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 What is Acupuncture?                             

Acupuncture is a powerful form of healing and part of a system of healthcare practices used through out Asia for thousands of years. The earliest records date back to over 4,700 years written on tortoise shell. The dialog between the Yellow Emperor and his physician are chronicled in the "Yellow Emperor’s Classic of Internal Medicine" also known as "Huang Di Nei Jing"(403- 221B.C.)

Yin and Yang represent the cycle of life, day and night, the changing seasons and the body’s internal rhythms.

How does Acupuncture work?

  Illness is a reflection of Yin and Yang being out of balance, or out of right relationship with each other. When the body is in balance or can bring Yin and Yang in right relationship, health and healing occur. The Western understanding of this would be homeostasis.

"Tòng Zé Bù Tōng, Tōng Zé Bǔ Tòng"
痛 則不通通 則不 痛

Acupuncture works on strengthening the body’s own natural healing abilities, it increases circulation and stimulates the immune system to facilitate healing.

What can be treated with Acupuncture?

Who can perform Acupuncture?

In NYS, only a Licensed Acupuncturist (L.Ac.) can administer acupuncture. The educational requirements are a minimum of 3,000 plus hours of training in an accredited 3 year Masters level acupuncture program. After passing the National Board Certification Exam,  a license can be obtained.

Medical doctors and Dentists who have undergone an accredited certificate program of 300 hours may also perform acupuncture.

Education requirements and standards vary from state to state. It is important to ask the practitioner what kind of training they have undergone to help you decide on the practitioner you will use.

For more information about educational standards see Links .

Is Acupuncture covered by Insurance?

What about Western Medicine?

We respect Western medicine and will work with western medical practitioners to offer our patients a broader perspective of treatment possibilities and for making their own informed healthcare decisions.

Does Acupuncture work?

According to: NIH Conscensus Statement, November 1997

Conclusions
"... promising results have emerged, for example, showing the efficacy of acupuncture in adult postoperative and chemotherapy nausea and vomiting and in postoperative dental pain.  There are other situaitons such as addiciton, stroke rehabilitation, headache, menstrual cramps, tennis elbow, fibromyalgia, myofascial pain, osteoarthritis, low back pain, carpal tunnel syndrome, and asthma, in which acupuncture may be useful as an adjunct treatment or an acceptable alternative or be included in a comprehensive management program.  Further research is likely to uncover additional areas where acupuncture interventions will be useful."

What is the Place of Acupuncture in the Treatment of Various Conditions for Which Sufficient Data are Available, in Comparision or in Combination With Other Interventions?
"Assessing the usefulness of a medical intervention in practice differs from assessing formal efficacy.  In conventional practice, clinicians make decisions based on the characteristics of the patient, clinical experience, potential for harm, and information from colleagues and the medical literature.  In addition, when more than one treatment is possible, the clinician may make the choice of taking into account the patient's preferences.  While it is offen thought that there is substantial research evidence to support conventional medical practices, this is frequently not the case.  This does not mean that these treatments are ineffective.  The data in support of acupuncture are as strong as those for many accepted Western medical therapies."