What is acupuncture?

Acupuncture involves the insertion of very thin needles through your skin at strategic points on your body. A key component of traditional Chinese medicine, acupuncture is most commonly used to treat pain. Increasingly, it is being used for overall wellness, including stress management.

Traditional Chinese medicine explains acupuncture as a technique for balancing the flow of energy or life force — known as chi or qi (chee) — believed to flow through pathways (meridians) in your body. By inserting needles into specific points along these meridians, acupuncture practitioners believe that your energy flow will re-balance.

In contrast, many Western practitioners view the acupuncture points as places to stimulate nerves, muscles and connective tissue. Some believe that this stimulation boosts your body's natural painkillers.

(https://www.mayoclinic.org/tests-procedures/acupuncture/about/pac-20392763)

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What can be treated with acupuncture?

• chronic low back pain
• neck pain
• sciatica
• tennis elbow
• knee pain
• periarthritis of the shoulder
• sprains
• facial pain (including craniomandibular disorders)
• headaches & migraines
• dental pain
• tempromandibular (TMJ) dysfunction
• rheumatoid arthritis
• induction of labor
• correction of malposition of fetus (breech presentation)
• morning sickness
• nausea and vomiting
• postoperative pain
• stroke
• essential hypertension
• primary hypotension
• renal colic
• leucopenia
• adverse reactions to radiation or chemotherapy
• allergic rhinitis, including hay fever
• biliary colic
• depression (including depressive neurosis and depression following stroke)
• acute bacillary dysentery
• primary dysmenorrhea
• acute epigastralgia
• peptic ulcer
• acute and chronic gastritis

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Click the button below for helpful after-care tips

10 WAYS TO GET THE MOST OUT OF ACUPUNCTURE

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​Will Medicare cover my acupunture?

Medicare Part B (Medical Insurance) covers up to 12 acupuncture visits in 90 days for chronic low back pain. Chronic low back pain is defined as:

• Lasting 12 weeks or longer
• Having no identifiable systemic cause (not associated with metastatic, inflammatory, or infectious disease)
• Pain that’s not associated with surgery or pregnancy

An additional 8 sessions will be covered if you show improvement. If your doctor decides your chronic low back pain isn’t improving or is getting worse, then Medicare won't cover your treatments. No more than 20 acupuncture treatments can be given yearly.

https://www.medicare.gov/coverage/acupuncture

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What to expect at your appointment:

Dr. Jen will greet you in the clinic lobby and bring you back to one of our acupuncture rooms. She will proceed with a small examination to determine the course of action to treat your particular ailment.

During the acupuncture treatment, you will lay or sit down. Dr. Jen will insert pre-sterilized needles into different places in your body. These places are not random — they are known as “acupuncture points.” It’s worth noting that the needless themselves are extremely fine and only around an inch long. They will only be used once and then the practitioner will dispose of them afterward.

Depending on the type of acupuncture treatment you receive,    Dr. Jen may insert the needles into the surface tissue of your skin or deeper into the muscles. After all of the needles are in place, it’s time to wait! The waiting time is generally around 15-30 minutes. The time period will be discussed before you start. During the time waiting, many patients find themselves sinking into a state of relaxation both physically and mentally. Once the time is up, Dr. Jen will remove the acupuncture needles and make some personalized recommendations for further treatment. 

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