What Does Acupuncture Treat?

The short answer: the World Health Organization recognizes acupuncture as effective for more than 50 conditions — far beyond pain alone. The most common reasons people come to our Salt Lake City clinic are chronic pain, migraines, neuropathy, anxiety and PTSD, insomnia, digestive disorders, and chronic fatigue.

In its review of controlled clinical trials, the WHO listed conditions for which acupuncture has been proven effective, including:

• Pain & musculoskeletal: low back pain, neck pain, sciatica, knee pain, periarthritis of the shoulder, tennis elbow, sprains, rheumatoid arthritis, facial pain and TMJ, dental pain, postoperative pain
• Neurological: headache, stroke rehabilitation
• Digestive: acute and chronic gastritis, epigastric pain, peptic ulcer, biliary colic, dysentery
• Mental & general health: depression, nausea and vomiting, morning sickness, adverse reactions to radiotherapy or chemotherapy, leukopenia
• Cardiovascular & other: essential hypertension, primary hypotension, renal colic, allergic rhinitis (hay fever), induction of labor, correction of fetal malposition, primary dysmenorrhea

Dozens more conditions showed therapeutic effect warranting further study. See the full 50+ condition list (PDF) →

Low back pain is one of the most researched uses of acupuncture. We also regularly treat neck pain, sciatica, arthritis, fibromyalgia, frozen shoulder, carpal tunnel, TMJ, sports injuries, and post-surgical recovery. Treatment isn't needles alone — we combine acupuncture with electro-acupuncture, fire cupping, manual therapy, joint mobilization, TuiNa, and trigger-point work.

Yes — headaches and migraines are among the most common neurological conditions we treat, along with peripheral neuropathy, Bell's palsy, trigeminal neuralgia, and stroke recovery support.

Acupuncture is widely used for stress, anxiety, depression, insomnia, PTSD, and addiction recovery support — and for the toll chronic pain takes on all of them. For veterans: mental health complaints may qualify for their own VA referral, separate from pain referrals.

Digestive conditions we commonly treat include IBS, constipation, indigestion, gastritis, ulcerative colitis, and gallbladder disorders — often combining acupuncture with Chinese herbal medicine, functional medicine assessment, and diet and nutrition work.

Seasonal allergies, sinusitis, asthma, bronchitis, ear and throat pain, and shingles are all conditions people bring to us — Salt Lake's inversion seasons keep this category busy.

This is one of the most common stories we hear: chronic fatigue, brain fog, and a folder full of normal labs. Real problems are rarely one thing. Our comprehensive evaluation — metabolic assessment, mental and emotional assessment, postural and muscle evaluation, and a traditional Chinese medicine diagnosis — looks at the layers standard testing wasn't built to screen for.

You're not wrong to be skeptical. Many people got fifteen rushed minutes and the same points everyone gets. As a Doctor of Oriental Medicine, Justus Verre takes the time to find why your body keeps producing the pain, then treats the root — not just the sore spot. You don't have to believe it works. You just have to be willing to find out.