What Is Acupuncture?
What Does Acupuncture Do?
How Does Acupuncture Work?
Where Does Acupuncture Come From?
What Is Chinese Medicine?
Does Acupuncture Hurt?
How Many Needles Are Used?
What Is The Difference Between The Three Styles?
What Other Techniques Might Be Used?
What Should I Wear During My Acupuncture Treatment?
How Often Do I Need To Come In For Acupuncture?

What Is Acupuncture?

Acupuncture is an East Asian medicine that uses very fine needles to stimulate the body’s ability to heal, and bring about physiological changes to re-establish balance or homeostasis.

Acupuncture is one of the oldest, most commonly used medical procedures in the world.

Acupuncture involves the insertion of very fine single-use, pre-sterilized, disposable needles into various points along the surface of the body.  These hair-like needles measure a fraction of a millimeter in thickness.  Forty acupuncture needles can fit inside the hollow space of a hypodermic needle used to draw blood. 

Many people find acupuncture to be a beneficial non-invasive alternative to surgery, and a side-effect free alternative to Western pharmaceuticals.

What Does Acupuncture Do?

Acupuncture works on many different levels. 

Acupuncture is very effective at treating pain, especially muscular pain. 

Acupuncture has an auto-regulatory effect on many of the body’s systems.  It balances the autonomic nervous system, and calms the emotions and the mind.  It has a strong effect on the endocrine system and balancing hormones.  It has a strong impact on the reproductive system, and the menstrual cycle.  It has a regulatory effect on the digestive system.

How Does Acupuncture Work?

One way that acupuncture works is through the autonomic nervous system.  Acupuncture can be used to regulate over-stimulated or under-stimulated muscles, organs, or organ systems.  Acupuncture can induce a relaxation that puts your body into a parasympathetic state.  In this state, the body is able to redirect its recourses for proper organ function, and return to the state of “rest and digest”.  This works to counteract the high levels of day-to-day stress that forces your body into the “fight or flight” response of a sympathetic dominant society.

Acupuncture also works through the connective tissue of the body.  Fascia is a layer of connective tissue that lines all the muscles, organs, and orifices in the body, and creates a connective network throughout the entire body.  Fascia is made up of collagen, a polarized molecule that carries a charge.  In this scenario, the acupuncture needle can be thought of as a lightening rod, which conducts and redirects the electrical nerve impulses in the body.  These nerve impulses are responsible for the functioning of organs, the contraction of muscles, and the sensation of pain.  The acupuncture needles are used to regulate these electrical impulses and restore balance to the body’s functions.

Where Does Acupuncture Come From?

Acupuncture is a time-tested medicine that is over 2,000 years old.  Originally from China, acupuncture spread to Japan, Korea, and Vietnam.  There, acupuncture, and Chinese medicine as a whole, took on new directions as practitioners in different areas adapted it to their needs.  The use and adaptation of acupuncture continues today both in the East and in the West, where it has become more popular in the U.S and Europe.

What Is Chinese Medicine?

Acupuncture is part of the healthcare system called Chinese medicine.  Chinese medicine also includes: dietary and lifestyle counseling, meditation and breathing exercises, like Qi Gong, massage therapy, and Chinese herbal medicine.

Does Acupuncture Hurt?

Acupuncture should not be painful.  Because the sensations of acupuncture are subjective, from person to person, there is a broad range of variability.  Some patients find acupuncture to very relaxing and feel sleepy afterwards, while others feel invigorated and renewed. 

Common sensations at the needle sight are a dull ache, heaviness, or spreading.  Some more sensitive people may feel tingling and movement, while others may feel nothing.  All of this is okay.  These sensations are positive and indicate that the body’s own healing response has been stimulated. 

The most intense sensations are usually felt with trigger point acupuncture when the patient is in muscular spasm.  This has been described as the sensation of the muscle “jumping” on its own. 

On the opposite end of the spectrum, the Japanese style of acupuncture is the most subtle and gentle.  Of course, if any of the treatment styles don’t agree with you, we can use an alternative method. 

How Many Needles Are Used?

The number of needles varies depending on the treatment, but an average treatment consists of 15-20 needles.  The treatment usually begins with needles being placed on the lower legs, and works its way to the location of the complaint.

What Is The Difference Between The Three Styles?

The Chinese style is called Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM).  It is the standardized medicine that comes out of China, and it is the style that most acupuncturists in the U.S. practice.  It is an organized and logical system of treating patients according to their specific Chinese diagnosis.  This style is heavily dependent upon the signs and symptoms a patient presents with, along with information gathered from feeling the pulse and observing the tongue.

Kiiko Matsumoto’s Japanese style of Acupuncture is a unique culmination of the styles of her masters, and her own meticulous research into classical acupuncture texts.  This is a truly dynamic style of acupuncture, which treats a broad spectrum of illnesses and complaints.  This style uses abdominal palpation to confirm that the treatment is working, right then and there, to both the patient and the practitioner.  This style uses the finest gauge needles and is often considered to be the gentlest style.

Trigger Point Acupuncture is a modern American style of acupuncture developed by Mark Seem, president of TSCA.  This style combines French Meridian Acupuncture with Dr. Janet Travell’s Myofascial Trigger Point work.  Trigger Point Acupuncture is very effective in treating chronic or acute muscular pain, by physically releasing the tension of a muscle in spasm.

What Other Techniques Might Be Used?

Additional techniques that may be part of your acupuncture treatment:

Gua Sha.  This technique involves the rubbing of a smooth edged tool on the surface of the skin to move and invigorate the blood.  This technique may be used in instances of very long standing muscular pain.  Moving the blood helps to restore a healthy suppleness to dry, hard muscles.

Cupping.  This technique involves the use of glass or plastic cups on the surface of the skin to create suction.  The purpose of this technique is similar to Gua Sha, without the rubbing movement.

Moxabustion.  This is the application of heat to an acupuncture point by burning the herb Artemisia Vulgaris, or Moxa.  The moxa may be placed on the acupuncture point or on top of the needle to create a warming stimulation to the point.

E-Stim.  Electric Stimulation may be applied to the acupuncture needles much in the same way that physical therapists use TENS pads.  The e-stim adds additional stimulation to the acupuncture point, and is useful for the treatment of muscle spasm or tissue damage.

Massage.  Traditional Chinese, Japanese, or Thai massage may be incorporated into your treatment, especially if your complaint has muscular involvement.

Dietary and Lifestyle Counseling.  We may talk about aspects of your life, work, or diet that may be contributing to your chief complaint, from a Chinese medicine perspective.

What Should I Wear During My Acupuncture Treatment?

It is a good idea, but not necessary, to wear or bring shorts, tank top, sports bra, etc. for your acupuncture treatment.

How Often Do I Need To Come In For Acupuncture?

The length of time for treatment depends on what the chief complaint is and how chronic the complaint is.  If the onset of the complaint is acute, and the problem is straight forward, it is possible to resolve the issue in 1-3 weekly treatments.  If the onset of the complaint is chronic, and the problem is complicated it may take up to several months of weekly treatment to resolve.  However even in the latter case, you should be seeing improvement within the first three weekly sessions.  

Once a condition is resolved, patients often decide to come in periodically for maintenance or prevention.  This may be once a month, once a season, or on an as needed basis.