Alexander Maines, L. Ac.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is Oriental Medicine?
Oriental Medicine is another name for Chinese Medicine. It consists of herbal therapy, acupuncture, dietary therapy, exercise and lifestyle management.

Is acupuncture painful?
Often people want to try acupuncture, but are afraid of needles. However, the tiny disposable and sterile filament needles used for acupuncture bear no resemblance to painful hypodermic needles, and insertion is virtually painless. Brief needling sensations vary from a pinching or stinging sensation to a feeling of numbness or distention and are a sign that the treatment is having a positive effect. In fact, most people find acupuncture treatments relaxing and refreshing.

How long is a session, and when will I begin to see results?
The initial visit takes about 90 minutes and consists of a complete consultation and treatment. Follow-up treatments last about 45 minutes. Most patients feel beneficial results within four to eight sessions. Chronic conditions may take longer.

Are Chinese Herbs safe?
Chinese Medicine has been used as front line medicine by the majority of the worlds population since before recorded history, and is still the most widely utilized medical system in the world today. Adverse reactions to Chinese herbs are extremely rare and are negligible when compared to those commonly produced by pharmaceutical drugs.

What is Kinesiology?
Kinesiology is the art and science of movement of the human body. Kinesiology is used in Allergy Elimination to compare the strength and weakness of any muscle (also know as muscle response testing) of the body in the presence and absence of any substance. A measured weakness in the presence of a substance is due to the effect of an allergy to the item the person is touching. This simple method can be used to detect your allergens. (Source: www.naet.com )

What is Allopathic Medicine?
Allopathic Medicine is also known as traditional Western Medicine. It is adversary based. It "wages war" on bacteria, viruses and misunderstood processes in the body, and sometimes even the body itself. It "fights" all perceived causes of disease, including the body's very own defenses which may be attempting to deal with the influence of negative nutrition-diets, food additives and other chemicals, environmental pollution, toxic environments and attitudes. These primary contributors to health challenges, using up and overwhelming the body's resources, have produced arthritis, cancer, heart disease, stroke, and other degenerative disorders. Instead of correcting the damaging conditions of negative nutrition and toxic pollution, among other things, by replacing them with health-supportive diets and environments, traditional science, technology and the primary orientation of medicine is to counterattack the "enemy" with any of three basic modalities: