Regarding Chinese Medicine acupuncture (not SAAT) -- Some patients notice results after the first treatment. For more complex conditions or long-term chronic injuries or illness, treatment may take longer. For acute issues, treatment may be recommended 1-2x/week at first until major symptoms subside. Typically 1x/week for 6 weeks is a good place to start in order to achieve more lasting change and results. Maintenance treatments are always a great way to stay regulated and maintain health to prevent illness. Herbs are extremely valuable for taking treatment home with you for between acupuncture appointments.Think of it like this... if you didn't develop it overnight, it probably won't vanish overnight.

No. But, Health Savings Accounts (HSAs) can often be used for acupuncture and other therapies deemed "alternative".

Acupuncture needles are extremely thin, and sensations vary from person to person and from point to point. You may feel a brief pinprick, pressure, aching, heaviness, tingling, or no sensation at all. Treatment can always be adjusted to your comfort level.Cupping and gua sha, and sometimes acupuncture, may cause temporary bruising that usually fades within a week.

Definitely!! Herbal medicine packs a punch to your acupuncture treatment and carries the treatment principles along home with you instead of regulating the body just on the table. But, they only work if you take them as prescribed.

Chinese Medicine works on the principle of balancing the body's function through manipulating qi, which travels throughout the body along meridians. The flow of qi keeps the body balanced and in state of health. However, if the flow of this energy becomes "blocked", like water getting trapped behind a dam, the blockage can cause pain, dysfunction, and disease. Acupuncture is used to release blocked qi in the body and stimulate the body’s natural healing response through various physiological systems. It affects the musculoskeletal system, the endocrine and nervous systems, organs, glands, and body tissues as well as the emotional, mental, and spiritual bodies.

If you are curious about this, I encourage you to please take a few minutes to read this article written by the National Certification Commission for Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine (NCCAOM), the licensing board for licensed acupuncturists. Acupuncture was designed to be done by an acupuncturist. Our entire 4-year graduate education surrounds how to help people via needles. I encourage you to see a licensed acupuncturist for acupuncture.In short, the NCCAOM has stated: ​"NCCAOM National Board-Certified Acupuncturists™ receive hundreds of hours in the core skills required to correctly perform invasive and potentially dangerous needling techniques, assuring their competencies to insert and manipulate acupuncture needles safely.Is there a required accredited academic program for the training of physical therapists to practice dry needling acupuncture?There is no national standard entry-level academic curriculum that offers training or education in any form of needling for physical therapists. The only training in dry needling acupuncture for physical therapists are abbreviated continuing education workshops. There are no minimum hours or curriculum standards for these workshops."https://www.oldgrowthacupuncture.com/_files/ugd/e14d72_a92ceda52b654f2b84244cf4a6673ee0.pdf