For Nancy Sencil, a childhood history of sore throats and fevers led to, of all things, a career opportunity.

“I had a history from childhood of sore throats, strep throat and high fevers,” she said. “I had my first acupuncture treatment when I was 21 years old . I have not had strep throat since then.”

Sencil studied for three years at the Tai Sophia School in Maryland to get her master’s in acupuncture. She is a licensed acupuncturist in Georgia and nationally certified.

Since graduating, Sencil has been in practice for 12 years and continues her training by studying with other acupuncturists.

She now offers community acupuncture at the Athens Wellness Cooperative on Prince Avenue. Although she also does individual acupuncture, she said that traditional acupuncture treatments in China were given in groups, and she believes the group setting has its advantages today.

“Our clinic.offers community acupuncture to provide affordable treatment. We have people who are out of work, disabled, not insured or unable to afford treatment otherwise,” she said. “People can come more often, which in the beginning of treatment is often beneficial. Symptoms often resolve faster. [And] being treated with other people in the room has a healing effect.”

Sencil said that acupuncture can be used to treat a wide variety of issues-headaches, allergies, colds, addictions, muscular and skeletal pain, insomnia, depression, immune system disorders, gynecological problems, infertility and more.

Acupuncture is a holistic medical treatment that has been used for almost 5,000 years. It was first used by Chinese Taoist priests to prevent or eliminate pain and illness, and it has been practiced in the United States since the 1970s.

But how can needles improve so many health issues?

“Channels, or meridians, of energy, run through your body, providing organs and tissues with vitality and nourishment,” Sencil said. “Any obstruction in the flow of this energy, called qi, may result in pain, dysfunction and ill health. Acupuncture stimulates certain points along the channels to restore balance and flow of energy, so your organs and bodily systems can work together in harmony.”

The Athens Wellness Cooperative charges only $35 per person for the first group acupuncture session and $25 for subsequent treatments, giving more people the opportunity to try acupuncture affordably.

On their first visit to the Wellness Cooperative, the patients fill out paperwork and discuss their symptoms. They are then treated in a room with four reclining chairs and relaxing music playing.

“I have a very gentle needling approach,” Sencil said. “The needles are about the size of a human hair. The majority of people feel, at the most, a mosquito bite sensation which quickly eases or no sensation at all.”

Though some might be skeptical about the effectiveness of acupuncture, a book of acupuncture testimonials in the waiting room of the Athens Wellness Cooperative contains recommendations from many satisfied patients.

“Acupuncture has addressed my health issue while simultaneously given me a greater sense of my health and well-being,” one wrote.

Another patient compared acupuncture favorably with Western medicine.

“I have stayed with acupuncture because of the calmness and completeness I feel when I am there,” the patient wrote. “Regardless of my mood for the day when I come to the appointment, I am always brought to a calm, healthy and balanced place when I leave.”