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FAQ

Frequently Asked Questions About Acupuncture, Fire Cupping, & Other Services

How Can Acupuncture Help Me?

Acupuncture is used worldwide both as a primary and complementary form of medical treatment. The list of conditions that acupuncture may help is essentially limitless. The most common conditions are allergies/asthma, headaches, anxiety/depression, fertility, and pain anywhere in the body.

The wellness effects of acupuncture come in large part from the way that the body and mind are viewed and treated in traditional Chinese medicine. While there are basic treatment protocols for many conditions, every treatment is tailored to your specific set of signs and symptoms. Treating you as an individual with a unique set of signs and symptoms, rather than a person with a specific condition, is the advantage that eastern medicine offers.

How Many Treatments Will I Require?

This depends greatly on what type of condition you have. Most people will begin to see results from acupuncture in approximately 2-7 treatments. Treatments are generally administered once or twice per week until your issues resolve and then corrective care appointments may range from bi-weekly to bi-monthly.

Most people find acupuncture treatments extremely relaxing and effective and may decide to come in for treatments after their initial conditions improve. Acupuncture is an important aspect of an overall wellness balance and disease prevention program.

Is Acupuncture Painful? What Are The Needles Like?

Acupuncture needles are sterile, single use and very thin. People are surprised to see how thin acupuncture needles are and any hesitation about the treatment disappears after the first needle is inserted. During needle insertion a mild pinch may be felt, followed by a dull nerve fiber stimulation. After the needles are inserted most patients feel relaxed and comfortable and often fall asleep until their treatment is finished.

Does Acupuncture Work Even If You Don't Believe In It?

Yes! The effectiveness of acupuncture is not dependent on belief. Ongoing human and animal acupuncture results are proven in acupuncture and veterinary offices across the world. Following acupuncture treatment patients often leave with their pain reduced or eliminated and stating: "I can’t believe it really worked!" Belief can be a powerful assistant in any treatment method for any condition but it is not the reason for acupuncture's success.

What Other Methods Do You Employ?

Each "acupuncture" treatment employs other traditional Chinese Medicine techniques as they are deemed appropriate. These techniques include: cupping therapy; by cre­at­ing a neg­ative vac­u­um pres­sure tech­nique with spe­cial­ly de­signed glass cups placed on acupunc­ture points, chan­nels and col­lat­er­als cor­re­spond­ing to or­gan sys­tems and de­sired treat­ment re­sults. Cup­ping ben­e­fits in­clude the abil­i­ty to clear the chan­nels and col­lat­er­als af­ter long-​term ill­ness.

Cup­ping is pri­mar­i­ly a re­duc­tion tech­nique used to clear stag­na­tion and ac­cu­mu­la­tions of blood, phlegm, flu­ids. Cup­ping can be used on de­fi­cient pa­tients to fa­cil­i­tate open­ing the path­way for new vi­tal en­er­gy, oxygen, nutrition and fluids to re­turn.

This pro­ce­dure is a pow­er­ful method of re­mov­ing tox­ins from the body. Pro­mot­ing the unimpeded cir­cu­la­tion of lymph, blood and in­ter­sti­tial flu­ids in mus­cle and skin tis­sues. Proper cir­cu­lat­ion is es­sen­tial in main­tain­ing bal­anced har­mo­nious wellness and vi­tal­i­ty. Cup­ping is used to loosen tight, sore mus­cles and fas­cia sur­round­ing mus­cle fibers which in­creas­es the range of mo­tion and flex­i­bil­i­ty of the ar­eas treat­ed.

Thomas provides Chinese herbal medicine, food therapy and lifestyle recommendations to allow you to play an active role in your transformational wellness process. Qi gong, flexibility, acupressure point stimulation and other techniques such as moxibustion which will make you feel more energized.

Do You Accept Insurance?

The majority of insurance companies do not cover acupuncture and those that do only cover certain conditions or reimburse low amounts. In an effort to keep our treatment fees low and provide you with the best service, we do not directly bill insurance companies. We will, however, provide you with a receipt with the required medical coding so that you may submit it to your insurer for a reimbursement - which some offer. If your insurance does not cover acupuncture, you may be able to use a health savings account which will allow you to save money tax free and use it for medical expenses outside of your coverage such as acupuncture, eye care, etc. You should contact your insurance company and/or banking institution with questions about these plans.

Alberta School Employee Benefit Plan Extended Health Care Benefits

ASEBP will pay up to $40 per treatment to a maximum of $700 per person per

calendar year. ASEBP will cover a maximum of one treatment per day per

person. Attach the following to your completed Extended Health Care and

Vision Care Claim form:

• the original invoice/receipt including a complete breakdown of charges

IMPORTANT NOTE: There is a combined calendar year maximum of $1,200

per person for acupuncture, chiropractic and physiotherapy services. No one

service can exceed $700 per person per calendar year; total payment from

ASEBP for all three services combined cannot exceed $1,200 per person per

calendar year.

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January 27, 2014

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January 23, 2014

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"I have enjoyed Thomas' treatments and how he explains about the body and how the treatments will work.. and will continue to refer clients, friends and family to him. Thank you..."

Mavis Richards

healthy & happy

Read more testimonials...

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