FAQ

ACUPUNCTURE

What is acupuncture?
Acupuncture is the insertion of very thin needles through your skin at specific points on your body. With its roots dating back to over 2,000 years, acupuncture is a refined and sophisticated medicine system, focused on diagnosis and treating the root cause of disease.
Does it hurt?
Acupuncture treatments promote internal healing and deep relaxation with little to no pain involved.
How does it work?
Acupuncture works by stimulating the body’s natural ability to heal itself without side effects or drugs. It is a physical medicine based on anatomy that improves the flow of oxygen, nutrients and blood through the blood vessel system to nourish every cell of the body.
What is acupuncture good for?
Common conditions acupuncture treats:

• Musculoskeletal pain conditions (neck, low back, sciatica, hip, knee, ankle, TMJ, shoulder, elbow, hand, carpal tunnel, arthritis etc)
• Fatigue
• Stress and stress related symptoms, panic attacks, depression
• Anxiety, Post Traumatic Stress
• Insomnia
• Infertility, pregnancy, postpartum
• PMS, endometriosis, women’s health
• Headaches, migraines
• Allergies, asthma, weakened immune system
• Digestive complaints (IBS, IBD, Chron’s, constipation, diarrhea, etc)
What kind of needles do you use?
Acupuncture needles are stainless steel and single use. Their thickness is about the size of a single strand of hair. At Mount Sunny we prioritize SEIRIN® needles, known to be the highest quality brand of needles and offer the most painless insertion.
Is acupuncture safe during pregnancy and breastfeeding?
Yes, definitely safe and is recommended for pelvic pain, low back pain, nausea, morning sickness, depression, and headaches. Acupuncture can be used after birth to increase breast milk, treat fatigue and aches and pains that so lovingly come along with motherhood.


CUPPING

What is cupping?
Cupping is a technique that uses small glass cups as suction devices that are placed on the skin to disperse and break up stagnation and congestion by drawing congested blood, energy and toxins to the surface.

What is cupping recommended for?

Cupping therapy can be used for many different ailments, but is most commonly sought out for the treatment of pain and tension. Cupping is effective in shortening colds, coughs, and fevers and works as an overall detoxification for the body. Most often cupping is performed along the back, but is also effective for the shoulders, knees, calf and hamstrings and abdominal area-especially effective for menstrual cramping. 

Does it hurt?

No, cupping (when done correctly and by a trained practitioner) should not hurt. Our patient’s describe their cupping experience as “relaxing” “blissful” and “better than a massage”.

How does it work?

Cupping therapy sessions at Mount Sunny consist of sliding cupping, stationary cupping, massage, and any necessary body work within our scope of practice. The practitioner will use a fire cupping technique where the flame is used to create the suction of the glass cup to the skin, but the flame will never touch the skin. When performing sliding cupping we use an organic jojoba oil that is non-flammable and non allergenic.

What are the marks?

The marks left on the skin after cupping are not bruises, or hickeys or burns-they are called “petechia”. They are painless and can be a range of colors from pale to dark purple, depending on the degree of stagnation in the body. The marks will typically go away in 3-10 days. We offer both circle and heart cups, depending on which shape of mark you would like!

Safe during pregnancy and breastfeeding? 

Yes, cupping is both safe and recommended during pregnancy and breastfeeding. While pregnant, we perform cupping in a seated position while mom-to-be rests her head on the table and relaxes for a while. Cupping provides great relief before, during and after pregnancy.

Neurological Integration Systems (NIS)

NIS is a system that incorporates ancient eastern medicine practices with current neuroscience and promotes self-healing through detection and correction of signaling disruption in the nervous system.


Every event that we experience in our life is recorded by the brain. The brain can always formulate the most accurate assessment for evaluating and correcting any dysfunction in the body.


What is NIS?

Your nervous system is the master controller of all body functions down to the cellular level. Like the conductor of a symphony, the nervous system coordinates all your bodily functions to create a balanced and sustainable state of health. When signaling breakdowns between your nervous system and body (due to trauma, stress, infections, and chemical imbalances) symptoms can develop as your nervous system loses communication with organs, muscles, joints, the immune system, hormonal system, etc. NIS practitioners find these signaling disruptions, and facilitate your nervous system to restore the functionality of electrical and chemical signaling pathways. Since your nervous system, not the practitioner, makes these corrections, NIS is 100% accurate and safe.

