Dr. Farrar Duro, A.P.

We normally advise resting if possible, but you can also go back to your normal activities as soon as the treatment is over providing that they are not exacerbating your treatment or condition.

Farrar Duro, AP, FABORM

Yes! Acupuncture has a calming effect on the sympathetic nervous system.

It's important to determine the underlying causes, such as allergies or causes of localized inflammation first. Acupuncture facial rejuvenation has also been used to lessen the appearance of fine lines on the face and can be quite effective.

As with most pain conditions, more information would be helpful to determine the region of pain and for how long it's been occurring. Acupuncture can be helpful for most mild to moderate shoulder pain and if effective, you should see results within 6-8 sessions.

As with most pain conditions, more information would be helpful to determine the region of pain and for how long it's been occurring. Acupuncture can be helpful for most mild to moderate pain and if effective, you should see results within 6-8 sessions.

Depending on the severity, most patients benefit from having more frequent sessions initially (2-3 times per week), then lessening as symptoms decrease.

Yes, acupuncture is usually very safe when administered by a licensed acupuncturist.

Yes, acupuncture is usually very safe when administered by a licensed acupuncturist.

Acupuncture can be quite effective for migraines but it's important to give the treatment enough time to work. Our rule of thumb is to re-assess after 6-8 visits since the majority of our patients see relief within this timeframe.

Definitely this question has come up quite often during my 20 years of practice, since acupuncture is still quite unfamiliar to most Westerners. A recent study looked into this very question and came to the conclusion that based on "an analysis of patient-level data from 29 high-quality RCTs, including 17,922 patients, we found statistically significant differences between both acupuncture vs sham and acupuncture vs no-acupuncture control for all pain types studied." Arch Intern Med. 2012;172(19):1444-1453
Also, acupuncture is used frequently in veterinary settings with much success for arthritis and other debilitating conditions.

Acupuncture and herbs relieve sciatica, a condition characterized by lower back pain radiating through the hips, buttocks, and legs. Researchers from the Rizhao Hospital of TCM (Traditional Chinese Medicine) and the Shanghai University of TCM investigated the efficacy of acupuncture for the relief of sciatic pain. Sciatics induces lower back and hip pain. Both acupuncture and acupuncture plus herbal medicine were effective and produced significant positive patient outcomes. We have successfully treated sciatica for several years with electro-acupuncture and cupping. In addition, the researchers document that acupuncture and herbs stimulate important biochemical changes causing pain reduction.