Frequently Asked Questions

Acupuncture, as practiced in contemporary times, involves the insertion of very thin, single use, sterile needles at various points on the body in order to effect a therapeutic change in a person’s health status. It is one technique within a family of therapeutic approaches based on the philosophy, observations, and experiences of practitioners in ancient China. Variations of clinical practice have evolved with the spread of acupuncture-based therapeutics across Asia, areas of the Middle East, into Japan, Europe, Australia, and more recently, the Americas. However, all acupuncture practice styles are grounded in the principles set forth in the surviving Classical Chinese Medical texts.

In addition to needle insertion, healing techniques include massage, herbal preparations that are taken orally or applied topically, and the application of heat (moxibustion) to specific acupuncture points and regions of the body. Electrical stimulation of inserted needles is included in some practices. Recommendations may also be made concerning nutrition, exercise, other lifestyle considerations, meditation or spiritual practices.

Healing arts may be generally described as practices that promote improved healing, better health, and personal happiness. They are often defined as stress reducing therapies that engage the patient’s creativity e.g. through music, dance, drawing or literary expression. Patients often find that acupuncture treatments themselves calm and reduce the perceived physiological effects of stress, thus clearing a path for improved self-care, visualizing a positive change in their life circumstances, and healing. Therefore, the goals of a healing arts practice can overlap with the global goals that individuals bring to the acupuncture office, especially after an initial or more acute medical or painful condition has been addressed.

The goal of a specific acupuncture treatment determines the specific points selected to achieve that goal. The number and location of points treated in a session are in turn determined by the acupuncture style and experience of your acupuncturist, your physical examination, their diagnostic impression, and your response to previous treatments. The number of points selected for treatment will therefore vary.

Typical in my practice would be treating from one to perhaps 16 points over the course of a several-step, 45–70-minute treatment that often includes, as a final step, the opportunity for quiet rest, meditation, or prayer. My preference is to use the fewest possible points (10 or less), but sometimes there are special indications that require more. This is particularly true if we begin your treatment with "root" or a fundamentally restorative treatment before addressing a more localized symptom i.e., a painful joint.

However, it is not necessary to insert needles through the skin to effect a therapeutic change. Other techniques used to work with acupuncture points and channels include massaging the point or body area, placing a specialized Tei-shin needle on the skin but not through it, warming the point or area with moxibustion, applying magnets, electricity, and/or using a medical grade laser light to stimulate a point painlessly but effectively. All these modalities are available in my practice.

My preferred diagnostic and treatment style is predominantly in the Japanese acupuncture tradition. Based on my patient’s story and physical examination, I will insert the most slender needles possible, with a gentle and mindful technique. In contrast to a Classical Chinese approach, I rarely manipulate the inserted needle to obtain an immediate patient-perceived sensation of what is called the Qi response. Rather, I set the needle into the point, and then allow time for the needle to interact with point (and the nervous system) in a gentle manner. Meditation or visualization are sometimes suggested to augment this phenomenon.

Some needles may be felt during insertion, some not. And that awareness tends to shift over the course of several acupuncture treatment sessions. To improve comfort, I often begin a treatment with calming acupuncture points to reduce awareness of needle insertion at subsequent points.

Importantly, in my approach to treatment, I have found that anything beyond a mild sensation associated with needle insertion and/or retention is distracting for patients; and therefore, not therapeutic. This is not to state that there will be no sensation, but the overall treatment should be comfortable, indeed relaxing, even though a person might experience a sensation of movement or change during the session.

That said, it is also important to recognize that people will differ in what they perceive at any one point; and during any one treatment. Perceived sensations may range from little or no sensation, to feeling changes both locally and distal to the treatment point. Paradoxically, sometimes the points where the needle almost effortlessly slides under the skin can be more sensitive for the patient. Although that brief sensation usually passes within a minute, if that is not the case, I remove that needle and find alternatives to achieve our goals.

