What is Acupuncture?
Acupuncture is an ancient Chinese medicine treatment that has been practiced for at least 3000 years. It is a unique therapy where the practitioner inserts needles into certain spots of the body (acupuncture points) to regulate the flow of energy in the human body to treat diseases. Acupuncture has been proven very effective for many pain conditions, digestive disorders, mental disorders, infertility and much more.
How can you benefit from an Acupuncture treatment?
The human body is composed of qi (pronounced “chee”). Acupuncture helps move qi along the meridians. Health lies in smooth flow of qi in the human body. Therefore, acupuncture does not only treat diseases, it is also an important preventative measure to maintain your health.
Does Acupuncture hurt?
We use fine needles to do acupuncture. In most cases, the needles will quickly penetrate the skin and you will not feel much. It may hurt a little bit when it touches a blood vessel or nerve, then you may have a mosquito bite sensation, but it is very tolerable. Acupuncture works by regulating the flow of qi. The way to know the qi is responding to the treatment is to stimulate the points with some special manipulations of the needles. When you feel some kinds of heaviness, soreness, numbness or just a strong sensation, we call it “sensation of gaining qi”. This will be much more effective than just inserting needles without any sensation produced.
How often should I get Acupuncture?
Acupuncture does not work wonders all the time. Your conditions and your response will determine how many treatments you need. Typically, we can start with the treatment twice a week for 4 weeks. When the conditions are greatly relieved, we can reduce the treatment to once a week until you feel recovered. In some special cases, you should come three times a week for two or three weeks initially to have the best therapeutic results. Then, depending on how your conditions change, we may do acupuncture once a week or twice a week. When you feel totally fine, we still suggest that you come once every month for maintenance, to prevent conditions (such as lower back pain) from recurring.
What can I expect after an Acupuncture treatment?
Some conditions such as sinus congestion, some headaches, or pain conditions, can be quickly relieved, so you can tell the difference immediately after your first treatment. But in most cases, you may not feel too much improvement since acupuncture brings an accumulative effect, you will probably notice the difference after several treatments. Some conditions may require long-term treatment to get the desired result. Typically, the longer the condition, the longer the treatment. In comparison, acute conditions may be relieved quite soon.
Dr. Chu Acupuncture Clinic 