Where to start…  acupuncture is the art of inserting tiny pins in the body to generate a change in the physical/mental/ and spiritual aspects of being.   The greatest misconception about acupuncture is the concept of getting needled.  ACUPUNCTURE DOES NOT HURT.  The ‘needles’ are very thin, monofilament pins roughly the thickness of hair.  Insertion is done with a guide tubes, which allows for basically painless insertion.  Now this does not mean that acupuncture is without sensation.  There are a wide variety of sensations and intensities that can be felt.  These differing sensations are key diagnostic features, giving information relating to the state of pathology/disharmony at the location of the acupuncture point.  The sensations felt are also a function of the strategy being employed.  TRAINED acupuncturists use a variety of techniques of needle manipulations to induce differing effects.  Some are used to tonify (use to increase vitality), some are sedating (use to reduce the tension at a point), and some are harmonizing (used to balance energetics).  These techniques are based on the diagnostics of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), and are essential to the practice of Acupuncture.

Acupuncture is a modality of Traditional Chinese Medicine, as are herbology, massage, cupping, gua sha (scraping), diet therapy, meditation/qi gong, tai chi.  TCM views the body & life from an alternative perspective, and its diagnostics and strategies are based in this perspectives.   From this approach, treatment strategies focus on one to all three aspects of an individual as seen in TCM.  These are the physical, mental, and spiritual.  Disharmony will be seen at all three aspects of an individual, however it may be much more prominent in one.

The effects of acupuncture are wide and varied.  It can be felt as a lifting of the spirit, or as the hardest day in the gym you ever had.  Pain reduction is the common reason for seeking acupuncture, and yet for those looking to live healthy often maintain therapy to protect and rejuvenate their bodies/minds/spirits.

At Revolution we base our treatments on Traditional Chinese Medicine.  Whether we are working to eliminate sickness & ailment, or if the goal is relaxation and restoration, the pricinciples remain the same.  All treatments are based on the individual and their current state of health and well-being.   A classic  saying in TCM is  " people with same disease may be treated very different,  people with differing disease may be treated the same".   This reflects the undertsanding that common patterns emerge in health and treatment must reflect each persons presentation of these patterns.

In the TCM style then, treatment is always dictated by diagnosis.   Acupuncture, massage, cupping, herbs/teas, gua sha, exercise, and diet are all considered modalities, or treatment options.  It is the practicioners goal to effectively choose modalitites that help to re-estabilsh balance/harmony while eliminating pathology/disharmony/dis-ease in the body.  This is true when dealing with sickness, relaxation, or performance enhancement.  As such no two people recieve exactly the same treatment, and the same person will recieve differing treatments as they begin to change.