Tina Chin-Kaplan, LAc, CMT

I'm new to acupuncture so I can't really compare Tina to others. But if all acupuncturists are like Tina, then count me a fan of acupuncture!! :)

I've been having some back pain problems for a while and decided to get my doctor to refer me to an acupuncturist. Even before I made an appointment, Tina was amazing in helping me figure out exactly how my insurance works in regards to acupuncture. Once we got that straightened out, I booked my first acupuncture treatment ever!

I went for a total of 10 sessions. Every single time, Tina really tried to figure out what's going on with my body+mind that particular day and customized the treatment accordingly. In addition to treating my back pain, she could tell when I was particularly stressed out or tired and added points to the treatment to help with that. I'm generally not a huge fan of needles but Tina has gentle hands and also told me exactly what she's doing, which really helped to calm my nerves. Thanks Tina!

I have 4 sessions scheduled and after two I have less pain!
So glad I read Jerom Vahai's Yelp story on this practice!
She explains the process clearly. She noted my complaints and asked questions to clarify. She made a plan based on my issues, she also checked my heart, lung, liver health.
My insurance pays for a portion of the treatments. Happy to be coming here, I have hope to become healthier and get rid of my hip / back pain. She also made suggestions to help with the congestion in my throat.

I had an injury on my left foot that was making running or even walking fast difficult. Also I had chronic injuries/pains resulting from training for long-distance triathlons (Ironman; an 140.6 miles race) on my right shoulder and the right side of my back. Tina's treatment has been amazing! To the point that she has earned a nickname in my household - "the Magician with Needles"!

Details of my condition: (1) Injury: something dropped on my left foot. As it happened right after my Ironman World Championship race, I did not care - I was not doing much of my training. I thought that the pain would disappear by itself. Then months passed, and the pain persisted. Moreover, I realized that the NERVES on my left foot are a LITTLE NUMB. So, when I tried to run a higher mileage at my tempo pace, my left foot was less responsive after a 6-7 miles. Also, TAKING STEPS the following few days were quite difficult.
(2) Chronic pain: I almost entirely breathe on one side while swimming, especially if I am doing long difficult sessions. Also, when I am holding the aero position on my time-trial bike, I inadvertently tighten one side of my upper body - this becomes especially true if I am doing hard intervals and/or doing more than 2-3 hours of training. Consequence: chronic dull pain on my shoulder and my back. This results in debilitating pain during later phases of a race. This was seriously hampering my sleep after long rides (which is bread-and-butter for Ironman trainings).

Treatment: I had gone through extensive acupuncture treatments before the pandemic for chronic pains - thanks to my health insurance! They worked, but the results were not even close to Tina's treatments. I went to Tina, in the beginning of Dec, 2022. After three sessions, my foot injury was completely solved! In fact, after the very first session, I was incredulous with the results! The same goes for the chronic pain on my shoulder - that I have been living with for several years now. That too was gone! I was very confident that as I start doing "red mist swim sessions" in new years, the shoulder pain would come back - it kind of did, but only to 10-20% intensity compared to what it used to be. And that was relieved after one session with Tina in Jan, 2023. Now, she has started working on the chronic pain on my right lower back - and I am experiencing her magic already.

In summary, my condition was a sudden injury and one from muscle overuses from sports. Tina's acupuncture treatment resolved both issues unbelievably well (better than physios and sports massages).

I just finished a series of acupuncture sessions with Tina. She is excellent, warm and so knowledgeable. I went to her with several issues and she covered them all. Her intake process is super thorough, so I knew I was in the right place! I'll be back.

Dr. T is so wonderful to work with! I have been so happy with my first accupunture experience (and she is so patient with me even given my fear of needles). It's been so helpful for me health wise. I received her name from a dear friend who also had a fantastic experience. If you're worried abotu trying accupunture Dr. T will take good care of you!

Tina is funny, warm, knowledgeable, and most importantly thorough. In my first appointment with her, she invested a lot into understanding my problems and explaining how she diagnosed me and how she plans to help me. In my case, it is poor blood circulation and I can see how it leads to all my other issues. She performed acupuncture on me and I know it works because my hands, which are usually very cold, got really hot and even started sweating. Thanks Tina!

I started this review about 6 months ago and apparently did not finish it! I called this morning hoping in desperation to get in today for my 5-yr old daughter, who suddenly started getting migraines. Tina answered the phone herself and was able to fit us in same day. Secondly, she is obviously really well-versed in children and acupuncture for kids.

Fast forward 6 months and we've been going here and love it. Highly HIGHLY recommend.

Tina has changed my life. After 5 concussive blasts from combat my pain was untreatable with pain killers, which destroyed my kidneys and liver and also had very bad side effects. I also had worse after effects when pain medications wore off. Medical marijuana was effective with less side effects however with PTSD, while the pain was minimized, my nightmares and flashbacks became worse and more vivid. Acupuncture has been my saving grace and Tina is the best. I have been to other acupuncture places but none of them compare to her. I experience more reduction in pain for longer periods. Naya also does a great job when Tina is not available. I recommend Needles and Tea to all my friends and fellow Veterans.

Went in for insomnia and fatigue. It has been consistent and western medicine has not figured out the reason even after trying diff things like doing lab work, overnight sleep eval, etc...so figure I would try eastern medicine.

My Yelp rating is not a reflection of the staff - they were great, friendly, and professional. The rating reflects that their treatment did not help. I did acupuncture, pills, and herb powder. Did it for 8 weeks (weekly visit) and no results. I do realize for this treatment to work they say it could take many months...maybe a year +...of visits, but sadly I don't have to time to keep doing this every week. This time needs to not be used on other treatments/remedies I am looking at...

So while it did not work, in their defense western medicine has not worked either! I am writing this post partially so people don't think acupuncture is some sort of guaranteed cure-all as the current yelp reviews here seem to indicate.

I've been seeing Tina for the last year for some back pain and muscle tightness and she's the best! She is always super friendly and accommodating. I truly enjoy my sessions and feel relaxed when I leave.

Not to sound like a blithering idiot - but OMG Tina is absolutely AMAZING!!! You know how Dentists used to call themselves "painless dentists" to get more business but you always knew they were lying? Which I can honestly contest to since my Dad is a dentist... Well, Tina is truly a painless acupuncturist!

Now I must qualify this by saying that the painless part does not necessarily a good acupuncturist make - so not only is Tina painless - she's GREAT! From her warm and caring bedside manner through the 1/2 hour long treatment (which is the full cycle of qi) Tina shines in every aspect.

Her treatment room is warm and inviting, lovingly lined with her jars of herbs.

She takes her time with a thorough intake stopping to ask relevant questions about your life. I felt confident and taken care of. Her needle insertion is spectacular and as I mentioned above - completely painless. And, she gets the qi, every time.

When she left me to lie on the table I actually fell asleep, which has not happened to me during an acupuncture treatment in a long time and is a very very good thing. I kept waking myself up with gurgling/snoring like noises but I couldn't keep myself from dozing off once again.

After the treatment I felt relaxed AND refreshed. Plus during the intake she had recommended some particular supplements for me and during my treatment she spent the time researching them and writing them all down - including where I could get them.

Upon leaving, she gave me a gift!!! A wonderful Chinese soup mix of tonifying herbs and deliciousness.

Her clinic is in a wonderfully central SF location with easy (metered) street parking and some non metered parking too if you're lucky enough to find it. Either way, there was no hassle getting there, which is ever important to the blissed out treatment you can expect to receive from Tina Chin-Kaplan L.Ac extraordinaire!! :)