What to Expect in an Acupuncture Treatment

How exciting that you’re considering acupuncture to help your body heal and optimize your mental and physical health. Below is an idea of what you can expect when you come in for an acupuncture treatment. If you have any questions, would like to learn more or want to become a patient, feel free to schedule a complimentary 15-min call with me, Kate Lumsden. I look forward to working with you!

What to Expect in An Acupuncture Treatment

I will check in with you and your body to evaluate your current health. We’ll discuss your chief complaint or reason for seeking acupuncture in detail. I’ll also ask questions about your general physiology that will help me gain a better idea of how your symptoms arose and the way they influence your overall health now. In Chinese Medicine, we value knowing the symptoms you're experiencing, but in terms of treatment, we want to understand the constellations of symptoms you're presenting so that we treat the constellation - or "pattern" -  rather than just individual symptoms one by one. This means that as a patient, you see improvement in more than one area at once; how nice! But it also means that you can come in for treatment for insomnia and we will be asking you about your digestion and elimination. Fear not, I have heard it all in terms of all bodily functions so the more descriptive, generally the better for us diagnostically. 

I will ask to look at your tongue and the feel of your pulse at your wrists. In Chinese Medicine, we gain information about your digestion, energy, immune system, reproductive health and more from the tongue and pulse. That information gives us very clear guidance for the points we want to use in our acupuncture treatment, how we want to move the needles after we've inserted them, and how long we want to leave the needles in. While we do pay attention to your heart rate when we feel the pulse, we are also noticing a multitude of other things such as magnitude, width, rhythm and more. My fingers have felt hundreds of pulses, so I feel for many details that can help me refine your treatment. 

Next, you'll lie down or sit for treatment. You'll take off your shoes and socks and lie down on a massage table before the acupuncture treatment is given. You’ll be guided to lie face down or up depending on the points for your treatment. Once you're situated, focus on relaxing. If it helps to take a few deep breaths to do that, then by all means do. 

The time has finally come: The acupuncture happens. Either you’re in loose comfortable clothing that makes the points needed accessible or you’ll be given a sheet to cover up with and asked to remove what’s needed. I will likely press around the areas of the points I am considering using or massage at the point or along the channel of the point. You may notice that spots you wouldn't have guessed (like inside your shin) are tender. This is very common and nothing to be alarmed about. I will then swab the acupuncture point with a cotton ball that has a little alcohol on it and insert the acupuncture needle.

Now, a very important question you may have: What exactly is an acupuncture needle? An acupuncture needle is a needle with a very thin shaft: about the width of a strand of hair, a quarter the width of a sewing needle, and a 15th the width of a hypodermic needle. That's THIN. Nothing like what you experience when you have blood drawn, for the record. It's sterile and only used once before it's put in the biohazard container. They come in varying widths (still all about the width of a strand of hair) and varying lengths (super short ones for fingers, long ones for big muscular areas like the butt). 

What does it feel like to have an acupuncture treatment? There are two sensations people generally differentiate: the feeling of the needle going in and the feelings that come with resting with the needles in.

The insertion of the needle generally feels like literally nothing ("You put the needle in already??" I've had patients say) or a small pinch (not enough to jump but you know the needle is in), or the very rare zinger that happens at just a few points occasionally. A zinger will feel like a small and very short spark sensation at the point and will dissipate immediately. It's been proven that thinking of numbers can help dull sensations, so if you're new to acupuncture and nervous, try counting your breath (inhale 1-2-3-4, exhale 1-2-3-4) until you get to experience that the sensation is quite minor. 

Once a needle is in, I may move the needle deeper or turn it in a particular fashion. Again, this is all dependent on what they want the "qi" (pronounced chee), often translated as energy, of the point to do. You may notice a very mild sensation while I do this or you may not even notice.

The feeling during treatment can vary broadly but most people feel themselves relaxing deeply. Some people feel a sensation of energy moving, and sometimes they describe it moving in the acupuncture channel of the point. I've never heard of anyone feeling uncomfortable during an acupuncture treatment, so long as they were well positioned at the start. If you receive a treatment and any point needled continues to feel uncomfortable after a breath or two, let me know because the needle likely needs to be adjusted. 

The number of needles used can vary from just a few to ten or more. Again, this will depend on what you've come to get help with and the presentation of your tongue and pulse. 

The needles can stay in for any length of time. For babies and children, needles (or “taps” as I call them with kids) generally just go in and out. For adults they are generally left for somewhere between 15 and 45 minutes. The length is determined by what I think is therapeutic for your case bearing in mind what our schedules allow.

After you've rested for some time, the acupuncturist will remove the needles. Removable is painless. I may cover the point with a cotton ball once the needle is out or they may not. It depends on what I want the qi at the point to do. 

Your day's treatment is done! You'll get a chance to - ideally slowly- get up, put on your socks and shoes and then check in briefly about how you feel. The vast majority of people feel better in some way for at least the remainder of the day, more often for the next three days or so. Many sleep better that night and feel brighter the next day. 

When should you come in next? There are relatively rare times where a single treatment can be enough to help your body make the adjustments needed to address your problem. More often though, our health issues took time to take root, and as it's the root that acupuncture addresses, it will take a series of treatments done regularly to get the full result you are looking for. When treatments are given too far apart- say more than a week, it can be like starting from scratch each time, so while there may be intermittent relief, lasting relief won't be established.

Typical treatment intervals are weekly or alternating weeks for 6 to 12 treatments depending on the condition. All of this depends on your case, and we’ll discuss it at the outset so that you have realistic expectations for your treatment. 

There are other modalities we can employ like Moxibustion, Cupping, or Gua Sha in conjunction with acupuncture to enhance your treatment.

Still have a question about what to expect? Feel free to schedule a complimentary consultation, and I'll be happy to answer it.