UNIVERSITY CLINIC

A session begins with a 15-20 minute interview (longer during initial visit) about your health concerns. Vital signs are taken and recorded before you are positioned onto a treatment bed to have the hair-thin sterilized disposable needles inserted onto specific parts of your body. You are to relax and rest for approximately 20-30 minutes while the practitioner prepares an herbal prescription (if applicable). Afterward, the practitioner will remove the needles and give follow-up instructions. Most patients feel relaxed and refreshed after the treatment. The number of treatments varies depending upon the severity of the ailment.

 

WHAT IS ACUPUNCTURE AND HOW DOES IT WORK? 

Acupuncture is a method of encouraging the body to promote natural healing and to improve functioning. This is done by inserting hair-thin sterilized disposable needles and applying heat or electrical stimulation at very precise acupuncture points. The classical Chinese explanation of how acupuncture works is that the hair-thin-needles can influence the energy channels (meridians) which run in regular patterns through the body, nourishing the tissues.

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The acupuncture needles unblock obstructions and promote the regular flow of energy (Qi) through these channels. Acupuncture treatments can therefore harmonize the body’s internal organs to correct imbalances in their digestion, absorption, and energy production activities, and in the circulation of their energy through the meridians. One modern scientific explanation of how acupuncture works is that needling the specific trigger points stimulates the peripheral and

central nervous system to release chemicals which may change the experience of pain, improve energy, or influence the body’s internal regulating system. Therefore, acupuncture enhances the body’s natural healing abilities and promotes physical and emotional well- being.