Acupuncture, Chinese Herbs, Qigong, Clinical Nutrition

Notes for appointments
In order to make your treatments as effective and comfortable as possible, please consider the following:

• Most treatments can be done without removing clothing. Sites for needling often include the abdomen, back, arms and legs, so please wear loose, comfortable clothing. Women should avoid wearing one piece dresses or tight stockings. Men should avoid wearing suits or dress shirts to their appointment.
• Acupuncture is best when a patient is neither too hungry nor too full.

How long is an appointment?
For the first appointment, schedule an hour. Follow-up appointments typically take 30 - 45 minutes. Unlike massage, the length of the treatment does not determine the effectiveness of the treatment.

How many treatments will I need?
Treatments plans are as individual as the patient: results may be immediate or require an extended plan over a period of time for chronic conditions. We suggest that a second treatment is scheduled less than a week after the initial treatment so that we can better assess the efficacy and can then give a better estimate of total treatment time. The number of treatments is usually dependent on the cause of the problem, length of time the condition has existed, and a person's individual response.

How often do I need to come in for treatment?
Once again, each person's condition and response to acupuncture is different. We prefer to see a patient for a second time less than a week after the initial appointment. After that, most patients come for weekly appointments, although twice weekly is more effective in some situations.

Once my condition is better, do I have to keep coming in for maintenance treatments?
 Absolutely not. As we jokingly say to our patients, "We hope we never see you again!  But hope you tell all your friends about us!"  We will counsel you during treatment sessions on how to better care for yourself, so that you don't exhaust yourself, physically or emotionally, or re-injure yourself.  Of course, if your problem recurs or you have other health concerns, we are here to help you.

What happens during the first appointment?

• During your first appointment we will complete a full assessment of your health condition. This will include reviewing your completed health history form, and usually asking additional detailed questions based on the form. We may ask about timing and circumstances surrounding the onset of a health issue, as well as emotions related to the particular situation. Recent scientific studies have confirmed that emotional stresses are often a significant factor on a person's health.
• Depending on your condition, we may also conduct range of motion tests, palpate various parts of the body, or conduct other simple, effective non-invasive tests. 
• We will conduct a Traditional Chinese Medicine examination that includes feeling the pulses in three different positions in both your left and right wrists. We are not just counting the number of beats, but rather feeling the quality of the pulse. We will also look at your tongue to observe the color and shape of the tongue body, possible cracks in the surface, as well as the color, texture and area covered by the coating on the tongue. Both of these give us important information regarding energetic imbalances. DO NOT BRUSH your tongue the day you have an appointment.
• At the end of the first appointment, we will tell you whether or not we can help you.  While we have alot of experience and have helped many people, there are certain unique cases that do not respond well to Chinese medicine.  If we feel that we can help you, then we will give you an estimate regarding when you should expect to start seeing results, and how many treatments that will take.

• We will repeat many of the examinations you experienced during your assessment, so that we can track the improvement in your condition, as well as follow-up with questions regarding other aspects of your health.
• Treatment commences. We may have you lie either face up or face down on the treatment table, or on occasion, treat you sitting in a chair or even standing. Depending on the treatment needed, needles may be retained for as little as a few seconds to 30 minutes.