Acupuncture is an ancient form of Traditional Chinese Medicine that has been practiced for centuries and involves the placement of small needles at particular locations along the skin to exert physiologic changes within the body.
As a licensed Naturopathic Doctor, I am extensively trained in the art of Traditional Chinese Medicine and acupuncture. When undergoing acupuncture with a qualified practitioner the procedure can be very effective, very safe and virtually painless.
I ask patients to come in for about a half hour acupuncture session with about 5-15 needles inserted at various points along the body. We will perform this procedure about 4-6 times over the next month to month-and-a-half and then we will see if acupuncture is having a real physiologic effect on their body
In my practice, I use acupuncture for two very different scenarios. On the one hand I use acupuncture when it comes issues of chronic pain, particularly muscle tension within the body. When an acupuncture needle is placed within the muscle belly it is able to release tension within that muscle. For example, chronic shoulder tension, tension headaches, low back pain that involves back muscle tension, these are all scenarios that I use acupuncture for and it can be very effective. Additional areas I use acupuncture for include chronic headaches as well as arthritis, whether of the hands, the knees or any of the joints in the body that have chronic pain.
On the other hand, when I am thinking of acupuncture other than for chronic pain, I am thinking of acupuncture for mental and emotional issues. Acupuncture has great efficacy for patients with issues of sleep, insomnia, fatigue, depression, anxiety and chronic stress. Acupuncture is great way for people to lie down and take some time out of their day for themselves and at the same time acupuncture has been shown to exert its effects in the brain via the vagus nerve. The vagus nerve connects the body to the brain and in a very real way can change the way your brain works at a physiologic level.
In pregnancy, acupuncture can be also be used near the end of pregnancy for delayed labour, as it can help induce labour for those patients.
So please consider coming into the clinic and exploring whether acupuncture is right for you and whether other natural health solutions can be of service.