At New Freedom Acupuncture, a patient’s initial visit begins with a thorough review of their personal history, including past medical history and current maladies. TCM methods of diagnosis include reading (taking) your pulse, examining your tongue, and palpating for tenderness on the abdomen and at various acupuncture points. It is important for us to address both primary and acute issues, as well as the underlying cause of your signs and symptoms. Acupuncture strengthens the body’s immune system to help prevent disease. Prevention is always the best medicine.

We will treat you and then allow you to rest. Total treatment time for your first visit takes about an hour and a half. After your rest, we will discuss a treatment plan and schedule your next appointment.

You can click here to read more about your first visit to New Freedom Acupuncture in Rapid City, South Dakota.

It is best to not arrive hungry, or be too exhausted. It is common for your practitioner to look at your tongue each session too, so it would be helpful to not brush it a day or so before your session. The coat on it (or lack there of) enables us to better diagnose what is going on internally, and where.

If you are a new patient to New Freedom Acupuncture, please download our Patient Forms and bring them filled out to your initial consultation. These forms take about 30 minutes to complete thoroughly. If you have any questions regarding the forms, please make note of it and be sure to discuss it with your practitioner at your initial consultation.

The first visit can range from 60 to 90 minutes, from check-in until you walk out the door. The length of time will depend on how organized you are in filling out paperwork beforehand, the complexity of your condition, and the modalities used.

Follow-up visits range from 30 minutes to 60 minutes.

The number of treatments depends on the duration, severity, and nature of your complaint. Generally, acute diseases can be treated successfully within a few visits. Chronic conditions, which have taken longer to develop, might require a series treatments. Change over time will reflect the gradual restoration of your body’s strength and vitality, along with steady relief of your symptoms. Some people simply respond faster than others, but the body learns how to heal itself faster when Acupuncture is sought out early and undergone frequently.

Your treatment plan will be tailored to your specific needs, but in general, expect to see your Practitioner at least four times.

The needles used in Acupuncture are extremely fine, and insertion of the needle through the skin produces very little sensation. Once the needle is through the outer layer of skin, you might feel a heavy or distending sensation at the Acupuncture point. Some people experience a bit of discomfort similar to a mosquito bite. Sometimes this feeling radiates along the corresponding channel, producing a sensation that is distal to the point being needled.  It’s not uncommon to still feel the needle after the treatments.

Placing Acupuncture needles in the body creates numerous possible sensations that depend on the location chosen and the technique used. Classical Acupuncture can vary in sensation from imperceptible to a dull ache (in Chinese, the word for this is not pain, but “grabbing qi”). Deeper Acupuncture, Trigger Point needling or dry needling, may provoke muscle twitches (“light twitch responses,” or LTRs) and dull aching at the site, similar to the result of physical exercise. We pay special attention to minimizing discomfort while maximizing effectiveness.

For most patients, the total experience is one of relief and relaxation. Once you understand what is going on, and after the initial nervousness of the first experience, it’s really a piece of cake.

Immediately following a treatment, you may feel a bit fuzzy-brained, blissful, or ungrounded. Take a few moments to bring yourself back to earth. Have a drink of water. Give yourself a bit of time to readjust to “real life.”

Patients often experience dramatic results in the first treatment. Some patients will experience immediate relief of pain or other symptoms. This relief may last, or some pain may return. In some cases, relief may not be immediate and the pain may diminish over the next few days. Rarely, a patient will experience a worsening of symptoms over the next 48 hours, only to enjoy significant relief thereafter.

No. Only single-use, disposable, stainless steel Acupuncture needles are used in each Acupuncture treatment. Used needles are treated as bio waste and disposed of as the law requires.

It depends on your circumstances. Chinese herbs are effective in the same areas as Acupuncture, and can be used solely, or complementary with Acupuncture to hasten recovery. Formulas will often change over the course of treatment as conditions or symptoms change and improve.

Yes. In fact, children respond very quickly and readily to holistic healthcare. They can be seen for the same ailments as adults, in addition to those specific to them such as colic or teething stages.

In America, children under the age of seven are not treated with Acupuncture needles, but are treated with a Japanese system called “Shoni Shin,” which uses very small meta “tools” to stimulate Acupunture points. This treatment style is also effective with very weak patients who might be too stimulated by Acupuncture needles.

Like most of our patients — performers, athletes, moms, executives, attorneys, programmers, students, and so on — you are probably very busy with work and life. Please let us know if you need to leave by a specific time; we can get a lot done in half an hour.

We also have the ability to meet you at your location. if arranged ahead of time.

We specialize in integrating our treatments with other therapies and providers. We can determine an optimal integrative strategy for your condition and goals. Be sure to indicate all of your additional therapies on your patient forms or at the beginning of your visit so that we may better serve you.

It depends on the condition, the individual, and what is defined by improvement. Typically the more complex, and the longer a person has had a condition, the more important it is to follow up after relief has been achieved. Please talk to your provider about the specific expectations of your treatment plan.

There’s a lot we can do to help you alleviate the symptoms of a cold and get over it as quickly as possible. Sometimes, though, the best thing is to stay home and rest, and reschedule your appointment for another day. Give us a call so we can help determine the best course in your case.

We do not bill health insurance companies directly. Upon request, we can provide you with a superbill, a statement that supplies appropriate Acupuncture Codes required by your insurance company for reimbursement. Please let us know in advance so that the paperwork can be prepared for your appointment.

Yes, our office is compatible with all Health and Flex Spending Accounts. We can accept a check from those accounts, process your HSA/Flex debit card directly, or provide you with the precise invoice needed for full reimbursement.

We offer individualized care and have a limited number of appointment times available. Unless you have a medical or family emergency (unforeseen work commitments don’t count), we ask for 24 hours’ notice to avoid a missed appointment fee. This also gives us a window of opportunity to offer your appointment time to someone else.

Acupuncture can treat a wide assortment of health issues and diseases. According to The World Health Organization (WHO), Acupuncture is appropriate in the treatment of the following:

Infections: