Wang Acupuncture & Chinese Medicine Clinic

1. What is Chinese Medicine and Acupuncture?    

For more than 5000 years, as an ancient healing art, Chinese medicine has been performing in clinic to maintain human health, prevent and treat diseases. It is well-known by its safe, effectiveness, less or no side-effect, and non-expensive. It is composite of several parts: Acupuncture, Chinese herbs, Tui-Na (Chinese massage), Moxibustion, Cupping, Gua-Sha (shin-scraping), Electro-stimulation, Heat therapy, and Auricular therapy, etc.
Acupuncture is one of main components of Chinese medicine, which inserts needles into some certain points of the body and manipulates them accordingly to treat various diseases by stimulating corresponding meridians.

2. What is “Qi”?

The application of the traditional Chinese medicine is based on the flow of energy through the whole body. This energy is called Qi (pronounced as “chee”). Qi is the vital energy to animate life. There are two types of Qi: prenatal Qi and post-natal Qi. The prenatal Qi inherited through the genes and cannot be replenished. The post-natal Qi is replenished by food, drink, and breathing. The human body is organized as five Zang organs, six Fu organs, meridian, Qi, blood, and vital fluid. In a healthy human body, the elements of Qi, blood, and vital fluid circulate through the whole body continuously. When diseases occur, this circulation is disturbed. To treat diseases, Chinese medicine considers both the cause of this disturbance and its results. In the long history of human development, the traditional Chinese medicine has played an important role and still plays a great role nowadays.

3. How does the Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) diagnose diseases?

Before treatment, clear diagnosis and treatment plan need to be made. TCM diagnosis can be made by taking your pulse, checking your tongue, and asking you questions to learn about your healthy status and relevant histories.
This diagnose methods are different from those in the western medicine, but we may still also read your exam results from your doctors, like MRI, X-ray, ultra-sound, blood tests, etc., which can be used to aid us on making diagnosis based on TCM theory. Then it can be determined what organ(s) and meridian(s) are affected. Acu-points and/or herbs are then selected according to the diagnosis.

4. What should I expect during my first visit?
During your first office visit, the practitioner will make diagnoses and treatment plans. This treatment plans might be adjusted according to your condition change during the session of treatment process.
Each patient may feel differently after the first visit. Since the treatment goal is to rebalance Yin and Yang, and restore Qi of the body, it is normal to feel either relaxed or tired.

5.How will I feel when taking acupuncture?
Nothing needs to be panic. Because the needles are so thin and light, the sensation that you can feel is minimal. A sore, numb, distended, or heavy feeling would be felt around certain Acu-points, which is a sign of effectiveness.

6. Is acupuncture safe?
Your health and safety are critically important. Being treated by a Licensed Acupuncturist, your safety is assured. All needles are pre-packaged, pre-sterilized, and disposed after single use.

7. Is acupuncture painful?
You may experience intramuscular injection, and then the sensation of acupuncture is much smaller or senseless.
Some patients may feel a pinch-like sensation briefly upon the needle insertion and then this feeling quickly disappears. Some patients cannot even tell if a needle has been inserted. Most patients feel very relaxing during and after the treatments.

8. How many treatments do I need?
It depends on the duration and severity of the disease, and the nature of each individual. Generally from five to fifteen treatments are adequate for the majority of chronic ailments. Many acute conditions may only require a single or several treatments. However, the patient has the right to participate in discussion about his/her treatment plan.

9. What are the risks of acupuncture? Is it uncomfortable?

The use of sterile, single use needles ensures that there is no risk of disease transmission. The needles are very thin and are much smaller than the needles used in the general hypodermic injections. The most common situation you may see is a tiny drop of blood after the needle is removed, or/and maybe a small bruise, but it is normal and will be gone in hours.
Any medical technique involves some risk. Properly performed, acupuncture presents minimal hazard when compared to drug regimens or surgical techniques.

10. What can I expect after the treatment?
Many conditions may be alleviated very rapidly by acupuncture and/or other Chinese medicine treatment. However, some conditions that have arisen over years will need steady progress of treatment. As in any form of healing, the patient’s lifestyle will affect the outcome of the treatment. Patients are encouraged to actively participate in their healing process.

11. Do I need Chinese "herbal" formulas in addition to acupuncture?
It depends on the diagnoses and treatment plans. Some patients need only acupuncture or herbal formulas, some patients may need combination of them. The traditional Chinese medicines are derived from plants and minerals, and animal products are sometimes used. Comparing to pharmaceutical drug, most of Chinese herbal formulas are free of side effects. Chinese medicine formulations are often available in pill or tablet form that is more convenient than the traditional "soups" used in the Chinese medical practices.