Acupuncture for Neuropathy in San Francisco
Numbness, tingling or burning in your feet or hands? Ali Hakimi and Andrew Castellanos treat peripheral neuropathy from diabetes, chemotherapy and nerve compression with gentle, careful acupuncture, alongside your medical care.
Sound familiar?
- Numb toes or feet, as if you're wearing socks that aren't there
- Tingling or pins and needles in your feet, hands or fingers
- Burning, stabbing or electric pain that's often worse at night
What our patients say
5.0 on Google from 92 reviews
Andrew is fantastic! He is knowledgeable and provides specialized treatment for my chronic nerve pain. I highly recommend him.
I could not recommend Andrew enough! He has so much knowledge on the human body and can figure out quickly what areas need work. I went in with major back pain that kept me from lifting weights or running, and after a few sessions I am pain free.
I would strongly (strongly!) recommend Acupuncture for Athletics for both athletes and non-athletes alike. Not only does Andrew help with injury recovery, pain management, and stress relief, but he creates a relaxing and positive environment that enhances the work that he does and leads you to feel better both physically and mentally after each visit. And beyond acupuncture and massage, Andrew goes the extra mile to provide guidance on how to address specific pain-points and injuries, or to simply ensure that you are feeling and performing your best. Again, I can't recommend Acupuncture for Athletics enough!
Andrew is a cornerstone of my care team. He successfully unwinds my ills before they can become chronic problems.
Andrew treated me over a period of about two years for hip and shoulder problems, and he was tremendously helpful. I was impressed with his knowledge and skill, not to mention wonderful “bedside manner” and especially his enthusiasm for staying current in his field.
Andrew is a fantastic alternative and addition to physical therapy. He quickly understands your condition and treats it effectively.
I’ve always wanted to be able to demonstrate clearly to professional dancers when giving them corrections or setting ballets. However, without the level of daily physical preparation that my body was used to when I danced, my body now has moments of rebellion that, however careful I am, need the assistance of experts to ensure I can do my job fully. Andrew’s combination of acupuncture and soft tissue work always made a significant difference to my mobility, helping me undertake my role in the studio at a level of physicality such that I’m not confined to the minimum level of demonstration. With his level of experience with dancers it was always easy to discuss problematic muscles and joints, and reassuring that he ‘got’ what was going on and what was required to improve the situation efficiently and effectively.
Andrew’s massage and acupuncture techniques have seen me successfully through back-to-back marathons seven weeks apart, plus two active pregnancies and a record-breaking racing season in between. He is a veritable genius in his field — a true healer.
Andrew Castellanos has helped my Achilles tendinosis and tendinitis with acupuncture, not only getting the swelling down, but also massaging the area after. His therapeutic work has enabled me to continue dancing at a high level without having to take a break, so I’m able to dance with injury due to the therapeutic work that Andrew does.
As a professional dancer, I rely heavily on Andrew throughout the performance season to literally fix me in order to get me back onstage. I have chronic problems with my knee and my shoulder, and the combination of acupuncture with electric stimulation and heat has been tremendously helpful. Andrew only needs five minutes to find exactly where he needs to work, and the results are fantastic. His acupuncture work is also gentle, and doesn’t leave me sore the next day — in fact, it’s one of the only therapies I feel comfortable receiving right before a show. Andrew does great deep tissue work as well, and he is very responsive and attentive as a therapist. I’d highly recommend him to dancers, athletes and non-dancers alike.
In our career it is very important to stay physically healthy, because our dance career is very short. We rehearse, work out every single day, and very often, because of the physical pressure from practicing so hard, we get injuries and surgery. My story is about my back, foot and wrist. I joined San Francisco Ballet a year ago. The first day of work, during ballet class, I hurt my back. I have had problems before with my wrist, and sadly, later on with the tough season, my foot got hurt. Luckily, I was recommended to Andrew Castellanos. I started with a few visits a month, and quickly saw results, so I made sure I finished my treatments. Thanks to Andrew, I was able to finish my successful season here. Now I have to spread the word…
I was introduced to Andrew by a friend who dubbed him as nothing short of magical. After experiencing his expertise firsthand, I couldn't agree more. Andrew's mastery of the human body and its intricacies truly feels like a kind of magic. I've been to other specialists for my chronic upper back and neck pain, but Andrew is different. He focuses on treating the actual problem, not just masking the symptoms. For the first time, I walked out of an acupuncture session and went back to exercising without feeling any pain. It was a game-changer. I feel as if I've been given a brand new back. Honestly, I never thought a life without back pain was possible until now. While I was also working with Andew some other health issues came up that couldn’t be diagnosed by western medicine. His thoughtful and holistic approach immediately made me feel understood and valued. Throughout our sessions, he would patiently explain the various points he was working on or the sensations I was experiencing, shedding light on what was going on internally within my body. Thanks to him, I now have a deeper appreciation for how imbalances in one area can send ripples throughout the entire system. He was able to find the root cause, guiding me slowly but surely on the path to recovery. I feel blessed to have met Andrew, he really has changed my life and I’m grateful for that.
