You can do anything you’d normally do in your day after acupuncture. You can exercise after acupuncture, just make sure it's not a very intense exercise after. You can work, go to dinner, you can take a bath; anything is fine. The cells and hormones we stimulated can’t be undone so nothing to worry about!

We suggest you eat before and after acupuncture (just a little) because it is common for acupuncture to lower your blood pressure and blood sugar. If you feel any dizziness or nausea after acupuncture, this is why. Please eat some high protein food after your treatment to help.

If you have a bruise from an acupuncture needle: this is common, unfortunately because we don’t use an ultrasound to guide our needles (no one does…) we have no way to know if we nicked a small capillary. Most of the time you never feel it if we do, and it is not dangerous. You can put some ice on the bruise for pain, and heat on it 24 hours later. If you have discoloration that looks like a bruise, but it doesn't hurt, that is a hematoma. It happens when we pull the needle out too slowly and any blood might follow the needle and pool right beneath the top layer of skin. These are also not dangerous and are common. For these, put heat on it twice daily until the color is gone. It simply takes several days for your lymphatic system to get that blood reabsorbed back into your circulatory system. Microtraumas are actually a huge part of how acupuncture signals your body to help heal any area so please don't be alarmed. But if you are ever in doubt just give us a call.

Some people might get a little allergic reaction to the needle. It looks almost like a bee sting or a lump. You can take benadryl if any itching is severe enough but generally the bump goes away within an hour. Very rarely are people actually allergic to the stainless steel needles in which case we have silicone coated needles which takes care of that problem.

It is recommended to take it a little easier after cupping, at least for a few hours. You can exercise after cupping, but because we are creating little microtraumas and pulling blood from the capillaries to the outer portion of the fascia, it can be somewhat counter productive to get cupping and then exercise. You might just need more recovery. Often, cupping is used to ease pain and swelling before a sports match, which is fine. Just understand that cupping is best used after exercise or a sports game. It is advised to stay out of any public pool, hot tub, sauna or the ocean within 12 hours of getting cupping. This is simply because your pores are more open and you’re more at risk of any skin infection if you expose yourself to any potential danger. It is fine to shower or bath, even in well water because both well and tap water are treated/sterilized.

It is common to have bruise-looking marks after cupping. In fact, it is uncommon to receive cupping and not have some marks after. These are not bruises. Bruising comes from injuries. These are actually hematomas that come from blood being pulled close to the surface of the skin. Some people find that applying heat to the area after cupping helps the marks go away faster. Some people's marks go away after just hours, others, it can take days or even up to two weeks. Again, that is normal.

Some people have really thin skin and cupping will actually cause inflammatory mucus that is thin and clear to come up to the surface. This fluid has been biopsied and found that patients who actually get these bubbling blisters from cupping get a better anti-inflammatory effect in the long run. However, their skin has to heal from the blisters. Any time we start to see this blistering, we remove the cups because it can become painful. If this happens just be gentle with your skin, you can apply some aquaphor or calendula ointment to help heal and calm the area. Unfortunately we have no way to know if or when someone might get these blisters. They are not dangerous or a sign of a job poorly done, it is simply just an individual reaction that can happen.

There isn’t anything that you NEED to do after cupping. Just note your skin's reaction and the color of the marks for us to determine what we should/shouldn’t do next time!

You might be sore after any injection. This is normal. You might notice a bump in the area. Usually that is the actual solution that is still absorbing into the surrounding muscles. Bruising is common. Because an injection needle is similar to a scapula, actual bruising happens. You can put some ice and/or heat on the area after and that will help with the tenderness. You can do anything you’d normally do after an injection, with the exception of Prolotherapy. You can exercise, eat, shower, anything after any injection except Prolotherapy; you must wait at least one week after your first prolo session to do any exercise. If you have had more than three prolo sessions you can start to do strength training for that area, but within those 9 weeks it is advised against doing strengthening exercises on the area you received the prolo.

Some people might feel a little nausea, or headache if we used lidocaine or B12. Please call us and give us more details so we can determine if it might be from those injections at all. In this case it is, time is usually the best medicine.

If you received a Labor Induction treatment, please be prepared to actually go into labor. We have had women show up to our clinic without letting anyone know in case they needed a ride to their place of delivery. We’ve had a woman's water break here at the clinic. Most patients though will go home and have the potential to go into labor a few hours later. Either way, please have a plan in case you do go into labor while you’re here.