If you are looking for acupuncture in East Brunswick, NJ or New Brunswick, this page explains what we can offer from our office in South Plainfield, which you can reach by Route 18 and Interstate 287. It is written for the people who make up much of the New Brunswick area: Rutgers students, faculty and researchers, hospital staff working long and irregular shifts, and commuters who spend hours a week on the train or in the car. Most of them ask about the same handful of problems: stress and anxiety, poor sleep, headaches, and the aches that come from repetitive work and long shifts on their feet.
For each of those problems we set out what the research shows, including where the evidence is weak. We would rather you start treatment with accurate expectations than with hope that the studies do not support.
Acupuncture for East Brunswick, NJ and New Brunswick: where we are and when we are open
Netra Integrative Health Clinic is at 5001 Hadley Rd, Ste 210, South Plainfield, NJ 07080. We are not in East Brunswick or New Brunswick, and we would rather say that plainly than hide it in a listing. For most people coming from either town, the simplest road is Route 18 north. It runs through East Brunswick and New Brunswick, past the Rutgers campuses in Piscataway, and ends at Interstate 287, which passes through the southern part of South Plainfield. Travel time depends heavily on traffic on Route 18, so check the map on our location page before your first visit instead of relying on an estimate.
Parking at the building is free, with plenty of spaces. Our suite is on the second floor and there is an elevator.
We open at 10:00 AM and close at 8:00 PM on weekdays, and on Saturdays we are open from 9:00 AM until 5:00 PM. For students with a full class schedule, faculty with teaching blocks, and nurses or technicians on rotating shifts, the late weekday hours and Saturdays tend to be the useful ones. All visits are by appointment. We do not take walk-ins, and same-day appointments are limited, so call (908) 402-7301 if you are hoping to be seen at short notice.
Campus, hospital and commuter life, and the problems that come with it
New Brunswick is the county seat of Middlesex County and has two nicknames that tell you a lot about who lives and works there: Hub City and Healthcare City. Rutgers has its main campus there, with the College Avenue, Douglass and Cook campuses in the city and two more across the Raritan River in Piscataway. Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital and Saint Peter's University Hospital are both in the city, and Robert Wood Johnson Medical School has sites in New Brunswick and Piscataway. East Brunswick, next door, is a suburban township with direct bus service into Manhattan.
Those settings produce recognizable patterns of complaint. They are worth describing, because the right expectations differ for each.
Students
Undergraduate and graduate students commonly describe stress that peaks around exams and deadlines, sleep that drifts later each week of the semester, and tension headaches after long hours at a laptop. Athletes and gym regulars add strains and overuse injuries. For anything that feels like anxiety or low mood, the first stop for a Rutgers student is the university's own counseling service, which we describe further down. Acupuncture can sit alongside that care, but it should not be the only thing you try.
Faculty, researchers and office staff
Desk work, bench work and lab work all load the same places: the neck, the upper back, the shoulders and the forearms. People in these roles often describe a slow build of neck and shoulder pain over a term, headaches that start at the base of the skull, and wrist or hand discomfort from keyboard and pipette work.
Hospital and health care staff
Nurses, technicians, residents and support staff work nights, long shifts and rotating schedules. The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), in its training for nurses, says shift work and long hours carry a somewhat higher risk of illness, errors and injuries, and that many of those risks shrink when disrupted sleep and body-clock timing are addressed. The same NIOSH module lists musculoskeletal disorders and psychological complaints among the risks it covers. You can read it on the CDC website. Typical complaints in these roles include low back pain from lifting and turning patients, sore feet and knees from long periods of standing, broken sleep, and a background level of stress that never quite switches off.
Commuters
New Brunswick station sits on NJ Transit's Northeast Corridor Line, with frequent trains to New York Penn Station, and East Brunswick has bus service into Manhattan. Long commutes mean long periods of sitting, which shows up as low back and hip pain, and early starts that cut into sleep.
