If you’ve never had acupuncture before, you must be wondering what it looks like and how to prepare for your first treatment…
First of all, don’t worry – it doesn’t hurt.
Let us guide you step by step:
Consultation (15-20 min)
At the very beginning, we’re going to sit down and discuss your wellbeing and the reason for your visit. In Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), patient is treated holistically – as a whole person, not just the presented symptoms. That’s why the consultation takes quite a lot of time.
Be prepared to answer some questions about your medical history, medication you’re taking, your sleep pattern, stress levels and everyday activities. The more we know about you, the better we can personalise your treatment.
Tongue and Pulse diagnosis (a few minutes)
After the consultation, we will have a look at your tongue and will check the pulse on your wrist. Tongue and Pulse are very important diagnostic tools for a TCM practitioners. They can tell us a lot about your body’s constitution. Please, don’t brush your tongue (if that’s what you normally do) on the day of your appointment – that would make it harder for us to read!
Acupuncture (20-40 min)
Finally, acupuncture!
Depending on your condition, you will be asked to lie down on the treatment bed with your face up or down.
We recommend wearing comfortable, loose clothes that will provide easy access to your arms and legs.
Based on the consultation and Tongue-Pulse diagnosis, we’ll come up with an appropriate treatment plan. We’ll apply sterilised single-use needles at the relevant points on your body. Usually, you’ll be able to tell when we find an acupoint – it will feel very sore when pressure applied.
The needle application doesn’t hurt. Acupuncture needles are about 10x thinner than needles used for injections. Most times, you won’t feel the insertion at all and sometimes it feels like a mosquito bite.
What will you experience?
The experience of acupuncture differs for each person.
You may feel the sensation of heaviness at the point being treated or some tingling spreading across your body. In many cases, you won’t feel anything but relaxation. And that’s ok too!
Most patients simply fall asleep after all the needles were inserted, which adds to the therapeutic aspect of the treatment.
Complementary services
We always do our best to incorporate allied therapies of Cupping, Moxa, Ear Seeds/Acupuncture, Gua Sha and Tui Na massage into every acupuncture treatment.
We choose appropriate treatments based on the condition and time available.
Will it leave any marks?
Acupuncture needles are so fine, that usually they don’t leave any marks. Occasionally there’s a slight bleeding present at the treated site and it is extremely rare for bruising to occur.
Tui Na, Moxa and Ear Seeds/Acupuncture shouldn’t leave any marks at all.
However, Cupping and Gua Sha therapy may leave some red or purple marks on your skin. These usually fade away within a few days from the treatment. Sometimes it takes up to two weeks for the marks to fully disappear.