What to Expect from Treatment?

My Approach

I strive to employ some combination of all five traditional modalities described in the 'Services' section in any course f treatment. During each clinic visit, I predominantly apply Tui Na massage as a means of relaxation, and assessment, followed by acupuncture and additional manual therapy. I also provide structured guidance on physical techniques similar to PT strategies for musculoskeletal complaints, as well as culinary solutions for metabolic complaints. Traditional herbal formulas are also an option for anyone wishing for the most comprehensive and holistic experience. Each patient's path is different and depends on factors such as frequency of clinic visits, acute versus chronic nature of complaints, level of commitment to adjustments to home or work routines, etc. Moreover, all treamnt plans are adaptable. Patients responses to previous treatments are responsible, in part, for defining subsequent treatment strategies. Sustained improvements via holistic interventions can take between six and ten sessions. While immediate relief may follow individual sessions, improvements are acheived through regular adjustments to the system as a whole that cumulatively acquire a kind of therapeutic momentum. It is my priority to approach this goal in a way that is individualized to patients' unique circumstances so that improvement is both perceptible in the short term and sustainable over time.
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Initial Session

Patients are generally encouraged to allot 120 minutes for an initial appoitmnt so that there is ample time for both a comprehensive medical history as well as a treatment. For those new to acupuncture, a gradua exposure to the needling process is often appropriate and insertion sites are often limited to less challenging regions on the arms and legs. Nonetheless, please dress in garments that can easily be pulled up to expose the elbows and knees.
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The physical Experience

Tui Na Preparatory Phase

I generally begin treatments with Tui Na massage, which is a kind of oscillatory and wave-form-based modality that accomplishes all that you would expect from conventional. massage therapy, but does somewhat more to liberate the flow of Qi and Blood in target regions as well as systemically. This is also an opportunity for me to assess the palpable state of tissues, assess the nature of a physical complaint or measure the extent of improvement since a preceding session. Most patients find Tui Na to be bot invigorating and relaxing and some come solely for the Tui Na experience.

Acupuncture

There are many different schools and styles of acupuncture, each involving different degrees of intensity and variety of stimulation. Depending on a patient's presentation, needle stimulation may be very gentle and superficial so as to be almost imperceptible, or deeper and more dynamic so that vivid sensations are felt. Everyone's constitution is different. Some patients respond well to minimal needle stimulation while others seem to require more vigorous stimulation to resolve stubborn muscle knots or fascia adhesions. In any case, it is one of my priorities as a clinician to minimize discomfort in ay way possible. Introduction of the system to needle stimulation occurs gradually over the first few sessions and  patient feedback remaias a central factor in determining how it is applied.
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A Course of Treatment

I recommend to all new patients that a six-session trial be adopted to assess the fit of this medicine to their goals. I find that this is the. minimum number of treatments after which lasting benefit might be achieved. As with any intervention, results can be unpredictable. However, part of my job as clinician is to assess the effects of each treatment as we go and make adjustments based on patient feedback. Patients, themselves, should also notice positive results along this initial course, sometimes within hours of treatment. In acute cases involving severe pain, patients are encouraged to come at least twice a week, while in cases of more chronic complaints or less urgent wellness goals, afrequency of once a week or less can be sufficient. Many of my patients come as needed for maintenance visits, as well. I offer promotional packages for courses of treatments because they help ensure more long-lasting benefit due to regularity of treatmnt. Please see "Services' for details.