FREQUENTLY
ASKED QUESTIONS

Acupuncture needles are as fine as hair, so most of the time you won’t feel anything. A slight pressure is a desired response. If we are doing motor point release of a muscle, the desired response is for the muscle to twitch, helping to reset the tight or shortened muscle. This is usually painless or no more uncomfortable than the pain you are already experiencing.​

If you want to try acupuncture but are nervous, just let us know and we will work with you to keep needle size and retention time to a minimum. Depending on your condition, we may be able to release a tight muscle in a few seconds, remove the needle, and finish the treatment with Tui Na massage, Chinese fire cupping, or Gua Sha.

No, never! Every needle is a single-use, sterile needle. Once it is used, it is properly disposed of. Every patient gets new needles opened at the time of treatment.

Patients do not need a referral to be treated with acupuncture. However, some private insurance companies do require a doctor’s referral. Please check with your private insurance company before making an appointment.

At this time, only Dan accepts insurance. We are in network with United Health Care, Aetna, and the Empire Plan. We are out of network with all other insurances, however we do accept BlueCross BlueShield if you have out of network benefits.

We accept HSA/ FSA/ flex cards.

We do not accept No Fault or Workers Comp.

We can supply you with a Super Bill to submit to your insurance by request.

• For more minor, non-chronic injuries or movement challenges, we can see dramatic improvement within 4-6 sessions.
• For more major or chronic injuries or movement issues, we ballpark around 10-12 sessions.
• For severe or long-term chronic issues, it may take up to 20 sessions to see a significant resolution of your symptoms.

Eat a light meal 1-2 hours prior to your visit.

It is best to wear comfortable, loose clothing. If we are working on the lower body, wear or bring shorts. If we are working on the shoulder, neck or mid-back area, wear a tank top with access to the area that hurts.

Your appointment time is reserved just for you.

As such, we require 24 hours’ notice for any cancellations or changes to your appointment.
Patients who provide less than 24 hours’ notice, or miss their appointment, will be charged a
cancellation fee.

Failure to pay these fees will prevent any future bookings. Once your balance has returned to
$0, your ability to rebook will be reinstated.

You receive an email 48 hours before and a text message 24 hours before your appointment as
courtesy reminders.

A late cancellation or missed visit leaves a hole in the therapists day that could have been filled
by another patient. Our practitioners are very busy and have waitlists of people trying to see
them.

If you know you cannot make your appointment, please cancel as soon as you can so that it can
be filled by someone else.

We aim to see improvements after each visit such as increased range of motion, ease of movement, and decreased signs/symptoms.

Many patients report slight post-workout soreness and occasional bruising in both the area treated and the area of referred symptoms. This soreness typically lasts up to 24 hours following treatment.

Yes we do. Dan has been doing dry needling for years, and even teaches courses for acupuncturists on sports-specific acupuncture and dry needling.

No, trigger point dry needling is based on Western medical research and principles, whereas acupuncture is based on traditional Chinese medicine. The main similarity is that the same sterile, disposable solid filament needles are used.

• Neck/back pain
• Shoulder pain
• Tennis/golfers elbow
• Headaches
• Hip and gluteal pain
• Knee pain
• Achilles tendonitis/tendonosis
• Plantar fasciitis
• Sciatica
• Muscular strains/ligament sprains
• Chronic pain
• Athletic performance
• Fascial Distortion Model (FDM)

You may or may not feel the insertion of the needle. The specific needle manipulation is intended to produce a local twitch response that can elicit a very brief (less than a second) painful response that some patients describe as a deep ache or cramping sensation. The therapeutic response occurs with the elicitation of this local twitch response and is a desirable reaction.

It is important to note that neurofunctional acupuncture interventions do not aim to eliminate pain directly. The goal is to promote self-regulation of nervous system activity, facilitating up- and down-regulation processes such as the production and repair of myelin sheaths, the synthesis of protein-based nerve membrane ion channels, and the secretion and metabolism of neuropeptides which will result in the clinical improvement sought by the patient.

Unfortunately I do not offer electrical stimulation during pregnancy unless the exact goal is to promote induction of labor. The research on whether or not acupuncture can cause a miscarriage is unclear, so we err on the side of caution and do not preform this modality during pregnancy.

Because any other electrical current may interfere with the pacemaker’s ability to regulate heart rate, we do not use this modality on patients with a pacemaker. Please inform your acupuncturist if you have a pacemaker.

Myofascial decompression (cupping) is based on assessing and correcting movement inefficiencies. Backgrounds in biomechanics, kinesiology, and functional anatomy are essential to identifying and treating range of motion restrictions and muscular imbalances. Interventions include neuromuscular re-education, active assistive range of motion, and proprioceptive neuromuscular facilitation, making the patient an active participant in their treatment.

Traditional Chinese cupping does not include active movement, and often is targeting energetic imbalances from a traditional Chinese medicine perspective. Myofascial decompression is a novel approach to musculoskeletal treatment, utilizing negative pressure tools and Western medicine-based movement paradigms and algorithms. These applications are very effective for orthopedics, sports medicine, contractures, post-op recovery, overcoming dominance strategies, postural syndromes, hand therapy, neuro re-education, and scar mobilization.

When we first work with certain patients, we have them wear kinesiology tape during exercise and day-to-day activities. The tape typically lasts for three to five days, even after showering or swimming. The constant wear is to re-educate the body to perform in a more optimal way. We want the tape to give consistent feedback over a sustained period of time so the body becomes aware that this is the new normal.

Oftentimes, patients with soft-tissue injuries do not seek out physical therapy until the injuries have become chronic (weeks or months after the injury). By this point, the body has completed most of its self-healing process. During this self-healing process, scar tissue and adhesions are formed which limits motion and often causes pain. Scar tissue and adhesions essentially act like super glue in your body. When scar tissue is created after injury, new cells are laid down excessively and in a disorganized manner. Scar tissue and adhesions prevent the muscle or other tissues from lengthening appropriately. In order to remodel the soft tissues in the affected area, it is often necessary for the physical therapist to restart the healing process.

By introducing controlled microtrauma to affected soft tissue using IASTM, a local inflammatory response is stimulated. This microtrauma initiates reabsorption of inappropriate or excessive scar tissue and facilitates a remodeling of the affected soft-tissue structures. After IASTM treatment, scar tissue can be remodeled so that the cells become organized in a direction that better promotes movement. Studies have shown clinical benefits of IASTM with improvements in range of motion, strength, and pain perception following treatment.

1. Warm up the tissue to make it more pliable (heat, aerobic exercise, etc.)
2. Perform IASTM
3. Engage in light exercise to promote proper movement patterns. IASTM is often accompanied by home exercise, such as stretching muscles to build flexibility and strength in the area of the injury. Patients who perform the home stretches and exercises prescribed by their physical therapist greatly accelerate the process.

It is important to note that IASTM’s ability to reinitiate first-stage healing comes from the fact that it is essentially reinjuring the body, but to a lesser degree and in a controlled fashion. This may cause mild discomfort during the treatment. Patients may experience soreness in the treated area for 1-2 days following treatment. Bruising can occur, although this is neither common nor desirable.

Results vary from individual to individual. Patients usually receive 2 treatments per week over a 4-5 week period. Most patients have a positive response by the 3rd or 4th treatment.

IASTM can be used to help alleviate the following symptoms:

• Limited motion
• Pain during motion
• Motor control issues (muscle activation/coordination)
• Muscle recruitment issues

At BOSA, common conditions that are typically treated with IASTM include tendinopathies, achilles tendinosis, rotator cuff injuries, IT band syndrome, and plantar fasciitis, among others.