Stress and anxiety: what acupuncture can and cannot do
The honest summary is that acupuncture for anxiety has some encouraging results and a lot of weak studies. The National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH), the federal research agency for this field, reviewed the evidence in its clinical digest on anxiety. It reports that some studies find benefit, but many have poor methods or results that fall short of statistical significance. Trials also use different points, different numbers of sessions and different lengths of treatment, which makes firm conclusions hard.
Two findings from that digest are worth knowing:
- A 2012 review of 32 studies found some positive outcomes but could not draw firm conclusions because of study quality and inconsistent methods.
- A 2014 analysis of 14 studies with 1,034 participants looked at anxiety before surgery and found a statistically significant effect compared with placebo or no treatment. NCCIH cautions that the sample was small and that the result only suggests acupuncture may be better than placebo for this use.
For depression, NCCIH's acupuncture summary describes a 2018 review of 64 studies with 7,104 participants that found a moderate reduction in the severity of depression. Most of those studies were of low quality.
What does this mean if you are a student in exam season or a nurse who cannot unwind after a run of nights? It means acupuncture is a reasonable thing to add, with modest expectations, to the care that has the strongest evidence for anxiety and depression: talking therapy and, where a doctor advises it, medicine. It is not a substitute for either. Part of the appeal is simple: for 30 minutes you lie still in a quiet room and nobody needs anything from you. NCCIH points out that expectations and the relationship with the practitioner contribute to how people respond to acupuncture, and research cannot yet separate those effects cleanly from the effect of the needles.
NCCIH's digest also notes that meditation shows small to modest benefits for anxiety symptoms and that relaxation techniques may help people with chronic medical problems or those facing procedures. Those are low-cost practices you can use between visits. Dr. Gandapodi is a graduate in Yoga Therapy, a tradition that includes breathing and relaxation practices, so ask him at your consultation about routines that would fit around a study timetable or a shift pattern.
Our mental health conditions page describes the stress, anxiety and mood problems we see as complementary care.
Sleep problems, including sleep around night shifts
Sleep is where expectations most need managing. NCCIH's page on sleep disorders and complementary approaches describes the evidence like this:
- A 2021 review of 11 studies with 775 participants suggested acupuncture may improve insomnia, but the studies were small, used different doses and points, and were judged low quality.
- A 2019 guideline from the Department of Veterans Affairs and Department of Defense found too little evidence to recommend for or against acupuncture for insomnia, and gave a weak recommendation for ear acupuncture.
- A 2020 analysis of 7 systematic reviews covering 10,001 participants suggested ear acupuncture might help, but most of those reviews were rated low or critically low quality.
The same NCCIH page names cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia, usually shortened to CBT-I, as the most strongly recommended treatment for insomnia. If poor sleep has lasted months, ask your doctor about it. Acupuncture can be added, but CBT-I should be in the plan.
Shift workers often ask about melatonin, so here is what NCCIH says. A 2022 review of 10 studies found melatonin helpful for sleep problems linked to shift work. It is considered relatively safe in the short term, but its long-term safety has not been established. NCCIH also reports a 2023 study in which 22 of 25 melatonin gummy products did not contain the amount on the label, with amounts ranging from none at all to about three and a half times the labeled dose. If you use it, talk to your doctor or pharmacist and choose a product carefully, and mention it to us at your consultation.
One practical point for night-shift staff: do not drive to an appointment straight after a run of nights when you are struggling to stay awake. Book on a rest day or after you have slept. Falling asleep at the wheel is a real danger after night work.
Headaches and migraine
Headache is one of the areas where the research on acupuncture is reasonably solid. NCCIH reports:
- Migraine: a 2016 evaluation of 22 studies with almost 5,000 people found moderate-quality evidence that acupuncture reduces how often migraines happen. The advantage over sham (simulated) acupuncture was small. A 2020 review of 9 studies found acupuncture slightly more effective than preventive medicines, with far fewer people dropping out because of side effects.
