What is Acupuncture?
Acupuncture is a 4,000 year old medicine that is one of the therapies used in Traditional Chinese Medicine. Thin, flexible, disposable needles are inserted into specific acupuncture points to achieve movement of qi (“chee”) and blood through your body. It works by reminding your body how to use its resources most efficiently.
Many Conditions can benefit from Acupuncture. Unlike Western Medicine, all ailments of a certain category are not lumped together; each person is evaluated for a Traditional Chinese Medicine diagnosis specific to them. In this way, conditions are treated from their deeper source. While the annoying or painful symptoms you experience are addressed and relieved with treatment, the root cause is also addressed to help the body regain a balance of health. Acupuncture can remind the internal systems how they behaved before there was a problem at all!
Acupuncture in its truest sense is a great wellness tool. It can support maintenance of good health to keep you active and doing the things you love. Think of it as a monthly or seasonal “tune-up” for your body, mind, and spirit. Acupuncture is appropriate for all ages, from infants to the elderly. See Pediatric Treatments to learn more about treatment for kids.
More about the Needles
Acupuncture needles used at Seasons of Balance are sterile, disposable tools regulated by the FDA. They are a fraction of the size of needles used for blood work or injections in your MD’s office. In fact, 30-40 acupuncture needles fit inside the barrel of a standard hypodermic needle! Acupuncture needles are solid, flexible, and about the size of one strand of hair. They are generally inserted 1-2cm into the fascia just under the skin layer. Often times, patients remark that they hardly feel the needle at all; others compare it to the pinch feeling of a mosquito bite that subsides after just a few seconds. The needles are typically left in for 15-20 minutes, throughout which time there may be no sensation at all, a feeling of heaviness or achiness at the site of insertion, or a sensation of warmth or movement throughout the body. Each of these experiences is acceptable and will vary from person to person.