WHAT IS ACUPUNCTURE?

Acupuncture consists of the insertion of sterilized, disposable, thin needles into particular locations on the body to bring the body back into homeostasis. Acupuncture needles are solid and do not have a core like hypodermic needles and are made of stainless steel. Acupuncture can be effective for patients of all ages, from all backgrounds. Laura treats many conditions with acupuncture, including pain, women's health concerns, psychoemotional conditions, gastrointestinal issues, and more.

Laura specializes in the treatment of women's and psychoemotional health. Visit our FAQ page for more information.

STYLES

Laura is trained in both Chinese and Japanese styles of acupuncture. Each treatment is tailored individually for you and she will draw upon these styles, as well as others, as appropriate for your case.

WHAT TO EXPECT

Each acupuncture session consists of an intake with Laura. After adequate discussion, you will lie down on a massage table. At this point, Laura will insert acupuncture needles into your body. You will rest with the needles in for 25-45 minutes, as appropriate. This is a time to silence your phone, close your eyes, and relax.

WHAT DOES IT TREAT?

In 2002, the World Health Organization published a review of controlled clinical trials of acupuncture. This paper assessed the effectiveness of acupuncture in treating a variety of conditions, as demonstrated through scientific studies. WHO divided these conditions into 4 categories. Here they are. 

Laura loves this list, but doesn't think it is all-inclusive. Contact us with questions about your condition.

WHO: Controlled Trials Prove Acupuncture Effective at Treating

  • Adverse reactions to radiotherapy or chemotherapy

  • Allergic rhinitis

  • Biliary colic

  • Depression (including depressive neurosis and depression following stroke)

  • Dysentery, acute bacillary

  • Dysmenorrhea, primary

  • Epigastralgia, acute (in peptic ulcer, acute and chronic gastritis, and gastrospasm)

  • Facial pain (including craniomandibular disorders)

  • Headache

  • Hypertension, essential

  • Hypotension, primary

  • Induction of labor

  • Knee pain

  • Leukopenia

  • Low back pain

  • Malposition of fetus, correction of

  • Morning sickness

  • Nausea and vomiting

  • Neck pain

  • Pain in dentistry (including dental pain and temporomandibular dysfunction

  • Periarthritis of shoulder

  • Postoperative pain

  • Renal colic

  • Rheumatoid arthritis

  • Sciatica

  • Sprain

  • Stroke

  • Tennis Elbow

WHO: Controlled Trials Show Acupuncture Therapeutic, More Studies Needed

  • Abdominal pain (in acute gastroenteritis or due to gastrointestinal spasm)

  • Acne vulgaris

  • Alcohol dependence and detoxification

  • Bell's palsy

  • Bronchial asthma

  • Cancer pain

  • Cardiac neurosis

  • Cholecystitis, chronic, with acute exacerbation

  • Cholelithiasis

  • Competition stress syndrome

  • Craniocerebal injury, closed

  • Diabetes mellitus, non-insulin dependent

  • Earache

  • Epidemic hemorrhagic fever

  • Epistaxis, simple (without generalized or local disease)

  • Eye pain due to subconjunctival injection

  • Female infertility

  • Facial spasm

  • Female urethral syndrome

  • Fibromyalgia and fasciitis

  • Gastrokinetic disturbance

  • Gouty arthritis

  • Hepatitis B carrier status

  • Herpes zoster (human (alpha) herpesvirus 3)

  • Hyperlipaemia

  • Hypo-ovarianism

  • Insomnia

  • Labor pain

  • 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 thromboangitis obliterans

  • Polycystic ovarian syndrome (Stein-Leventhal syndrome)

  • Postextubation in children

  • Postoperative convalescence

  • Premenstrual syndrome

  • Prostatitis, chronic

  • Pruritis

  • 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)

WHO: Individual Controlled Trials Show Acupuncture Therapeutic, Worth Trying, as Treatment by Conventional Therapy is Difficult

  • Cholasma

  • Choroidopathy, central serous

  • Color blindness

  • Deafness

  • Hypophrenia

  • Irritable colon syndrome

  • Neuropathic bladder in spinal cord injury

  • Pulmonary heart disease, chronic

  • Small airway obstruction