What does acupuncture actually help?
We offer acupuncture as a focused tool, not a universal answer. Based on the published trial evidence, the conditions where acupuncture is reliably better than nothing — and often comparable to first-line conventional options — include:
- Chronic low back pain — multiple individual-patient-data meta-analyses confirm sustained benefit at 12 months
- Neck pain and tension-type / chronic headache — Cochrane reviews report clinically meaningful, lasting reductions
- Migraine prophylaxis — at least as effective as standard preventive medication in head-to-head trials, with fewer side effects
- Osteoarthritis of the knee — modest, sustained pain reduction and functional improvement
- Anxiety and stress symptoms — short-term reductions in symptom scores and physiologic stress markers
- Insomnia — useful adjunct when CBT-I isn't enough
- Post-operative and chemotherapy-induced nausea — included in NCCN and ASCO supportive-care guidance (PC6 point)
- Recovery support after sports injury or musculoskeletal procedures
How it works
You don't need to believe anything about meridians or qi to take acupuncture seriously as a clinical tool. The mechanisms supported by functional imaging and neurophysiology research are: local effects (microtrauma triggering anti-inflammatory and tissue-repair signaling); segmental effects (modulation of spinal-cord pain gating); central effects (activation of descending inhibitory pain pathways and shifts in limbic and default-mode network connectivity); and autonomic effects (a measurable shift toward parasympathetic dominance, reflected in heart-rate variability).
Whether these mechanisms map onto the traditional point-and-meridian framework is a question for historians of medicine. The clinical question is whether the treatment produces effects that are bigger than placebo, durable, and useful. For the conditions listed above, it does.
We don't recommend acupuncture as a primary treatment for smoking cessation, weight loss, or as a standalone treatment for erectile dysfunction — the trial evidence in these areas is weak. We also don't endorse "detox" framing, which has no plausible mechanism or evidence. Honest selection of the right tool produces better outcomes than universal claims.
What does a first session involve?
The first visit is 60–75 minutes. We take a complete conventional medical history — current medications, prior surgeries, imaging, what other clinicians have tried — before adding the acupuncture-specific examination (tongue, pulse, point-pattern observations). The needling session itself uses single-use, sterile, hair-thin filiform needles, retained for 20–30 minutes. Most patients describe the sensation at insertion as a brief, dull ache that fades within seconds.
Typical course and re-evaluation
Treatment plan calibration. Patients who respond usually start to show it here. If there's no signal of change by session 3–4, we change our approach or refer.
Consolidation. For chronic pain conditions, this is where the durable benefit accumulates. We re-assess at session 6 against your initial baseline measures.
Taper or maintenance. If response has been good, we move to less-frequent maintenance sessions (every 2–4 weeks) rather than continued weekly visits.
Is acupuncture safe?
In skilled hands with sterile single-use needles, adverse events are uncommon and almost always minor: small bruises at needling sites, brief tenderness, occasional transient lightheadedness. Serious adverse events (pneumothorax, infection) are rare and almost entirely linked to inadequately trained practitioners or non-sterile equipment. We use single-use needles for every patient, and our practitioner has formal medical acupuncture training in addition to clinical experience.
Investment
₱2,500 per session. A typical course is 6–10 sessions over 4–8 weeks. The first visit includes the longer initial assessment at the same rate. Maintenance sessions are typically every 2–4 weeks for patients who benefit from ongoing support.
Where the evidence is strong — and where it isn't
We would rather tell you which of these has real trial support than imply all of them do.
| Condition | How strong is the evidence? | Typical course |
|---|---|---|
| Chronic low-back pain | Strong — individual-patient-data meta-analyses show benefit sustained at 12 months | 6–8 sessions, reassess at 6 |
| Neck pain and tension-type headache | Strong — Cochrane reviews report meaningful, lasting reductions | 6–8 sessions |
| Migraine prevention | Good — at least as effective as standard preventive medication in trials | 8–10 sessions |
| Knee osteoarthritis pain | Moderate — helpful as an adjunct, not a replacement for exercise and weight management | 6–8 sessions |
| Stress and sleep disturbance | Mixed — patients often report benefit, trial evidence is weaker | Reassess at 4 |
₱2,500 per session, billed one session at a time. If there is no signal of change by session 3–4, we say so and change approach rather than sell you the rest of a course.
What that price includes — and how to compare
₱2,500 per session is the whole price. It covers the session, the assessment and the re-evaluation at session 6. No separate consultation fee and no course to buy up front — if there is no signal of change by session 3–4 we say so rather than sell you the rest of it.
Comparing us with somewhere else? Ask one question: “Is that the total, or do consultation and follow-up cost extra?” A quoted headline price and the amount you actually hand over are often two different numbers. Compare the total, not the sticker.
And you will be the only patient here. Appointments are single-occupancy — there is no shared waiting room and no overlap with another patient, so you will not see anyone else in the clinic. For a lot of people that is the part that decides whether they book at all.
How we look after you
Treated by a named clinician
Your treatment is carried out by Jas Macusi, RN — a PRC-registered Registered Nurse and our founder and lead clinician — you can verify her yourself by name in the PRC's free public registry at prc.gov.ph. You will know who is treating you before you arrive.
One patient at a time
Appointments are single-occupancy. There is no shared waiting area and no overlap with another patient — you will not see anyone else here.
Published price, no lock-in
Our prices are published openly on this page and billed one session at a time. No packages, no upfront lock-in, and a written quote before anything begins.
Clinic, home or hotel
Available at the clinic, or at your home or hotel by prior arrangement — useful when discretion or getting to Makati is the difficulty.