Treatment

Patients in the Center Clinic are examined and evaluated by both Western-trained medical doctors with extensive knowledge and experience in TCM and licensed acupuncturists who are also trained in western biomedicine and modern science.

Once at the Clinic, the patients receive a thorough initial evaluation that consists of:

1. an assessment of adequacy of prior conventional work-up and treatment;
2. a completer history of prior health, including work-related, psychosocial, traumatic, nutritional and other lifestyle factors;
3. a conventional physical examination, supplemented by TCM diagnosis, including palpation of acupoint and tongue diagnosis.

After the initial evaluation, we develop an individualized integrative treatment plan to meet each patient’s needs. A typical treatment may include any combination of acupuncture, Chinese therapeutic massage, trigger injections, as well as education on self-care. Patients will be monitored carefully and their referring physicians will be updated.

Patients may be referred, when appropriate, for further diagnostic and therapeutic evaluation by expert clinicians within the UCLA Health System.

Help Yourself Heal

Critical to the healing process is the active participation of the patients. As part of the comprehensive treatment plan, patients are also given instructions to do specific stretching exercise, self-massage, and acupressure techniques on specific points to optimize their healing. We encourage patients to take responsibility for their own healthcare by following instructions for home exercises and by making lifestyle changes – because prevention of illness is as important, perhaps more important, as healing.