The question of all questions! I get lots of questions from people wondering who and what acupuncture can best benefit so i’d thought i’d write a post on this topic. I’ll answer: Who is acupuncture right for? What kinds of people and conditions respond best to acupuncture?

Acupuncture and Chinese medicine modalities are best for…..

1. For people that Western medicine doesn’t have answers for.

   Yep, you heard me. If you’ve been seeing doctor after doctor, and not receiving any answers- chances are, acupuncture & Chinese herbal medicine, or nutrition and lifestyle optimization will be able to help. While there are things that Western medicine is great at- like fixing broken bones, etc. it really tends to fail lots of people who slip through the cracks of the Western medical model, leaving people confused, helpless and hopeless. If this is you- book a consult and we’ll review your entire health history, talk about the nitty-gritty of your symptoms and illness and we’ll come up with a personalized treatment plan to get you feeling better. And if I can’t help you-i’ll refer you to someone who can.

2. For people who have a poor quality of life and feel awful despite having normal labs.

   This is a frustrating scenario. You feel awful and finally decide to make an appointment with your doctor to get some labs done, and they all come back normal. So your doctor sends you on your way and you feel unheard, gaslit, and like you don’t have their support or understanding. It can truly feel awful to not have any answers or validation about why you feel so terrible. However, this is a situation in which another type of health practitioner is most likely best suited to treat you. The good news is that you’ve already had lots of bloodwork that hopefully ruled out lots of life threatening or serious issues. However, trust that your body is sending you helpful cues and its best to keep exploring why you don’t feel well. When you come to see an acupuncturist, we aren’t basing your diagnosis off of Western medicine labs or your doctors diagnosis. We take all of your health history into consideration, but it’s not pertinent to how Acupuncturists and East Asian medicine practitioners understand your health and what’s happening inside of your body. Often, it is patients who have normal labs but still feel awful who get the most benefit out of acupuncture and/or herbal medicine.

3. For people who have pain and want to avoid invasive surgeries or side effects from medications.

   Have you been told surgery or medication is your only option for relieving your pain? While surgery can be a helpful tool for certain conditions- often I hear from my patients that they like to use that as a LAST possible resort, and not a first line of treatment due to potential complications or fears of going under the knife. Acupuncture and other Chinese medicine modalities might be able to help you avoid surgery by getting you out of pain and finding the root cause of what is causing your pain. Acupuncture and other Chinese medicine modalities are much less invasive, gentler on the body, and seek to treat the root cause of your pain. Acupuncture is often able to treat pain without the use of surgery or medications.

4. For people who want to understand their bodies & finally make sense of their symptoms using a holistic approach.

   Acupuncturists are trained to analyze your specific symptoms and find the root cause of disease. We don’t believe that symptoms just occur for NO reason. They are helpful messengers from the body that serve to let us know that there is an imbalance present and that we might want to address these symptoms before things get worse. The changes that might need to make are: altering our diet and lifestyle, getting more sleep or exercise, reducing stress, finding a support system and addressing underlying emotions or trauma, etc. Acupuncturists who specialize in women’s health are also trained to fully understand our menstrual cycles and hormones, and other signs of imbalance before illness compounds and becomes worse or chronic.

5. For people who have chronic disease & underlying hormonal imbalances and want to treat the root cause of their illness.

   People who have chronic disease are often just given a medication which causes lots of uncomfortable side effects, or told they need to go on the pill. Many of these medications, and especially “the pill” do not treat the root cause of disease- which causes our underlying hormonal imbalances to go unchecked. Acupuncture is beneficial for those want to get to the root of their problems and fix the underlying cause of disease. Often a combination of acupuncture and herbal medicine, or solely herbal medicine is used to treat long-standing chronic disease and hormonal imbalances.

6. For people who have stress and want to find ways to regulate their nervous system.

   Did you know that acupuncture can help put your nervous system into a parasympathetic state? This is the state of the body that deals with “resting and digesting” and promotes a sense of calm and relaxation. In order for us to heal, we need our bodies to feel safe by reducing our stress and regulating our nervous system. Many people who come in for acupuncture feel relaxed, calm, heavy, or sleepy while on the table and find that it not only helps to reduce their stress but helps them sleep better, reduces irritability & inflammation, and promotes a greater sense of wellbeing.

Do you find yourself fitting into any of the above?! Send me an email or give me a call and we’ll get you scheduled for a New Patient Initial Exam to review all of your health history as well as your unique symptoms. You’ll receive acupuncture or Chinese herbal medicine at our Longmont office and a personalized treatment plan designed to get you feeling better as soon as possible!