What is Traditional Chinese Medicine?

Traditional Chinese Medicine is a millenia-old, comprehensive system of medicine that views health as the result of harmony among the body’s systems and harmony between the body and nature. That is our goal :) TCM incorporates acupuncture, herbal medicine, cupping, bodywork, movement, and more.

What is acupuncture?

Acupuncture is a modality of TCM in which fine, sterile, single-use needles are inserted into the skin at specific sites in order to initiate the healing process.

Will I feel it?

It doesn’t hurt but you will likely feel it. People generally describe a feeling of warmth or heaviness at the insertion site.

How many treatments will I need before I feel better?

That depends on what we are treating, how severe or complex the condition is, and how long it’s been bothering you. Acupuncture is a process and the effects are cumulative. However, acupuncture is more than just treating pain; Chinese medicine is preventative care.

What does acupuncture treat?

Acupuncture is effective for an enormously wide range of conditions. A World Health Organization review has listed the following symptoms, diseases, and conditions that have been shown through controlled trials to be treated effectively by acupuncture:

• Musculoskeletal and pain: low back pain, neck pain, sciatica, knee pain, tennis elbow, arthritis of the shoulder, sprains, rheumatoid arthritis, postoperative pain

• Head, face, and jaw: headache, facial pain, including craniomandibular disorders, dental pain, temporomandibular (TMJ) dysfunction

• Digestive: acute epigastralgia, peptic ulcer, acute and chronic gastritis, biliary colic, acute bacillary dysentery, nausea and vomiting

• Gynecological disorders, fertility, and pregnancy: PMS, primary dysmenorrhea, morning sickness, correction of fetal malposition (breech presentation)

• Circulation and recovery: stroke, essential hypertension, primary hypotension, adverse reactions to radiation or chemotherapy

• Mood: depression, anxiety, stress

• Allergies: allergic rhinitis, hay fever

However, acupuncture is beneficial in some non-specific ways for everyone: it usually improves sleep, energy, and mood, as well as reduces stress.