Frequently Asked Questions

For your convenience, my most common customer questions are answered right here. Not finding what you want? Please contact me directly.

What Qualifications Do Acupuncturists Have?

Licensed acupuncturists in the state of California have extensive training in both Chinese and Western Medicine. The minimum board requirements are completion of a four-year master’s degree program including 3000 hours of classroom instruction and 1800 hours of clinical residency. In addition to completing the educational and clinical requirements, a prospective acupuncturist must also pass the California Acupuncture Board examination, which includes biomedicine, herbology, pharmacology, diagnosis, and acupuncture

How Many Treatments Will I Need?

The number of treatments required depends on the nature of your complaint. For an acute condition, a single treatment may be sufficient to resolve it. A series of six to twenty treatments is found to be effective for many common complaints. Some chronic conditions may require a series of treatments over period of time. Adjunct TCM therapies and self-care techniques can be used to accelerate your progress and reduce the number of treatments required. This may include herbal medicine, moxibusition, dietary & lifestyle recommendations, nutritional supplementation, energetic exercises, meditation and relaxation techniques.

Is Acupuncture Good For The Elderly?

Elderly patients are able to gain tremendous support, increased vitality, and reduction or elimination of unwanted symptoms when utilizing acupuncture. Very often elderly patients experience not being taken seriously when presenting with physical, mental and emotional conditions that are common at this stage of life. Using acupuncture, many of these so-called normal conditions can be alleviated in the elderly. A body at any age can be brought to greater balance and harmony, and this is no less true as we grow older.

Can Pregnant Women Receive Acupuncture Or Chinese Herbal Medicine?

Acupuncture and herbs have been used for over thousand of years to treat all stages of Women`s health. There are a number acupuncture points and selected herbs that are contraindicated during pregnancy. As long as you work with a qualified practitioner, acupuncture and herbs can help relieve various symptoms occurring during pregnancy, including morning sickness, and provide benefit to the developing fetus. Lactating mothers can also take herbal medicine safely. In fact, small babies are sometimes treated with herbs by supplying those herbs to the mother, who then makes them available to the baby through her breast milk.

Can Children Be Treated With Acupuncture?

Children are often treated with acupuncture, massage and herbs. Many children are comfortable with acupuncture needles, which are very fine and painlessly inserted. In the treatment of children a small number of needles are used and inserted and quickly removed. Children respond very well to Chinese Medicine and it can help them through the common childhood illnesses in a way that supports their ongoing growth and health.

Who Can Benefit From Acupuncture Treatment?

Acupuncture is beneficial to people of all ages from newborns to the elderly in all stages of disease. Acupuncture can improve wellbeing, treat disease and prevent illness at all stages of life. It is absolutely not necessary to wait until you have a complaint before receiving acupuncture treatment to prevent disease.

Is Acupuncture And Herbal Medicine Safe?

Acupuncture and herbal medicine, when administered by a licensed acupuncturist, is an extremely safe way to treat a variety of illnesses and prevent diseases. In contrast to many drugs, acupuncture is non-toxic with little or no adverse reactions. At Lotus Acupuncture, we exclusively use pre-sterilized needles and all needles are discarded after each use. There is virtually no chance of infection occurring as a result of acupuncture treatment. Needles never touch the organs but work within the superficial layers of skin and musculature of the body. While herbal medicine in general is very safe, extra attention is always paid to any possible drug/herb interaction. Lotus Acupuncture only uses high quality herbs, which have passed rigorous tests and comply with GMP(Good Manufacture Practices) safety guidelines.

What Can Acupuncture Treat?

According to the World Health Organization and the National Institutes acupuncture is beneficial to treat:

• Chronic and Acute Pain – Injuries, headaches, neck, shoulder, back & knee pain, tendonitis, sciatica, carpal tunnel syndrome, fibromyalgia,

• Digestive Disorders – Irritable bowel, colitis, constipation, diarrhea, gastritis, heartburn, food allergies, ulcers.

• Gynecological-PMS, painful or irregular menses, menopause, infertility.

• Pregnancy -pre and post-partum care, breech, labor and delivery.

• Neurological Disorders – Post-stroke recovery, Bell’s Palsy, Parkinsons, Trigeminal Neuralgia, movement disorders, neuropathy,

• Respiratory Disorders – Asthma, allergies, bronchitis, sinusitis, sore throat, laryngitis, colds and flu,

• Immune Function – Recurrent infections, rheumatoid arthritis, MS, AIDS.

• Addictions – Addictions to nicotine, alcohol and drugs.

• Eye and Ear Disorders – Tinnitus, Meniere’s disease, impaired vision.

• Psychological- Depression, anxiety, chronic fatigue, insomnia.

Is East Asian Medicine Effective?

Although the practice of Chinese Medicine is relatively new to the West, it has been used in Asia for more than 4000 years to treat a vast number of conditions. Acupuncture is the oldest continuously practiced medical system in the world and is used by one-third of the world’s population as a primary health-care system. Both the World Health Organization and the National Institute of Health have evaluated scientific research and clinical trials of acupuncture and found it to be effective for a wide range of conditions.

How Does Acupuncture Work? 

Acupuncture is an ancient medicine system of balancing, regulating and strengthening the life force of the human body; called Qi (pronounced chee). Acupuncturists recognize particular pathways called “channels or meridians” through which Qi circulates throughout the body. The channels connect all of the internal organs with the rest of the body and provide a constant flow of energy to every cell. The imbalances or blockages in the flow of qi will result in illness, disease and pain. The gentle insertion of hair-thin sterile needles at specific points along the body’s channels of qi energy helps restore harmony at the deepest level for the body, mind and spirit.

Modern research suggests that acupuncture works by stimulating an auto-immune reaction. Endorphins and other physiological agents in the blood react at the sight and throughout the body.  There is often a “flare” or pink around the needle indicating increased circulation.  Our ancestors used the word Qi to describe many physiological effects that we can describe scientifically today.

What Is Fascia?

Fascia is connective tissue organized as an interconnected 3D network. It wraps around every cell, tissue and organ. Think of it like a web that supports the bones, muscles, etc. Without it the body would fall apart. It holds the bones in place as opposed to the bones holding the muscles and fascia in place. As much as we would love to delve into the scientific properties we have only so much to work with, so the following is more theoretical with some clinical pearls. So take this with a grain of salt as you should with all information out there. We simply do not know enough.

Our bodies maintain form through constant tensional forces from lines & layers of fascia from superficial, to deep to innermost. This connective tissue is also one of the primary water storage units found within the body.