Even with the gentlest of insertion techniques, for some people, any needle insertion through the skin provokes too strong a sensation, resulting in immediate local pain and a flare in their presenting symptoms. A trial treating a minimal number of points with non-insertion techniques (e.g. using laser light, magnets, Tei-shin needle) can be tried. On rare occasions,  even non-insertion techniques are too strong and ultimately not helpful. In these situations, it is best to try non-acupuncture therapies, with referral to other healing arts practitioners.

Perhaps. Because there are many acupuncture styles and practitioners with varying backgrounds and techniques of patient care, it might be worthwhile to seek out a practitioner who will take a different approach from that of your initial acupuncturist.

As set forth in a separate FAQ on this website, an initial phone consultation is always the starting point for bringing a potential new patient into my practice. In that conversation, we would discuss your previous experience and your reason for seeking another trial of acupuncture. If we decide to go forward with a treatment session, I would typically suggest a limited and gentle trial, with a conservatively drawn goal. Please keep in mind the point made above: that for some people, any needle insertion or point treatment is too strong a stimulus, and alternatives should be considered.

Yes, but there can be complications, ranging from the cosmetic (minor bruising) to the very rare but serious (puncture of a vital organ or structure). This topic has been extensively reviewed and published. As a global statement, yes, acupuncture treatment by a properly trained, competent and careful practitioner is safe, but not without risk of somewhat more common transient and minor complications such as: bruising, local pain, a flare in the presenting symptom, faintness, anxiety or an unexpected emotional reaction, nausea or excessive fatigue. Very rarely, a serious complication such as puncture of the lung or a nerve is reported. Skin infection is rare. Single use sterile needles are the standard of care for placement though the skin. Therefore, the risk of acquiring a blood-borne infection such as hepatitis is effectively nil.

The Consent for Acupuncture Treatment that I send to every patient for review prior to their first in-office treatment lists possible complications, while acknowledging that unforeseen events might still occur. It is important that we have communicated, and that all questions concerning safety are clearly and satisfactorily answered before arriving for your first acupuncture treatment.

This is an area of vigorous debate, and the published literature is voluminous. Very generally, on the side for positive human clinical benefit are data from small to moderately sized clinical reports and investigations, as well as the anecdotal reports, observations, and the experiences of patients. On the opposite side, taken as a whole, are published data that do not support the global conclusion of clear clinical benefit for acupuncture treatment when acupuncture is evaluated using data from well-controlled and properly powered studies that constitute “gold standard evidence” in contemporary scientific medicine. There are exceptions: e.g. a published neuroimaging study showing both an acupuncture-provoked change in brain information processing pathways linked to a measured beneficial change in patient outcome. But as a generalization, although modest studies, case reports and the experiences of patients are often positive for benefit, that benefit is typically minimal or modest at best when tested in larger, well powered, and more rigorously designed clinical studies.

My personal approach is to acknowledge this state of the published literature, while placing emphasis in my office-based practice on individual patients experience and outcome. Was a course of acupuncture treatment helpful to this person, especially in conjunction with other recommendations for health and healing? If my patient has a positive experience with perceived benefit, then "Yes", for that individual, treatment has been helpful.

This is interesting, because my many years of clinical practice as an academic physician were devoted to the care of pediatric patients, specifically children with complex underlying medical disorders who required anesthetic and/or intensive care, or who had difficult-to-manage painful conditions. But my office-based acupuncture practice is primarily an adult one. Some seek symptomatic relief from chronic, often painful conditions; or for help managing the side effects of the necessary medications or treatments prescribed by their primary and specialty care physicians. Additional reasons for seeking care have included immune dysfunction disorders, respiratory diseases, sleep disorders, stress management or more emotional issues, back or joint pain, muscle or bladder spasms, gastrointestinal, neurological and/or musculoskeletal conditions. Individuals undergoing chemotherapy or other cancer treatment sometimes find acupuncture helpful as a supportive therapy to mitigate fatigue, peripheral neuropathy and/or the mental fogginess that might accompany their treatment. Others come in for general supportive care, using acupuncture as one of their balancing and health maintenance strategies. Caregivers come in for supportive care as they manage the illnesses of their loved one.

