM include acupuncture, herbal therapy, moxibustion, cupping, and nutrition.

Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) is a comprehensive medical system that came into being following five thousand years of observation and analysis. TCM can prevent illness, maintain health and fight disease. It can effectively treat conditions ranging from the most severe paralysis to the common cold. It not only relieves physical pain and disease, but can provide beneficial psychological effects as well. TCM remedies possess few side effects and, unlike with drugs, tolerance does not build up over time.