Chico Community Acupuncture

I went today for some acute on chronic issues of back pain. From moment I walked in until time I left, it was about 70 minutes. Olivia was very courteous and obviously skilled. The community room is comfortable and relaxing. Accupuncture is not for everyone (evidenced by previous Steph review) but if you believe in the wisdom of your body and not in need of a quick fix pill, you should give Chico Community Accupunture a try. Sliding scale makes it a great resource for healthcare.

I have been suffering chronic pain for quite a while and it has been suggested that I see an acupuncturist in an attempt to alleviate my pain. I had an appointment this weekend to go to Chico Community Acupuncture to seek relief.
I wasn’t really sure what I was expecting but the whole experience was a bit bizarre. I described the issues I was having and the practitioner’s only real feedback was «you’ll have to come in probably twice a week,» then she upped it to three times a week after hearing about the frequency of my neck pain and headaches. At no point did she examine me or anything like that.
We went into the room with everyone else having «treatment,» I guess that’s the idea of the «community» setting. Music like you’d hear in a yoga studio, a fan, basically lots of white noise, whispering, and «calming» atmosphere. She wiped off some spots on my arms and legs with alcohol and then put the needles in. They weren’t supposed to hurt but several of them did, and despite her removing them my hand and scalp ached for the rest of the session.
I wasn’t really sure how the session was supposed to be «relaxing» when I felt like I couldn’t turn my head because of the needles stuck in my neck. I laid there for the suggested half an hour before flagging her down to get them out of me… then she almost forgot the ones in my neck. Awesome, that was super reassuring. As I was leaving I noticed that my leg was bleeding — also wonderful.
I left more stressed out than when I got there. Her only suggestion after the session was to «try again with the other practitioner, maybe you would bond better with her.»
Yeah, I don’t think so.