How to Get the Most Out of Your Acupuncture Treatment: Part 2 

 May 16, 2017

By  Steve Hoffman

In my last post How To Get The Most Out Of Your Acupuncture Treatment: Part 1, I talked about how to get the most out of your acupuncture treatments in general terms. I’m going to make this installment a bit more specific. I last talked about heeding the advice of your acupuncturist outside the office, between visits. As part of our training, things like diet, exercise and other lifestyle modifications are integrated as they are often as, or even more important than your actual treatment. So, let’s take these items one by one with some specific examples that you can implement right now to get yourself on the path to optimal health!

Diet: Typically, in the west, we are given advice like “calories in calories out” and eat less fat or eat more protein or eat less carbohydrates (whatever happens to be in fashion). Traditional Chinese Medicine looks at things a little differently. We look at your complaint, your constitution and other factors to diagnose disharmonies. With dietary therapy, your acupuncturist may suggest foods that are said to nourish a certain organ system, or “tonify” yin or yang, or are cooling or warming. These are the same concepts we use when we are treating you in the office so the advice will support and work synergistically with your treatment.

Exercise: I know, we have all heard this before, exercise is important! But again, the type of advice you will receive from your acupuncturist is different than what you have typically heard. You do not need to flog yourself at the altar of CrossFit to achieve and maintain optimal health. On the contrary, that type of exercise is simply not good for everyone. For the most part, all you really need to be doing is walking and doing something like yoga or tai chi. So, walk to your yoga class and you kill two birds with one stone! Everyone is different and at various stages of their life. Your acupuncturist can help you find what is right for you to help you nourish yourself rather than beating yourself up!

Lifestyle Modifications: What else? Incorporating things like meditation, spiritual nourishment and mindfulness exercises can have a profound effect your health and well-being. This article from the Mayo Clinic shows how dramatically meditation can affect your body. By ignoring this aspect of yourself, you are ignoring fully a third of what makes up your health and well-being: Body, Mind and Spirit.

So, do you want to spend a whole bunch of time and money going to your acupuncturist? That’s fine with me! Seriously though, these areas can have real, lasting and powerful effects on your health and health is one thing that you simply can’t live without! At Princeton Acupuncture & Oriental Medicine, we use your comprehensive health history and combine it with proven diagnostic techniques to assemble a picture of you as an individual, not just a disease or health complaint so that we can provide you with the right modifications for you! Call us for a consultation to see what we can do for you or book your appointment.


Princeton Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine

Our patients know just how effective treatments are for these and a host of other problems. Steven Hoffman, a New Jersey Licensed Acupuncturist and Diplomate in Oriental Medicine, will provide you with a thorough intake and evaluation and a clear, comprehensive diagnosis and treatment plan that will insure that your goals are met or exceeded. Do you want to move past these or other problems? We will help you thrive not just survive!

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