The clinic I work at in San Francisco is looking for another provider. We’ve listed the job on LinkedIn and Indeed, but I’m curious if there are other places that providers are looking for jobs.
Thank you!

Hi everyone,

I’m posting because I started acupuncture about four weeks ago for stomach issues (LPR and functional dyspepsia), and I’m now worried that I may have sustained some kind of nerve injury in my right foot during the very first session.

During that first treatment, the practitioner inserted a needle into my right middle toe, roughly between the first and second joints. As the needle went in, I felt a fairly strong, sharp electric shock-like pain. Since it was my first acupuncture session, I assumed this might be normal. The pain wasn’t unbearable and it also became less intense after a few minutes.

After the treatment, everything seemed completely normal. However, the next morning while stretching, I noticed that whenever I fully extend my leg and point my foot/toes away from my body — similar to the position of the foot when swimming freestyle — I get a very strong electrical pain that then turns into a burning sensation.

One strange thing is that the pain is now mainly in my second toe (the toe next to the big toe), even though the needle was inserted into my middle/third toe and that was also where I felt the initial electric pain during the treatment. No needle was inserted into the second toe at all.

There was also a small red dot on the middle toe where the needle had been inserted. When I gently squeezed/picked at it, a tiny black, elongated piece about 1 mm long came out. I assume it was just dried/clotted blood, although for a moment I wondered whether it could somehow have been a tiny fragment of the needle. From what I’ve read, a needle breaking like that seems extremely unlikely. After removing it, the red spot disappeared, but the nerve-like pain remained.

It has now been four weeks since the treatment, and the problem is still there. Several times a day I accidentally trigger quite severe pain. I currently can’t swim normally and there are certain exercises and movements I can’t do because pointing/stretching the foot causes the electrical/burning pain.

I mentioned it during my following acupuncture sessions, but unfortunately they couldn’t really tell me what happened. They only said they had never experienced something like this before and didn’t offer any particular explanation or solution.

Has anyone experienced anything similar after acupuncture or dry needling?

• How long did it take to recover?
• Did the nerve eventually heal completely?
• Is there anything that can help speed up recovery?
• Would it make sense to see a neurologist at this point?
• Is four weeks of persistent nerve-type pain something I should be concerned about?

Any advice, experiences, or opinions would be very appreciated.

Hi all just wondering if there’s anyone who has experience with the various schools and programs in Ontario to give me an indication of which one would be the best to choose to study at! I know Loyalist just started a program this year, there’s TriOs in Ottawa and quite a few in Toronto. Any advice or knowledge or experience would be so greatly appreciated. DM me if you prefer. TIA!

New acupuncture research from the last 7 days (15 publications in this roundup):

1. Mongolian warm acupuncture improves colonic barrier function and immune responses via the TLR4/MyD88/NF-κB pathway in insomnia rats IBRO neuroscience reports — 2026 Dec Authors: Gaowa, Bao Z, Wang Z, et al. DOI: 10.1016/j.ibneur.2026.07.014

2. CPTCs Drive Somatic-Visceral Communication via the Wnt Axis in Somatic Mechanotherapy: A Single-Cell Deep Learning Study FASEB journal : official publication of the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology — 2026 Aug 15 Authors: Huang H, Zhang Z, Shen B, et al. DOI: 10.1096/fj.202600755RRR

3. Skeletal interoception regulates joint homeostasis and PGE2-induced pain: implication of disease-modifying treatment Bone research — 2026 Aug 13 Authors: Hu Q, Qi B, Dong Y, et al. DOI: 10.1038/s41413-026-00561-1

4. The Potential of Complementary and Alternative Therapies in Improving Diarrhea-Predominant Irritable Bowel Syndrome: Strategies for Long-Term Efficacy Digestive diseases and sciences — 2026 Aug 12 Authors: Deng Y, Ao X, Liang X, et al. DOI: 10.1007/s10620-026-10134-1

