What to Expect During Your Visit

When you come for treatment with me you will receive a consultation in which I will assess your specific needs. There is no one size fits all approach to holistic healing and your health needs may differ from others. Part of my assessment will be to take notes on your health history and current issues. In addition, I will read your wrist pulses which will indicate to me where you might need acupuncture to first balance your meridians and overall health.

We will discuss your needs and determine the best course of action to accomplish your goals. Some people come for acupuncture and or cupping- therapy alone on a regular basis to increase balance, energy and sense of well- being.

You can get help for:

• overall balancing

• specific health and wellness issues

• pain elimination or management

• natural face lift (PRP)

• immune building

• injuries to muscles or ligaments

• holistic nutritional counseling

• and many other conditions

• certain herbal medicines

In my practice toolkit, I use Five Element Acupuncture, Traditional Chinese Medicine acupuncture, Cupping Therapy, Bio-Puncture, Plasma Rich Protein (PRP), and nutritional counseling when needed.

What is Biopuncture?

Biopuncture is a safe, effective way to treat pain. It’s a therapy that uses highly diluted plant-based solutions that are injected into your skin at specific points in your body. The makeup of these solutions varies according to the condition that’s being treated.
The needles are very small, and the injections are delivered just under the skin or into the muscle. Most patients find that it’s not painful.

How does it work?

Biopuncture stimulates your body’s immune system and the natural healing process. The solution is designed to treat your specific condition, and by stimulating your immune system, it reduces pain and inflammation. It’s a different approach from conventional medicine, which uses high doses of chemicals to suppress temporarily pain or inflammation. But when the medication stops working, you have to take more medication. In contrast, biopuncture works by stimulating your body’s ability to heal itself.

Chronic pain affects millions of people worldwide, even more than heart disease, stroke, cancer, and diabetes combined. It accounts for about one out of four visits to the doctor and can greatly affect your ability to enjoy everyday activities. Traditional ways to treat chronic pain, including medication or cortisone shots, can be ineffective and also have unwanted side effects.
That’s why many patients are embracing biotherapy, a European treatment that’s becoming popular in the U.S.

How long does it take to see results?

The number of sessions you’ll need varies by patient. You may need only one treatment in some cases, but many patients need up to two months of treatment. For example, an elbow problem may take five to 10 injections. In general, newer injuries often take fewer treatments than older ones.

Biopuncture can be very effective, but because it’s addressing the problem rather than merely masking the symptoms, it can take longer to see results than some other treatments. Cortisone shots, for example, can provide short-term relief, but it doesn’t last.

What are some reasons for using biopuncture?

Pain management

• Neck pain

• Back pain

• Shoulder pain

• Ligament and tendon injuries

• Ankle sprains

• Osteoarthritis

• Tendonitis

• Muscle tears

• Tennis elbow

• TMJ

• Migraines

Plasma Rich Protein (PRP)

Platelet-rich plasma, also known as autologous conditioned plasma, is a concentrate of platelet-rich plasma protein derived from whole blood, centrifuged to remove red blood cells. Platelet-Rich Plasma therapy, is a form of regenerative medicine that makes use of our body’s ability to heal itself and enhance the natural growth factors your body uses to heal tissue.

PRP treatment is a medical treatment that was born of the knowledge that your body has the ability to heal itself. Knowing that you are self-healing can be a very empowering thing. PRP injections take resources from your body, enhance them, and reintroduce them into your body to aid in the process of self-healing.

A platelet-rich plasma treatment, or PRP treatment, is a helpful therapy for many health problems, including arthritis and other kinds of pain. PRP therapy is based on the idea that the body has the ability to heal itself. By isolating platelet-rich plasma in the body’s blood, doctors can treat damaged cartilage, tendons, ligaments, muscles, and bones. Many people enjoy the benefits of this therapy, especially as it may save them from having to endure a surgery. Many people also wonder how long PRP injections last. There have been studies done to suggest that PRP injections can be effective for 6-9 months. However, the range of time that a PRP treatment is effective is dependent on several factors.

How Long PRP Injections Last: 3 Key Factors

Some of the top factors that weigh in when determining how long PRP injections last include:

1. The condition the PRP injection is being used to treat

2. The health of the patient in general

3. The way the body responds to the initial PRP treatment

As with most things in medicine, each person will experience healing from treatment in their own way. The exact amount of time the PRP injections last will naturally vary from patient to patient. Additionally, overall outcomes from these treatments will vary from situation to situation.

PRP injections are used to handle a wide range of ailments including pain and injury. PRP can even be used to treat arthritis, especially arthritis of the knees. In addition, many doctors are now using PRP to treat a long list of orthopedic conditions such as osteoarthritis.

A study done by the American Journal of Sports Medicine showed that patients who had osteoarthritis reported a decrease in their pain levels one week after their PRP for arthritis. What’s more, the patients involved in this study reported that their pain levels were better for six months after the PRP injections. Other studies have been conducted and have confirmed the findings of the initial study by the American Journal of Sports Medicine.

