What Mona treats with acupuncture
Acupuncture has its strongest research support in long-standing pain. A pooled analysis of individual patient data from 39 trials and almost 21,000 patients found that acupuncture eased chronic back and neck pain, osteoarthritis and chronic headache more than both usual care and sham acupuncture, and that most of the benefit was still there a year later [+]. Those are the four areas Mona sees most.
Low back pain and sciatica
Persistent low back pain, stiffness after long hours of sitting or driving, and pain that travels into the buttock or leg. When back pain comes with leg numbness or weakness, she treats it alongside our back pain treatment team rather than on its own.
Neck and shoulder pain
Neck pain and stiffness, tension across the top of the shoulders from desk and phone work, and pain that limits turning the head. Treatment is often combined with exercise from our neck pain treatment program so the improvement holds.
Headaches and migraine
Frequent tension-type headaches and migraine, where the goal is fewer headache days rather than relief from a single attack. Acupuncture is used here as a preventive course, usually weekly at first and then spaced out. A sudden, severe headache unlike anything before is an emergency and is not treated at the clinic.
Knee and joint pain
Knee osteoarthritis and other aching, stiff joints in people who want to stay active or are waiting for, or trying to avoid, surgery. Acupuncture can ease pain enough to make strengthening work easier, which is why it is often paired with our knee pain treatment.
Whatever brings you in, the first visit follows the same order.
What to expect at your first acupuncture visit
- Health history: Your symptoms, how long you have had them, what makes them better or worse, your medications and other conditions.
- Assessment: Where the pain is, how you move, and whether acupuncture is a good fit or another treatment should come first.
- Treatment: Sterile, single-use needles, usually left in place for 20 to 30 minutes. Mona explains what you will feel before she starts, and you can ask to stop at any point.
- Your plan: How many sessions to try before reviewing progress. If there is no meaningful change by then, the plan changes or you are referred on.
Tell Mona before treatment if you are pregnant, take blood thinners, have a bleeding disorder or a pacemaker, or have fainted during needles or blood tests before. Mild soreness or a small bruise at a needle site is common and settles within a day or two.
Acupuncture is rarely the only treatment people receive at the clinic, and that is by design.
Working with the rest of the clinic team
Physiotherapy, osteopathy, chiropractic care and massage therapy are under the same roof, so acupuncture can be one part of a wider plan. Mona works with the clinic’s practitioners to decide what each treatment is doing and in what order. If your symptoms point to something that needs a doctor, such as unexplained weight loss, fever with back pain, or new numbness or weakness, she will refer you before starting treatment.
The last step is choosing a clinic.
Book acupuncture with Mona Arabi
Mona sees patients at both locations, so you can book acupuncture in Richmond Hill or acupuncture in North York, whichever is closer.
Richmond Hill: 9555 Yonge St, Unit 307, Richmond Hill, ON L4C 9M5. Monday to Saturday, 10:00 AM to 6:00 PM.
North York: 951 Wilson Ave, Unit 15, North York, ON M3K 2A7. Monday to Saturday, 10:00 AM to 6:00 PM, and Sunday, 11:00 AM to 6:00 PM.