Ask the Acupuncturist

By Toby Helmstetter, LAc

Here's a question from someone in our Chapel Hill office:
Can a person get acupuncture even if they don't have anything "wrong" with them?

In ancient times, the practitioner of Chinese medicine was hired specifically to keep a person well. If a patient became sick, the doctor's treatments were considered inadequate because they failed to prevent the person's illness. Our current model of health care in the West is certainly much different. Many of us call on a doctor, or an acupuncturist, when we are already unwell and often times, when we're at the end of our rope. But imagine if you had access to health care that allowed you to prevent many common illnesses before they became serious, or helped you treat a condition to keep it from lingering? Well, with acupuncture, you have that!

One of the many wonderful things about Chinese medicine is that it truly is a form of preventative medicine. Patients who use acupuncture for prevention usually come cyclically throughout the year; anywhere from once a month to every time the seasons change. By using acupuncture in this way, patients are able to manage minor conditions as they arise, before they turn into more serious problems. They use acupuncture for things like stress relief, immune boosts, or general "tune ups" for chronic conditions that once required more frequent care. Getting treatments before there's anything "wrong," you can stay ahead of potential problems and keep yourself healthy from year to year.

As an acupuncturist, I am always grateful to my patients who come for preventative treatments. Not just because I enjoy seeing my patients, but because it allows me to offer them substantially better care. This way, I am able to be completely familiar with the cycles they go through in a year, and to deal quickly and efficiently with acute problems. There's less "damage control" and more health care, which is empowering for both the practitioner and the patient.