Frequently Asked Questions:

• What is acupuncture and how does it work?
• What is East Asian Medicine good at treating?
• Does acupuncture hurt?
• How big are the needles?
• Do you use sterile needles? Are the needles used more than once?
• I'm afraid of needles. Should I even bother with making an appointment?
• Are you insured?
• Do you accept insurance?
• How much does treatment cost?
• What forms of payment are acceptable?
• Are the herbs safe? Will they interact with my other supplements/medications?
• My doctor/spouse/sibling/parent/friend/neighbor/etc. says that East Asian Medicine is "just superstitious nonsense" and that there's "no scientific proof" that it works. I don't know what to think. What do you have to say?

Q: What is acupuncture and how does it work?

A: Acupuncture is one of the main modalities, or treatment methods, of East Asian Medicine. East Asian Medicine includes what is known as Traditional Chinese Medicine, Japanese Meridian Therapy, Korean Hand Acupuncture, Kampo Herbal Medicine, and the collected classical medical works of China, Tibet, Viet Nam, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Japan, and Korea. These medical systems utilize a different paradigm -- or way of viewing reality -- than the Biomedical model that has traditionally been used in America and Europe. East Asian Medicine comes from a holistic viewpoint; the entirety of the person is considered during diagnosis of a particular "pattern of disharmony". Diagnosis involves asking questions about the patient's condition, observation and/or palpation, the taking of pulses, and the examination of the tongue. Treatment is geared towards assisting the body's natural energies (Qi) to regain their harmonious balance. To accomplish this, the practitioner uses needles inserted in specific acupuncture points to encourage the body's energies (Qi) to correct themselves.

Q: What is East Asian Medicine good at treating?

A: The list of conditions treatable by East Asian Medicine is quite long, particularly given that many studies separate acupuncture from herbal medicine during controlled trials. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), acupuncture has been proved through controlled trials to be effective in the treatment of many conditions.

Q: Does acupuncture hurt?

A: Sensation during acupuncture is common and sometimes desired by the practitioner. Pain, however, is neither common or desired. Though a brief "pricking" sensation is sometimes felt, sensations described are more commonly associated with the arrival of Qi to the location. This can exhibit as a warm/cool, tingling, heavy, or expanding sensation.

Q: How big are the needles?

A: Acupuncture needles (center) are quite small, the largest of which are comparable to a piece of thread (bottom), and the thinnest of which are no wider than a human hair. Unlike hypodermic needles (top) used for injections, etc., acupuncture needles are not hollow. This makes them significantly less painful and damaging to the patient than hypodermic needles.

Q: Do you use sterile needles? Are the needles used more than once?

A: In accordance with California Clean Needle Technique laws, we utilize sterile, single-use, disposable needles. All used needles are placed in biohazard marked sharps containers and properly disposed of via medical waste incineration.

Q: I'm afraid of needles. Should I even bother with making an appointment?

A: Yes. Acupuncture is only one of the treatment methods we utilize, though it is what we are most commonly associated with. Alysia Condon, L.Ac. has worked with numerous patients who had varying levels of needle-fear. According to each patient's needs and wants, she has been able to treat them successfully either entirely without the use of needles, or by gradually adding a small amount of very gentle needling to treatments.

Q: Are you insured?

A: Yes. We carry malpractice and slip-and-fall insurance.

Q: Do you accept insurance?

A: Due to the vast amount of overhead which processing insurance billing costs, we regrettably cannot accept insurance and still keep our treatment costs low. We will happily provide you with a super bill, which you can send in to your insurance provider to receive reimbursement for covered acupuncture services. For more information, please contact your individual insurance provider.

Q: How much does treatment cost?

A: All of our treatment sessions, both in clinic and house calls, are provided on a sliding scale of $50-$70. This is below the market rate for one-on-one treatment sessions. If more than one established patient is at a residence for a house call -- parent and child, or spouses, for example -- then $50-$70 is charged for the first treatment, with $20 per each additional person needing treatment.

To put this cost into perspective: For a treatment that lasts about one hour, you will spend $50-$70. To see a MD general practitioner for about 10 minutes, without insurance, you will spend upwards of $100. That's ten times as expensive, usually without any immediate benefit!

Q: What forms of payment are acceptable?

A: We accept cash and check. At this time, we are not set up to process credit card payments, although this is likely to change quite soon. We regret any inconvenience this may be to our patients.

Q: Are the herbs safe? Will they interact with my other supplements/medications?

A: East Asian herbal medicine is safe, if used correctly. Trained herbalists, like Alysia Condon, L.Ac., have years of study and experience behind their prescriptions, as well as thousands of years worth of recorded medical knowledge to draw from. Given proper dosing and administration, side effects from herbal medicine are minimally, if at all, present. Alysia Condon L.Ac. recommends only the very best herbs for her patient's use; herbs are selected that are tested for contaminants, processed in facilities that are GMP approved, and are held to rigorous quality control standards. Like any health care provider, Alysia Condon L.Ac. is only capable of responding to information that she is given. With a current and accurate list of all supplements and medications that you take, she will be able to ensure that no interactions between those supplements and medications occurs. We do not recommend taking East Asian herbal supplements without guidance from a licensed East Asian Medicine practitioner.

Q: My doctor/spouse/sibling/parent/friend/neighbor/etc. says that East Asian Medicine is "just superstitious nonsense" and that there's "no scientific proof" that it works. I don't know what to think. What do you have to say?

A: This is a complex and very frequently made statement. East Asian Medicine is based on medical traditions that have clear documentation dating back to the Zhou Dynasty in approximately 500 BCE, using conservative dating estimates. Archaeologic evidence of early "acupuncture needles", bian stones, which were probably used like the lancets of today, to drain infected areas of accumulated pus and blood. This is a technique utilized even today -- though with much more precise, sterile equipment -- by both East Asian Medicine and Biomedicine. Metal acupuncture needles have been found in archaeologic sites dating back to 113 BCE, during the Western Han Dynasty. The earliest extant written texts describing acupuncture meridians and needling methods date back to this time period. Much like the works of early Greek scholars, these works are clearly those of dedicated scientists and philosophers who observed and recorded the world around them, and not "superstitious nonsense". There are numerous peer-reviewed scientific journals around the world in which East Asian medical research is published. The studies in these journals are held to the same standards that all other scientific studies are held. For more information, you can refer to the World Health Organization's (WHO's) website. It is important to note that due to the necessarily physically interactive nature of acupuncture, the "gold standard", double-blinded, randomized study, which involves both the patient and the practitioner being unaware as to who is receiving the study treatment and who is receiving placebo treatment, is not truly possible. Instead, acupuncture studies are typically single-blinded, which means the patients are unaware, but the practitioners are aware. There is debate within the East Asian Medical community, and, in fact, the medical and scientific communities at large, as to the reasonability, efficacy, and ethicality of holding all forms of medicine to a style of research originally designed for chemical-interactive studies of pharmaceuticals.