Does this sound like you?
Peripheral neuropathy means damage or irritation in the nerves outside your brain and spinal cord, usually starting in the feet and hands. These are the most common signs.
If several sound familiar, an assessment helps us see how acupuncture might fit alongside your medical care.
- Numb toes or feet, as if you're wearing socks that aren't there
- Tingling or pins and needles in your feet, hands or fingers
- Burning, stabbing or electric pain that's often worse at night
- Feet so sensitive that even the bed sheets bother them
- Feeling unsteady in the dark or on uneven ground
- Dropping things, or fumbling with buttons and keys
What peripheral neuropathy is
Your peripheral nerves carry touch, temperature, pain and movement signals between your spinal cord and the rest of your body. When they're damaged, those messages get lost or scrambled. That can mean numbness, or the opposite: pain and buzzing with nothing there to cause it.
The longest nerves run to your feet, so neuropathy usually shows up in the toes first and slowly works upward, later reaching the fingers and hands. Some types also cause muscle weakness, or affect automatic jobs like digestion and blood pressure, as Cleveland Clinic explains.
Diabetes is the most common cause, and sometimes no cause is found. A proper diagnosis matters, because some causes, like low vitamin B12, can be treated directly. We work alongside that medical care, not in place of it.
Common causes
- Diabetes, the most common cause
- Chemotherapy (chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy)
- A compressed or injured nerve
- Low vitamin B12
- Heavy alcohol use over time
- Autoimmune conditions, kidney or liver disease, and some infections
- No clear cause (idiopathic neuropathy)
Diabetic, chemotherapy-related or a pinched nerve?
The three kinds we see most feel similar but behave differently, and knowing which you have shapes how we treat it.
| Compared on | Diabetic neuropathy | Chemotherapy-induced | Nerve compression |
|---|---|---|---|
| What drives it | High blood sugar affecting nerves and their blood supply over years | Certain cancer drugs, such as taxanes and platinum drugs | A nerve squeezed by a disc, tight tissue or a narrow passage |
| Where you feel it | Both feet first, later the hands | Fingers and toes, often hands and feet together | One area along that nerve's path, usually on one side |
| How it comes on | Gradually, over months or years | During or after treatment, and it can linger | With posture, repetitive work or an injury |
| Where we focus | Legs and feet, circulation, sleep and careful skin checks | Gentle points on hands, feet and limbs, timed around treatment | The nerve's path and the muscles crowding it |
When one nerve is the problem
Neuropathy in a single nerve often comes from pressure on it. Two common examples have their own pages: acupuncture for sciatica, for pain and tingling down the leg, and carpal tunnel treatment, for numb fingers and night tingling in the hand.
Who we see for neuropathy
We're known for sports injuries, but nerve pain and pinched nerves have always been part of our work, for runners and retirees alike.
People we see most
Related problems we treat
- Low back pain and disc problems
- Long-term pain management
- Pinched nerves in the neck
- Nerve pain after an injury or surgery
How acupuncture may help neuropathy
Research points to a few ways acupuncture may ease your symptoms and support your nerves, so daily life feels more manageable.
Circulation
Nerves depend on a good blood supply, which often suffers in diabetes. Acupuncture is thought to help increase local blood flow to the hands and feet.
Nerve signaling
Several trials have measured how well nerves carry signals before and after a course of acupuncture, and found improvements.
Pain and sleep
Acupuncture may calm pain signals and release the body's own pain-relieving chemicals. Many patients tell us they sleep better, which matters when burning feet keep you up.
- AcupunctureFine needles on the limbs, plus points away from numb skin that needs protecting.
- Scalp acupunctureAli uses scalp points for neurological conditions, away from sensitive feet.
- MoxibustionGentle warming with dried mugwort, used only where you can clearly feel the heat.
- Cold laserA needle-free option over areas where needling isn't a good idea.
- Chinese herbal medicineAli may suggest a classical formula, checked against your medications.
What the research says
A 2017 review led by neurologists at Oregon Health & Science University looked at 15 studies and found that most trials showed a benefit for diabetic neuropathy. Acupuncture also appeared to improve nerve conduction, a measure of how well nerves carry signals.
