Mayo Clinic's approach

  • Expertise. At Mayo Clinic, acupuncture is done only by doctors trained in acupuncture and by licensed acupuncturists trained in traditional Chinese medicine.
  • Personalized care in a soothing, relaxing environment. At Mayo Clinic, acupuncture treatments are tailored to your unique needs, concerns and diagnosis. Mayo Clinic treatment rooms dedicated to acupuncture have soft music and gentle lighting. This helps create an optimal relaxation response while your practitioner places the needles.
  • Integrated care. At Mayo Clinic, acupuncture specialists integrate their care with the care provided by your other doctors to blend the best of conventional treatments and integrative practices.

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People have long been interested in natural cures. Therapies that have not typically been part of conventional Western medicine. Some of them have been practiced for thousands of years.

At Mayo Clinic, we believe some of these therapies can be helpful in treating our patients. We call them complimentary and integrative medicine. That's because they are integrated into a patient's treatment plan, complementing conventional therapies such as surgery and medications. There have been many claims for herbal supplements and other alternative therapies. Many of them have more to do with marketing than science, but well-designed research studies, including many conducted by Mayo Clinic, have shown the real value of integrative therapies. Typically, the benefit of complementary medicine is not in curing disease, but in managing symptoms to help the patient feel better. For example, reducing pain, fatigue, nausea and anxiety.

Types of integrative medicine in use at Mayo Clinic include mindfulness and other mind body therapies, herbal supplements, massage, acupuncture, aroma therapy, animal assisted therapy, and music therapy. They are provided by well-trained health care professionals, often licensed or certified to practice these there therapies. Patients interested in making integrative medicine part of their treatment plan are encouraged to discuss this with members of their health care team.

At Mayo Clinic, we seek to combine proven conventional medicine with the most effective complimentary and integrative medicine to provide the best care possible for every patient.

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Expertise and rankings

  • Experience. Each year Mayo Clinic specialists in integrative practices — sometimes called complementary and alternative medicine — perform more than 1,400 acupuncture treatments.
  • Research leader. The evidence-based acupuncture approaches used by Mayo Clinic's integrative medicine experts have been tested for effectiveness and safety. Mayo Clinic's researchers and practitioners study and improve practices that help people and work well with conventional medical treatments.

Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, Florida, and Mayo Clinic in Phoenix/Scottsdale, Arizona, are ranked among the Best Hospitals for cancer by U.S. News & World Report.

Locations, travel and lodging

Mayo Clinic has major campuses in Phoenix and Scottsdale, Arizona; Jacksonville, Florida; and Rochester, Minnesota. The Mayo Clinic Health System has dozens of locations in several states.

For more information on visiting Mayo Clinic, choose your location below:

Costs and insurance

Mayo Clinic works with hundreds of insurance companies and is an in-network provider for millions of people.

In most cases, Mayo Clinic doesn't require a physician referral. Some insurers require referrals or may have additional requirements for certain medical care. All appointments are prioritized on the basis of medical need.

Learn more about appointments at Mayo Clinic.

Please contact your insurance company to verify medical coverage and to obtain any needed authorization prior to your visit. Often, your insurer's customer service number is printed on the back of your insurance card.

More information about billing and insurance:

Mayo Clinic in Arizona, Florida and Minnesota

Mayo Clinic Health System

April 20, 2024
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  2. Ahn AC. Acupuncture. https://www.uptodate.com/contents/search. Accessed Jan. 28, 2022.
  3. Beate W, et al. Acupuncture in persons with an increased stress level: Results from a randomized controlled pilot trial. PLoS One. 2020; doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0236004.
  4. Walker J, et al. Acupuncture: Evidence-based treatment in the rehabilitation setting. Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Clinics of North America. 2020; doi:10.1016/j.pmr.2020.07.005.
  5. Acupuncture: In Depth. National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine. https://www.nccih.nih.gov/health/acupuncture-in-depth. Accessed Jan. 28, 2022.
  6. Jensen NA. Allscripts EPSi. Mayo Clinic. Sept. 30, 2021.
  7. Chon TY (expert opinion). Mayo Clinic. Feb. 7, 2022.