Community Acupuncture

What is Community Acupuncture?

Community acupuncture is acupuncture treatment provided in a group setting. Patients are seated in zero gravity chairs, unlike a private treatment where a patient lies on a table.

At Haultain Health Centre we provide community acupuncture for up to three individuals at a time.

Community acupuncture treatments are shorter than private acupuncture treatments, with less time allotted for discussion of symptoms and more time given to therapeutic rest with needles.

A typical community acupuncture treatment consists of 15 minutes of discussion, diagnosis and needling, followed by 30 minutes of rest and relaxation with needles in place.

The acupuncture points used are located from the elbows to the hands and from the knees to the feet, as well as points on the head, ears, and face, as needed.

A wide range of conditions can be treated effectively with these points, such as stress and anxiety, insomnia, digestive issues, fatigue, and various types of pain.
Patients are asked to wear loose fitting, comfortable clothing to their appointment, with sleeves and pant legs that can be easily rolled up to the elbows and knees.

What are the advantages of community acupuncture?

Affordability is the main advantage of community acupuncture. For patients with chronic conditions requiring long-term or ongoing treatment, private acupuncture can be quite expensive, and the cost can be prohibitive, even with limited extended healthcare benefits. Community acupuncture allows your benefits to go further, and allows weekly treatment, when necessary, to be possible for $100/month.

It also allows for a greater number of appointments that a clinic can offer to patients and so provides greater access to treatment.

For some patients, receiving acupuncture treatment in a room with others who are relaxing and also receiving treatment improves their experience and contributes to stress reduction with a sense of collective healing.

What are the disadvantages of community acupuncture?

The disadvantages to community acupuncture are few, but they do exist. As treatment takes place in chairs as opposed on a table, acupuncture points located on the chest, abdomen, and back are generally not accessible. While distal acupuncture can certainly be used to treat these areas effectively, certain orthopedic conditions or sports injuries can more effectively be treated by needling the affected area directly.

When manual muscle testing, range of motion assessment, and orthopedic tests are required, a private treatment is better suited to meet these needs, as there is more time allotted for assessment and diagnosis and a greater level of privacy.
Another potential disadvantage of community acupuncture is that some individuals would really rather not share a room with other people while receiving a treatment. Totally fair!

But on the flip side, as noted above, some individuals benefit from the shared therapeutic experience that community acupuncture provides.