For painful diabetic neuropathy, a 2023 review of 25 trials with 1,561 patients found that adding acupuncture to standard care eased pain more than standard care alone. In a 2023 trial at Charité hospital in Berlin, 62 people with type 2 diabetes had either 12 acupuncture sessions over eight weeks or routine care. The acupuncture group reported significantly fewer neuropathy complaints, including pain, and the benefit lasted through follow-up.
Chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy has been studied too. In a 2018 trial at Memorial Sloan Kettering, 27 people with breast cancer who had developed moderate neuropathy during weekly paclitaxel received acupuncture, and 26 finished chemotherapy without it progressing to severe neuropathy. A 2025 review of 18 trials with 1,048 cancer patients found acupuncture improved neuropathy symptoms, pain and quality of life compared with control groups.
Results vary from person to person, and we see acupuncture as one part of your care alongside your doctor.
What studies have found
- Less pain in painful diabetic neuropathy when added to standard care
- Better nerve conduction in several trials
- Improved chemotherapy-related neuropathy symptoms and quality of life
- Minor, short-lived side effects
Your first visit and your plan
Plan on about an hour for your first visit. How many sessions you'll need varies, and we'll give you an honest estimate after your assessment.
Assess
We go through your diagnosis, medications and history, map where the symptoms fall, check sensation and the skin of your feet and hands, and watch how you walk.
Treat
You'll lie comfortably, socks off. We place fine needles on the legs, feet, arms or hands as your skin allows, often with points elsewhere, and you rest with them in place.
Afterwards
Most people feel relaxed, and some sleep better that night. Mild tenderness at a needle site passes quickly. Check your feet that evening as usual.
Build a plan
Neuropathy changes gradually, so we track pain, sleep and sensation, space visits out as things improve, and keep your doctor in the loop if you like.
Safety and when to see a doctor first
Acupuncture from a licensed practitioner is generally very safe. Neuropathy changes a few things, because you may not feel your feet the way you used to, so we rely on careful technique rather than your feedback alone.
We check your feet and skin before every treatment, never needle into cuts, blisters, ulcers, or infected or swollen skin, and use single-use, sterile needles. Heat can burn numb skin without you noticing, so we only use moxibustion where you can clearly feel it.
Tell us if you take blood thinners or have a bleeding disorder, as bruising is more likely. If you're having chemotherapy, check with your oncology team first, since low blood counts may mean we wait. If you have diabetes, keep up your daily foot checks, podiatry visits and diabetes care.
If any of the signs listed here apply, see your doctor first. The NHS advises getting a foot cut or ulcer that isn't healing checked promptly. We're glad to work alongside your physician once you're cleared.
See your doctor first if you have
- Numbness or tingling you've never had checked
- A cut, blister or ulcer on your foot that isn't healing
- A foot that's red, hot or swollen, or a fever
- New weakness, tripping or a foot that catches when you walk
- Symptoms that started after a new medication
- Numbness that's getting noticeably worse week to week
Call 911 or go to the ER if you have
- Sudden weakness or numbness in your face, arm or leg, especially on one side, or trouble speaking
- Weakness or numbness that spreads quickly over hours or days, especially if it climbs up from your feet
- Loss of bladder or bowel control
- A foot that suddenly turns pale or dark, cold and very painful
Please don't wait for an appointment with us.
Who'll treat you
For neuropathy, you'll usually see Ali or Andrew. Like Suzanne, both are California-licensed acupuncturists trained in Traditional Chinese Medicine, so treatment looks at your overall health as well as your hands or feet. We work alongside your doctor, never in place of them.
Ali Hakimi
L.Ac
Gentle, targeted acupuncture and moxibustion for numbness, tingling and burning.
- Expertise in neurological conditions, including MS and Parkinson's
- Scalp acupuncture for neurological and nerve symptoms
- Classical herbal medicine, plus diet and lifestyle advice
Andrew Castellanos
L.Ac, CST · Clinic owner
Nerve pain where a compressed nerve and tight muscle are involved.
- 25+ years treating swelling, spasm and pain
- Soft tissue mobilization and myofascial release
- Treats sciatica and disc issues that send symptoms down the leg
Suzanne Lange
DACM, L.Ac, CMT
Acupuncture blended with gentle bodywork, planned around your whole health.
- Doctorate in Acupuncture and Traditional Chinese Medicine
- Advanced study in Japanese-style acupuncture
- More than 20 years in clinical practice
Pricing and booking
Neuropathy treatment happens within a standard session, with no separate package to buy.
