Acupuncture

Using needles that are .18mm to.25mm thick (An average human hair is .08mm to .12mm) are used to stimulate the points on the body to release Nitric oxide (NO), endorphins (the body's natural endogenous pain killer), increasing blood flow and nerve function, inducing a piezo electric effect in connective tissue.
A metaphor for which points to use that I came up with while in acupuncture school is related to music. A point is a note, a combination of points acting together is a chord, when describing this to a  patient years ago they completed the metaphor for me when saying, "... so does that make the meridians the staff?" thus completing my metaphor.
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If we look at a curve that shows the nervous system response to an acupuncture needle the curve across time shows that the biggest nervous system response is highest right at insertion with a steep curve of decreasing response across a short period of time.  Therapeutic dose for me is when a patient feels complete. You have settled into needle bliss or as some call the Acuzone and you have emerged from the otherside most of my patients complete this journey within 30 minutes. A physical sign of this with some patients is literally their skin pushes the needle out.

Manual Therapy

​The techniques that I do are all gentle, yet they work very deeply in the body. They are meant to engage the deepest layers of connective tissue, the fascia, as well as the deep muscles (the ones that initiate movements), as well as the larger muscles that we are used to seeing defined on the surface. All the techniques that I do in Bodywork and acupuncture are designed to get your body's natural rhythms and ability to heal itself enhanced in moving blood and open nerve flow the body forgets its wounds as best it can and restores function and decreases pain.
​The names of the techniques in my toolset include Shiatsu, tuina, yin tuina, So Tai, gentle myofascial release consisting of stretches and following your body’s movement, craniosacral therapy which is also gentle stretches and holds but with feeling a rhythm of the cranial system, lymph drainage therapy which enhances fluid movement and maps it’s direction, visceral manipulation, and mechanical link, …

Chair Massage and
​Short Table Massages are Available!
​$40/20 min

Patients ask me what makes the styles of bodywork that I do different than massage. 
My sponge metaphor

​Firstly, a great massage is awesome! We are all feeling good and pleasantly relaxed, I dont know about you, but I drool, and afterwards I feel awesome like a rung out sponge with an attitude adjustment. After a short period of time we may notice that the same stressors activate the same postures and it is time for another massage. So we can feel gently rung out again.

Now if a massage is gently wringing us out like a sponge. My goal is simple, I want to change the characteristics of the sponge, like its absorbancy, (how you deal with stress on mental level), and it's structure like its cell size (Physically getting you to release adhesions to be able to move better.)

​They both work together. Not competing with each other.  That being said I have 2 caveats.
​1- Generally speaking, I recommend that after receiving manual therapy from myself or similar techniques that you wait a couple days before further massage or this type of work. 
Why?  
With Light Touch Techniques your body is still integrating for a couple days after an appointment.
2- Both are fantastic prior to a standard chiropractic appointment to release the soft tissues.

Acupressure, Heat and Light: No Needles!

Acupuncture point stimulation is done with a tool called a teishin,  or with finger tips. Neither puncture the skin. The teishin is a lighter stimulation and works on the points more energetically than the gentle pressure of the fingers. 
Cold Lasers, electric moxa and Tuning Forks are also used to stimulate acupuncture points as well as other tissues to diminish pain and other symptoms to improve your function.
If we look at a curve that shows the nervous system response to a laser or tuning fork the curve across time shows that the stimulation builds in a short time and then going flat as the frequency is absorbed and then reaches a saturation. This is a therapeutic dose.

​Posture and Gait Analysis

I analyze your standing posture and your walk. Then I discuss with you how your posture and walk can be affecting your pains and vice versa. 

Hypnotherapy, Guided Visualization, Qigong

People are amazing, you are amazing, you heal, you breathe, you think, you learn, you guide. My mission is to get you to do these around healing yourself. This with nutrition is your homework to guide your immune system to your health. ​

Cupping and Gua Sha

Cupping uses suction (negative pressure) to stimulate a single area or multiple areas simultaneously. They can also be  moved providing a type of skin rolling massage. These techniques as well as one called Gua Sha which is a scraping of the skin (it is similar to another modality called Graston Technique) cause painless bruise looking colorations as the fluids that are trapped in the tissue are drawn to the surface to be reabsorbed over a greater surface area and the connective tissue has been stretched. These techniques help to decrease pain and stiffness.