How to Start an Acupuncture Treatment

Series Summary

Traditional Chinese medicine is considered a complementary or alternative medical system in most parts of the world. It includes a range of traditional medical practices originating in China that developed over thousands of years. Traditional Chinese medicine practices include theories, diagnosis and treatments such as herbal medicine, acupuncture and massage. Traditional Chinese medicine theory claims that processes of the human body are interrelated and in constant interaction with the environment. Its practitioners believe that signs of disharmony help them to understand, treat and prevent illness and disease.

Beginning with acupuncture and moving on to Tui Na massage and herbs, this free video series will teach you about traditional Chinese medicine in great depth. From practices such as checking the tongue to determine health problems, to disinfecting and applying needles to acupuncture points, theories of acupuncture will be examined. Additionally, massage and herbs will be covered in great detail, from Tui Na meridians to herb formulas and Chi regulation. Traditional Chinese medicine is still popular in all parts of the world, and these videos will show you what it's all about!

Video Transcript

"SARAH HAUER: Hi, I'm Sarah Hauer. SIG HAUER: And I'm Sig Hauer, and we're professional practitioners of traditional Chinese medicine. SARAH HAUER: We're here on behalf of Expert Village. SIG HAUER: And welcome to our video. SARAH HAUER: Hi. [PH] ELLEN: Hi. SARAH HAUER: Come on back. ELLEN: Alright. SARAH HAUER: So we are in the treatment room and Ellen has been so good to volunteer and help you get an idea of what happens, a very general idea of what happens when you come for an acupuncture visit. So what we do before we do the treatment is we do an intake and that's where we follow up on any of the conditions and do some diagnostics and figure out how we're going to address those imbalances in this treatment. So thanks for doing this, Ellen. ELLEN: You're welcome. SARAH HAUER: And how are you doing today? ELLEN: I feel well, thank you. SARAH HAUER: Good, good. So first, I'd just like to ask how your sleep has been. ELLEN: My sleeping's been good. I've had some weird dreams like nightmares but other than that, just can't get enough of it. SARAH HAUER: So you feel kinda tired when you're waking in the morning or-- ELLEN: A little bit, yeah. SARAH HAUER: But overall, you're sleeping through the night and just having some vivid dreams and some nightmares? ELLEN: Yeah. SARAH HAUER: Okay. How's your overall energy? ELLEN: I would say that it's better. SARAH HAUER: It's better--improving? ELLEN: Yes, it is improving. SARAH HAUER: Right. You feel like you have more energy to get through the day? ELLEN: Yes, I would say that. SARAH HAUER: And less fluctuations, less up and downs or-- ELLEN: Yeah, as long as I stay away from sugar. SARAH HAUER: Great. Great. So overall, how is your digestion? ELLEN: I would say that my digestion has been pretty good. Not a lot of pain, taking my herbs. SARAH HAUER: Great. Good job. So nothing new? ELLEN: No, nothing new. SARAH HAUER: Excellent. So that's just an idea, giving you an idea of what can happen in an ongoing relationship with your acupuncturist and this is a very short summation of what goes on. Usually, we spend quite a bit of time. But now we'd like to move on and give Ellen an acupuncture treatment. Are you ready for some needles? ELLEN: Sure [OVERLAPPING] SARAH HAUER: Okay."