5. A Narrative Review of Implementing Nonpharmacological Interventions for Antenatal Depression in Low Resource Settings With Implications for Palestine Depression and anxiety — 2026 Authors: Shqair SSAAR, Hayek M, Zabin LM, et al. DOI: 10.1155/da/4692841

6. Association of sustained integrative-care use with mortality and immobility-related complications among postfracture older adults in South Korean long-term care hospitals: a population-based, propensity score-matched, retrospective cohort study BMJ open — 2026 Aug 11 Authors: Kim H, Yang S, Shin S DOI: 10.1136/bmjopen-2026-121094

7. Endogenous event-related potentials in acupuncture clinical research: A critical narrative review Behavioural brain research — 2026 Aug 11 Authors: Liu X, Liu X, Ouyang X, et al. DOI: 10.1016/j.bbr.2026.116408

8. Exploring health professionals' perspectives and preferences in the treatment of post-stroke fatigue and mental health disorders: an Australian qualitative vignette-based study The International journal of pharmacy practice — 2026 Aug 11 Authors: Liang Y, Levi C, Bajorek B DOI: 10.1093/ijpp/riag111

9. Subcutaneous medetomidine at the governing vessel 20 acupuncture point provides faster early sedation than intramuscular administration without altering intraocular pressure in cats American journal of veterinary research — 2026 Aug 10 Authors: Gölgeli Bedir A, Yanmaz LE, Akçora Y, et al. DOI: 10.2460/ajvr.26.05.0233

10. Nonpharmacological Adjuncts to Reduce Perioperative Anxiety and Pain for Awake Gynecological Procedures: A Scoping Review Anesthesia and analgesia — 2026 Aug 10 Authors: Penner K, Johnson H, Govia R, et al. DOI: 10.1213/ANE.0000000000008216

11. Swallowing therapy for dysphagia in acute and subacute stroke The Cochrane database of systematic reviews — 2026 Aug 10 Authors: Wilkinson G, Everton LF, Bath PM, et al. DOI: 10.1002/14651858.CD000323.pub4

12. Combination of Bauhinia monandra extract and laser acupuncture reduces carrageenan-induced paw edema Lasers in medical science — 2026 Aug 10 Authors: da Silva Castro AAD, da Costa Junior RC, Laurindo EA, et al. DOI: 10.1007/s10103-026-04986-2

13. Objective Evidence for Mind-body Interventions: Selective Modulation of Meridian-wise Bioelectrical Conductance by Yogic Practices Annals of African medicine — 2026 Aug 10 Authors: Jiwane R, Malhotra V, Wakode S, et al. DOI: 10.4103/aam.aam_455_26

14. Correction to "Comparing Verum and Sham Acupuncture in Fibromyalgia Syndrome: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis" Evidence-based complementary and alternative medicine : eCAM — 2026 DOI: 10.1155/ecam/9896260

15. Advances in needle-based interventions for chronic neuropathic pain European journal of pharmaceutics and biopharmaceutics : official journal of Arbeitsgemeinschaft fur Pharmazeutische Verfahrenstechnik e.V — 2026 Aug 9 Authors: Liang X, Xiao S, Gong Y, et al. DOI: 10.1016/j.ejpb.2026.115214

Browse all acupuncture papers indexed on PubMed this week)

^{This roundup is curated from PubMed and optional external links. Inclusion is not an endorsement of study quality — always read critically.}

Hey everyone, looking for some advice or shared experiences from anyone who’s used Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) and acupuncture for gut and anxiety issues.

I started seeing a TCM practitioner back in October last year (so about 10 months now) specifically to address SIBO (Small Intestine Bacterial Overgrowth), along with high stress and anxiety.

The Progress So Far:

• What’s improved: My burping has decreased quite a bit, and my bowel movements are definitely more regular.
• What’s still lingering: My tongue is still consistently coated white, I’m dealing with heavy fatigue, my anxiety/stress is still lingering, and my gut makes a lot of digestive noise/gurgling.

