Acupuncture is penetrating the skin with a sterilized and disposable, stainless steel needles between on-half and three inches long, ultra-fine and quite flexible. They are pre-sterilized, nontoxic and disposable (single use). When the needles are tapped into the skin, normally there are sensations. Much depends of the location (hand and feet tend to be more sensitive), the condition being treated and the acupuncturist¡¯s technique. Needles are typically placed in several acu-points and are usually left in about 20-40 minutes. The goal is to normalize the circulation of Qi and blood by stimulating the energy point, which encourages the body¡¯s natural healing process. The number of treatments depends upon the duration, severity and nature of your health condition. Two or three treatments may be sufficient for an acute condition, while a series of 5 to 15 treatments may be needed to resolve chronic conditions. Some degenerative conditions may require ongoing treatments over a long period of Please refer to the type of diseases that World Health Organization(WHO) has recommended in 2002.

Side effects: ¡°Relatively few complications from the use of acupuncture have been reported to the FDA, in light of the millions of people treated each year and the number of acupuncture needles used. Still, complications have resulted from inadequate sterilization of needles and from improper delivery of treatments.¡±- by National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM) Main side effects include bruising or a drop of blood coming out at the needle insertion site. http://nccam.nih.gov/health/acupuncture
http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/pdq/cam/acupuncture/patient