About
Bellingham Community Acupuncture
What Can Acupuncture Treat?
Proven Acupuncture Benefits
According to the World Health Organization, listed these diseases, symptoms or conditions for which acupuncture has been proved – through controlled trials—to be an effective treatment:
Adverse reactions to radiotherapy and/or chemotherapy
Allergic rhinitis (including hay fever)
Biliary colic
Depression
(including depressive neurosis & depression following stroke)
Dysentery, acute bacillary
Dysmenorrhoea, primary
Epigastralgia, acute
(in peptic ulcer, acute & chronic gastritis, & gastrospasm)
Facial pain
(including craniomandibular disorders)
Headache
Hypertension, essential
Hypotension, primary
Induction of labour
Knee pain
Leukopenia
Low back pain
Malposition of fetus, correction of
Morning sickness
Nausea and vomiting
Neck pain
Pain in dentistry
(including dental pain & temporomandibular dysfunction)
Periarthritis of shoulder
Postoperative pain
Renal colic
Rheumatoid arthritis
Sciatica
Sprain
Stroke
Tennis elbow
Possible Acupuncture Benefits
Diseases, symptoms or conditions for which the therapeutic effect of acupuncture has been shown but for which further proof is needed:
Abdominal pain
(in acute gastroenteritis or due to gastrointestinal spasm)
Acne vulgaris
Bell’s palsy
Bronchial asthma
Cancer pain
Cardiac neurosis
Cholecystitis, chronic, with acute exacerbation
Cholelithiasis
Competition stress syndrome
Craniocerebral injury, closed
Diabetes mellitus, non-insulin-dependent
Earache
Epidemic haemorrhagic fever
Epistaxis, simple
(without generalized or local disease)
Eye pain due to subconjunctival injection
Facial spasm
Female infertility
Female urethral syndrome
Fibromyalgia and fasciitis
Gastrokinetic disturbance
Gouty arthritis
Hepatitis B virus carrier status
Herpes zoster
human (alpha) herpesvirus 3
Hyperlipaemia
Hypo-ovarianism
Insomnia
Labour pain
Lactation, deficiency
Lactation, deficiency
Male sexual dysfunction, non-organic
Ménière disease
Neuralgia, post-herpetic
Neurodermatitis
Obesity
Opium, cocaine and heroin dependence
Osteoarthritis
Pain due to endoscopic examination
Pain in thromboangiitis obliterans
Polycystic ovary syndrome
(Stein–Leventhal syndrome)
Postextubation in children
Postoperative convalescence
Premenstrual syndrome
Prostatitis, chronic
Pruritus
Radicular and pseudoradicular pain syndrome
Raynaud syndrome, primary
Recurrent lower urinary-tract infection
Reflex sympathetic dystrophy
Retention of urine, traumatic
Schizophrenia
Sialism, drug-induced
Sjögren syndrome
Sore throat (including tonsillitis)
Spine pain, acute
Stiff neck
Temporomandibular joint dysfunction
Tietze syndrome
Tobacco dependence
Tourette syndrome
Ulcerative colitis, chronic
Urolithiasis
Vascular dementia
Whooping cough
(pertussis)
We May Be Able to Help
Do you see your issue on there?
If not, ask us about it. Let's see what we can do for you.
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FAQ
Q: Does acupuncture hurt?
A: You'll either feel nothing at all, or a tiny prick. We can fit at least 10 acupuncture needles inside of one that takes your blood. They're really thin and bendable little pins.
Q: Why did you put that needle there?
Good question!
Ever wondered why an acupuncture needle is placed in a particular spot? Acupuncture points are carefully selected based on your symptoms, overall health, and individual needs. A needle placed away from the area that hurts may still be connected to the body’s pathways and can be used to support balance, relaxation, and the body’s natural healing response.
Your treatment is personalized to you—and every needle has a purpose.
Q: How many treatments will it take?
A: A common dose of acupuncture is 5 treatments over the course of 3 weeks to see if it's helping you. If it is, you continue for another 3 weeks to see how far we can progress. After that, many people come as needed, or semi-regularly to maintenance their issues. Sometimes results are really fast, and sometimes it can take awhile. It depends on how complicated your issues are and how long they've been around.
Q: Can I combine acupuncture with massage, chiropractic, physical therapy, or other modalities?
A: Absolutely. Not only will acupuncture not conflict with what you're doing, other modalities combined with acupuncture may speed up your healing.
Q: How long is an appointment?
It's good to set aside at least one hour for your initial appointment and 30-60min for follow-ups.
Q: So, how can you make it so affordable?
A: You'll be in a large room with other people. By treating multiple people in a given hour, we're able to lower the cost for you. We'll still have the privacy to talk, and you won't be disrobing in front of strangers. In fact, you won't be disrobing at all. Many people come to prefer relaxing in a room with others. You'll likely be in a recliner, or possibly on a massage table. We don't necessarily have to do acupuncture on your low back to treat your low back pain. There are acupuncture points that correlate to different parts of your body and we can treat specific conditions in any position.
Q: Do I have to believe in acupuncture for it to work?
A: Not at all. We're pretty sure that horses and dogs don't believe in it when they get acupuncture. They just stop limping if it works. Acupuncture on non-human animals has been happening for a long long time. And, we have patients all the time that start out skeptical.
Q: Is it safe? What do you do with those needles after you use them?
A: We use sterile, one-time use needles made of surgical steel. They are safely disposed of after each use. Once in awhile we see a non-painful bruise after acupuncture. That's about it.
MORE INFO on acupuncture
You can also learn about our clinic with this article in Bellingham Alive! magazine -
"Acupuncture for the People" By Laura Boynton
