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On average, patients who use Zocdoc can search for an Acupuncturist in Washington, book an appointment, and see the Acupuncturist within 24 hours. Same-day appointments are often available, you can search for real-time availability of Acupuncturists in Washington who accept your insurance and make an appointment online.
Zocdoc lets you search specifically for a Washington Acupuncturist who takes your insurance. Just choose your carrier and plan from the drop-down menu at the top of the page. If you’re not sure which plan you have, you can use Zocdoc’s insurance checker to find out.
Zocdoc is a free online service that helps patients find Acupuncturists in Washington and book appointments instantly. You can search for Washington Acupuncturists by symptom or visit reason. Then, choose your insurance plan. Based on that information, you’ll see a list of providers who meet your search criteria, along with their available appointment slots.
When you search for Washington Acupuncturists on Zocdoc, you can filter your results by gender, in addition to other criteria. That way, you’ll only see Acupuncturists in Washington who match your preferences.
On Zocdoc, you can search specifically for Washington Acupuncturists with availability after 5 p.m.
You can use Zocdoc to find Acupuncturists in Washington who are highly rated by other patients. These ratings are based on verified reviews submitted by real patients. Every time a patient completes an appointment booked on Zocdoc, they’re invited to review their experience. Each review must comply with Zocdoc’s guidelines.
Acupuncturists in Washington on Zocdoc who see patients through online video visits will have a purple video icon on their profiles. You can also filter your search results to show only Acupuncturists who offer video visits.
Most insurers provide coverage for video visits at the same cost as in-person visits. You can search on Zocdoc specifically for Acupuncturists in Washington who accept your insurance for video visits by selecting your carrier and plan from the drop-down menu at the top of the page. We recommend you check with your insurance carrier directly to confirm your coverage and out of pocket costs for video visits.
Zocdoc lets you search specifically for an Acupuncturist who has appointments available before 10:00 am, or after 5:00 pm. Just choose the special hours filter at the top of our search page.
Zocdoc let's you see real-time availability for Acupuncturists in Washington. Many Acupuncturists offer appointments on Saturdays and Sundays.
While the benefits of acupuncture and traditional Chinese (or Oriental) medicine are widely known, their use in day-to-day healthcare treatment is still low. This lack of adoption is due to the need for more awareness of acupuncture in managing various health conditions.
Before we discuss what patients should expect when receiving acupuncture treatment, we should address the most basic question: What does acupuncture mean, and who are acupuncturists?
From a treatment perspective, acupuncture involves the insertion of thin needles through the skin at points of stimulation within the body. The roots of this treatment go back to ancient Chinese history. Currently, acupuncture can manage and treat physical pain and injury. It also improves overall body health and wellness and relieves stress and anxiety.
Diving deeper into how "acupuncture" came into existence, traditional Chinese medicine defines acupuncture as balancing the flow of energy or life force, also more commonly known as chi or qi (chee), which is known to flow through different pathways in your body. Inserting needles (acupuncture treatment) into specific points along this pathway will help re-balance this energy flow through your body. Acupuncture stimulates connective tissues, muscles, and nerves, which boosts our body's natural painkillers.
Acupuncture points mainly stimulate the central nervous system, which releases biochemicals into the brain, spinal cord, and muscles. These bodily changes may enhance the body's ability to self-heal and improve emotional and physical well-being. Acupuncture can provide effective relief from chronic pain and arthritis. Acupuncture can address different conditions, including the following:
Emotional conditions
Digestive conditions
Musculoskeletal conditions
Neurological conditions
Respiratory conditions
Here are a few ways how acupuncture can help you:
The most common reason people try acupuncture treatment is to decrease their stress and anxiety levels. This alternative medicine helps people restore the body's energy balance and stimulates the nervous system's responses. Triggering the latter can lead to significantly lower stress hormones.
With increased electronic gadget usage, almost everyone complains about eye strain and eye-related problems. Applying pressure on specific acupoints relaxes the eyes, helps improve vision, and potentially decreases eye strain.
Poorly regulated digestive health can lead to problems like loose stools, irritable bowel syndrome, constipation, and heartburn. A few acupuncture sessions can help patients regulate their digestive tracts and relieve certain digestive health disorders.
An imbalance in energy flow coupled with unsatisfactory nervous system performance seriously affects the sleep cycle. Research indicates acupuncture can restore that energy flow equilibrium and stimulate the nervous system, thus curing insomnia. At times, it even surpassed sleep medications. Combining acupuncture with other practices, like aromatherapy, may strengthen the outcome.
Many fertility issues stem from a substantial disparity in the body's hormone production levels. Acupuncture treatments can help regulate blood flow and enhance the production of reproductive hormones, leading to better fertility.
Acupuncture can help people recover faster after cancer treatments or surgery. It stimulates the immune system and builds overall wellness, accelerating the body's natural healing process.
As noted above, acupuncture effectively manages pain and injury within our bodies. Acupuncture has been used in South Asian countries for centuries to treat many physical pain conditions and provide relief. In Western countries, more specifically in the United States, it is now used to relieve upper and lower back pain, nerve pain (specifically painful shingles rashes), menstrual cramps, headaches, fibromyalgia, and more.
