5 Ways to Prepare for Your First Acupuncture Treatment

For a lot of us, when we think of acupuncture, all that comes to mind is laying on a table with a ton of needles sticking out of various parts of our body. And while, that is definitely a part of what the procedure entails, if you’ve never had acupuncture therapy before, it might surprise you to know all of the benefits that come with this alternative health treatment.

According to many studies, not only does acupuncture therapy help to relieve stress but it also eases back pain, soothes indigestion, helps with weight loss, boosts the effectiveness of any medication that you might be on and lessens the side effects of radiation treatment that cancer patients may have to endure. However, before going to your first appointment, we wanted to provide you with a few tips on how you can prepare. Check these five tips out below:

Get calm. One thing that a lot of experts will tell you is that in order to get the full benefits of acupuncture therapy, it’s important for you to be as calm as possible. So, try not and do it while on your lunch break or during a time when you feel highly stressful. Early in the mornings or on the weekends is ideal.

Eat way ahead of time. Although some people believe that you shouldn’t eat on the day that you’re going to have an acupuncture treatment, that’s not 100 percent the case. The more accurate assessment is that it’s best to not have a meal within two hours of going to the acupuncturist. The reason why is that if you do (especially if you’ve just had a heavy meal or something very spicy), it has the potential to leave you feeling lightheaded or even physically exhausted.

Drink smart. Personally, we recommend that you have water before your appointment. But, if you decide to go with something else, just make sure that it’s not coffee or any type of alcoholic beverage. Coffee is loaded with caffeine which can definitely make your jittery and alcohol has a tendency to alter your senses which can compromise the potency of the treatment.

Wear some loose clothes. If you were to ask the All Medical Management Association for a tip on what you can do to prepare for your first acupuncture appointment, one of the things that they might advise is that you put on some loose-fitting clothes. This makes it much easier for the acupuncturist to access the areas of the body that they want to focus on.

Turn off your cell phone. Although it’s hard for a lot of us to imagine doing anything without our cell phone, you definitely need to make sure that you turn yours off during an acupuncture treatment. If you are consumed with the calls (or emails or Facebook alerts) that are coming through, it’s going to be hard for you to relax enough for the acupuncturist to do their job. Whatever it is, it can wait. So silence your phone, breathe deeply so that you can fully enjoy your first acupuncture treatment.