Acupuncture is the use of very fine filiform needles to stimulate specific points on the body. These points have a wide variety of actions and in combination can provide excellent results such as stimulating healing, improving nerve function, regulating nervous system balance, increasing peripheral vascular circulation, regulating digestion and improving sleep. We offer a variety of acupuncture services including auricular (ear) acupuncture, private Japanese or Traditional Chinese Medicine Acupuncture and community (group) acupuncture. Acupuncture can effectively address most medical conditions in a safe and natural manner. We also offer Mei Zen cosmetic acupuncture to help keep you feeling and looking your very best.

With adequate training, acupuncture is very safe. Our acupuncturist has over 3300 hours of training and is nationally certified. All needles are sterile single-use surgical steel. Acupuncture is very safe, but it is important to remember that the World Health Organization defines acupuncture as a surgical procedure and considers any technique using solid filiform acupuncture needles to be acupuncture. If someone offers to do “dry needling” or “medical acupuncture” it is important to ask about their training and experience. It is possible to hurt someone with these needles and to cause infection (by needling through clothing), organ punctures (needling too deeply in the wrong place) or nerve trauma (needling too aggressively seeking a “twitch response”) without appropriate training. Most states require 300-500 hours of training including supervised hands on needle technique instruction and clean needle technique training before any health practitioner can use acupuncture needles for safety reasons.

Surprise – nope, we don’t have to use needles. Acupuncture is part of a larger system of healing and we can work through different pathways with pressure, magnets and more. Healing generally progresses faster with the needles, but they are optional.