Frequently Asked Questions
Please note, online booking is only available to existing patients, new patients must schedule a 15 minute consult or call our office to book.
Here are some answers to common questions, but if you need more info, book a FREE 15-minute consultation here.
Why Acupuncture?
Acupuncture has the effect of encouraging natural and innate healing in the body's tissues. It has been shown to reduce pain and inflammation, improve circulation, ease stress, relax the mind, encourage restful sleep, regulate digestion and help balance a women's menstrual cycle to ease discomfort and promote fertility. Acupuncture and Chinese medicine have been shown to produce real healing, through treatment of the root cause of disease, not just the symptoms. Overall, acupuncture and Chinese medicine promote a systemic balance that is essential to health and wellbeing.
What should I expect?
Chinese Medicine works best when conducted as a treatment plan. A treatment plan will be put together and presented to you at your initial appointment. The volume and frequency of the visits are dependent on what your primary complaint is. At the initial evaluation, a thorough health history will be taken. Treatments will include one or more of the following modalities:
Acupuncture: This placement of sterile single use filiform needles at particular points on the body to encourage healing, improve circulation, reduce inflammation and pain, and calm the mind.
Herbal Medicine: Single herb or multi-herb formulas prescribed and modified for each patient. Herbs may be prescribed in pill, powder, tincture or raw decoction dependent on the needs of the patient. Tinctures are proprietary blends created and prepared in house. Chinese herbal medicine treatment is based on a practice over 3000 years old and utilizes over 400 different plant, mineral and animal sources. Herbal medicines are lab tested, and produced in accordance with GMP standards. Organic herbs are sourced as often as possible.
Moxibustion: Mugwort or Artemis Vulgaris is refined and then burned over the acupuncture needle, over the surface of the skin, or directly onto the skin without burning the patient. This herb improves circulation, warms the body, and has had the proven benefit of boosting the immune system and building blood cells.
Cupping: Cupping is performed using a flame to place a glass cup on the the skin. It draws the tissue into the glass cup helping to break up and draw out stagnant blood and dead cells within the muscle so that the body can adequately clear them. It is helpful in treating pain and tightness as well as some other conditions.
Gua Sha: This is a scraping technique using oils or liniments on the skin to reduce inflammation, treat pain and soreness and vent heat or irritation from the body. It can also be used to naturally reduce fevers in children to allow the body to safely fight infection.
Dietary and Lifestyle counseling: Nutrition recommendations based on body type and health goals. Lifestyle recommendations to promote healthy sleeping habits, work/life balance, self care and overall health.
Is it painful?
Typically, insertion and manipulation of acupuncture needles is not painful. Most times, the insertion the the needle is not felt at all, however, there is sometimes a quick pinch when the needles are inserted through the guide tube and there can be a sensation of a tingling, heaviness or a dull ache at the location of the needle. If the acupuncture needles remain painful or uncomfortable we make adjustments as necessary to reduce any discomfort to you.
How long until it works?
There will typically be noticeable relief after your first treatment, but acupuncture works best when used as part of a treatment plan. This plan varies and will be discussed with you at your first visit, but we typically recommend 6-12 visits for lasting results, with significant results noted by visit 4. In cases of long standing chronic illness or disease states that have not responded well to other treatments, the required number of visits may be increased.
What does it treat?
Chinese Medicine is a system of medicine that is able to diagnose and effectively treat a host of conditions and diseases. There are very few things that are not ideally addressed with acupuncture and Chinese Medicine. Here is a list of some of the conditions that the World Health Organization indicates Acupuncture for:
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Low back pain
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Neck pain
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Sciatica
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Tennis Elbow
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Knee pain
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Periarthritis of the shoulder
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Sprains
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Facial Pain (including craniomandibular disorders)
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Headache
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Dental Pain
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Tempromandibular (TMJ) dysfunction
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Rheumatoid Arthritis
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Induction of labor
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Correction of malposition of fetus (breech presentation)
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Morning sickness
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Nausea and vomiting
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Stroke
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Essential hypertension
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Primary hypertension
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Renal colic
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Leucopenia
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Adverse reactions to radiation and chemotherapy
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Allergic rhinitis (including hay fever)
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Biliary colic
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Depression
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Acute bacillary dysentery
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Primary Dysmenorrhea
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Acute epigastralgia
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Peptic ulcer
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Acute and chronic gastritis
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Postoperative pain
If you are looking for acupuncture in Lakewood, Golden, or the West Metro Denver area, please feel free to reach out with all of your questions or book a free 15 minute consult for more information.