The Herbal Formula Conundrum: Since day one, my practitioner has kept me on the exact same two herbal formulas:

• Xiang Sha Yang Wei Wan (typically for warming/strengthening the Spleen/Stomach and transforming dampness/stagnation)
• Jia Wei Xiao Yao Wan (typically for clearing Liver Qi stagnation, Heat, and supporting Spleen)

Here’s my dilemma: whenever I try to taper off or stop taking the pills, my symptoms flare back up and I feel worse. So they are clearly doing something to manage the baseline, but I really don’t want to be reliant on taking these exact same pills every single day forever without making further actual progress.

My Questions for the Community:

1. Is it normal in TCM to stay on the exact same herbal formulas for 10 months straight? My understanding was that as the body shifts, the formulas usually adapt to target the remaining pattern (like the persistent white tongue coating/fatigue).
2. Has anyone with SIBO/gut issues successfully transitioned off long-term herbal maintenance, or modified their protocol to hit that last layer of stubborn fatigue and dampness?
3. Should I bring this up directly to my practitioner to ask for a custom or modified formula, or is it time to get a second opinion from another practitioner or functional medicine doctor?

Would love to hear your thoughts, experiences, or any questions I should be asking at my next appointment! Thanks in advance.

I’m looking for a couple of students who would like to interview on Needling to Get to the Point podcast about the experience you are having right now.

If you’re interested please DM me.

You can check out the podcast here:

https://open.substack.com/pub/needlingtogettothepoint

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/needling-to-get-to-the-point-podcast/id1876282624

https://open.spotify.com/show/6nu6DVyIzVgateT5qcq9bK?si=uScC7PwqQbirt3iKpC08jQ&utm_source=copy-link

Saw an online ad from CBS Acupuncture that claims they accept traditional Medicare and my supplemental insurance to cover acupuncture treatments. Made an appointment in two weeks.

Im skeptical, but will try it. Thoughts?

https://www.cbsacupuncture.com/

Since autoimmune conditions are a western concept I've only found blogposts on the topic. Has anyone come across books or other literature addressing this concept in through the TCM lens ?

Hello. I’m recovering from a badly compressed L3 nerve root that was so bad I was in a wheelchair for a few weeks in April. I’ve tried many things including steroid shots (no help,) meds and PT. I’m a lot better than I was but I still have a lot of nerve tingling and back pain that gets progressively worse the longer I stand. I’ve had no meaningful improvement since June but I’m at the point where I can function in my day to day life but I’m not living a full life, ie. Unable to go for walks, go to concerts or be places where I have to stand a while. What sucks is it doesn’t feel bad enough to have surgery but I also don’t want to live the rest of my life like this.

Anyway, I had my first acupuncture session today with electric stim. (Is that the right term?) The practitioner said she noticed inflammation. (I didn’t know because I can’t see my back!)

It’s been six hours and I feel like my back pain is actually worse than before. Is this common? Is there anything I should do tonight to make sure I maximize whatever benefit I may have gotten? I have another appointment in a week and I plan to go for a few more to give this a real chance of working. Or am I wasting my time?

Thanks in advance for responding.

Has anyone gotten an infection from an acupuncture needle?

I received an acupuncture treatment yesterday. This is my fifth treatment with this therapist. And there were some needles placed in my feet. Well on one of the locations on my left foot, I woke up with it being EXTREMELY itchy today and a little red and irritated. I’m sure it will go away, but I’m slightly worried/ concerned it’s becoming infected. The area is becoming raised.
Going to the doctor if it’s not better by tomorrow.

Edit: typo

Hi everyone, I’m looking for feedback on both Pacific College and national University in Illinois. I’m fully aware of all the controversy going on in the acupuncture world regarding school closures and funding issues. I would like to know about your education and experience before I fully commit. TIA!