- Tension-type headache: a 2016 evaluation of 12 studies with about 2,350 people found moderate- to low-quality evidence that acupuncture may reduce how often these headaches occur.
For a student or researcher who gets a band of pressure around the head after a long day of reading or screen work, and for anyone with migraines that preventive drugs have not controlled or whose side effects were hard to live with, those findings make acupuncture worth a fair trial. Because the research measures change in headache frequency over weeks, the best way to judge it is the same way: keep a simple diary of headache days, severity and painkiller use for a few weeks before you start and throughout treatment. We look at that diary at review appointments. Our separate article on acupuncture for migraines goes into more depth.
Some headaches are not a job for an acupuncturist at all. The warning signs are listed in the safety section below.
Repetitive strain and pain from long shifts
Work-related pain is where acupuncture has its best research base, with some important exceptions. Here is how the evidence lines up for complaints that often come with study, desk work and hospital shifts.
Low back and neck pain
According to NCCIH, a 2018 review found acupuncture more effective than no treatment for back or neck pain (12 studies, 8,003 participants) and more effective than sham acupuncture (10 studies, 1,963 participants), with relief comparable to that from nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs such as ibuprofen. The American College of Physicians' 2017 guideline lists acupuncture among the first-line nondrug options for chronic low back pain, based on moderate-quality evidence. The evidence for acute, recent low back pain is weaker and rated low quality.
One detail is worth knowing if your main problem is your neck. NCCIH describes a pooled analysis of 20 studies with 6,376 participants that found benefits lasting a year after treatment for every painful condition studied except neck pain. For the neck, in other words, gains were less likely to last, which is a good reason to pair acupuncture with changes to your workstation and posture.
Wrist and hand pain, including carpal tunnel syndrome
This is the clearest case where we should temper expectations. NCCIH reports a 2018 review of 12 studies with 869 participants in which acupuncture and laser acupuncture may have had little or no effect on carpal tunnel symptoms compared with sham. Mayo Clinic notes that carpal tunnel syndrome can cause lasting nerve and muscle damage if left untreated. If you have numbness or tingling in the thumb and first fingers, or you have started dropping things, see a physician for assessment first. Acupuncture can be discussed as an addition, but it should not delay a proper diagnosis.
Tight muscles and trigger points
Forearm, shoulder and upper-back pain in desk and lab workers can involve knotted, tender bands of muscle. NCCIH reports that needling of these myofascial trigger points reduced pain intensity in 5 studies with 215 participants, while acupuncture at traditional points did not show the same effect in 4 studies with 80 participants. That is a small evidence base, so treat it as encouraging rather than settled.
Knees, hips and feet after years of standing
For osteoarthritis, a 2018 review found acupuncture better than no treatment (10 studies, 2,413 participants) and better than sham (9 studies, 2,376 participants). A 2019 guideline from the American College of Rheumatology and the Arthritis Foundation conditionally recommends it for osteoarthritis of the knee, hip or hand, although results for the hip were weaker. If years of shifts on hard floors have left you with knee or hip arthritis as well as back pain, both can be assessed at the same consultation.
More detail on the pain conditions we see is on our pain management page, and there is a separate guide to acupuncture for lower back pain.
About your practitioner
Dr. Saikumar Gandapodi, DAOM, Dipl. OM, AP, L.Ac., founded Netra Integrative Health Clinic and directs it. He treats every patient himself, in person, at the South Plainfield office, so the person who takes your history at the consultation is the same person who places the needles at every session after it.
His formal training covers both Chinese and Indian medical traditions:
- A doctorate (DAOM) from Five Branches University.
- A Master of Traditional Oriental Medicine from Pacific College of Health and Science.
- Dipl. OM: national board certification in Oriental Medicine.
- A license as an acupuncturist and herbalist (L.Ac.) in both New Jersey and New York.
- Board certification in Florida as a Doctor of Oriental Medicine and Acupuncture Physician (AP).
- Classical training in Ayurvedic medicine, a graduate qualification in Yoga Therapy, and advanced clinical training in India.
