F.A.Q
You can book your First Appointment easily online in our ‘Bookings‘ page.
We will send you a booking confirmation of your appointment time and date via email.
please click the Patient Portal link below to complete your Initial Intake Form online, before attending your appointment.
This will allow your practitioner to look through your medical history before they see you and will save time on the day of your appointment!
The first session will begin with an initial consultation where we will discuss your main complaints and relevant medical history. This will usually be followed by a thorough physical assessment including palpation and assessment of movements if relevant. Finally you will receive your first treatment.
Treatment may involve just Acupuncture or it may be combined with Massage or Cupping as well depending on the nature of your health complaint/s.
It is strongly advised that you rest for the rest of the day after a treatment in order for it to be most effective and to avoid potential temporary aggravation of symptoms.
Vigorous physical activity and consumption of alcohol or drugs should be avoided for the next 12 hours if possible.
We recommend wearing regular loose fitting and comfortable clothing for treatments. It is sometimes helpful to bring a pair of shorts for acupuncture. The practitioner will often need skin access to the area of the body being treated so loose fitting clothes that allow access to body regions are ideal. For example if you have a shoulder issue it is preferable that you wear a vest/strap top. Depending on the health complaint clothing may need to be removed for treatment.
Ideally yes! Please do your best to attend treatment sessions with clean skin for the benefit of your practitioner and to help reduce the very minor risk of infections.
None of our therapies are generally painful. Acupuncture is generally not at all painful when performed correctly and uses very fine needles compared to those used for a blood test. Occasionally you may feel a sharp scratch/pain on needle insertion but this is rare and usually doesn’t last more than a few milliseconds. The emphasis is on creating a relaxing and comfortable environment for you to encourage the natural healing process. Once the acupuncture needles are inserted they should all feel completely comfortable.
Tui Na Massage is known as a strong form of deep tissue massage and pressure is applied to tender and sore area’s but only to the extent that it is comfortable for the patient. Whilst you will not experience direct pain some places may feel tender or strange but this is certainly nothing to worry about and quite usually after a few treatments those areas feel normal again. A good approximate gauge is that true pain (compared to appropriate/expected therapeutic discomfort) is associated with an impulse to resist/tense up and/or withdraw. The aim of massage therapy is not to produce this kind of pain.
Always let your practitioner know if you feel any pain/discomfort during of after receiving any therapies. Your practitioners are also well trained to recognise common cues of pain compared to expected therapeutic sensations.
The majority of our patients report a significant improvement in their main health complaint after around 4 weeks. However, patient’s with chronic, complex or rare conditions may have a different prognosis. We generally recommend a thorough treatment program with weekly sessions for the first month or so to start with. After the main symptoms begin to noticeably improve then treatments can become progressively less frequent. For more long term health issues and chronic conditions more frequent treatments are often needed.
We do recommend occasional regular maintenance sessions after a problem has been resolved to help ensure it does not come back! The good news is that treatments are in fact enjoyable and relaxing! Many people are happy to continue to have regular maintenance treatments after their main complaint has been treated to stay in good health.
Several large-scale studies have been conducted on the safety of Acupuncture. Considering all the possible risks the research repeatably demonstrates that acupuncture is an exceptionally safe therapy when provided by properly trained professionals.
It produces considerably less side effects compared to most medications and serious adverse reactions are very rare. For more information please see the treatment information at the bottom of our Privacy Policy and the following Acupuncture safety evidence summary.
No, please respect your practitioner and fellow patients by staying home and canceling your appointment if you have any form of contagious illness or infection which may be spread if you attend.
You can reschedule your appointment easily by clicking the link in your appointment confirmation email.
To cancel your appointment you must let your practitioner know by phone or email. Appointment times should be respected and we do require at least 48 hours notice prior to cancelling or re-scheduling an appointment otherwise you will be fully charged for late cancelations and missed appointments. This allows us enough time to offer the appointment to another potential patient who may be in urgent need and otherwise be unable to book in for treatment.
We thank you for understanding and agreeing to honour this cancelation policy prior to booking.
Most people find the gentle pulling sensation of cupping treatment very pleasant. Practitioners usually check that the level of this is comfortable and explain that the patient must alert them if it feels too much. Ongoing feedback helps to ensure that the treatment is safe and is not damaging the skin. It is usual and expected for there to be circular marks on the skin immediately after cupping which usually fade within a few days however in rare cases, patients may find that the area where cupping was applied has become red and a little sore after the treatment. This may come as a surprise, especially if they felt no discomfort during the treatment.
Possible minor events
- soreness and sensitivity at the cupping site
- round marks of red spots and bruising under the skin that fade in 5-10 days
- darkening or reddening of the skin that should resolve within 10 days but in some cases, may last a little longer; for the above after the first 2 days, gently apply a warm (not hot) heat pack or cloth to the area around the area regularly during the day to speed up the healing process
- fatigue
- temporary dizziness or nausea
- fainting (rare) ; for all 3 of the above, rest and remain hydrated
Contact your practitioner if you are concerned for further guidance. It’s important that your practitioner is aware of any responses to treatment so that they can adjust any future treatments and to make sure that you aren’t experiencing anything out of the ordinary. Most minor adverse events pass very quickly following treatment and most self-resolve within 24 – 48 hours.
Serious adverse events associated with cupping are rare but may include:
- fluid filled blisters associated with excessively strong cupping
- a blister is very painful or keeps coming back
- the skin looks infected – it’s hot and the blister is filled with green or yellow pus
- the skin around the blister looks red, but this can be harder to see on darker skin tones