What is Acupuncture & Traditional Chinese Medicine?
In short, it’s a holistic healthcare system that addresses both the symptoms you experience and their root causes. When you see a Registered Acupuncturist regularly, you’ll experience personalized treatments that both improve your symptoms and prevent them from returning. It’s perfect for you if you’re looking for natural, long-term wellness solutions and want to be empowered with the knowledge and tools to live a healthier, more balanced life.
What is Acupuncture and why do you need it? Read more my blog post for a longer answer!
What can I expect at my first appointment?
At your first appointment, we’ll talk a lot about your treatment goals and overall health and wellness. I ask a lot about you because Chinese Medicine examines the broader picture of your physical, mental, and emotional wellbeing to get to the root of your health concerns. We’ll have a chance to get to know each other a bit during this appointment, and follow-up appointments will be less chatty! I’ll also answer any questions you have for me during this appointment.
After this discussion, we’ll move into the treatment. The length of your first treatment may vary depending on how much we have to discuss. It might include body work like cupping, massage (tuina), or other modalities, but it may just include acupuncture! During your first treatment, we’ll discuss your personalized treatment plan to reach your health goals.
Everyone’s treatment looks a little different. For example, your treatment might start out with a relaxing cupping treatment or guasha treatment followed by acupuncture. It might start with acupuncture and be followed with an acupressure head massage. Once the acupuncture needles are in, you can rest in stillness on a warm and comfortable massage table for about 30 minutes. You’ll be checked in on regularly to make sure that you’re comfortable and able to relax. Some people receive other treatment modalities at the same time as acupuncture, such as head massage, LED light therapy, FIR (Far Infrared) Heat Therapy and more, based on their needs.
How many treatments do I need? / When will I feel better?
Everybody’s reaction to acupuncture is a little bit different. Chronic issues or things you’ve been experiencing “as long as you can remember” take longer to heal than more recent or acute issues; people who are generally healthy will recover more quickly than those with multiple chronic illnesses; those in their 20s will recover more quickly than those in their 60s. Acupuncture is cumulative in effect, and each session builds on the results of the last. You might not notice much change after your first treatment for a chronic issue (in the same way you might not notice a difference after going to the gym once, eating a balanced meal once, or taking one dose of a medication). Stick to your treatment plan and the results will come! Trust in the process.
A recent or acute issue might only take a handful of treatments to resolve, for example twice per week the first 2 weeks, once per week for the next 2-3 weeks, and monthly tune-ups as you please.
A general treatment plan for a deeply entrenched, chronic issue (for example, anxiety or fibromyalgia for “as long as you can remember”) might involve receiving acupuncture twice per week for the first 2 weeks, once per week for the next 4-10 weeks, once every other week for a month, and then once per month onward for maintenance and prevention. Most people with many chronic health issues find they feel best when they work acupuncture into their lifestyle and continue to come in regularly.
Your healing journey might not look the same or take the same amount of time as someone else’s. As your symptoms improve, shift, and disappear, the treatments will be spaced out more and more until you’re just coming in for your monthly tune-up!
Does acupuncture hurt?
Generally, not at all! Some people experience no discomfort at acupuncture points, and others feel stronger sensations. Tense muscles are more likely to ache when acupuncture needles are inserted, and some points are more tender or sensitive than others. Sometimes, you may feel a brief sharp sensation when a needle is inserted. Most people find acupuncture very comfortable and relaxing. Everyone’s experience with acupuncture is a little different, so you’ll just have to try it for yourself! Most people feel very relaxed during and after treatment.
What is Cupping?
Cupping is an effective therapy that has existed for thousands of years. It’s excellent for treating muscular aches and pains, stubborn knots and tension, headaches, and even internal conditions such as insomnia, anxiety, restless leg syndrome, and asthma. Gentle abdominal cupping can also treat painful menstruation and constipation, for example.
To learn more about it, read this blog post.
What is Herbal Medicine?
One of the main treatment modalities of Traditional Chinese Medicine is herbal medicine. Its effective use treating a variety of ailments has been documented for thousands of years. Most of the substances are plant matter such as roots, twigs, and leaves, but shells and other animal materials are sometimes used.
Like a detective, your practitioner will perform a thorough assessment of your current and past health in order to find patterns that link all of your symptoms together. With this unique diagnosis, they’ll prescribe a customized herbal formula that will address your case specifically. The active components in herbs can be extracted by simmering raw herbs as a decoction, or they may be extracted in alcohol as a tincture, or processed into granules that are consumed much like instant coffee. They may also be prescribed as tablets or pills. Currently, in my practice, I used granules and tinctures most often because they’re both effective and easy for patients to take regularly.
Every case is different and your symptoms will take a different length of time to resolve than someone else’s. Using herbology alongside acupuncture helps to prolong your positive results after a treatment, and helps bring you more efficient relief from your symptoms. It’s an important aspect of Traditional Chinese Medicine, along with custom dietary and lifestyle modifications, that should not be overlooked for your stubborn symptoms!
What is Guasha?
Guasha is a Traditional Chinese Medicine treatment modality that uses a smooth tool to scrape the surface of the body for therapeutic benefit. Sometimes the treatment is gentle, and sometimes the treatment is quite vigorous depending on the purpose of treatment and needs of the patient. Gua sha tools come in a variety of shapes and materials for a variety of different uses.
Guasha may also be included in your treatment if you have muscle aches and pains or would like to improve your muscle recovery time after the gym. It can also used to treat headaches, insomnia, and jaw pain. Like cupping, guasha can be used to open your pores and vent heat through the skin. It’s a fantastic treatment modality if you’re feeling irritable or agitated and have tension in your upper back and neck.
Gua sha for muscular pain and venting heat (that causes headaches and frustration) causes local erythema (redness) and leaves petechiae (tiny red and purple markings). These markings are referred to as sha, and indicate that an area is congested and needs treatment to increase circulation and remove waste from the tissues. The marks are not painful and will fade within 3-14 days, depending on your circulation, age, and general health.
What is Tuina?
Tuina is another important branch of Traditional Chinese Medicine that is often used in conjunction with other treatment modalities. It is a form of massage originating in ancient China that is used to correct imbalances and areas of stagnation (excess) or deficiency in your body. Your practitioner uses the channel (or, meridian) system- a system of inter-connected pathways that run throughout your body much like your nervous system- to diagnose or treat what imbalances they’ve assessed. Tuina is a form of massage that enlists Traditional Chinese Medicine theory to treat not only local issues such as pain, but systemic issues such as insomnia, headaches, abdominal pain, and anxiety.
I often perform head and face massages to treat specific acupuncture points and meridians for patients with neck, upper back, and jaw pain that presents with anxiety or insomnia. Patients usually get off the table feeling relaxed, looser, and ready for a good night’s sleep.
What is FIR Therapy?
Far Infrared (FIR) heat therapy reduces pain and inflammation, improves blood circulation, helps regulate blood pressure, and accelerates healing and cellular regeneration. FIR heat can penetrate inches into the body- much deeper than a moist-heat electric heating pad. Aside from that, it makes for an incredibly relaxing treatment! At Peony Tree Medicine, it is applied using a TDP lamp.
