FAQs

After completing your short intake forms (this is a medical practice), you will be brought from the waiting area into one of our beautiful treatment rooms for care.

Your acupuncturist will meet you and go over your concerns, asking specific details to assess your issues in terms of severity, importance, how you experience and relate to them as well as beginning the process of diagnosis from both an Eastern and Western viewpoint.  

With this information a diagnosis and treatment plan is completed which includes, depending on your needs, pulse diagnosis to assess organ health, physical exam for neuromuscular injuries and a treatment plan that is conservative, straightforward, and comprehensive.

At this point, we will expertly apply acupuncture, Chinese herbs, and adjunctive services beginning on the first visit to effectively fulfill the goals outlined in the treatment plan.

After completing your short intake forms (this is a medical practice), you will be brought from the waiting area into one of our beautiful treatment rooms for care.

Your acupuncturist will meet you and go over your concerns, asking specific details to assess your issues in terms of severity, importance, how you experience and relate to them as well as beginning the process of diagnosis from both an Eastern and Western viewpoint.  

With this information a diagnosis and treatment plan is completed which includes, depending on your needs, pulse diagnosis to assess organ health, physical exam for neuromuscular injuries and a treatment plan that is conservative, straightforward, and comprehensive.

At this point, we will expertly apply acupuncture, Chinese herbs, and adjunctive services beginning on the first visit to effectively fulfill the goals outlined in the treatment plan.

Acupuncture is a vital part of Chinese medicine, one of the oldest known systems of health care. It regulates the body’s ability to heal through the precise stimulation of different “points” with a very fine needle, about the width of human hair. The results include specific and measurable chemical, electrical and functional changes. Acupuncture effectively treats a wide array of disorders and catalyses total systemic wellbeing.

Acupuncture is extremely safe. Research has shown acupuncture to be 99.8% free from even minor adverse effects.
Our experience, training and research ensure you are being given the best care possible. Your safety and well being is our primary concern. We use the highest quality disposable equipment available. To ensure thorough integration of all that medicine has to offer, we work closely with the rest of your medical providers.

The correct spelling is acupuncture from the latin acu meaning needle and the English puncture.  It  not a derivation of “accurate” though I hope your acupuncturist is accurate!

Absolutely! We use needles only once. Following clean needle technique with tiny sterilized needles makes the risk of infection extremely small. One of acupuncture’s greatest achievements is its incredible safety record giving the utmost respect for the age old adage, “Do no harm.”

The human system is highly variable, even among those with similar diagnoses. Therefore we let patients know what they can expect on a case by case basis. We will do our best to give you an honest and accurate prognosis as we know this information can put you at ease emotionally and financially.

You can expect to spend one hour with the acupuncturist discussing your case and receiving treatment. Chinese medicine is holistic; meaning everything in the body is interrelated like strands in a spider web. You may be surprised at the amount of time we can offer you for Q and A. We acknowledge that this is an important part of the healing process and cannot be rushed. 

Acupuncture does not cover up your symptoms. It relieves them. Acupuncture does not have the reputation of transitory symptom management. Our results normally outlast the treatment cycle.

Acupuncturists are specialists, honing their techniques over 3-4 years of careful study and application on thousands of patients. We also have full benefit of 3000+ years of shoulders to stand upon, having been trained in sophisticated diagnostics and the unique mindset of Chinese medicine. Licensed Acupuncturists are trained 2500-3500 hours, whereas chiropractors, trained similarly for their licenses, are only required 100 hours of training to practice acupuncture, making Minnesota one of the most lenient states in the country for this dual licensing. With this in mind, chiropractors cannot legally treat patient solely with acupuncture, but “may utilize acupuncture to prepare for or complement a chiropractic adjustment.” Even though acupuncture carries little risk, not getting expert care from a licensed acupuncturist may simply be a waste of time or risk chronic persistent disease through ineffective care.

Insurers are increasingly paying for acupuncture because of its cost effectiveness in treating a variety of symptoms. Please check with your insurance company to see if acupuncture services are covered and notify us when you come in for your first appointment.

Insurance is accepted in-network for HealthPartners, Blue Cross/Blue Shield (BCBS), Aetna, Cigna, Preferred One, Veteran’s Affairs (VA), Medica and United Healthcare.

Herbs are an essential part of Chinese medicine. We will prescribe herbs if needed based on your specific disease pattern. Chinese herbology is highly individualized and requires a great amount of sophistication to practice effectively. We use the safest and the highest-quality formulas available. All of our products have been tested and meet the strictest biological and environmental standards. For more on Chinese Herbs Click Here

The term “dry needling” was coined by Janet Travell, MD, to distinguish it from “wet needling,” or hypodermic injections. Dry Needling referred originally to a hypodermic needle on an empty syringe that is inserted into the body without injection.

The meaning of dry needling has expanded to include the same monofilament needles used in acupuncture. This happened for two reasons. First, acupuncture needles are safer and significantly less painful than hypodermic needles. Secondly, non-acupuncturists have been able to get around laws protecting the application of acupuncture solely by licensed acupuncturists with formal training (3-4 years graduate training, 2500-4000 hours). Currently, medical doctors, chiropractors, osteopaths, and physical therapists are among the biomedical healthcare providers who perform dry needling. In Minnesota, any of these non-acupuncturist providers can practice dry needling with a 100-hour certification course. Chiropractors may even advertise that they provide acupuncture after such a course, though may only do so as an adjunct to chiropractic adjustments.

Dry Needling falls under the umbrella of acupuncture. It is an ancient technique to illicit a response in the local tissue to decrease pain and increase function. It is something that most acupuncturists, especially in the US, are already using as part of a comprehensive treatment strategy. For instance, in 2003, the national board (NCCAOM) found 82% of acupuncturists surveyed used needling of trigger points in patients that presented with pain.

One argument is that Dry Needling is derived from a biomedical perspective, meaning that with an understanding of physiology and anatomy, tissue can be targeted more effectively. This is true! Therefore, to assure you are getting a provider with the best possible skillset, choose a Sports Medicine Acupuncture certified acupuncturist that has had additional training in biomedical diagnostics as well as the acupuncture (and dry needling) expertise to get the most out of your treatments.