It shouldn’t! I’ve spent years perfecting gentle, pain-free techniques, and I’m proud to successfully treat even the most staunch needle-phobes. The most common response first-timers say after I put the first needle in is, “Oh! That’s nothing!” I tell people to think of the needles (which are tiny, barely larger than eyelashes) more like tuning forks than like any syringes or shots you’ve experienced in a medical setting.

Not at all. The sliding scale is available to everyone. If you do have insurance and want to see if you’re covered, check out the insurance page, or simply add the required information to your first appointment in the online scheduler. If you run out of visits at some point or your insurance changes, you can simply just start paying the sliding-scale fee of your choice.

Absolutely. Most of us have one main issue that brings us in, but you’ll notice that I always check in about your sleep, digestive health, stress levels, and other markers. Acupuncture is a holistic system that is meant to restore harmony and natural function to all of you, even if what brought you in is a sore hip or a tight neck. And should you have bigger challenges, a series of treatments will often start to simplify matters so that we can focus more in future sessions.

It’s nice to be able to roll up your sleeves to your elbows, and your pants to your knees, though if you are coming straight from work in clothes that aren’t as flexible, I can work with that. If you have knee or shoulder pain, it can be helpful to put needles directly on those locations, so bringing a pair of shorts or a tank top to change into is useful.

If you have pain in the low back, I often prefer to not place needles in your back. Instead, I’ll place needles in your feet and hands, where the meridians that run through your back begin and end. These are considered the most powerful points in the body, and also the safest for treatment. However, some conditions really benefit from direct needling to the back, and in those cases we’ll use a table in the bodywork room for your treatment.

It depends on what’s going on and how your health is overall. While many people will feel relief or a measurable lessening of symptoms within 24 hours of the first treatment, others will need more time. Acupuncture works by slowly changing the way your body is balanced, and this isn’t something that typically happens in one treatment. Your body needs time to learn how to balance itself, so it won’t revert to its old ways.

Not at all. If you have an intense, long-term, or complex problem that you want to work on, I’ll suggest a treatment plan that usually covers several weeks or months. But if you just want to come in on an as-needed basis to recover from acute issues like overdoing it at the gym, or high-stress weeks, that is also fine. Community acupuncture is a flexible tool meant to work for you!

The lower end of the sliding scale is meant to make it easy for more people to afford treatments. The higher end allows you to support the longevity of the community room. You decide each visit what makes sense for you- your treatment is the same no matter what!

Nope! Your first visit includes a short consultation as well as you first treatment. I have been practicing for a long time, and have learned how to effectively assess what I need to craft your treatment in a fairly brief time. However, if I find we really need additional time together to understand a more complex condition, we can schedule a separate consult at your convenience.