What to expect

typical acupuncture session

1. The first treatment will normally last between 90 to 120 minutes. (The follow-up treatments can be from 60 to 90 minutes) 
2. We will review and discuss your concerns and what we want to work on together. 
3. You will lie either face down or face up with your clothes on or off (your choice, unless we want to needle a large area of the back).
4. Sayo will use alcohol wipes to clean the area of your body and sterile needles on targeted points.
5. Once the needles are in, you will relax for about half an hour — because of the deep relaxation effect, your mind calms down, and many people fall asleep.
6. Sayo will take out all the needles and finish the treatment with some light tuina (meridian massage).
7. In some cases, if Sayo thinks it will be helpful, she might perform cupping or recommend some herbs for you to take.

How soon will I feel better?

With the Master Tung Acupuncture technique, your pain may go away as soon as the needles are in. However, generally speaking, just like physical therapy and other natural healing processes, acupuncture works from within and can require time. 

With acute pain, we expect that the healing processes will be faster, while chronic pain could take longer to subside. Regardless, at the beginning of the treatment course, we usually like to see patients more often. For example, you might visit two to three times a week for the first week or two before reducing to once a week and then once per month.