He combines Chinese medicine, Ayurveda and Yoga Therapy in an integrative approach, and he specializes in complex and chronic conditions, orthopedic problems, fertility and internal medicine. He also writes and clinically reviews the condition pages on this website.
A large share of his work involves complex and advanced cases: people with several overlapping problems, symptoms that have lasted years, or conditions that have not responded to treatment from other practitioners. Patients who have already tried acupuncture elsewhere without results are not unusual in his practice, and he will review what was done before rather than repeat it. No result can be promised in any individual case, and he will tell you at the consultation whether he thinks treatment has a reasonable chance of helping you. His full profile is on our team page.
Fitting treatment around a semester or a shift rota
Acupuncture is usually given as a course rather than a single appointment, so the practical question is how to fit it into a life that already has a timetable.
- The first visit is a consultation. It lasts 60 minutes, and treatment is generally not given on the same day. Every visit after that, whether a follow-up consultation or a treatment session, is 30 minutes.
- There is no fixed number of sessions. It depends on the problem, how long you have had it and how you respond. Dr. Gandapodi will discuss a plan with you at the end of the consultation, including when to review progress. Our article on how many acupuncture sessions you may need explains the factors involved.
- Start before the pressure peaks. If your stress or headaches climb around midterms and finals, it makes more sense to begin a few weeks earlier than in the middle of exam week, when you will have the least time and the most reason to cancel.
- Plan around breaks. If you leave campus for winter or summer break, tell us when you book so the plan has a sensible pause point instead of stopping halfway.
- Bring your rota. If you work rotating shifts, give the office your schedule a few weeks ahead. Evening slots until 8:00 PM and Saturday slots make it easier to keep a regular pattern even when your shifts move.
- Cancelling. We ask for at least 24 hours' notice by phone if you need to cancel or move an appointment.
Your first consultation, and what to bring
The 60-minute consultation is an assessment. Dr. Gandapodi will go through the problem that brought you in, your medical history, the medicines and supplements you take, and your lifestyle: sleep, diet, digestion, energy, exercise and stress. He will also look at your tongue and take your pulse at the wrist, which are standard parts of an assessment in Chinese medicine. Neither is uncomfortable.
Please bring:
- Photo ID.
- Your insurance card, if you plan to use insurance for acupuncture.
- Your most recent complete blood work reports. Call the office if you would like to send them ahead of time, or bring printed copies.
- A list of every medication and supplement you take, including any sleep aids, melatonin, caffeine tablets or energy drinks.
Some extra preparation helps with the problems this page covers:
- For sleep: a log of two weeks of bedtimes, wake times and night wakings. If you work shifts, mark which days were nights.
- For headaches: a diary of headache days, how bad each was, and what you took for it.
- For repetitive strain: a short note on your workstation, the tasks that set the pain off, and any imaging or physical therapy reports.
- For stress or anxiety: a list of anything you are already doing, such as counseling, medication or an app, so the plan builds on it.
At the end you will leave with a proposed plan. You do not have to commit on the day. The new patients page has more detail on booking and preparation.
If needles themselves make you anxious
If you are seeking help for anxiety, the needles themselves may be part of the worry. A few facts may help.
Acupuncture needles are solid and very fine, far thinner than the hollow needles used for blood tests or vaccinations, and nothing is injected through them. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration regulates them as medical devices that must be sterile and used only once, so each one is opened fresh and discarded after use.
You lie on a padded treatment table for the whole session, so there is no risk of falling if you feel faint. Most people notice a brief pinch or nothing as each needle goes in, followed by a dull ache, warmth or heaviness around the point. If a needle feels sharp, say so and it will be adjusted or taken out. You are in control throughout, and you can ask to stop at any time.
If you have fainted during blood draws in the past, tell us before the session starts so the first treatment can be adjusted, for example by using fewer needles.
