Your first visit will take approximately 1.5 to 2 hours as we discuss your primary complaint, concerns/goals, and review your health history. Gia may ask questions that do not seem related to your primary complaint that day.

She will use traditional diagnostic tools such as looking at your tongue and feeling your pulses to analyze your condition according to traditional Chinese medicine, as well as administer any physical or orthopedic exams necessary to baseline your current state and symptoms.

An individualized Care Plan will be created and reviewed with you, using the five branches of Chinese medicine, documenting any measurable symptoms, and revisited every few treatments to evaluate progress and continued benefit. If you approve the Care Plan and suggested timeline, treatment will begin that same day.

Your treatment may include massage, cupping, gua sha, moxi-bustion, nutritional and herbal therapeutics, and meditation techniques, in addition to acupuncture. Though your Care Plan will be followed for each treatment, most appointments are customized slightly to address your current condition and acute symptoms (if any) on the day of your treatment.

Follow up treatments will take about 1 hour. Gia will review your condition with you and continue your treatment plan at each visit.

Acupuncture is probably the most well-known of the traditional Chinese Medicine modalities, but it is far from the only one. Acupuncture can be augmented, or replaced altogether, with many other treatment options, from acupresssure, tui na massage, gua sha, cupping, to herbal medicine and qigong practice. Gia will discuss with you any concerns you may have and arrive at a suitable treatment plan that takes into account your personal needs and even teach and show you how to continue to support your own treatment at home using one or more of the above techniques. Again, the goal is your overall success and wellness - however that is best accomplished.

• Have a light meal.

• Take any necessary pain pills or other medications as prescribed by your doctor.

• Avoid alcohol, barbiturates, or tranquilizers for 4 hours prior to treatment.

• Wear comfortable clothes that allow access to areas above the elbows and knees (see below, What Should I Wear to My Acupuncture Treatment?)

• You can resume normal daily activities, but avoid strenuous activities for 24 hours.

• Rest for 1-2 hours if you feel sleepy or tired after your treatment.

• Refrain from alcohol or other mind/mood-altering substances for 2 hours.

• Continue to take any necessary medications as prescribed by your doctor.

• During the first 24-48 hours after an acupuncture treatment, you may feel like the condition that you were seeking relief from has worsened. This experience is very common and normal reaction, and it usually indicates the treatment is working.

• If you were sent home with ear seeds, follow the instructions for proper removal and disposal.

• If you were prescribed herbal medicine, follow the instructions for preparation and dosage.

  • If you experience anything beyond mild gastrointestinal symptoms, discontinue use and contact us.

Wear comfortable clothes that allow access to areas above the elbows and knees.

No special clothing, nor disrobing, is required to receive acupuncture, and many treatments do not require patients to remove any clothing.

For some treatments, certain body parts are best reached by disrobing. Should this be necessary, a cover/gown or proper draping will be provided. Please feel free to bring a change of comfortable clothing, if you prefer.

Frankly, no. The procedure is not painful, though it is common (even desirable) to feel a heaviness, mild ache, or tightness, signaling a therapeutic arrival of “de Qi”.

Hair-thin, filiform acupuncture needles are many times thinner than the standard hypodermic needles used for blood draws and injections. Slightly thicker needles may be used if treating a highly muscularized area of the body to achieve the desired response.

Children and animals (yes, veterinary acupuncture) have been known to not even notice when an acupuncture needle is inserted. Patients often relax during their acupuncture treatment, many fall asleep.

Acupuncturists are required by law to use sterile, one-time-use needles.

As bleeding is minimal and it is necessary for the practitioner to “feel” the needle and the patient’s Qi, there is no need for acupuncturists to wear gloves.

It is reassuring to review the medical literature and find no documented cases of an acupuncturist transmitting an infectious disease to a patient or vice versa.

Gia is fully certified in Clean Needle Technique (CNT), a professional certification required to be a licensed acupuncturist.

The depth and angle of needle insertion varies depending upon the location of the acupuncture point and the patient’s body size. Needle depth may be as shallow as 1/16 of an inch to several inches.

This will most certainly be discussed as part of your Care Plan during your first appointment with Gia, as the number and frequency of treatments required varies depending upon your condition and overall health. As a rule of thumb:

Acute conditions such as a cold/flu or new musculoskeletal pain or injury can see improvements immediately to within a few days and fully resolve within 2-6 appointments, while chronic or internal conditions (assuming no acute symptoms requiring more urgent attention) may call for a more infrequent, sustained approach - again, highly dependent on the patient’s constitution and symptom presentation.

Acupuncture, and especially herbal medicine, have a cumulative effect, and symptom relief may extend for a longer duration after each session. It is not uncommon to see a worsening of symptoms the day after treatment before they start to improve. Thought this is not always the case, it is considered normal, nonetheless. Gia will reach out for a follow-up call after your initial visit to answer any questions you may have.

Some states allow other types of healthcare professionals, such as chiropractors and physical therapists, to use acupuncture needles after 25-300 hours of training, often with a focus on ‘dry needling’ or ‘trigger point needling’. These treatment styles may be considered a ‘subset’ of acupuncture needling, as they utilize some of the same points or areas to treat pain and muscle or joint dysfunction as those found on acupuncture meridians, but do not employ the holistic toolset of Chinese medicine.

By contrast, a Licensed Acupuncturist (L.Ac.) must be boar-certified and complete a minimum of 4 years of Masters or Doctoral level training in Chinese Medicine and Acupuncture, including 600 hours of hands-on clinical training and internships.

 Gia includes dry needling as part of acupuncture to ensure the underlying cause of the pain and imbalance is addressed as well as the acute pain.