FAQS
WHAT SHOULD I EXPECT FROM MY FIRST SESSION?
We will start by talking about what's brought you in as well as some other important general health and history questions. Then there will then be some assessments that we'll run through together, which may include any combination of checking your wrist pulse, looking at your tongue, palpating muscles, joints and abdomen, range of motion tests and muscle tests. Once we have our baseline and I have a working idea of what we need to do, we'll start with the acupuncture treatment. Typically we'll start with points below your elbows and knees, so make sure you wear loose fitted clothing. If you're coming in for pain or an injury, I may also decide to use points in the affected area. I will explain everything to you so that you know what's happening and why the whole time. At the end of the treatment, we'll come up with a treatment plan to help you get back on track.
DOES ACUPUNCTURE HURT?
First of all, the needles used in acupuncture are much, much finer than anything you'd get at the doctor. It is normal to feel a sensation with acupuncture, such as a dull ache, heaviness or sometimes a muscle twitch, but all treatments are tailored to you and your tolerance. I work with a lot of people who are sensitive or nervous about needles and so have developed a gentle approach.
HOW LONG WILL ACUPUNCTURE TAKE TO WORK?
Generally, we will get feedback early on in treatment whether you're responding or not. Often, we will be able to observe some fairly immediate changes during the treatment, though because acupuncture has an accumulative effect, I would want to see how you respond over at least a series of 4 sessions or so. Within that time, we should have a good idea of how you're responding and if acupuncture will be helpful for you. From there we can figure out a plan to get you back on track, keeping in mind more chronic and complex conditions will take longer to recover from than more recent or acute issues.
IS ACUPUNCTURE THE SAME AS DRY NEEDLING?
No, acupuncture and dry needling or trigger point needling come from different theoretical backgrounds. Acupuncture is based on Chinese medicine and has a history of many thousands of years of development. Dry needling dates back to the 1940s and is based on the trigger point work of Janet Travel and David Simons. Dry needling got its name because they originally used much thicker hypodermic needles to inject anaesthetic or saline into trigger points, but when acupuncture started to become popular in the West, they found acupuncture needles achieved similar results and so was coined dry needling because no fluid was being injected. Within traditional acupuncture, we have a similar technique of "ashi" needling where tender points are palpated and needled.
One of the biggest potential differences relevant to someone seeking treatment is in skill level and safety. An acupuncturist must complete a 4 year degree with hundreds of clinical hours to be able to register, and then to maintain registration, they must complete continuing education hours every year. Within the clinic they will be refining their needling techniques with almost every treatment. Compared with dry needling which can be done over a weekend course and requires no ongoing education. A practitioner using dry needling is also often only using it occasionally as an adjunct to their treatments and so their techniques may not be as refined. Of course, having said all that, there are very talented dry needlers out there, as well as bad acupuncturists, so it will always come down to the practitioner. I personally use trigger point techniques where appropriate and have nothing against it being used by other practitioners if it is done safely and within their scope.
IS ACUPUNCTURE SAFE DURING PREGNANCY?
Yes, though there will be certain points that we'll avoid as these points can be used at the end of pregnancy to help induce labour. If you are pregnant at any stage, it is important that you let your acupuncturist know. Having said that, acupuncture can be very helpful for a variety of issues that may come up during pregnancy.
WHAT ARE IN THE HERBS? ARE THEY SAFE? WHAT DO THEY TASTE LIKE?
Your herbs will be a combination of plant-based ingredients in most cases, with the ingredients provided on every bottle. If you have any allergies or sensitivities, be sure to let your practitioner know. The herbs used are typically TGA registered and so meet strict quality and safety checks for contamination and toxicity. When prescribed in pill or tablet form they are tasteless and just need to swallowed with water.