Acupuncture in Gainesville FL

Acupuncture is not like you see in the movies, where people get so many needles they look like a porcupine!

In real life, the needles are thin, smooth and comfortable. An acupuncturist will carefully select the points for insertion so that we don’t use too many needles. Once the needles are placed, the treatment can feel very relaxing. I make sure the room is comfortable, with soft music playing. Some people even fall asleep during the treatment.

Before you receive your first acupuncture treatment in the Gainesville clinic, we will discuss your health history and treatment goals. Each follow-up visit will start with a check-in to see how you are doing since your last treatment. 

Depending on your needs, we may include other modalities in your treatment plan, such as Chinese herbal medicine, trigger point therapy, electroacupuncture or heat therapy.

It’s best to wear comfortable clothing with pant legs and sleeves that are easy to roll up. You will remain clothed for the treatment.  If necessary, patient gowns are available.

You can fill out the initial paperwork online (a link will be in your appointment confirmation email) or arrive 15 minutes early to your first appointment and fill out the forms in the office. Bodies in Balance Acupuncture Gainesville is located at 2234 NW 40th Terrace, Gainesville FL 32605.

If you need help finding it or have any other questions, you can call the clinic front desk number, 352-234-6366.

How many treatments will be required to get a desired result depends on many factors.  You may notice changes after one treatment, but usually it will take more than one treatment to provide long-term results. Chronic conditions or fertility issues generally require a longer series of treatments than acute conditions. A good rule of thumb is to try 4 or 5 treatments to determine how acupuncture will benefit your condition.

Acupuncture treatments can be part of your preventive healthcare and may even help your conventional medical care be more effective and less stressful. Make sure you are keeping up with your primary care appointments for routine health maintenance. Consult your medical doctor first if anything is concerning you to rule out serious health conditions.

Acupuncture works in two important ways:

1. Acupuncture calms and regulates the nervous system. This is very helpful for stress and healing.
2. Acupuncture helps the cells of the body communicate more effectively, and this unlocks the body’s own healing mechanisms.

For example, our bodies have natural anti-inflammatories as part of our immune system—we don’t always have to take a pill for that. We have natural pain-relievers such as endorphins. We have neurotransmitters that act as chemical messengers in the body. When an acupuncture point is stimulated, the body responds by sending more of these healing signals to the area.

Most people have heard of the “fight or flight” stress response, but we don’t talk as much about the opposite side of this, which is “rest and digest.” The rest and digest, or the parasympathetic activation of the nervous system, is a time to heal and repair from stress, illness or injury.

We need to be able to flip back and forth between these two states easily, but sometimes we get stuck in a chronic stress mode. Acupuncture helps restore the flexibility of the nervous system so that it is easier to recover from stress.

Acupuncture helps the body communicate through cellular signaling and through the nervous system, by blocking pain signals and by releasing endorphins. Another way it can help with pain is by increasing local circulation to an area. 

Imagine getting a cut or scrape, then you wash and put a band-aid on it. The soap and water and band-aid didn’t make it heal, it just created the right conditions for your body to begin to send immune factors to heal and seal up the cut with new tissue. Acupuncture helps trigger a natural healing cascade if inflammation and pain have gotten out of control.

Acupuncture and Chinese herbal medicine can help improve blood flow to the reproductive organs, improve the body’s response to stress, and balance reproductive hormones.

Acupuncture can provide support if IVF, IUI or other types of assisted reproduction become part of your fertility journey. Acupuncture may help you cope with side effects of the medications used during IVF cycles and reduce the stress that often accompanies an infertility diagnosis. 

Miscarriage is unfortunately more common than many people realize. Acupuncture treatments and Chinese herbal medicine can help in the recovery period after a miscarriage and to prepare for a healthy pregnancy in the future.

Acupuncture benefits pregnant women, as it is a drug-free way to work with symptoms such as nausea, constipation, heartburn, back pain, and labor and birth preparation.

While acupuncture can safely be used while trying to conceive and during pregnancy, it is a good idea to seek out a practitioner who has experience in this area. I am certified in fertility acupuncture by the American Board of Oriental Reproductive Medicine (ABORM) and have advanced training in acupuncture for reproductive health.

Chinese medicine is an ancient system dating back thousands of years. For this reason, some of the terms that practitioners use such as yin and yang, qi and blood, and organ systems such as the Liver, Spleen and Kidney, have special meanings which are not easily translated. These concepts, along with clinical training and experience, guide the acupuncturist in diagnosis, acupuncture point selection and Chinese herbal medicine treatment.

Acupuncture is a very safe form of treatment when performed by a state licensed acupuncturist. In Florida, acupuncturists who pass the rigorous training and licensing exams receive the designation of Acupuncture Physician (AP).

There has been an upsurge of research on the effectiveness of acupuncture for a wide variety of conditions due to scientific interest in recent years. One resource for an overview and summaries of scientific evidence is the Evidence Based Acupuncture website.  https://www.evidencebasedacupuncture.org/acupuncture-scientific-evidence/

Acupuncture is rooted in ancient times and ancient wisdom, and it has an important place in modern healthcare today.