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Frequently Asked Questions |
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1. What kind of problems can acupuncture treat? 2. Can Acupuncture cure my complaint? 3. How often do I need to come for treatment? 4. How many treatments will I need? 5. Will I need to keep having treatment to stay well?
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Q: What kind of problems can acupuncture treat? Classical Five Element Acupuncture
addresses symptoms by stimulating the body-mind's own healing mechanisms.
That is to say, in Chinese medicine any complaint, whether of a physical,
emotional or mental nature, is considered to be the result of imbalance.
The first approach to treatment is to re-establish the smooth flow of
energy, eliminating stagnation and blockage. Classical Five Element
acupuncture does not aim to attack
the specific symptom, but to support the body-mind to heal itself. Therefore, whether
your symptoms involve back pain, arthritis, neuralgia, depression, or
any number of other common complaints; acupuncture can be beneficial
in the healing process. This does not preclude Classical Five
Element acupuncturists from doing treatments more specific to the particular
complaint, but these are done with caution so as not to interfere with the
healing process. |
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Q: Can Acupuncture cure my complaint? The effectiveness of Acupuncture in the treatment of specific complaints is dependent on a number of factors; the severity of the problem, how long the problem has persisted before seeking acupuncture treatment, and perhaps most importantly, the overall constitutional health of the patient before the problem occurred. Additional ongoing factors would most certainly include lifestyle, including diet, rest, exercise and stress. Many medical practitioners refrain from using the word "cure". Western medical doctors, for example, usually talk about a "remission". Cure suggests a static condition. Take a very simple example: the majority of broken bones heal with no problems and so could be said to be cured; however, if the person sustained exactly the same accident again they could have a reoccurrence of the same injury. Similarly every illness arises for a reason; any complaint could reoccur if the causes that produced it in the first place are not resolved. Very acute complaints particularly the everyday kind of colds and flu's get better even without treatment of any kind, these are known as self-limiting complaints. Similarly if we cut ourselves or break a bone these heal with little more than supportive measures such as stitches or splints at the most. Even more serious complaints sometimes surprise people by spontaneously clearing up. It is a basic belief in wholistic health care that health is the natural state and the body-mind is a self-healing mechanism, always striving toward re-creating the natural state of balance. Classical Acupuncture has as its goal to eliminate the obstacles preventing the body-mind from achieving this natural state of balance. When symptoms occur, it is a "red flag" indicating the balance has been compromised. Rather than simply palliate the symptom, which essentially would eliminate the body's danger signal mechanism, Acupuncture addresses both the cause of the problem and its symptomatic manifestation. As long as balance is maintained, the potential to remain symptom-free is maximized.
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Q: How often do I need to come for treatment? Generally speaking, the more acute the condition, the more frequently treatment is required, until the acute stage is abated. Acute: A sudden infection or injury in someone of
previously good health. Frequent, closely spaced treatment is indicated. This
might mean, depending on circumstances, 2 or 3 times per week until the
severity of the condition reduces. Chronic: An ailment that may be long standing, or even if
recent, is clearly persistent; i.e. not getting better in the usual expected
time period for such an ailment. Generally speaking, once per week
until the symptoms begin to clear and then treatments are gradually spaced
further and further apart.
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Q: How many treatments will I need? Generally speaking, most patients begin receiving treatment once per week for at least the first five or six sessions. Then, as the person begins to feel generally better, and improvement becomes obvious to the practitioner through diagnostic tools such as color and odor observation and pulse diagnosis, the sessions may be gradually spaced further and further apart. It is the purpose of Classical Acupuncture treatment to intervene less and less in order to allow the patient's body-mind to achieve balance on its own. Ultimately, the goal is a partnership between the patient and the practitioner, wherein the patient is able to maintain balance in their own lives through proper nutrition, exercise, and rest; and the practitioner is available for seasonal "tune-ups" or for occasional treatments should life intervene and the patient be knocked out of balance through external circumstances. (For example, the holidays might bring late nights and overindulgence which weakens the constitutional health and makes one more vulnerable to viruses and injury). Having said this, long-standing chronic complaints can require a longer period of treatment. There is a "rule of thumb" in the tradition of wholistic healing that a month of treatment is generally needed for every year of an illness. This is very inexact and there is wide individual variation but it does give some idea of average expectations.
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Q: Will I need to keep having treatment to stay well? It is not
uncommon for people to use Acupuncture as preventive health care.
However, provided one leads a balanced life style, it is certainly possible
to maintain one's health and well-being for very long periods of time,
providing external circumstances do not prove too taxing. In fact, many
practitioners consider optimum health to be defined by how well we recover
from occasional illness, rather than whether or not we actually avoid illness
at all. For this reason, we encourage patients to follow the usual
recommended course of treatment with gradual spacing in order to assure that
the body-mind is able to gain strength and independence step by step. Then we
are available for support when circumstances strain one's ability to maintain
the balance needed to stay healthy. Certainly we recommend a tune up at
the change of seasons, when the body is having to
make a major homeostatic climatic adjustment. |
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Glossary
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