What can I expect when I arrive at a Chinese medicine clinic?
What is the examination like?
What is involved in a Chinese diagnosis and prescription?
How are the needles inserted?
How many treatments will I need?

What can I expect when I arrive at a Chinese medicine clinic?

The procedure for acupuncture combines traditional Chinese therapy with a modern Western approach to health care.  Our office setting is similar to other health care environments, with a comfortable waiting area, handicap accessible restroom, and private treatment rooms.   The client will be asked to read and complete paperwork to start the diagnostic procedure. (You may download this paperwork from the White Pine site and begin filling it out at home.) This paperwork informs the client about the treatment and gives the practitioner information about the client’s condition and special requirements.

What is the diagnostic examination like?

In TCM-style Chinese medicine, we diagnose using the four examinations.  The inquiry or interview portion of the four examinations is mostly completed when you submit the first office call paperwork.  Your Chinese doctor will also take notes regarding your appearance (inspection examination) as well as paying attention, for example, to the sound of breathing or the volume and quality of a cough (listening and smelling examination).  In the treatment room, the practitioner will ask to see the tongue.  For the sake of accuracy, please do not brush or scrape the tongue itself the day of the treatment.  Finally, your practitioner will palpate your pulses.  TCM distinguishes more than 28 pulse images at 6 locations and 3 depths.  It will take several minutes to take the pulse.

What is involved in formulating a Chinese diagnosis?

We begin with any Western medical diagnosis that you may have been given.  Please be aware that, as with any licensed acupuncturist, we are not trained or legally permitted to diagnose, treat, or cure any biomedical disease directly.  Instead, we reframe your biomedical diagnosis using traditional Chinese theory.  For example, a person with IBS might be treated through the symptom of painful diarrhea.  We then determine the primary pattern for your disease.  A TCM pattern is a basic disharmony in the body, mind, and spirit that results in a group of symptoms.  Treatment according to pattern differentiation is the hallmark of our medicine and is the single most important factor in both safety and efficacy of treatment.

How are the needles inserted?

Following disinfection of the skin with alcohol, sterile filiform needles are quickly inserted with the aid of a guide tube.  Clients will not experience the unpleasant discomfort of a hypodermic injection, although a slight physiological reaction at the deeper level is not only common but also indicates a therapeutic response in Chinese practice.  The acupuncturist may then use gentle movements to elicit the correct flow of qi.  Following removal and safe disposal of the needles, clients report feeling both relaxed and invigorated, a state that allows the body to begin self-healing.

How many treatments will I need?

A course of treatment can range from a single session to an ongoing schedule of regular treatments.  Expect faster results with acute conditions and more treatments to address chronic imbalances.  For long-term conditions, several treatments are essential to determine the prognosis for an individual case.  The use of herbal formulas in conjunction with acupuncture will generally lead to a much shorter treatment course.  As the goal in Chinese treatment is generally to move towards deep, permanent healing as opposed to transient, palliative care, results may not occur as immediately as is common with pharmaceuticals, for example.