According to these studies and to the patients that participated in them, the PRP for arthritis was effective in treating their pain for six months. It is also known that the length of time PRP injections can be helpful is often extended by using periodic maintenance injections. A PRP treatment’s effectiveness depends on the specific condition that the PRP is being used to treat.

Some conditions are more advanced and thus will be more difficult to treat.

Another consideration in any medical procedure or treatment is the overall health of the patient undergoing the treatment. It is logical that the patient will have an easier time recovering and will benefit from the treatment more if their overall health is better. A patient who is in poor health overall will have a more difficult time and because of a range of health factors may not respond as well to the treatment. I suggest regular acupuncture treatments to improve health during the course and after PRP treatments.

Lastly, everybody is different and the way in which a patient’s body responds to the first of the PRP injections will be telling in terms of how the patient will respond to the treatments overall and whether or not they will see significant gains.

Simply put, there is no definite answer to report when talking about how long PRP injections for arthritis will last. We can assume with a good deal of confidence that treatments will begin to reduce pain within a week of the initial injection and will continue to be very helpful for six months, perhaps longer if there are maintenance injections added. The studies and research suggest this is a good standard for how long PRP injections work in the body. Patients will have unique experiences depending on the factors we have discussed here.

In Conclusion

Overall, PRP injections are an appealing option for pain management and treatment because often the alternative is living with pain or having an invasive surgery. If you suffer from arthritis, or other similar conditions you have lived with the pain for long enough. Pain can limit your ability to do daily tasks and can lower your quality of life greatly. Managing pain caused by arthritis and other conditions including injuries is important to your overall health and wellbeing. For some surgery may be the best or only option available. For others, PRP injections will be a less invasive alternative to surgery.

Surgeries are not only invasive, but they can take weeks and weeks to recover from. The time it takes to recover can be a period of hardship for many people and can make other health regiments difficult to maintain. With PRP injections for pain due to injury and arthritis you have a shorter recovery period. Additionally, you may feel the benefits within a week of receiving the first injection.

Overall Benefit of PRP Treatment is increased Collagen Production and total rejuvenation.

The PRP Treatment

Platelet-Rich plasma (PRP) is a substance that promotes healing when injected. Plasma is a component of your blood that contains special proteins, that help your blood to clot. It also contains proteins that support cell growth. When injecting PRP into damaged tissues, the PRP will stimulate your body to grow new, healthy cells and promote healing, therefore reducing the prominence of scars, wrinkles, sun damage, and dark circles. Your skin will be tighter and more radiant.

What is plasma and what are platelets?

Plasma is the liquid part of whole blood. It is composed largely of water and proteins, and it circulates red blood cells, white blood cells and platelets through the body. Platelets, also called thrombocytes, are blood cells that cause blood clots and other necessary growth healing functions, and their activation plays a key role in the body's natural healing process.

What is PRP Facial treatment?

PRP facial treatment uses your own blood’s platelets and plasma to be injected on your face. The platelet-rich plasma can either be injected into deeper wrinkles or micro-needled into the skin.

Once the plasma is in, it begins to do its work of rejuvenating your face, tightening wrinkled areas and smoothing and improving the texture of your skin. It’s able to do that because PRP stimulates collagen growth.

The more often you have a PRP facial, the longer the results of each treatment will last, which is about 6 to 12 months.

The advantages of PRP Facial treatment

1. It uses your body’s natural ability to heal itself.

2. There’s no chance for an allergic reaction because the plasma comes from your own body.

3. Pain is minimal and the procedure is short (not more than 60min!)

Benefits of PRP Facial

PRP Facial treatment not only helps the body create new elastin and collagen, but it can decrease the appearance of wrinkles, acne scars, lines, stretch marks and other types of scars. It also improves skin’s texture and tone.

PRP Facial treatment process

PRP Facial treatment is a three-step process. It is recommended to repeat PRP treatment three times, 4-5 weeks apart. Maintenance treatments are recommended every 4–6 months.

Step 1
The medical professional draws your blood and puts the vials containing the blood into a centrifuge - a machine that spins rapidly to separate fluids of different densities.

Step 2
After about 15 minutes in the centrifuge, your blood will have separated into in three layers:
1. platelet-poor plasma
2. platelet-rich plasma
3. red blood cells

Step 3
The platelet-rich plasma is drawn up into a syringe and then injected into areas on your face and scalp.

Recovery Time
Because the procedure involves injections, there might be some minor swelling or bruising, therefore we recommend to allow 24-hours for your skin to fully recover. Avoid the direct sun exposure right after the procedure, wear a sun protector of 50 SPF and drink lots of water.

When will I see the results?
Results take a while to show up, especially after the very first facial you get, as the plasma is working its' way into the layers of the skin. Most patients notice tightening of the skin, glow and overall healthier look within a few days after the treatment.

How long will results last?
Results can last several months. That’s why many people choose to have PRP facials few times per year to maintain the results. Three treatments every 4 - 5 weeks are recommended for best results, and then one treatment every 6 months for maintenance.