Why 3 stars? Because I suppose acupuncture just isn't for me…read more
--- --- ---
First of all, I will say this - if acupuncture IS your thing, I fully support the mission of this center. They have a "pay what you can" policy that places all each session between $15-$40 and it's totally up to the client what amount they would like to pay within that range. Plus, my interactions with the woman at the front desk and the therapist were very pleasant. If I were ever to have acupuncture done again, I would come right back here.
My rating is more about the service itself, and might be more of an indictment on acupuncture as a whole, rather than the business.
I've had lower back and hip pain for years. I've tried everything under the sun to mitigate this pain, but nothing has worked. I recently asked my physical therapist if he thought acupuncture would be helpful and he suggested that it was worth a shot. I saw the phenomenal reviews for this studio, so it was pretty obvious where I'd be going for my first experience. Booking my appointment online was super easy, and I was able to get something that was only about an hour or so later from when I actually made the appointment.
When I arrived, I was given new patient paperwork and was kicking myself when I read that headphones could be used, because I didn't even think to bring mine. However, before I was sent back for treatment, I was asked to please turn my phone completely off before leaving the lobby, so I'm not sure how one would listen to headphones when their phone isn't allowed to be one. Either way, this was not a huge issue.
I received a brief tour of the facility and then was shown to my chair. I was asked to remove my shoes, socks, watch and everything in my pockets. The recliner I was asked to sit in was incredibly comfortable - that was probably my favorite part of the entire experience.
When the acupuncturist came by, he asked me where my ailments were. He then gave me a quick overview of what to expect and then began poking me with the needles. He mentioned that he would be poking me all over my body, but I didn't expect zero attention to be given to my actual problem areas. He poked my hands, my arm, my head and my ankles. A few of the needles hurt going in and a few others would hurt pretty badly if I even moved a small amount. Sitting still for about 45 minutes was virtually impossible, so I had quite a few instances of accidentally moving the needles into some pretty painful positions, on accident.
Eventually the acupuncturist came by to remove the needles. He asked me if I felt better. It made me laugh because it just didn't seem possible that my chronic pain of 2 years could actually dissolve after tiny needles were inserted into random parts of my body. I felt comfortable and relaxed due to the delightful chair and peaceful music that was being played, but of course it was a zero in terms of helping my pain.
Does acupuncture actually work for certain problems and certain people. I'm sure. But for me and this issue, it's just not for me.
