Do I need both acupuncture and herbs?

It is common, even standard, for TCM practitioners to prescribe an herbal formula in conjunction with an acupuncture treatment. There is, however, a time and place for Herbal Medicine.

In the philosophy of Classical True Acupuncture, acupuncture outweighs herbal therapy as a treatment method—yet, there are instances where herbal therapy may precede acupuncture. Rarely will we give you both Acupuncture and Herbal Therapy together, at least not initially, for this blurs the boundaries in distinguishing which treatment method yielded effects.

When we do acupuncture, we want to know exactly what the acupuncture treatment did for you; when we give herbs, we want to know exactly what that particular herbal formula did for you. Otherwise, how could we accurately adjust subsequent treatments for a patient if we are not clear about whether the acupuncture or the herbs led to a particular outcome?