FAQ’S

Acupuncture is an important part of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) that has been practiced safely for centuries.

An acupuncturist uses very fine needles that are placed with careful precision into the body’s tissue, encouraging your body’s natural healing process and reducing pain in a safe and effective way.

Consider that your body is comprised of a system of nerves, blood vessels, tissues, and hormones that all work together in a complex and interconnected way. If any area experiences reduced function, it creates a chain-reaction that leads to dis-regulation and inhibits the communication between the systems of your body.

By stimulating areas of the body, we can help to modulate the way the systems in your body ‘speak’ to each other.

Many people shy away from acupuncture because of the dreaded “needles” when in reality, the sterile, one-time-use instruments that we use are very thin that makes insertion virtually painless.

Many needles are just slightly bigger than a thick strand of hair. This is nothing like the needles used at your doctor’s office, or even at the tattoo parlour!

Up to 20 acupuncture needles can actually fit inside a typical hypodermic needle that is used when you get an injection or when you have blood taken.

You may feel slight pressure as the needle is being inserted. Most people don’t feel any pain at all, though some patients report a small pinching sensation.

Once the needle is placed, you may feel tingling, numbness, aching around areas where acupuncture needles have been placed. Patients also report feeling heavy during the treatment (as if your limbs are weighted).

Right after the treatment patients can feel lightheaded, sleepy or very relaxed. All of these responses are normal and you should expect to feel like yourself (or better!) soon after the treatment.

Needles are typically retained for 15 – 40 minutes. This gives your body enough time to initiate a healing response and begin to integrate changes.

Pulse diagnosis is about more than counting the number of beats per minute.

Pulse diagnosis is a unique skill developed over thousands of years and handed down from generation to generation, and it is an integral part of diagnosis in Traditional Chinese Medicine.

Pulses are felt at both of your wrists in 3 specific pulses positions. The pulse qualities in each position are compared and help the practitioner to gain insight into how your body is functioning. The overall pulse pattern/picture can also determine which herbal formulas are right for your body, as each Classical Chinese Medicinal Formula has specific pulse patterns associated with it.

Your practitioner may also palpate your abdomen as well to gain further diagnostic information.

Acupuncture is not a quick fix and number of treatments needed varies from person to person. Some patients experience immediate relief from their symptoms while others may take months or even years to achieve their optimal results.

Chronic conditions usually require a longer period of treatment and you should plan on a minimum of one month of weekly treatment to begin to experience significant changes.

For certain conditions, herbal formulas may be an integral part of your treatment plan. These herbs are commonly used in TCM and help to strengthen and build support for your body. Herbs can also be effective in addressing symptoms of acute pain, fever, and even colds!

Chinese herbs differ from western herbs in that they are almost always prescribed as a formula containing 5 – 15 herbs. Combining different types of herbs in different quantities helps us to craft a formula to address your specific symptom pattern. Typically, in acute conditions (like the common cold), herbs can start making a noticeable change in your symptoms within minutes. With herbs you can expect to start seeing results in about 2 weeks for most chronic conditions. Many chronic conditions are complex and multilayered and often will require months of consistent treatment to make lasting changes – formulas are changed up usually every 2-3 weeks as your pulse picture and symptoms change to ensure the treatment is continually tailored to you and you continually make improvements to your health.

Traditionally Chinese herbs were only available in dried form and had to be boiled for many hours to release their active ingredients. However, modern advances have lead to natural methods of extracting the active ingredients so that herbs can be prescribed in more palatable forms such as pills, tinctures and freeze dried granules. These are prepared according to strict Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) and subject to high levels of quality control.

Chinese herbal Medicine Practitioners have a minimum of 4 years of intensive training specific to Chinese Medicine and the application of herbal medicines to treat nearly every possible disease or malfunction of the human body.

Sarah Jenkins is registered with the CTCMA BC (the regulatory body for Acupuncture and Chinese Medicine in British Columbia) as both a Registered Acupuncturist and a Registered TCM Practitioner (R.TCM.P.), granting her authorization to practice acupuncture, and prescribe, compound, and dispense Chinese herbal medicine.

Acupuncture is a regulated health profession in British Columbia, with trained professionals being licensed by the College of Traditional Chinese Medicine Practitioners and Acupuncturists of British Columbia (CTCMA BC).

Registered acupuncturists have a minimum of 3 years education specific to acupuncture. They become licensed once they pass the Acupuncture licensing exams. Their designation is R.Ac.

Registered Traditional Chinese Medicine Practitioners have a minimum of 4-5 years of education and have passed both the Acupuncture and Traditional Chinese Medicine licensing exams. Their designation is R.TCMP.

Sarah Jenkins is licensed in both Acupuncture and Traditional Chinese Medicine, so can practice full-scope Chinese Medicine, which includes TCM diagnosis, prescribing and dispensing Chinese Herbal Medicines and practising Acupuncture.

Modern research shows that many of the herbs in a formula can have numerous actions on the body, they can aid in proper temperature regulation, support normal organ function, aid in detoxification and improve digestion.

Herbs are used in specific ratios with each other to enhance Each other’s effect and reduce side effects.

All of the medicinals I use in my clinic are from high-quality manufacturers that use GMP growing and cultivation practices, genetic identification of medicinal substances, testing for pesticides and heavy metals.