At your initial consultation we will develop a comprehensive treatment plan customized for your condition. The time that it takes to feel noticeable results is highly dependent on how severe your symptoms are, how long you've had them, and lifestyle factors. Depending on the case, when beginning treatment expect 2-5 treatments a week until improvement is seen. To prevent recurrence, it is common to have a maintenance regimen of 1-2 times per month. Acupuncture is generally not an instant fix. Yes it is common for patients to feel relief immediately, but then have it return in a few hours or days. Our comprehensive treatment plans are geared toward tackling the root of the issue and making that relief actually last.

Acupuncture treatment comes with virtually NO HARMFUL SIDE EFFECTS. However, some of our patients have reported feeling tired or sore and so I recommend always eating beforehand and not to participate in strenuous exercise or activities immediately after. You may also experience some light bruising, this is normal and usually will go away in 1-3 days.

Acupuncture involves the insertion of hair-thin filiform needles that are about 30x less than the size of a standard hypodermic needle, and they generally do not hurt. Some regions of the body with less fatty tissue or higher concentration of nerve endings are more sensitive to needling than others, but we find that virtually all of our patients (yes, even the ones with needle-phobia!) get over it quickly and actually find treatment relaxing after the first 1-2 sessions.

Although this is not a commonplace scenario, it does happen and it is what we refer to as a "healing crisis". Many patients have nerves and tissues that are hyper-sensitive due to longstanding inflammation -- we must stimulate specific points in order to bring that sensitivity back to a healthy baseline, and sometimes it may involve "feeling worse before feeling better." Just like how exercising induces muscle tearing in order to get stronger, acupuncture involves controlled "micro-injuries" to build up damaged tissue and regulate pain signals. It is temporary and will go away!

Acupuncture treatment is a quick office visit that usually only takes 30-45 minutes.