ELLEN XU,BSc,RAc

Be sure to eat something light an hour or two before arriving - don't arrive on a completely empty stomach or just after a large meal. Try to avoid the intake of caffeine for at least several hours before you come. Bring a list of any medications or supplements that you are currently taking.

If you have any of the following condition, you should notify your acupuncturist before the start of treatment so extra precaution will be taken for needle insertions or some needless techniques will be used instead:

Women with menstruation, pregnancy, diabetes, blood coagulation disorder, hemorrhagic tendency, or on blood thinner medications (coumadin, ASA, heparin…)

First time patients will fill out a questionnaire about their medical history. The Acupuncturist will ask about your lifestyle, look at your tongue and take your pulse to make a Chinese medical diagnosis. Loose clothing is suggested to allow easier access to the limbs.

Only sterile, disposable needles are used so there is very low risk of cross-contamination.

Filiform needles are usually used in clinical treatment. Most of them are made of stainless steel. The common filiform needles vary in length and diameter. Your acupuncturist will choose the appropriate needle according to your body type, age, gender and conditions.

The end of an acupuncture needle is smooth and rounded. Acupuncture needles are not designed to cut the skin. Instead, when an acupuncture needle is inserted, the round edge pushes the tissue or blood vessels aside without cutting it.

People experience needling differently. There are also different techniques and styles of needling. If any sensation is experienced during insertion, it is often compared to a mosquito bite and disappears very quickly. Once the needles are inserted, they may be manipulated to obtain a mild "Qi" sensation. This is how an acupuncturist engages the energy in your body in order to help balance it. Often people describe their sensations as warming, heavy, pressure, numbness or tingling. The more you can relax during an acupuncture treatment, the more sensation you can feel from the needled area, the better the results. Many people even fall asleep during treatment.

Following treatment it is common to feel a tremendous sense of relaxation and calm.

No. Acupuncture works whether or not you think it will. Acupuncture is even used successfully on animals and children. They do not understand or believe in the process yet they get better anyway. A positive attitude helps with any type of therapy but it is not necessary to believe in acupuncture (or to feel it working) for it to work.

Since positive expectations and belief in a particular therapy help to increase therapeutic results, We encourage you to raise any concerns or doubts you may have about acupuncture and other Traditional Chinese treatments. We would like to help you to better understand acupuncture and other Traditional Chinese treatments so that you may have the most positive healing experience possible. E-mail us for any concerns you have and we will get back to you as soon as we can.

In general, patients should start to feel the benefits from acupuncture in 2-3 treatments. If the problem is acute, sometimes improvement is felt after 1 treatment, and may only need 3-5 treatments to resolve. If the problem is chronic and long term, it may take a many treatments to help resolve.

Typically patients are treated once or twice a week. And five to ten treatments make up one course. If the condition is acute and painful, I may want to do treatments more frequently for the first couple of weeks. The benefits of acupuncture treatments tend to hold longer as you receive treatments, so what typically happens is that my patients start to need to see me less and less, so after a while they only come only periodically for maintenance.

No, but it usually does. If you do not feel any benefit after 3-5 treatments, then acupuncture may not work for you.

With any medical practice side effects can occur. There are few side effects with acupuncture. The common side effects are:

1. Fainting: usually caused by nervousness, delicate constitution, over-fatigue, improper position or forceful manipulation. During acupuncture treatment, there may display such manifestations as dizziness, vertigo, pallor, palpitation, chest distress, nausea, vomiting and cold limbs. In severe cases, sudden syncope may be caused.  The patient should report to the RAc any dizziness or light-headedness that occur during or after an acupuncture treatment. Fainting usually can be relieved after immediately removal of needle, lying down, drinking warm water or massaging certain acupoints.

2. Bruising or hematoma: when getting acupuncture treatment, there are chances of pricking a blood vessel. Minor bleeding or bruising might occur after the needle removal, which will be resolved in a few days.

3. Extremely rare risks of acupuncture (these have an extremely low incidence, especially when acupuncture is administered properly) include nerve damage, organ puncture, and infection.

Medical Services Plan of BC (MSP) funding for acupuncture treatment is available for people receiving premium assistance (family income below $28,000). MSP pays for a combined annual limit of 10 visits for acupuncture treatment, massage therapy, physiotherapy, chiropractic, naturopathy and non-surgical podiatry. MSP covers $23.00 per visit. You are charged for the whole amount of your treatment fees and you can send your receipts to MSP for a refund of coverage.

Extended health benefits vary from plan to plan and usually coverage for acupuncture therapy is between 70-100% of treatment fees. Some plans offer a dollar amount per year instead of a percentage. Please check your benefits booklet or contact your insurance provider in order to be clear on the details of your coverage.

If your injury is related to ICBC or WCB claims, make sure you contact your case manager to get approved for compensation for acupuncture treatment.