Acupuncture is one of the essential treatment methods of Chinese medicine. It is both ancient and modern. Treatments are comfortable, restorative and relaxing.

How does it work? An acupuncturist inserts thin, sterile needles in precise areas of the body.  These needles prompt the body to initiate healing and promote health. There are over 370 pre-defined acupoints mapped on the human body and innumerable trigger points that come and go with time and injury.

Acupuncture points are located on traditional Chinese networks on the body and function similar to a telegraph system. This system gives instructions to the mind-body, directing your body’s physiology.

Acupuncture and the traditional medicine from which it comes offer a unique analysis of health disorders and incorporate several different treatment methods, one of which is acupuncture. Today, acupuncture and Chinese herbal medicine are the most widely used medical system in the world.

Stress & Acupuncture

Acupuncture is great for relieving stress. According to many health experts, stress causes or complicates most modern diseases. In order for acupuncture to be effective, an individual will need to commit to regular treatments. By lowering the cost of treatment, MetroWest Whole Health aspires to help people make that commitment to their health.

Your Acupuncture Session

One thing you’ll notice is that your acupuncturist may treat different acupoints each time you come for a session.  As your condition changes, so does your diagnosis. An average session involves the acupuncturist needling 5-15 points. Needles generally are retained for 30-45 minutes. Each acupuncture session is tailored to the patient, your complaint, and the diagnosis made during the patient's intake.

There are many acupuncture techniques: electro-acupuncture, laser acupuncture and microsystems-based acupuncture (e.g., Ear, Scalp, Hand) to name a few. The styles of acupuncture practiced at MetroWest Whole Health allow you to receive treatment for as long as you want. Most people learn to sense when the treatment is done. This can vary from 20 minutes to an hour or more. Many people fall asleep and wake feeling refreshed.

Community-based Medicine

Acupuncture has been a community-based medicine for most of its long history. For acupuncture to be most effective, patients need to receive treatments frequently and regularly. While insurance is beginning to provide coverage for acupuncture, patients need to receive acupuncture far more frequently and regularly than most insurance plans will pay for. As acupuncture has moved toward the mainstream, it has been forced into a paradigm of private, one-on-one treatments and high prices, which has decreased not only patient access but treatment efficacy.

At MetroWest Whole Health acupuncture is personalized, deeply relaxing, and effective.

Research Perspectives: US & International

Over the last four decades in which acupuncture has developed in the U.S., it has been proven to be not only exceptionally safe when performed by licensed professionals, but effective in an increasing body of scientific studies. More info...