We are one of the best acupuncture Santa Monica. We have two spacious treatment rooms that can cater to your recovery needs. We have acupuncture needles, an ultra-sound machine, a laser, an electro-stimulation machine, and Chinese cups for cupping. We have smaller thinner needles for acupuncture face-lifts (yep that’s a thing), or other facial points for sinus problems, headaches, ear or jaw pain.
The most commonly asked question is, “Does it hurt?”. This is definitely a reaction to growing up with Western Medicine and getting vaccines while growing up and having blood drawn through hypodermic needles. Hypodermic needles are thick, hollow, and knife-tipped so they punch a hole through your skin. Our needles are very different.
The needles are about as thick as 3-4 strands of hair twisted together which means the needles that we are using are thin needles. The shafts are solid and the tip is conical shaped. These are meant to slide between tissue, not punch a hole. So the most it may feel like is a pinch. Usually, the anticipation is far worse than what is experienced.
On acupuncture and oriental medicine the needles go in into the acupuncture points, they send a signal to the central nervous system and immune system that something has penetrated your protective barrier, your skin.
Your immune system responds by sending blood to the area the needles are at and that change in blood flow to the area changes the qi and blood that was in the tissue causing a problem. (You can refer back to our page on “What exactly is Chinese medicine?”)
A more western way to explain this, once the needles go in, they send a signal to the central nervous system and immune system that something has penetrated your protective barrier, your skin.
This message results in your immune system sending blood to the area the needles are at. The blood brings the white blood cells to scavenge the area getting rid of anything foreign.
Red blood cells are also brought to the area carrying oxygen to help revitalize the area. Your body creates an endorphin release to the area. And after about 15 minutes a cortisol reaction occurs and cortisol, your own natural anti-inflammatory, is brought to the area.
The uses for acupuncture are endless. AND it’s very safe. Acupuncture can: reduce stress; reduce anxiety; help insomnia; reduce headaches and migraines; help sports injuries heal faster; reduce scar tissue; help with neck pain, back pain, and low-back pain; help with shoulder injuries; help reduce PMS or PMDD (Pre-menstrual Dysphoric Disorder); carpal tunnel; infertility; stop-smoking; drug-addiction; help for chemotherapy and radiation side-effects; and weight control.
Typically sessions are 15-30 minutes (usually 20 minutes is the average). You may get acupuncture treatments 1-3 times/week depending on the condition. Traditionally, the Chinese did acupuncture everyday to get the results desired.
How many acupuncture treatments you will need depends on, how long the condition has been going on, your health status, your age and how active you are. These are all variables that effect how quickly a person will heal, and everyone is different and so treatments vary.
Not everyone needs acupuncture but we can determine what modality is going to work best for you!
Ali Optimal Wellness helped people with many types of auto-immune problems, all types of digestive disorders, all types of hormonal problems allergies, anxiety, stress, depression, insomnia, and cancers.