Frequently Asked Questions:

Does it hurt?

That must be the number one question that I have heard over the years! Acupuncture needles are made of solid stainless steel, are very thin and flexible. Treatments are gentle and usually painless. Insertion by a skilled and qualified practitioner is performed with a minimum of discomfort.

Frequently, patients report sensations like warmth, tingling, or heaviness around the needles. These are normal responses of the body to Acupuncture, generally pain-free (not 100% though) and typically short lived. Often, patients fall asleep during the treatment and/or feel very relaxed afterwards.

Is Acupuncture safe?

The acupuncture needles used today are sterilized, used only once and disposed after having been used. Hence, there is no risk of infection or disease transference from acupuncture needles.

Does my Insurance cover Acupuncture and Herbs?

Most insurance companies in Washington cover acupuncture; however, few companies cover herbal therapy. Check with your insurance company to find out your level of alternative medicine coverage. Every insurance and every plan has different coverages, deductibles and copays. At this time Medicare, Medicaid or Washington State Labor & Industries do not cover Acupuncture.

How long does a treatment take?

Generally treatments take between 45 to 60 minutes, with the first appointment taking between 60 to 80 minutes.

Do I have to stop Massage or Chiropractic treatments?

No, you do not have to stop anything. Feel free to continue with other forms of treatment.

Can Acupuncture be used to stop smoking or lose weight?

Yes, Acupuncture can be helpful. However, it is important to have a plan in place to deal with required changes in daily routine and life style.

What can Acupuncture Treat?

The World Health Organization recognizes Acupuncture and TCM’s ability to treat a number of common disorders. The diseases or disorders for which acupuncture therapy has been tested in controlled clinical trials reported in the recent literature can be classified into four categories as shown below.

1. Diseases, symptoms or conditions for which acupuncture has been proved—through controlled trials—to be an effective treatment:

Adverse reactions to radiotherapy and/or chemotherapy

Allergic rhinitis (including hay fever)

Biliary colic

Depression (including depressive neurosis and depression following

stroke)

Dysentery, acute bacillary

Dysmenorrhoea, primary

Epigastralgia, acute (in peptic ulcer, acute and chronic gastritis, and

gastrospasm)

Facial pain (including craniomandibular disorders)

Headache

Hypertension, essential

Hypotension, primary

Induction of labour

Knee pain

Leukopenia

Low back pain

Malposition of fetus, correction of

Morning sickness

Nausea and vomiting

Neck pain

Pain in dentistry (including dental pain and temporomandibular

dysfunction)

Periarthritis of shoulder

Postoperative pain

Renal colic

Rheumatoid arthritis

Sciatica

Sprain

Stroke

Tennis elbow

2. Diseases, symptoms or conditions for which the therapeutic effect of acupuncture has been shown but for which further proof is needed:

Abdominal pain (in acute gastroenteritis or due to gastrointestinal spasm)

Acne vulgaris

Alcohol dependence and detoxification

Bell’s palsy

Bronchial asthma

Cancer pain

Cardiac neurosis

Cholecystitis, chronic, with acute exacerbation

Cholelithiasis

Competition stress syndrome

Craniocerebral injury, closed

Diabetes mellitus, non-insulin-dependent

Earache

Epidemic haemorrhagic fever

Epistaxis, simple (without generalized or local disease)

Eye pain due to subconjunctival injection

Female infertility

Facial spasm

Female urethral syndrome

Fibromyalgia and fasciitis

Gastrokinetic disturbance

Gouty arthritis

Hepatitis B virus carrier status

Herpes zoster (human (alpha) herpesvirus 3)

Hyperlipaemia

Hypo-ovarianism

Insomnia

Labour pain

Lactation, deficiency

Male sexual dysfunction, non-organic

Ménière disease

Neuralgia, post-herpetic

Neurodermatitis

Obesity

Opium, cocaine and heroin dependence

Osteoarthritis

Pain due to endoscopic examination

Pain in thromboangiitis obliterans

Polycystic ovary syndrome (Stein–Leventhal syndrome)

Postextubation in children

Postoperative convalescence

Premenstrual syndrome

Prostatitis, chronic

Pruritus

Radicular and pseudoradicular pain syndrome

Raynaud syndrome, primary

Recurrent lower urinary-tract infection

Reflex sympathetic dystrophy

Retention of urine, traumatic

Schizophrenia

Sialism, drug-induced

Sjögren syndrome

Sore throat (including tonsillitis)

Spine pain, acute

Stiff neck

Temporomandibular joint dysfunction

Tietze syndrome

Tobacco dependence

Tourette syndrome

Ulcerative colitis, chronic

Urolithiasis

Vascular dementia

Whooping cough (pertussis)

3. Diseases, symptoms or conditions for which there are only individual controlled trials reporting some therapeutic effects, but for which acupuncture

is worth trying because treatment by conventional and other therapies is difficult:

Chloasma

Choroidopathy, central serous

Deafness

Hypophrenia

Irritable colon syndrome

Neuropathic bladder in spinal cord injury

Pulmonary heart disease, chronic

Small airway obstruction

4. Diseases, symptoms or conditions for which acupuncture may be tried provided the practitioner has special modern medical knowledge and adequate

monitoring equipment:

Breathlessness in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

Coma

Convulsions in infants

Coronary heart disease (angina pectoris)

Diarrhoea in infants and young children

Encephalitis, viral, in children, late stage

Paralysis, progressive bulbar and pseudobulbar

Taken from a report compiled in 2002 by the WHO. For further information please visit the following link: http://whqlibdoc.who.int/publications/2002/9241545437.pdf