We don't bill insurance, but we provide a superbill you can submit for possible out-of-network reimbursement. We accept HSA and FSA cards and all credit cards. You'll find us at 2920 Webster Street, our Cow Hollow acupuncture clinic near the Marina.
Appointments
- 60-min initial acupuncture & assessment
- $225
- 45-min acupuncture follow-up
- $195
- 60-min acupuncture/massage combo
- $225
- 75-min acupuncture/massage combo
- $265
- 90-min acupuncture/massage combo
- $300
Neuropathy FAQ
Does acupuncture help neuropathy?
Many people come to us for numbness, tingling and burning pain, and research suggests acupuncture may help. A 2023 review of 25 trials found that adding acupuncture to standard care eased diabetic neuropathy pain more than standard care alone, and a 2025 review found it improved chemotherapy-induced neuropathy symptoms. Results vary from person to person, and we'll estimate how many sessions you may need after your assessment.
Can acupuncture reverse nerve damage?
We can't promise that. Our goal is to ease your symptoms, help you sleep and move more comfortably, and support circulation and nerve function. Several studies have found improved nerve conduction after a course of acupuncture, which is encouraging, but every case is different.
How many sessions will I need?
It varies with the cause, how long you've had symptoms and your overall health. We usually start with regular visits, track your symptoms and space sessions out as you improve. We'll give you an estimate after your first assessment rather than selling a package.
Is acupuncture safe if I have diabetes?
Yes, with extra care. We check your feet and skin first, avoid broken or infected skin, use single-use sterile needles and avoid heat where you can't feel well. Keep up your daily foot checks, podiatry visits and diabetes care.
Can I have acupuncture during or after chemotherapy?
Often, yes, and it has been studied both during and after chemotherapy. Please check with your oncology team first and tell us your treatment schedule, since low blood counts can mean waiting or adjusting the plan.
Will I feel the needles if my feet are numb or very sensitive?
You may feel less in numb areas, which is why we don't rely only on your feedback there. If your feet are very sensitive, we start gently with fewer points and can work through the legs, hands or scalp instead. Most people find treatment relaxing.
Do I need a diagnosis before I book?
No referral is needed. If you've never had your numbness or tingling checked, please see your doctor too, because simple tests for things like blood sugar and vitamin B12 can find causes that need their own treatment.
Can I keep taking my medication?
Yes. Acupuncture works alongside your prescribed treatment, so don't stop or change any medication without talking to your doctor. Bring a list of what you take, and tell us about blood thinners in particular.
Where can I get acupuncture for neuropathy in San Francisco?
Ali Hakimi and Andrew Castellanos treat peripheral neuropathy at our clinic at 2920 Webster Street, San Francisco, CA 94123, in Cow Hollow. Ali uses targeted acupuncture and moxibustion for neurological conditions, and both work gently and carefully, alongside the care you get from your doctor.
Can I take Muni to the clinic if I'd rather not drive?
Two Muni lines run close by: the 22 Fillmore, one block west on Fillmore Street, and the 45 Union/Stockton, which stops on Union Street a block from us. Patients come to us from the Richmond District, the Inner Sunset near UCSF and North Beach, among other neighborhoods.
References
- Dimitrova A, et al. Acupuncture for the Treatment of Peripheral Neuropathy: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine. 2017.
- Zhou L, et al. Acupuncture for painful diabetic peripheral neuropathy: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Frontiers in Neurology. 2023.
- Dietzel J, et al. Acupuncture in Patients with Diabetic Peripheral Neuropathy-Related Complaints: A Randomized Controlled Clinical Trial. Journal of Clinical Medicine. 2023.
- Bao T, et al. A phase IIA trial of acupuncture to reduce chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy severity during neoadjuvant or adjuvant weekly paclitaxel chemotherapy in breast cancer patients. European Journal of Cancer. 2018.
- Zhao Y, et al. The efficacy of acupuncture in the treatment of chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy in cancer patients: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Journal of Cancer Survivorship. 2025.
- Cleveland Clinic. Peripheral Neuropathy.
- NHS. Peripheral neuropathy.
Ready to take the first step?
Book an assessment at our Cow Hollow clinic, or call us to talk through your neuropathy first.
Visit us in Cow Hollow
2920 Webster Street, between Union and Filbert. A short walk from the Marina, Pacific Heights and the Presidio.
Address
Acupuncture for Athletics2920 Webster Street
San Francisco, CA 94123 Gate code: in your booking confirmation email
Hours
- Every day
- 7:30am – 9:00pm