Does acupuncture hurt?
Acupuncture needles are very thin and flexible and most people find the insertion almost painless. Once the needles are in placed in the body, there may be a sensation around the needle – usually one of heaviness, achiness, warmth or tingling. Most people find that the body goes into a very relaxed and balanced state. It is very common for people to fall sound asleep during the treatment.

Can I use acupuncture for health maintenance?
Yes. The best use of acupuncture is for the maintenance of health. Oriental medicine says that the best doctor cures illness before it occurs, which means that prevention is the most important thing in medicine. A principle in Oriental medicine is that changes in ki (Qi) or energy, precede physical change. This means that acupuncture can act as preventive medicine, correcting the balance of energy flow before a serious illness occurs. It is accepted that automobiles need regular maintenance to keep them running reliably yet we tend to ignore our own body's call for attention.

Acupuncture is great for relieving many of the uncomfortable symptoms and reducing the pain of serious illness. It can also play an important role in recovery and rehabilitation by restoring balance of structure and function in the body. Above all, acupuncture is excellent preventive medicine for they can correct energy flow before serious illness occurs.

I have had acupuncture before. Is it all the same?
No. Our techniques are Japanese and Chinese. Most acupuncturists in North America use Chinese acupuncture techniques only. All acupuncture is different. There are variations in approach even within Japanese acupuncture techniques. If you have tried acupuncture before and a) it didn't achieve the results you were hoping for or b) you didn't like it, I would still recommend that you try our treatments.

What Does Acupuncture Treat?
Acupuncture has analgesic, relaxing, toning, balancing, and restorative effects on the body. The World Health Organization (WHO) Seminar made the following provisional list of diseases that may be helped with acupuncture treatment. This list is based on clinical experience. Over 50 commonly encountered clinical disorders that lend themselves to acupuncture treatment include:

NOSE AND THROAT DISORDERS such as acute sinusitis, acute rhinitis, the common cold and acute tonsillitis.

RESPIRATORY DISORDERS such as acute bronchitis and bronchial asthma (especially in children and in patients without complicating diseases).

EYE DISORDERS such as acute conjunctivitis, central retinitis, myopia (in children) and cataracts (without complications).

MOUTH DISORDERS such as toothache, post-extraction pain, gingivitis and acute or chronic pharyngitis.

GASTRO-INTESTINAL DISORDERS such as spasms of the esophagus and cardia, hiccough, gastroptosis, acute and chronic gastritis, gastric hyperacidity, chronic duodenal ulcer (pain relief), acute duodenal ulcer (without complications), acute and chronic colitis, acute bacillary dysentery, constipation, diarrhea and paralytic ileus.

NEUROLOGICAL AND MUSCULO-SKELETAL DISORDERS such as headache, migraine, trigeminal neuralgia, facial palsy (within 3-6 months of onset), pareses following stroke, peripheral neuropathies, sequelae of poliomyelitis (within 6 months of onset), Méniere’s & grave's disease, neurogenic bladder dysfunction, nocturnal enuresis, intercostal neuralgia, cervicobrachial syndrome, "frozen shoulder", "tennis elbow", sciatica, low back pain, osteoarthritis and dizziness.

CIRCULATORY DISORDERS such as hypertension, angina pectoris, arteriosclerosis and anemia.

UROGENITAL DISORDERS such as 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).

EMOTIONAL AND PSYCHOLOGICAL DISORDERS including depression and anxiety.

ADDICTIONS such as alcohol, nicotine and drugs.

Supportive therapy for many other CHRONIC AND PAINFUL DEBILITATING DISORDERS.