Acupuncture in Mill Valley

Acupuncture restores balance in the body by stimulating the flow of chi/energy and blood via the energetic pathways which run through the body, known as channel or meridian. Therefore, it benefits your circulatory system as well as the vasculature in the body.

Course of treatment varies case by case. Generally, acute conditions like back pain takes 2-4 acupuncture sessions to resolve. Chronic conditions could take up to 3 months ( typically 1 or 2 sessions per week ) since it requires identifying and uprooting the underlying cause of the symptom. In Chinese medicine, we always trace the problem back to the root cause.

The needles used for Acupuncture are hair-thin, stainless steel, and disposable. While you may feel some sensation as the needles are inserted, it is not described as painful. More accurately, the felt sensation is a sense of heaviness, as if a weight is being placed on the area. This indicates that the smooth flow of Chi and Blood has arrived at the local area, which is considered as a desirable outcome. Other sensations reported are tingly and warm.

When Acupuncture is done correctly by a licensed practitioner, the risks are low. It is imperative that Acupuncture should be done in a clean environment; using clean, disposable and unbreakable needles. According to NIH ( National Institute of Health ), few complications from Acupuncture have been reported, but when they are, they usually stem from non-licensed acupuncturists.

The short answer is Yes! Acupuncture is very effective as a stand alone treatment strategy for pain management. But Acupuncture also works well in conjunction with other modalities such as chiropractic, physical therapy and osteopathy. Some patients choose to use over-the-counter pain reliever such as Tylenol to manage acute pain while using Acupuncture to get to the root cause of the pain in order to find a long-term solution.

Many health insurance plans include acupuncture benefits. For my practice, I do not bill insurance directly. However, if your plan has out-of-network acupuncture benefit, then I will issue a superbill/receipt which you submit to your insurance provider for reimbursement.