The pain management process within the treatment of acupuncture involves releasing endorphins, known to be the body's natural pain-killing chemicals. Endorphins affect the part of the brain that produces serotonin, a chemical involved with mood.
Acupuncture treatments are generally relatively safe, and the complication rate is negligible. Commonly, acupuncture is a complementary therapy in addition to a treatment plan with an orthopedic surgeon or a podiatrist for day-to-day pain management. Ensure that you speak with your primary care physician about the risks and benefits of acupuncture and the best treatment plan that will suit your needs.
Washington, DC, is the capital city and has many veteran personnel living in the town and surrounding areas. It also has the Veteran Affairs (VA) centers in the city. VA has adopted many initiatives through its Veterans Whole Health wellness program, integrating acupuncture medicine. In addition to keeping people well, this initiative promotes and supports recovery and pain healing, which veterans widely need. It has helped reduce dependency on pain medication for our veteran officers and has genuinely helped change lives.
Even though many veterans feel uneasy and are uncomfortable with needles, acupuncture, a relatively painless complementary treatment option, has allowed them to adopt it. Most of these veterans see an acupuncturist twice a week. From chronic back pain to pain in the knees and ankles, acupuncture is doing a lot to keep our veterans healthy and pain-free!
Since Western scientific studies have yet to explain how acupuncture works conclusively, it is crucial to take some precautions when selecting acupuncture treatment. Here are the essential things to consider before visiting an acupuncturist.
General acupuncture treatment typically involves inserting fragile needs into different stimulation points within your skin. The acupuncturist will insert about 32 - 36 needles into various stimulation points within our body. These points are also known as acupoints. An acupuncturist would then slightly turn or twirl the needles and apply heat to enhance the stimulation. Moreover, the acupuncturist may also burn a therapeutic herb called moxibustion around the skin. Some of the most commonly used terms of treatment within acupuncture are:
These are different methods of treatment applied by acupuncturists during acupuncture treatment. An acupuncture appointment typically lasts 60 minutes, with 6 to 8 sessions required to achieve optimized treatment results.
Below are some common questions on acupuncture and brief answers to them. Feel free to ask your doctor if you have any more queries:
When the acupuncturist inserts the thin needles in the affected area, minimal pain, like a slight prick, can occur. You may also feel sensations such as dull aches, tingling, warmth, heaviness, or numbness, which is normal and usually means the acupuncture points are activated and the process is working. However, you must inform your doctor if the pain is severe or unbearable.
Acupuncture rarely produces significant side effects if done safely. At the most, you may have pain, bruising, or bleeding at the site where your provider punctures the skin. Some individuals may also feel dizzy, nauseous, or develop a skin rash.
Non-sterile acupuncture needles can lead to infections. Plus, in rare cases, if the needle breaks, it can cause internal organ punctures and central nervous system (brain and spinal cord) injuries.
One acupuncture session may be enough to relieve acute pain. However, those with chronic pain issues may need more sessions. Ultimately, it all depends on your unique situation. Your acupuncturist is ideally the best person to tell you how many sessions you will need and when you can expect results.
You can direct all your queries to your acupuncturist and receive answers to your satisfaction. Here's what you can ask them:
Finding the right acupuncturists can be quite a daunting task! However, with platforms like Zocdoc, you can easily find acupuncture care near you and book an online or in-person consultation at your convenience. If you reside in Washington, DC, and need to consult an acupuncturist, visit the Zocdoc website. Enter your condition, location, insurance carrier plan, and the date to schedule an appointment. You'll then receive a list of healthcare providers in your area.
If you have an insurance card, you may find your insurance plan information either on the back or front of that card. Consider uploading an image of your insurance card to your Zocdoc account, and we will find and display information regarding your insurance plan (this facility is not available for vision or dental plans). You can even contact the Zocdoc service team if you need help uploading a photo of your card. Also, check out Zocdoc's patient help center for more information and solutions related to insurance.
Zocdoc helps users make an informed decision by providing each health practitioner's educational background, medical certifications and specialties, and honest patient reviews and ratings. You can book a same-day appointment and choose a provider that may also be available on weekends. Additionally, you can filter your search for the best acupuncturists near you based on gender, spoken languages, etc.
All bookings are safe, secure, and accessible.
America's affair with acupuncture began in the 1970s. Today, it is officially recognized as a treatment of medicine and as a practice, with many insurance plans covering acupuncture treatments, including those of federal government employees, Aetna, Blue Cross Blue Shield, etc. Based on a few studies in the mid-2000s, from approximately 5981 patients suffering from long-term pain, around 80% reported receiving complete relief after acupuncture treatment. Due to these benefits, the demand for acupuncture treatment in and around DC is very high. A quick Google search will show multiple areas stockpiled for acupuncture therapy. Many clinics within Washington DC report 100 appointments getting booked per week, with this number increasing to 300 next year.
The content herein is provided for general informational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Medical information changes constantly, and therefore the content on this website should not be assumed to be current, complete or exhaustive. Always seek the advice of your doctor before starting or changing treatment. If you think you may have a medical emergency, please call your doctor or 9-1-1 immediately.