Acupuncture FAQ’s

acupuncture

 

How do I find a qualified acupuncturist and/or TCM practitioner?
A caring and skilled practitioner must have good reputation. The recommendations from your friends, family and doctors are generally very reliable. Give the practitioner a call and check him/her out. People come to us mostly through the word of mouth. Searching for Ontario practitioners, please click the College website here.

Where can I find TCM herbal remedies?
We carry a large amount of bulk herbs and herbal products for our clients. Chinese herbal medicines should be used according to a TCM practitioner’s advice. We are not a retail store. Our supplies are often sold at cost and charged only for professional services. If you are not looking for professional advice, but only interested in buying some Chinese herbs, please go to herbal stores in Chinatown on Somerset Street.

Why doesn’t acupuncture work instantly sometimes?

Quite often you feel the improvement even after only one acupuncture session, but sometimes, it doesn’t work as fast. Why? This is because acupuncture basically stimulates your body’s natural healing ability. This ability needs accumulation and reinforcement with repeated acupuncture treatments. The effect from acupuncture lasts longer and longer with more acupuncture sessions and with time. This is also why people come twice or three times per week at the beginning, and then come weekly or bi-weekly. We have many clients come for their monthly maintenance sessions.

Who can benefit from our treatments?
Health is not merely the absence of disease or infirmity, but also the state of harmony and balance in social, psychological and spiritual perspectives. Good health is enjoying living with vitality. We have many healthy clients coming for regular tune-ups because they like to maintain their ultimate state of health.
About half of our clients, their health state is sub-standard with chronic functional conditions. They feel sluggish and uptight. They cannot going to deep sleep at night and they cannot concentrate during the day. They are not motivated and not interested in intimacy. They catch every cold and flu passing by. Weight gain and chronic pain are common. Since TCM and acupuncture can help to improve energy level, relax the person, promote immunity, increase metablism and etc. Our treatments play very important roles in their recovery process.

What is not suitable for acupuncture and TCM treatment?
Acupuncture and TCM treatments alone are not good at managing life threatening emergency situations. Once the acute stage is over and life signs are stable, our treatments can help to speed up the healing.

When is the right time for a treatment?
As mentioned above, the effect of acupuncture treatment is accumulative, the earlier you start the treatment, the sooner you benefit from the therapy. It is good idea to have two consecutive sessions apart by one or two days as the body needs time to absorb the therapy. If you have a sudden soft tissue injury, you could wait for a day or two to start acupuncture. if you are a regular client for PMS, it is most beneficial having a session a couple of days before your period. If you want to become pregnant, a couple of sessions around your ovulation can really help.

What food should and shouldn’t I eat for eczema?
For this condition, it is called “heat and dampness” in Chinese. Therefore, It is important to avoid spicy foods, foods that have strong odors, sea foods, to much protein of animal sources such as eggs, cow’s milk, red meat, etc, and to avoid too much refined (white) sugar and fried foods. Fresh vegetables and fruits, variety of bean soups, soy milk and foods which are not processed (canned) are usually good for this skin condition. Eating nuts (almonds, walnuts, etc) is good for your skin because of the omega 3 oil in them. Or you can take some omega 3 supplements. If you don’t have fresh produce in your area, frozen vegetables could be substitutes. Boiling some frozen blueberries in your oats as breakfast is a good idea too.