(Originally published in 2021) Most people have heard of acupuncture, but many people don't fully understand how it works or what kind of diseases and symptoms it can treat. I thought I'd highlight some interesting cases my clinic has seen over the years. The easiest thing to treat with acupuncture is pain: all types, any location, acute or chronic...

Myofascial Trigger Points (MTrps) are clinically diagnosed as palpable taut bands in the muscle that are tender when pressed (muscle knots). Often, these points refer lightning pain in distant areas and pain with stretching. A local twitch response with needling confirms active MTrps. MTrps have been found in 147 different muscles. Headaches, rotat...

The most common condition people seek an acupuncturist for is pain. Acupuncture excels at treating all kinds of pain, in all phases of the pain process. Not only is acupuncture great for decreasing the feeling of pain, and the symptoms (redness, swelling, etc.), but it's also great for speeding up the actual process of tissue healing.Pain can be bo...

Here are some easy, everyday tips that are no-brainers when it comes to a healthy lifestyle. Your Toilet When you flush, your toilet releases what's called "toilet plume" into the air, which is a spray filled with microscopic bacteria, such as E. coli, and viruses. The germs emitted in the spray can linger in the air for hours and settle onto nearb...

 I can't tell you how often we get the question, "What is the difference between dry needling (DN) and medical acupuncture (MA)?" Simply put, DN is needling into muscles, while MA is needling along nerve and connective tissue pathways. DN is best for painful muscle knots, while MA employs a variety of needling techniques and needling locations...

Spring is in full swing and signs of life are everywhere. Sprouts and blooms have broken through the winter landscape. Birds, bees and butterflies are getting back to business. The days are getting longer, and Mother's Day is here. It's a fitting time to reflect on all that gives us life and sustains us. Spending time outdoors reminds us of the nat...

You're not just imagining it: pollen counts from trees and grass have been extremely high in Colorado this year, thanks to high winds and mostly dry weather. More than 67 million Americans suffer from allergies, 81 percent of whom say they are allergic to pollen. If you're one of them, you've likely been feeling uncomfortable symptoms such as sinus...

First off, the cardinal rule of medicine (besides do no harm) is to never say you can cure something. Lesson No. 1: If you run into someone claiming they can cure you, they probably haven't been in the business of medicine long enough to know that is such a misleading statement. What does "to cure" even mean? It means to completely get rid of, to c...

It finally snowed! Coloradans are welcoming the much-needed moisture and fresh feeling as we head into 2022. Winter adventures are on the horizon, so we should all remember to be careful on the road if we want to make the most of the season when we get to our destination. Motor vehicle accidents (MVAs) are a leading cause of injury, and the effects...

Did you know that the most common condition people seek an acupuncturist for is pain? Pain is both what you feel (subjective) and a physical change in the body (objective). If you twist your ankle, you feel pain and see marked redness and swelling. Pain is your body's way of saying something is wrong, so pay attention. Would you ignore your gas lig...

 Lower back pain is the number one complaint that people come to see us for at Evergreen Medical Acupuncture. It's one of the most common ailments in America, and one that responds very well to acupuncture therapy. Scientific research supports its efficacy based on multiple studies and comprehensive systematic reviews—so much so that the ...

The Institute of Functional Medicine states that "Functional Medicine is a systems-based and biology-based approach that focuses on identifying and addressing the root cause of disease." Let's break this down: A systems-based approach is the understanding that no one-system of the body operates independently. For example, your nervous system is ver...

I think everyone can understand that scars can be anything from a cosmetic eyesore to a major body-altering issue. Scars are made up of a thicker collagen that mends together injured tissue. Hypertrophic scarring is a typical wavy formation of scarring that outlines just where the injury, incision, or damage occurred. However, Keloid scarring, whic...

 In my doctoral program I received specialized training in acupuncture, oriental medicine, alternative therapies and specialized techniques, along with western allopathic and biological studies. Starting this program, which was kind of a fluke for me, was the best journey I ever decided to endure. Each module (month) I traveled to Portland, I ...