What should you expect during your Acupuncture treatment
We schedule appointments every 90 minutes. Thank you for allowing time for your treatment and for scheduling and payment afterwards. For the first treatment, you may fill out the initial intake and consent form before the treatment starts. We will send them to you beforehand, or you can fill them out in our office if you don’t want to fill them out via computer.
Only areas of your skin that need to be palpated for assessment and needled will be exposed. The room temperature is kept higher than the rest of the clinic, so that you stay comfortable and cozy throughout the treatments. Your own clothing, towels or sheets are used for draping, and your private areas are never exposed.
To prepare for your Acupuncture treatment, the following will greatly help:
wear loose pants that can be moved up to expose your leg above the knee
preferably wear a tank-top so that your arms, shoulders and neck can easily be accessed
you can eat and drink before an appointment, but please avoid a heavy meal, and stay away from alcohol
The treatment is done on a comfortable heated massage table, covered with sheets, and consists mainly of the following phases:
an assessment, with questioning, observation, tests, palpation of relevant diagnostic areas
one or two needling sessions, for instance front and back, of 10 to 30 minutes each
a massage after the needling session(s), using acupressure/tuina techniques
a wrap-up discussion with self-care recommendations and planning for subsequent treatments if necessary
click for information on all adjunct therapies during Acupuncture appointments
The number of treatments needed to make you feel better varies depending on your health condition and your constitution. In general, it takes 3 to 6 weekly or bi-weekly treatments. More recent, and more acute issues usually take less time than chronic issues. After results give you satisfaction, a monthly treatment for maintenance and prevention is a great approach in your wellness program. I usually advise people to come every 3 to 4 weeks in the winter, and 4 to 5 weeks in the summer for prevention because winter is usually harder on our system.