Acupuncture is a gentle and very effective method to help you improve your health. It is nothing like going into your doctor’s office for a shot or blood draw. Acupuncture uses needles that are the thickness of a human hair. Acupuncture needles are solid, thin, and the tip comes to a point. Though some patients are more sensitive to needles than others, most patients report little to no sensation on insertion or the feeling of a small prick as the needle goes through the skin. Once the needle is through the surface of the skin, patients will often feel nothing or have a mild sense of heaviness, dull ache, or tingling.
Once needles are in, the client is left to relax with needles in for 15 to 45 minutes. In the first treatment, the client is left to relax with needles in for 10 to 20 minutes. We do this to gently introduce the client to acupuncture and to ensure the first treatment is not overwhelming.
Many people will either fall asleep, do deep breathing, or meditate during treatment and report feeling refreshed afterward and relaxed.
Other techniques can be used to get similar effects in treatment if a patient is especially needle sensitive. Tui-na (Chinese medical massage), Moxibustion (a heat therapy), Reiki, Chinese herbs, gua-sha, point stimulators that do not pierce the skin, and/or cupping are all options for treatment with someone who does not like needles.