Acupuncture is holistic (“whole”-istic) healthcare. Thus, a traditional Chinese medical diagnosis takes into consideration the entirety of the patient in terms of medical history, past and present symptoms and conditions, and lifestyle. Diet, exercise, prescription medications, vitamins and supplements, occupational circumstances, home life, and family are all important factors in your present state of health. Your practitioner will take this constellation of factors and use them to determine a personalized treatment strategy that will evolve as your health improves. In this way, acupuncture is able to treat everything at once, such that all dimensions of your life will improve simultaneously – no one thing gets the focus at the expense of another.

The holistic perspective has the advantage of determining the root cause of your symptoms, so that the condition is treated at the source. When the source of the issue is addressed, symptom relief follows organically. Often an objective opinion about what is at the root of the issue can be an illuminating and exciting experience. Understanding the root cause can serve to identify areas of opportunity where lifestyle habits have been contributing to your symptoms. In this way, your practitioner may coach you to experiment with small changes to your lifestyle and observe the resulting effect on your signs and symptoms. This can include changes in basic things like what you eat and how much/what kind of exercise you are getting, and may also extend into the way you interact with loved ones, friends, or coworkers.

Very often, small changes in your daily life can have profound effects on your state of health. A shift to this more holistic perspective can create an immediate and permanent improvement in your level of suffering. Suggestions for ways to shift your lifestyle to better promote wellness is part of every acupuncture treatment and evolves with you as your symptoms begin to resolve.