One Needle Acupuncture Treatment? It's possible!

Needle-phobia is the biggest hurdle between most people and acupuncture. It’s completely normal to not like needles or even fear them. The brave souls who do venture into an acupuncture office are usually pleasantly surprised that:

1. They barely feel the needles

2. They get extremely relaxed during the treatments

3. Sometimes only one needle is needed

Effective, one-needle treatments are not something I would have thought possible just a year ago. Many acupuncturists aspire to this minimalist approach. Some will say that the less needles used, the more powerful the treatment. Each point delivers information to the body, and using excessive information can scramble the communication with the body. Using only one, or just a few, needles relays a clear message for the body's intelligent energy to assimilate.

Pain=Blockage

Lucky for me (and my patients), I’ve begun training in Neoclassical Acupuncture (NCA) to make my treatments more efficient and more powerful. NCA is a system of acupuncture created by acupuncturist Slate Burris after treating thousands of patients in busy community style clinics in Mexico. Through the use of palpation, he found which meridians were blocked, and which points can open up multiple blocked meridians. Blocked meridians feel painful to the patient when pressed by the acupuncturist. An acupuncture point is needled and then the painful areas are checked again. If the pain is gone, that indicates that the point opened that meridian.

Freely Flowing Meridians Allows the Body to Heal

When the body is relaxed and pain-free on palpation, the symptoms the patient had been experiencing then begin to disappear as well. The body’s intelligent energy can now flow freely and do the necessary healing. And the great news for the needle-phobes is that just one well-placed acupuncture point can open up multiple areas of pain and blockage.

Express Yourself

When receiving an NCA treatment, please don’t be shy or stoic about showing discomfort when getting palpated (pressed). The pain is indicating blockages, and it’s going to tell the practitioner exactly what acupuncture point(s) your body needs to feel better. The palpation process only lasts a few minutes, and then you’re free to go to the acupuncture relaxation state we all love.

Needle-phobic? No problem

If you know someone who would benefit from acupuncture but hates needles, please pass this info along to them. It's possible to get amazing benefits from acupuncture with very minimal pokes.