• Does acupuncture hurt?
            Not usually. You may feel it, but not necessarily with pain.

• What might I feel during a treatment?
            What a patient usually feels is his/her own qi (pronounced “chee) and a deep sense of relaxation. Often
            the sensation is a warm rush of qi, or perhaps a cool rush, a temporary, dull, achy sensation or one may
            feel a movement in the foot when the hand is needled and the qi moves further along its pathway.
            It is actually common for the patient to not feel the needle at all as it enters through the skin.

• How many treatments will an issue take to resolve?
            That is hard to say definitively. My goal is to help you feel better as quickly and efficiently as possible.
            Every person is unique and each person is treated as such, with individual results. The time
            recommendation will vary with the condition and what I have experienced in practice.

• Treatments are so relaxing, can I come in just to feel good?
            Absolutely! This medicine is very good for stress management and prevention of disease. Often, a
            treatment will take one into a deep state of relaxation and begin to unwind the stresses of our lives.
            A treatment can lower blood pressure, release endorphins and “calm the spirit.”

• What if I want to meet you and ask questions before committing to treatment?
            Wonderful! I offer free ½ hour consultations by appointment. This gives you an opportunity to meet me
            in person and chat about your concerns.

• What is qi?
            Qi is our own life force. Some say qi is an electro-magnetic force; some say it is biochemical in nature.
            Regardless, qi is real, can be felt, and has a clear effect on our emotions and physical body.

• How does qi become blocked or out of balance?
            Any unhealthy substance, whether internal or external, can affect qi. Imbalances happens by eating
            modified or unhealthy food, ingesting toxic air or water, by contact with contagious or infectious
            diseases, by repetitive stress or traumatic injuries, emotional disturbances and invasions of
            environmental factors.

• How big are the needles?
            They vary in length and diameter, but are usually about the diameter a human hair. They are
            relatively tiny, very pliable and are solid, not hollow.

• Are the needles re-used?
            Absolutely not. All needles are required by law to be sterile and used only one time. They are then
            disposed of in a safe, legally defined manner.

 

Diseases Commonly Treated by Chinese Medicine per the NIH & World Health Organization