"First off, my treatment was effective for my chief complaint! I came in with mild hip pain that had been flaring up for a month or two and it has not bugged me for a couple days. The young man who treated me was a fully licensed acupuncturist (forgot his name), as all acupuncturists are who work for MA. He used about 10 needles along the lower legs and none in my hands, ears or head. His technique was good and I only felt a slight pinch one time at a point under my ankle. \n\nAs an acupuncturist myself, I was especially interested in how treatments would be delivered in a lower cost membership-oriented environment without the privacy a clinic like mine offers. Many in my profession have expressed concern over how MA, a Massage Envy and Joint type of franchise, might impact acupuncture. Personally I do not think clinical acupuncturists have much to worry about, and I think many patients who take advantage of membership will benefit from being able to increase the frequency of visits that a lower cost clinic offers. BTW, there's nothing that feels low cost about it.\n\nBoth acupuncturists were very professional, skilled, and attentive. The receptionist was cheerful and friendly. The decor, fixtures, and color scheme were clean, Zen, and attractive showing attention to detail. Still, I can't give the experience 5 stars. Namely, I was cold from the AC which was pretty noisy. Secondly, too much light came in from the heavy sliding door. The recliners were comfortable even for a short person like me, but they had a massage function that pressed on my needles so I had to stop. The motors to the chairs were also loud and at first I couldn't figure out where that weird noise was coming from.\n\nPerhaps I'm aging myself, but here's a 70s SciFi movie reference: the pretty pictures on the overhead flat screen TV made me feel like Edward G. Robinson in Soylent Green. The TVs an unnecessary addition in my opinion. \n\nMy recommendation is that future MAs skip the motors on the chairs and the flat screen TVs. Perhaps offer a bean bag eye cover to block out light. If I return, I'll probably just use my own music. The music was soft enough to do that.\n\nOverall, high marks for staff, more attention to the comfort of patients."^^ . "1"^^ . "2017-08-01T00:00:00"^^ . . "1"^^ . . . "4"^^ . "2"^^ .