We are fortunate in the greater Philadelphia area to have many excellent acupuncturists who are graduates of schools and colleges of acupuncture, Oriental medicine, or medical training programs in China, including practitioners with specialized expertise in fertility or musculoskeletal problems. There are also a modest number of physicians that have completed 300 basic hours of acupuncture education through courses specifically for physicians.

My acupuncture background includes the rigorous and highly supervised clinical practice of an excellent acupuncture Master’s degree program (New England School of Acupuncture), the specialized structural treatment protocols of the 300 hour Harvard Medical School continuing medical education course, and the comprehensive material with supervised clinical practice of the 12-month Japanese acupuncture course sponsored by the Tri-State College of Acupuncture. More recently, I have completed several online courses on the Kiiko Matsumoto style of acupuncture, with a goal of earning a certificate of participation upon completion of the extensive material.

My acupuncture practice is also very much informed by my knowledge of medicine in general and several years of neuroscience research. I enjoy complexity and the challenge of trying to understand the underlying basis for the symptoms or health problems of those who seek my care. I draw on all aspects of my background and experience as I seek that understanding and offer a plan of treatment.

Many of my patients have compromised immune systems; or are by virtue of age or medical treatments, at increased risk of severe illness from influenza, COVID, or other respiratory viruses. Therefore, without exception, a good quality face mask is required in the office and during treatment. This is the simplest and safer universal choice for minimizing the spread of potentially contagious virus in the office, especially since the time of increased transmission is BEFORE a person feels ill or has respiratory symptoms. Additional precautions include careful handwashing, antiviral wipes to clean surfaces, ample spacing between patients, air filters, and a request to reschedule (without penalty) an appointment if ill or clearly exposed to a person acutely ill with a respiratory virus.

Yes. The building itself is wheelchair accessible through a side entrance, with elevator service to all floors. Access to my two treatment rooms is through wide doorways; and each room has a powered treatment table to facilitate safe access and specialized positioning needs. Importantly however, an adult capable of assisting with position changes should accompany individuals who need such assistance. Bathrooms are in a stairwell, but there is a wheelchair accessible one in the building.

Yes. There are several ways to work with the acupuncture points that do not require needles inserted through the skin. Laser light, specialized massage, Tei-shin and other surface treatments are comfortable and can be helpful. Treatments are shorter (about 20 minutes). Outcomes vary, and my experience is that acupuncture-based treatment is best considered supportive of the care plan recommended by the primary care and specialty pediatric providers.

New patients are welcome, especially upon referral from a patient advocacy group (Unite for Her), other patients, your physician, nurse practitioner, or therapist. In response to an inquiry made through my web site (email or voice message), I will set up an initial brief (5-15 minutes) telephone consultation. In that conversation we would briefly discuss your reason for seeking acupuncture care, your overall health status, current medical treatments, past experiences with acupuncture, and my charges for care. If we then agree to go forward, a longer telephone intake session is set up to more extensively review your present and past medical status, lifestyle, and goals. This longer intake interview has the structure of the usual physician intake medical questionnaire, touching also on primary care considerations and how you are managing your health and medical situation. Your first office treatment session would then be scheduled.

Directions to the Medical Tower building and parking

My office is in the Medical Tower building located just off Rittenhouse Square in Center City Philadelphia. The address: 255 South 17^th Street, Philadelphia PA 19103. SEPTA service is nearby. Street parking is challenging but can be found. Pay parking lots are in the area.

Payment in full is due at the time of service. Payment by cash, check, Zelle, FLEX account and major credit cards is accepted. I do not participate in any third party or insurance plans, but will provide you with a Super Bill specifying an ICD-10 diagnosis and treatment codes.