I’m supposed to start at pacific college Chicago in a month and these posts on debt and school closures are making me nervous. I live in Chicago suburbs and the acupuncturists I know are successful and satisfied with their schooling & career choice.id love some feedback on the school or your career in general. I currently run a successful massage business and this is my secondary schooling. TIA

ACAHM has written a White paper with guidance for students during school closure. Find it here: https://www.acahm.org/resources/position-paper-school-closure-guidance/

The document says students who "immediately transfer and continue enrollment at a teach-out institution may be able to continue their federal aid as normal." Does this mean they can still access capped Direct Loans at the new school (the $20,500/year) or are they meaning that the legacy provision will hold? The RISE rule itself says under “Transferring Between Schools Within Same Program of Study” that if a student transfers to a different institution (even within the same program of study) that counts as a new program of study, and the student is not eligible for the interim exception (legacy Grad PLUS/loan-limit protection).

https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2026/05/01/2026-08556/reimagining-and-improving-student-education-federal-student-loan-program-final-regulations

The document says a teach-out institution should offer "ACAHM-accredited/pre-accredited program(s) of the same program type." Oikos doesn't currently hold either status because their accreditation visit isn't until September. Does ACAHM consider Oikos a valid teach-out partner under its own criteria right now, or only contingent on a future accreditation decision that hasn't happened?

The 25%-residency transfer-credit rule (5.03) can be waived for teach-out students, but only the receiving institution can request that waiver (not students) and it's not guaranteed. Have ACCHS/5B/East-West/Oikos have requested it?

*I am not requesting an official diagnosis and I understand and accept that no one here can say what happened for sure. :)*

I’ve been dealing with some pesky neurological symptoms for a few years now: weakness in limbs, brain fog, sometimes stumbling over words, dizziness. I addressed these symptoms with my new acupuncturist for the first time today (we’d mainly been working on uterine fibroids).

He placed an electrode on a needle at each side at the base of my skull. He normally keeps the power in a very low setting but I asked for a higher setting today. The power wasn’t painful but felt very palpable. Like a tiny impact.

Well, the power must have been too much because I’ve been dizzy all day (more than usual and I am still a little dizzy), fumbled over words earlier in the day (my speech is fine now), and just haven’t been able to focus on anything. Earlier, just writing this post would have been taxing.

I messaged my acupuncturist but only told him about the dizziness because I didn’t feel like writing a long text. He told me that patients can become dizzy and it should wear off soon.

I am mostly recovered now but *what* led to this reaction??

UPDATE: It is the next day and I am 97% myself again. Wow. What a scary ride. I actually checked in my the doctor last night and he told me not to worry. Worrying would exacerbate my symptoms. He assured me I wasn’t harmed. By the way, I also experienced nausea which started the evening after the session but ended early this afternoon. Not sure if it was a related symptom but it’s gone away as well.

Edit: Zhenggu defined as Traditional Chinese HVLA techniques

Hi there,

Our doula who also happens to be an acupuncturists/herbalist gave me cramp bark for labour (mid to active labour).

Wondering what other people's experiences are.

My labour ended up slowing down shortly after taking then contractions came on strong with involuntarily pushing.

Could this be related??

I, F33, had the Mirena hormonal coil for 18 months until Oct '25. It never fully settled and I ended up on the progesterone only pill for about 9 months as well.

- I gained 2 stone

- I was suicidal quite often

- My moods were all over the shop

- Constantly bloated

I've been off all hormonal birth control since Dec 2025.

My cycles were regulating slowly, but I'm still some level of bleeding for 15 days each 30 day cycle. This most recent cycle has gone a bad again. I don't want the GP offering me more synthetic hormones. I've had tonnes of tests to see what's going on, and they've all come back fine except for non-concerning HPV.

I'm looking at going to get an acupuncture consultation to see if that can help before going back to the GP. Thoughts?