Insurance and paying for treatment
Dr. Gandapodi is in network with most insurance plans. The clinic does not take part in Medicare or Medicaid, but it accepts most Medicare Advantage plans that include acupuncture. Insurance applies to acupuncture alone. Ayurvedic medicine, Chinese herbal medicine, Panchakarma and Transdermal Medication Therapy are not billed to insurance.
Plans vary a great deal in whether, and how often, they pay for acupuncture, even within one insurance company. Before your first visit, send your details through our insurance verification form and we will run a free benefits check. It takes 3 to 5 business days. More general information is on the insurance page.
Students on a parent's plan. Many students are covered by a parent's insurance. Under federal rules described on HealthCare.gov, a young adult can generally stay on a parent's job-based plan until age 26, even if they are a student, married or living away from home, though some states and plans have different rules. If your family's plan was issued in another state, the benefits check is especially worthwhile, because networks and acupuncture benefits can differ from one plan to the next.
Car accidents. If you were hurt in a car accident, the clinic also bills auto insurance personal injury protection (PIP) for acupuncture. Mention the accident when you book, and have your auto insurance claim number ready.
Spending accounts. Acupuncture is a qualified expense for Health Savings Accounts, Flexible Spending Accounts and Health Reimbursement Arrangements. If your account administrator asks for a Letter of Medical Necessity, we can provide one. Details are on our HSA and FSA page.
Other options. We accept CareCredit. Discounts are available for seniors and through our financial assistance program. Call the office and we will explain the options.
If you are a retired faculty member or nearing Medicare age, note that Original Medicare Part B covers acupuncture only for chronic low back pain that has lasted 12 weeks or longer with no identifiable systemic cause, and it cannot pay licensed acupuncturists directly. The full rules are on Medicare.gov.
Safety, and symptoms that need a doctor first
NCCIH states that relatively few complications from acupuncture have been reported, and that the serious ones have come from nonsterile needles or improper technique. Common minor effects are a small bruise or drop of blood at a needle site, brief soreness, and feeling tired or a little lightheaded afterwards. These usually pass within a day.
Tell us before treatment if you take a blood thinner or have a bleeding disorder, if you are or might be pregnant, if you have a pacemaker or another implanted device, if your immune system is weakened by illness or medication, or if you have broken skin or infection in the area to be treated. Most of these still allow treatment, but each one affects which points are used and how.
Acupuncture is never the right first step for the symptoms below. See a doctor, or call 911 or go to an emergency department where indicated.
- Headache warning signs. Mayo Clinic advises urgent care for a sudden, severe headache that hits like a thunderclap; a headache with fever, stiff neck, confusion, seizures, double vision, or numbness or weakness anywhere in the body; a headache after a head injury; a long-standing headache that gets worse with coughing, exertion, straining or sudden movement; and new headache pain after age 50. These are listed on its migraine page.
- Thoughts of suicide or self-harm. Call or text 988, or use the online chat, to reach the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline. It is free, confidential and available at any hour. If you are in immediate danger, call 911.
- Signs of sleep apnea. Mayo Clinic lists loud snoring that disturbs others, waking up gasping or choking, pauses in breathing noticed by a partner, and daytime sleepiness severe enough that you nod off at work or while driving. These need a medical evaluation, described on its sleep apnea page.
- Hand weakness or constant numbness, or pain after a fall or injury at work, which should be examined before any needling.
- Chest pain, sudden shortness of breath, or loss of bladder or bowel control with back pain. These are emergencies.
Working with your doctor, therapist or campus counseling
Everything we offer is complementary care. It is meant to work alongside your regular medical treatment and never in place of it. Keep seeing your physician and any specialists. Starting acupuncture is never a reason on its own to stop or alter a prescription, and that includes medicines for anxiety, depression, sleep or migraine. If you feel better and want to reduce a dose, discuss it with the doctor who prescribed it.
