Acupuncture Treatment in Greenville, SC
Acupuncture Treatment at IHP Greenville. Dr. Hendry, DAOM — NCBAHM-certified, 25+ yrs experience, hospital-credentialed. Call (864) 365-6156.
"I have been going to Dr. Hendry for 2 months now, for Acupuncture and Supplements. After 2 months, this is the best I have felt in over 2 years. My energy is so much better, my gut and digestion is back to normal."
— Danny Pyatt · March 2026 · Google Review
Every treatment session is different — not because I lack a protocol, but because your body is different each time you walk in. Acupuncture treatment is a clinical decision made in the room, based on that day's tongue, pulse, and presentation. I draw from multiple traditions — Five Element, TCM eight principles, Master Tung — and select the framework that best matches what I'm seeing. The needle count, depth, technique, and adjuncts like moxa or electroacupuncture are determined by your pattern, not a template.
How Acupuncture Treatment Works
Each acupuncture treatment session begins with a brief reassessment of your current presentation — tongue, pulse, and symptom check — to confirm or adjust the treatment strategy from the prior visit. Dr. Hendry selects between 10 and 20 points based on your pattern of the day, inserts sterile single-use needles, and may add moxa, cupping, or infrared heat. You rest quietly for 25–35 minutes. Post-treatment assessment confirms therapeutic response before you leave.
Conditions Treated with Acupuncture Treatment
Acupuncture vs. NSAIDs for Chronic Pain
Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs are the standard first-line pharmacological recommendation for chronic musculoskeletal pain. They are effective for acute inflammatory flares and are appropriate for short-term use. However, for a patient with chronic low back pain, chronic knee pain, or chronic neck pain lasting more than 12 weeks, NSAIDs present a different risk-benefit calculation. Long-term NSAID use is associated with gastric mucosal damage, cardiovascular risk elevation, and renal function compromise — risks that compound in older patients who are also the primary population experiencing chronic pain. More fundamentally, NSAIDs address the inflammatory signal without addressing the sensitized pain-processing pathway that perpetuates chronic pain independent of active tissue inflammation. Once central sensitization is established, reducing peripheral inflammation provides only partial relief because the spinal cord and brain have upregulated their pain-generating capacity autonomously. Acupuncture, by contrast, directly targets the central sensitization mechanism through descending inhibitory pathway activation and dorsal horn modulation. The Vickers 2018 meta-analysis demonstrates clinically meaningful and durable outcomes at 12-month follow-up — a timeframe at which NSAIDs are contraindicated for continuous use. For patients seeking long-term pain resolution rather than symptom suppression, acupuncture addresses the neurological substrate of chronicity.
Research & Evidence
The most comprehensive evidence base for acupuncture efficacy comes from the Vickers AJ et al. individual patient data meta-analysis, updated in the Journal of Pain (2018), which pooled 39 high-quality randomized trials representing 20,827 patients across chronic musculoskeletal, headache, and osteoarthritic pain conditions. Effect sizes were statistically and clinically significant, and the data confirmed that acupuncture outperforms both sham acupuncture and no-acupuncture controls — meaning its effects are not fully explained by expectation alone. The mechanism underlying these results is well-characterized at the neurological level: needle insertion at specific acupoints activates A-delta and C-fiber afferents, initiating segmental inhibition of nociceptive input at the dorsal horn of the spinal cord via the gate control mechanism. Simultaneously, descending pathways from the periaqueductal gray release endogenous opioids, serotonin, and norepinephrine into the central analgesic network. Peripheral needle manipulation induces a local inflammatory response that releases adenosine, a natural analgesic, at concentrations sufficient to reduce local pain signaling. These mechanisms compound across a treatment series, producing cumulative central sensitization reversal that single-session pharmacological interventions cannot match.
Your First Appointment
Your first acupuncture treatment runs 75–90 minutes including intake. Wear loose, comfortable clothing and eat a light meal 1–2 hours beforehand. Avoid alcohol and vigorous exercise the day of your appointment. Follow-up treatments run 45–60 minutes.
Why Dr. Hendry for Acupuncture Treatment
Dr. Hendry's training spans multiple acupuncture traditions and 25+ years of clinical practice treating thousands of patients. His Prisma Health hospital privileges and published research demonstrate the level of clinical rigor he brings to every treatment decision.