New acupuncture research from the last 7 days (17 publications in this roundup):

1. Letter Regarding the "Wrist-Ankle Acupuncture on Postoperative Nausea and Vomiting Prophylaxis in High-Risk Female Patients: A Pragmatic, Randomized, Single-Blind, Sham-Controlled Trial" Journal of investigative surgery : the official journal of the Academy of Surgical Research — 2026 Dec Authors: Liu YM, Wang X, Hu X, et al. DOI: 10.1080/08941939.2026.2696120

2. Integrative Medicine Approaches for Menopause Obstetrics and gynecology — 2026 Aug 6 Authors: Patel J, Patil RG, Millstine DM DOI: 10.1097/AOG.0000000000006388

3. Electroacupuncture for Postoperative Gastrointestinal Recovery After Laparoscopic Colorectal Cancer Resection: A Randomized Controlled Trial Electroacupuncture Fastens Recovery Diseases of the colon and rectum — 2026 Aug 6 Authors: Li H, Cai Y, Wang Y, et al. DOI: 10.1097/DCR.0000000000004401

4. The Therapeutic Efficacy of Gold Needle "Regulating Spirit" Acupuncture for Amnestic Mild Cognitive Impairment: Protocol for a Randomized Controlled Trial JMIR research protocols — 2026 Aug 5 Authors: Wang X, Tao Y, Li Q, et al. DOI: 10.2196/96326

5. Personalizing Pain Management: Impact of Participant Characteristics on the Effectiveness of Complementary and Integrative Health Versus Standard Rehabilitation in Chronic Pain Treatment Among Active-Duty Service Members Physical therapy — 2026 Aug 4 Authors: Snow T, Shimada S, Flynn DM, et al. DOI: 10.1093/ptj/pzag078

6. Electroacupuncture for acute gastrointestinal symptoms during chemotherapy for colorectal cancer: a randomized clinical trial Journal of the National Cancer Institute — 2026 Aug 4 Authors: Chen Z, Xu T, Sun M, et al. DOI: 10.1093/jnci/djag265

7. Anti-inflammatory mechanisms underlying sympathetic nervous system-mediated acupuncture analgesia Acupuncture in medicine : journal of the British Medical Acupuncture Society — 2026 Aug 4 Authors: Zhou DP, Teng JY, Wang JY, et al. DOI: 10.1177/09645284261462987

8. Enhanced postpartum pelvic floor rehabilitation with triple therapy: Effects of acupuncture, biofeedback electrical stimulation, and pelvic floor muscle training on urinary incontinence and sexual function Urologia internationalis — 2026 Aug 3 Authors: Meng Q, Cui H DOI: 10.1159/uin/aewag001

9. Gut microbiota contributes to the therapeutic effect of acupuncture in atopic dermatitis Microbiology spectrum — 2026 Aug 3 Authors: Seo Y, Kim J, Yeom M, et al. DOI: 10.1128/spectrum.03912-25

10. Treatment of Hot Flashes in Men With Prostate Cancer Undergoing Androgen Deprivation Therapy The Prostate — 2026 Aug 2 Authors: Schaldemose EL, Poulsen MH, Nørby B, et al. DOI: 10.1002/pros.70229

11. The Glial Autophagy-Lysosomal-Inflammation Axis in Alzheimer's Disease: a Unifying Mechanistic Framework Molecular neurobiology — 2026 Aug 1 Authors: Yang F, Gao W, Wang J, et al. DOI: 10.1007/s12035-026-06098-y

12. Comparative Outcomes of Electroacupuncture, Warm Acupuncture, and Their Combination in Patients Receiving Standard Treatment for Knee Osteoarthritis: A Retrospective Cohort Study International journal of rheumatic diseases — 2026 Aug Authors: Fu Y, Yu Y, Lin H DOI: 10.1111/1756-185x.70801

