IS ACUPUNCTURE APPROPRIATE FOR YOU?
It is widely known that acupuncture is appropriate for many conditions of illness involving pain as a major component. This is true, however, many patients with disorders of which pain is not a principal feature also often receive benefit. These include a wide variety of chronic conditions for which more conventional medicine has provided less than satisfactory resolution.

Traditional Chinese Medicine, of which acupuncture is a part, does not separate the physical, emotional, psychological and spiritual dimensions of the individual in diagnosis or treatment as clearly as conventional medicine does. So it is often helpful for complaints that cross over the boundaries of orthodox medical areas of specialization, including some considered to be “psychosomatic.”

Because this approach to healing looks at things in its own complex way, each individual person must be evaluated according to their own unique circumstances. This is true whether you are considering acupuncture for major health problems or are in generally sound health with interest in actualizing your greater potential for well-being. Some people simply want their pain relieved. Others are interested in the potential this approach to healing has to address subtle and complicated conditions. Still others are hoping to enhance higher level wellness. All are welcome, and many people who initially come with interest in resolving a particular acute problem discover that an ongoing relationship to acupuncture fosters enhanced well-being thereafter.

Specifically, the World Health Organization recognizes acupuncture and Oriental medicine’s ability to treat disorders such as:

• Gastrointestinal Disorders, such as food allergies, peptic ulcers, chronic diarrhea, constipation, indigestion, gastrointestinal weakness, anorexia, and gastritis
• Urogenital Disorders, including stress, incontinence, urinary tract infections, and sexual dysfunction Gynecological Disorders, such as irregular, heavy, or painful menstruation, infertility in women and men, and premenstrual syndrome (PMS)
• Respiratory Disorders, such as emphysema, sinusitis, asthma, allergies and bronchitis • Disorders of the Bones, Muscles, Joints and Nervous System, such as arthritis, migraine headaches, neuralgia, insomnia, dizziness and low back, neck and shoulder pain
• Circulatory Disorders, such as hypertension, angina pectoris, arteriosclerosis and anemia
• Emotional and Psychological Disorders, including depression and anxiety
• Addictions, such as alcohol, nicotine and drugs
• Eye, Ear, Nose and Throat Disorders
• Supportive Therapy for other chronic and painful debilitating disorders

A brief consultation over the telephone at no charge is always a possibility, and a clinical visit may be discouraged or alternatives suggested for cases in which acupuncture would appear to be neither an apt nor promising therapeutic option. If there is more appropriate treatment for your situation of which we are aware, we will suggest this. If something other than or in addition to acupuncture has not been explored and might be helpful, we can discuss potential options.

We recommend acupuncture only if it seems to hold the greatest promise. If you are accepted for treatment here, it is because your goals in coming are well within the scope of the possibilities of the service we provide.

IF ACUPUNCTURE IS APPROPRIATE, HOW MUCH TREATMENT WILL I NEED?
This is truly impossible to answer ethically and reliably without evaluating your particular needs in detail. Sometimes a single treatment is sufficient to resolve the presented problem. In cases of chronic disease or profound pathology which have proven resistant to other forms of treatment, an extended course of acupuncture therapy may be needed to achieve as complete resolution as possible. Sometimes acupuncture substantially improves conditions which cannot be finally cured, and in such cases ongoing treatment to sustain the best possible quality of wellness is advantageous.

The longer a problem has existed and the more severe it is, the more likely it is that frequent sustained treatment will be needed to successfully address it. In such a case, treatment may be needed as often as twice-per-week for a number of weeks, with subsequent treatment on a weekly basis, thereafter becoming less frequent as gains are reliably maintained. In less severe cases, treatment less often may be sufficient.

Some people initially come so that a particular concern might be addressed. Discovering the importance of acupuncture in helping to cultivate and sustain wellness, they then incorporate regular preventative treatment into their lives, or return for treatment now and again as various concerns arise, integrating this form or treatment into their way of caring for themselves throughout life. Our promises to you are:

1) We never recommend any treatment unless it holds a good likelihood of success and we know of no more suitable alternative.

2) When you are under our care we will recommend treatment no more often, nor less often, than is required to properly meet your needs.