During your first office visit, the practitioner may ask you at length about your health conditions, past medical history, symptoms, diet & lifestyle, and behavior. The practitioner will want to obtain a holistic picture of your condition in order to provide you with personalized & effective treatment plans and recommendations. Thus, it is important to provide comprehensive information regarding your medical condition(s) and current modalities being used in your initial intake forms and to your practitioner. Regarding the treatment itself, everyone experiences acupuncture differently. Oftentimes patients feel little to no pain during treatment, during which hair-thin, solid, stainless-steel needles are inserted into specific points on the body to trigger certain responses internally. Some may feel energized after their treatment, while others may experience more relaxation and stress reduction. During your initial acupuncture appointment, we will also provide & discuss personalized food/diet and lifestyle recommendations based on our novel CoLymph™ treatment theory. Your practitioner may also make recommendations for certain CoLymph™ herbal formula supplements and/or other all-natural supplements to enhance & complement your acupuncture treatments for better efficacy. Improper needle placement/technique, movement of the patient, defects with the needles, or incorrect diagnosing may cause pain during treatment or lower the potential benefits of acupuncture treatment. This is why it is important to always seek treatment from a qualified, licensed & board-certified acupuncturist.

Generally, your first appointment as a new patient can take up to 1.5 hours. This involves a detailed initial intake, your first acupuncture treatment, as well as personalized dietary therapy recommendations and herbal medicine explanations (if indicated for the patient). All other regular follow-up appointments are 75 min long. Because we require more time and questioning with a new patient to get to know their medical history and health concerns/goals before providing treatment and other diet/lifestyle recommendations, your first appointment will obviously require more time. The initial interview with a new patient is very important for ensuring that the practitioner can provide you with the best care and treatment plan(s) as possible. As a clinic of integrative & holistic medicine, we strive to improve the health of your whole body, both physically & mentally, and approach this in a different way. Thus, many of the questions asked by the practitioner may seem entirely irrelevant to your condition; for example, you may be asked about the quality of your bowel movements after coming in for back pain, or asked about your psychological state after coming in for irregular menstrual cycles. However, be assured that these questions provide key insights into the root causes of your symptoms according to integrative medicine principles. All initial appointments for new patients include your first acupuncture treatment as well.

We are unable to give patients an exact number of treatments that will be needed to resolve your symptoms, as every patient's condition, health goals, severity, and related factors contributing to certain health problems (i.e. genetics, diet, lifestyle habits, usage of our herbal supplements, etc) greatly vary person to person. Furthermore, every patient may respond to acupuncture treatments differently as well, and thus the rate of progress in one's condition cannot be predicted. As practitioners of integrative & holistic medicine, we aim to use both scientific research evidence and our 25+ years of clinical expertise to provide each patient with an individualized treatment plan & frequency. However, for most patients, we do recommend receiving acupuncture treatments on a weekly basis for at least 3-5 weeks after your first visit with us at our clinic. Some patients may be recommended to come 2x/week depending on the severity and/or nature of their health concerns. Complementing your acupuncture treatments with our personalized dietary recommendations and/or our professionally-formulated herbal supplements may also help accelerate improvement in your health goals.

People may see an acupuncturist for almost any condition, from cancer to shoulder pain. According to the 2003 Acupuncture Review and Analysis of reports on controlled clinical trials, WHO published a list of over 100 conditions for which acupuncture may be effective. These conditions include but are not limited to: Pain conditions: back pain, neck pain, headaches/migraines, arthritic & joint pain, abdominal pain, fibromyalgia, etc. Women’s health: menstrual Issues such as PMS, amenorrhea, irregular and/or painful menstruation, female & male menopausal syndromes, infertility or fertility support (i.e. natural conception, IUI, IVF, egg/sperm freezing, fertility surgery support), hormonal imbalances, etc. Gastrointestinal disorders: diabetes, irritable bowel syndrome (IBS/IBD), Crohn's, gastritis, chronic bloating, frequent constipation, diarrhea, irregular digestion, chronic acid reflux/heartburn, etc Respiratory conditions: sinusitis, allergies, bronchial asthma Cardiological conditions: hypertension, coronary heart disease Psychological conditions: depression, insomnia, anxiety Skin conditions: psoriasis, eczema, acne, dryness, rosacea, hives, etc.

Acupuncture is a safe and effective holistic medicine backed by more than two thousand years of practice and research. It is practiced worldwide both as a primary and adjunctive treatment for a wide range of conditions. While there are somewhat standard treatment protocols for many conditions, the clinical success of acupuncture is related - at least in part - to the wide range of diagnostic signs and symptoms which are taken into effect when looking at an imbalance. For a condition such as arthritis affecting the knees, an acupuncturist may look at your tongue, check your pulse, ask about your diet and lifestyle, palpate your spine, etc. This range of diagnostic information allows acupuncture practitioners to develop a treatment strategy that is unique to you and your experience of a particular condition. Improper needle placement/technique, movement of the patient, defects with the needles, or incorrect diagnosing may cause pain during treatment or lower the potential benefits of acupuncture treatment. This is why it is important to always seek treatment from a qualified, licensed & board-certified acupuncturist.

The types of acupuncture treatments covered by your insurance vary according to your policy of coverage plan. Check your own health insurance plan’s benefits to understand how your plan covers acupuncture, or give us a call at 703-750-0577 to verify your acupuncture coverage. Because acupuncture coverage can significantly vary based on insurance plan type, it is highly recommended to contact our office or your insurance company directly ahead of time to obtain the most accurate information regarding your treatment coverage and what the expected costs would be for each treatment. We are a participating in-network provider for the following insurance companies: AETNA, BLUECROSS BLUESHIELD/CAREFIRST We also accept HSA & FSA cards as forms of payment. Insurance Disclaimer: A quote of benefits and/or authorization does not guarantee payment or verify eligibility. Payment of benefits are subject to all terms, conditions, limitations, and exclusions of the member’s contract at time of service.”

No, at this time we do not participate with Medicare/Medicaid. If you have a supplemental health insurance plan that falls within the list of insurance providers that we are in-network with (Aetna, Cigna, CareFirst/BlueCross BlueShield), you may call your insurance company or our office at 703-750-0577 to verify your exact coverage details and expected costs.

To all military, first responders, healthcare providers and teachers, THANK YOU for all that you do and for your continued service! To show our appreciation, we are offering a 10% discount for ALL out-of-pocket treatment services! This includes: Initial Acupuncture Treatment Follow-up Acupuncture Treatment(s) CoLymph 24K-Gold Facial Acupuncture Treatment CoLymph 24K-Gold Scalp Acupuncture Treatment CoLymph Lymphatic Cleansing session for Body or Face WHO IS ELIGIBLE? All USAA members and active, reservist, retired, and veteran military personnel with valid proof of US military service Currently practicing healthcare practitioners with valid ID Active first responders incl. firefighters, law enforcement, search & rescue, & EMTs with valid ID All currently employed K-12 public school teachers with valid ID ***Discount applies to treatments paid out-of-pocket only; does not apply to treatments covered by insurance***