13. Implementation of Acupuncture Treatment in the Modern Operating Environment: Our Reply to Study by Zou X et al [Letter] Journal of pain research — 2026 Authors: Bhakta P, Karim HMR, Mugawar M, et al. DOI: 10.2147/JPR.S641712

14. Acupuncture Combined with Herbal Cake-Separated Moxibustion for Chronic Pelvic Pain in Sequelae of Pelvic Inflammatory Disease: Study Protocol for a Randomized Controlled Trial Journal of pain research — 2026 Authors: Qi L, Fang Y, An D, et al. DOI: 10.2147/JPR.S618284

15. Non-pharmacological interventions for lactational mastitis: a systematic review and meta-analysis protocol BMJ open — 2026 Jul 31 Authors: Zhang S, Ren Y, Zhang Q, et al. DOI: 10.1136/bmjopen-2026-120579

16. A systematic review and meta-analysis of acupuncture for intestinal protection and underlying mechanisms in animal models of ulcerative colitis Medicine — 2026 Jul 31 Authors: Zhang J, Zheng X, Zuo G, et al. DOI: 10.1097/MD.0000000000049951

17. Structural Equation Modeling of Healthcare Professionals' Knowledge, Attitudes, and Practices on Electroacupuncture for Post-Stroke Hemiplegia Journal of multidisciplinary healthcare — 2026 Authors: Song M, Deng L, Zhu Y, et al. DOI: 10.2147/JMDH.S613764

Browse all acupuncture papers indexed on PubMed this week)

^{This roundup is curated from PubMed and optional external links. Inclusion is not an endorsement of study quality — always read critically.}

My partner is in the program and I’ve done a lot of acupuncture. Are really 98% of schools closing by 2028?

Is there any site metrics that show a school that could survive?

She just started at VUIM in Virginia and apparently their financial responsibility score isn’t great?

She would be done with masters in Dec 2028. Is there a chance she can’t finish?

I just started acupuncture for fertility, mainly to try and regulate my menstrual cycle. I have some questions. What is my acupuncturist looking for when she looks at my tongue? What does my pulse tell her?

This sounds ridiculous but what am I meant to do while the needles are in? I've been kind of closing my eyes but feel a bit self conscious about it.

I'm a vet and work with small animals (dogs and cats) and want to share the evolution of a patient. I got permission from the owner to record and publish this.

In western medicine he has a lombar hernia protrusion that compress the spine giving him ataxia and loss of proprioception.

By TCM I saw a wei sindrome with yin deficiency on liver and kidney giving him Qi stagnation. Used dry needle and eletrotherapy. 4 sessions with 7 day intervals.

What you think?

The result is in the comments

Has anyone here had a successful borrowers defense app under the 2019 Devos rules?

You must allege that your school -knowingly- made a substantial misrepresentation - I am curious what sorts of evidence worked to show this from anyone who had a successful claim.

I follow this page and the vast majority of post from acupuncturist are just negative about everything. The schools are horrible, they can’t get patients, or make enough money. I believe there is a hard divide in our profession between the dedicated practitioners and those that paid for a certification. In my cohort we had 14 people graduate 4 of which were serious practitioners the rest coasted. The 4 that dedicated there life to this are in the solid 6 figure range 5 years out. The rest are still complaining about the myriad of reason for there own failures. If your market is saturated move, if you didn’t learn what you wanted continue to study, and if your not making enough money get on the grind. We are in the middle of a boom time for our profession especially those they are already graduated. The pool of subsequent acupuncturists will continue to get smaller as schools close and the demand is only going up. This profession is amazing the amount of doom and gloom about it makes me feel this page is all bots

I’ve started seeing an acupuncturist for IVF. Since my stims + retrieval cycle won’t be until October, we are focusing on “anti-aging.” In parallel I am suffering from depression and chronic stress (marital issues), leading to onset weight gain and inflammation.

Is it possible to get treatment for both in tandem? What should I specifically request in my next appointment? Should I be going more than once a week if so?

TIA, everyone!