FAQs

What is Chinese Medicine?

Chinese Medicine (CM) has been practised in China for over 2,000 years and has begun to gain recognition in many Western countries. The components of CM include acupuncture, herbal medicine, cupping, qigong, diet therapy, moxibustion and tuina (Chinese massage).

CM has a holistic view of the body and views the body, mind, emotions and spirit of a person is interconnected. CM recognises that each individual manifests disease and illness differently, and the way to restore good health is to bring the body back to a harmonious and balanced state.

In Australia, Chinese Medicine is heavily regulated, allowing only qualified practitioners to practice and only allowing certain Chinese herbs to be prescribed. This means that endangered species are not allowed to be prescribed.

What is Acupuncture?

Acupuncture is a Chinese Medicine treatment that uses fine needles inserted at specific points on the body to regulate functions and encourage homeostasis within the body.

Does Acupuncture hurt?

Acupuncture is not meant to be painful. However, on insertion of the needles, you may feel a prick or not feel anything at all.

After the needle has been inserted and you are relaxing on the table, patients describe acupuncture sensations as dull, fullness, vibrating, moving, rising or as a tight sensation. These sensations just feel “different” and are not usually uncomfortable. It is important to note that some areas of the body are more sensitive such as the face, feet, wrists and hands. For those who do not like needles and worry about having their blood taken, the needles we use are extremely thin. Between 20-40 acupuncture needles fit into a hypodermic needle that is used to take blood.

What conditions are suitable for acupuncture?

The most researched aspects of acupuncture are around its anti-inflammatory and pain-relieving effects. It has also been shown to have potential benefits for some other conditions. Please contact me to enquire if acupuncture may be beneficial to your health issue.

Who can receive acupuncture?

At Wollongong Acupuncture, we love to work with the entire family! We can work with clients from five years old to older adults. If you have any questions about this, please feel free to contact us!

How many treatments will I need?

Treatment plans will differ between each person as every person presents with their own unique signs and symptoms. The effects of acupuncture are cumulative, therefore frequent treatments are necessary to notice improvements.

For pain conditions, 1-2 treatments per week are ideal to pre-empt your pain pattern. For acute pain, treatments for 8 weeks are ideal. For chronic pain, at least 6 months is recommended.

For acne conditions, a treatment plan of weekly-fortnightly appointments for at least 4 months will be required. As the skin has a cycle of 28 days, improvements will be noticed within this period.

Treatment outcomes are dependent on your lifestyle, diet and sleep quality and will impact the response time to treatment.

Are there any negative effects of Acupuncture?

The main negative effect that can occur is bruising. While actions are taken to prevent this during facial acupuncture treatments it can still occur. This is more likely if you are taking anticoagulant medication (e.g. aspirin, warfarin etc.) It’s important to have eaten before receiving acupuncture as it’s possible for fainting to occur when someone has not eaten. Otherwise, acupuncture is a safe treatment and is often considered in comparison with other pain relief medications due to its limited side effects and no risk of addiction.

Do you reuse needles?

No, we use single-use disposable needles that are disposed of in sharps containers.

What appointment do I book?

If you are wanting to be a new client at Wollongong Acupuncture, then you will book the Initial Acupuncture Consultation and Treatment or Initial Herbal Consultation. During this first session, your practitioner will discuss with you the recommended Treatment Plan and which follow up treatments are recommend, whether it is a Standard Treatment or an Express Treatment. Once you have had an Initial Treatment, you can book any of the services as you feel is necessary. If it has been more than 18 months since any treatment at Wollongong Acupuncture, please book any of the Initial Treatments as this will allow any new symptom and medication changes to be updated within your client file.

Are there concession treatments?

At Wollongong Acupuncture we offer child, teenager and tertiary student concession prices for return Standard Acupuncture (incl. herbal medicine) appointments. To make Wollongong Acupuncture services accessible, we have chosen to offer express treatments in acupuncture and cupping. We also offer patented formulas as one of our prescribed Chinese herbal medicine options to increase the accessibility of herbal medicine for our community.

Where can I park?

Free untimed parking is available on the street outside our clinic space. 

What is your Cancellation Policy?

Please read our cancellation policy here

Information for New Clients

Due to the rise of unverified bookings at health clinics, Wollongong Acupuncture has decided to implement a $75.00 deposit fee for any Initial Acupuncture or Herbal Medicine Treatments. This will be processed by a stripe card payment through the online booking process.

This fee will go towards your Initial Appointment cost, thereby reducing the price you pay when you attend your appointment. After your appointment, you will be issued a paid invoice which you can submit to your health fund to receive their rebate. Please note: All follow-up appointments will allow on the spot claiming when you pay for your appointment.

This deposit will be refunded if you need to cancel your appointment with more than 24 hours notice. If you decide to reschedule, this existing deposit will be carried over to your new appointment. However, if you cancel your appointment with less than 24 hours until your scheduled appointment or do not show up to your appointment, this deposit will be used as the cancellation fee to cover the time and work of your practitioner prior to your initial appointment.

Information for Returning/Existing Clients

If your appointment is in less than 24 hours and you cannot attend, please call 0431363450 and choose from the following options:

One- You can switch to a telehealth appointment for herbal medicine if you’re stuck at home feeling unwell or unexpectantly cannot leave the house.

Two- You can pass your appointment on to a family member or friend.

Three- You can pay the cancellation fee of $75 for cancelling a 1-hour appointment or $50 for cancelling a 30-minute appointment.

If you do not notify Wollongong Acupuncture that you cannot attend your appointment, and do not show up then you will receive an invoice and will be charged the above cancellation fee.