If you are a Rutgers student, the university's Counseling, ADAP and Psychiatric Services, known as CAPS, provides individual and group counseling, crisis services and psychiatric medication management, and can refer students to off-campus providers. Its listing on the Rutgers student success site gives the contact number. If you are using CAPS for anxiety or low mood, acupuncture can be added alongside it, and it is worth letting your counselor know.
With your permission, we can send a short summary of your treatment to your physician. Clinicians, including those at the New Brunswick hospitals, who want to refer a patient can use our referring providers page.
Other care at the clinic
Acupuncture is one part of what we offer. The clinic also provides Ayurvedic medicine, Chinese medicine, individually prescribed Chinese and Ayurvedic herbal medicine, Panchakarma and Transdermal Medication Therapy, which delivers herbal medicines through the skin. Any herbal prescription is checked against the medicines you already take. That check matters most for people on antidepressants, anti-anxiety medicines, sleep medicines or blood thinners, so please make sure your medication list is complete. You can read about each option on our treatments page. If you are curious about Ayurveda in particular, start with our Ayurvedic medicine page.
Questions from East Brunswick and New Brunswick patients
Can I come in straight after a night shift?
You can, but we do not recommend driving when you are exhausted, and some people feel tired after a session. A rest day, or an appointment after you have slept, is the safer choice.
Will a session leave me too sleepy to study?
Some people feel relaxed or tired for a few hours afterwards, while others feel more alert. Until you know how you respond, avoid booking right before an exam or a demanding lab session.
My parents' insurance is from another state. Can I use it here?
Possibly. It depends on whether the plan covers acupuncture and how it treats providers in New Jersey. Our free benefits check will tell you, and it takes 3 to 5 business days.
Do you bill auto insurance after a car accident?
Yes. The clinic bills auto insurance personal injury protection (PIP) for acupuncture after a car accident. Mention the accident when you book, and have your auto insurance claim number ready.
Can acupuncture replace my anxiety or sleep medication?
No. It is used alongside your treatment. Changes to any prescribed medicine should be made only with the doctor who prescribed it.
Does acupuncture help carpal tunnel syndrome?
The research is not encouraging. A 2018 review found little or no difference from sham treatment. Get a medical assessment first, especially if you have numbness or weakness.
How soon would I know whether it helps my migraines?
Migraine studies measure change in the number of headache days over weeks, not after one visit. Keep a headache diary, and expect a review of progress at a set point in your plan.
What should I eat or avoid before a session?
Have a light meal beforehand. Do not come on an empty stomach, and avoid a heavy meal right before. Try to skip alcohol and caffeine that day, drink water, and wear loose clothing.
I faint easily around needles. Can I still have acupuncture?
Usually, yes. You lie down for the whole session, and if you tell us in advance the first treatment can be adjusted.
Does the clinic need a doctor's note before I book?
No. You can book directly. A few insurance plans set their own conditions for paying, such as a referral or a qualifying diagnosis, and the free benefits check tells us if yours is one of them.
Will you share my details with my doctor or with CAPS?
Only if you ask us to. With your permission we can send a treatment summary to your physician, and you are free to tell your counselor yourself.
Is Saturday available?
Yes. Saturday hours are 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM. Weekday appointments run until 8:00 PM.
What happens if treatment is not helping?
Your plan includes review points. If you are not seeing change, Dr. Gandapodi will reassess with you and adjust the approach, or tell you plainly if he thinks continuing is unlikely to help.
Booking from East Brunswick or New Brunswick
Book through our appointment page or by calling (908) 402-7301. When you book online, we confirm the time by text and email. If you plan to use insurance, submit the verification form a week or so before the consultation so the result is ready. If you live closer to Edison or Metuchen, our Edison guide covers the same clinic from that direction.
This article is general health information and is not a substitute for advice from your own doctor or mental health professional. Research findings come from the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (its acupuncture summary, its page on sleep disorders and its clinical digest on anxiety). We also drew on NIOSH training material on the CDC website, Mayo Clinic, HealthCare.gov, Medicare.gov, the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline and Rutgers University's student success site, all linked above.