How it works

In order to identify any disrupted signals from your nervous system to the rest of your body, a practitioner using the NIS system (a series of prioritized protocols) holds specific anatomical contact points and performs a muscle test to identify any issues that have been pushed past your body’s tolerance levels. Once identified, NIS protocols facilitate your nervous system to re-set the circuitry in order for all body systems to return to your optimal potential.

Why it works

Regardless of the complaint, real causes can only be resolved when the neurological circuitry that governs ALL body function is considered. Only the nervous system knows WHY it occurs and how it can be rectified. NIS has been under development since 1987 by Allan Phillips D.O. from Auckland, New Zealand. It is based on principles of modern neuroscience along with traditional healing practices including acupuncture and East Asian Medicine.


NEW PATIENTS

What should I bring with me?

Just yourself! We offer complimentary water, but if you’d like to bring your own we understand, it’s the desert. If you have any bloodwork or test results that pertain to your visit, feel free to bring them with you.

Should I eat before?

We recommend eating a light meal 1-2 hours prior to your appointment so that you do not arrive on an empty stomach.

What should I wear?

You can wear whatever you’d like - we provide patient gowns for you to change into to make things easy & comfortable. We have hooks in the treatments rooms if you need to hang anything you’ve brought.

Do you accept insurance?

We are currently not in network with any insurance providers. We do highly encourage you to use your FSA, HSA and out of network benefits.

Our package rates are competitive to what most copays are for an acupuncture visit and we find that we are able to provide a much higher quality of care without the hassle of dealing with the infinite hoops that come with being in network for most insurance companies.

Where can I park?

The hardest part of a new appointment is finding our parking lot! It is located directly BEHIND our building. We ask that you enter through the back door that reads “Patient Entrance” as the front door may be locked during treatments.

How to find our lot:

1. Locate the radio station (a nondescript tan building) on the South East side of Central & Roosevelt. Pull into their parking lot, follow it around and you’ll find our parking lot on your left hand side.

2. If you’ve found The Stewart (tall apartment complex on the corner of McKinley and Central you will turn down their alley way, follow it down and you’ll see our lot on your right hand side.

We have two reserved spots directly outside our door - but feel free to use any spot in the lot.

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How long will my appointment take?

New patient cupping & acupuncture: 120 minutes
New patient acupuncture: 90 minutes
Full Experience: 90 minutes
Cupping Massage: 60 minutes
Stationary Cupping: 30 minutes


PRICING

An overview of our pricing practices

We get it, although acupuncture and traditional Chinese medicine have been effective in successfully treating ailments and diseases for over 3,000 years, there may still be some skepticism when deciding if this treatment is right for you and your body. With that skepticism may come questions around pricing. Let us break it down for you:

The national average initial cost of an acupuncture visit can be anywhere between $100 – $300 with follow-up visits averaging between $50 – $90 per session, depending on where you live and the expertise of your practitioner. Prior to opening, we analyzed the cost of initial visits within a 5-mile radius of our clinic, concluding that the average cost was $150, with follow ups being $70 on average. Providing care at an affordable and attainable cost is one of our core values, and we are proud to uphold pricing that is below average for our area. *Pricing averages based on private, 1-on-1 appointments; not community acupuncture.

If you are in financial need, we offer acupuncture packages (which can be applied on your first visit) that are $250 for 5 sessions, bringing the cost down to $50 a session, and ear acupuncture at $40 a session. We also offer a limited number of sliding scale appointments for acupuncture treatments – email acupuncture@mount-sunny.com to inquire about the application as well as availability.

We are always in the mindset of giving back and a portion of our proceeds have gone to these following organizations:

– Minnesota Freedom Fund
– Medical Aid for Palestinians
– Medical Aid for Navajo Nation (First People’s COVID Resource) 
– Black Women’s Health 
– Stop AAPI Hate


Have an organization in mind that you’d like to see us donate to? Send us an email at info@mount-sunny.com