General Health Care
Chinese Medicine has evolved from a folk medicine to an evidence-based, integrative health care modality. Our approach is geared toward men and women and combines acupuncture, electro-acupuncture, gua sha, cupping, moxibustion, herbal medicine, nutrition, functional medicine, and lifestyle guidance.
Our practice has a huge focus in women's health, and we also address acute and chronic pain, your mental and physical response to stress, quality of sleep, menstrual cycles, hormone regulation, digestion, perimenopause, and more.
We help men with tension, pain, injury, digestion, headaches, sleep, bladder and prostate issues, gout, and more. Palliative acupuncture is available for people with serious illness; we focus on improving quality of life by addressing physical, emotional, social, and spiritual needs. It is appropriate at any stage of a serious illness and can be provided alongside curative treatments.
Proven Effective and practiced for over 5,000 years, Chinese medicine has an important place in modern health care. According to a study published in the Archives of Internal Medicine, 51% of medical doctors understand the efficacy and value of acupuncture, and refer their patients to acupuncture more than any other alternative care. In the past 60 years, many scientific studies have explored how it works and why; see Modern Research for some examples.
At your first visit we'll review your health history, discuss your top concerns, and review lab tests or diagnostic imaging you already have. We'll feel your wrist pulses, look at your tongue, and examine areas where you have pain. You'll receive acupuncture and rest with needles in for about 30-45 minutes. We may recommend lab testing, or herbal/nutritional supplements to further support you.
How does it work? Acupuncture needles are strategically placed in the body, and stimulate the central nervous system to release natural chemicals that alter hormonal output, pain response, and other biological processes, improving physical and emotional well-being. Studies using MRI demonstrate that acupuncture has a measurable effect on parts of the brain that control numerous functions in the body. It does something completely remarkable – the stimulation from needles deactivates certain areas of the brain, while increasing the body’s natural opioids and release of neurotransmitters like serotonin, dopamine, and oxytocin. This process has a powerful effect depending on the focused application: decreasing inflammation, increasing blood flow, regulating hormones, suppressing pain, and calming an overactive nervous system (think stress, disruptive sleep, anxiety).
Fire-cupping improves blood circulation, detoxification, and breaks up adhesions between layers the skin, muscles, and connective tissues. Addressing soft tissues in this way restores movement and function. Cupping is included in our acupuncture treatments or can be scheduled without acupuncture.
