Frequently Asked Questions

Acupuncturists are licensed and regulated by the Massachusetts Board of Medicine. The education required to practice acupuncture is a 3-year Master's Degree program with over 1900 hours of coursework including supervised clinical experience. Acupuncturists must pass 3 national board exams to be able to practice in Massachusetts. The needles that are used are sterilized, single-use, disposable needles.

Acupuncture needles are solid filiform, and are made of surgical steel. There may be a slight pinch on insertion, which some people have compared to the sting of a mosquito or gnat. There may be a dull ache or tingling while the needles are in place. A typical acupuncture needle is 0.25 mm or less in diameter, which is is twice the diameter of a human hair. An acupuncture needle is 100 to 150 times smaller than a hypodermic syringe. 

It depends on the severity of the condition and how the condition has existed. I usually recommend 3-6 visits (once a week) to start to see a change. 

In 2003, the World Health Organization (WHO) published an official report listing 31 symptoms, conditions and diseases that have been shown in controlled trials to be treated effectively by acupuncture:

• Low back pain, Neck pain, Sciatica
• Tennis elbow, Knee pain, Peri-arthritis of the shoulder, Sprains
• Rheumatoid arthritis
• Facial pain, TMJ, Dental pain, Headache
• Acute and chronic gastritis, Peptic ulcer, Acute bacillary dysentery
• Induction of labor, Breech birth presentation
• Morning sickness, Nausea and vomiting, Acute epigastralgia
• Postoperative pain
• Stroke, Essential hypertension, Primary hypotension
• Renal colic, Biliary colic
• Leucopenia, Radiation/chemo reactions
• Allergic rhinitis, Hay fever
• Depression
• Primary dysmenorrhea

Acupuncture can treat many other conditions not listed here. Acupuncture works by balancing the whole body, so as you follow a course of treatment for a particular condition, you may find that other symptoms may also be relieved.