Acupuncture

Acupuncture is the use of thin, sterile needles, inserted at specific points on the body in order to treat disease. It can stop pain, boost energy, improve digestion, enhance sleep, balance emotions, strengthen the internal organs, and much more. It works with your chi, or life force, to balance emotions and improve the overall functioning of your body. Like blood and nerve impulses, chi circulates up and down the limbs and through the internal organs in a regular pattern along specific pathways called meridians or channels. The acupuncture points are places on these meridians where the chi comes closest to the surface and can be more easily accessed. Very simply put, to treat pain we select local points along that channel and when we have internal organ issues we select points on the channel associated with that organ.  Please click here for more information.

Chinese Herbal Medicine

Chinese herbs can help you reduce or eliminate the need for medications, address internal organ imbalances, balance your emotions, stop pain, boost your energy, improve your digestion, enhance sleep, and much more. In Chinese medicine herbs are categorized not just by there action but by things like their taste, the channels that they enter, and their temperature. The taste of a plant is an indicator of its basic chemical makeup and, therefore, of its actions. For example, sweet herbs are considered to be building or strengthening. The channel that an herb enters indicates which areas of the body and/or which internal organ it can treat. The temperature of an herb is not the literal temperature but the perceived, or energetic, temperature. For example, cayenne pepper would be energetically hot while peppermint would be energetically cold. Because of this cayenne pepper would never be an appropriate treatment for someone who has a lot of inflammation or a high fever, though peppermint could could help. Please click here for more information.

CranioSacral Therapy

CranioSacral Therapy (CST) is a gentle, hands-on approach that releases tensions deep in the body to relieve pain and dysfunction and improve whole-body health and performance. Every day your body endures stresses and strains that it must work to compensate for. Unfortunately, these changes often cause body tissues to tighten and distort the craniosacral system - the membranes and fluids that surround, protect and nourish the brain and spinal cord. This can create a barrier to the healthy performance of the central nervous system, and potentially every other system it interacts with. With a light touch, the CST practitioner uses her hands to evaluate the craniosacral system by gently feeling various locations of the body to test for the ease of motion and rhythm of the cerebrospinal fluid pulsing around the brain and spinal cord. Soft-touch techniques are then used to release any restrictions, normalizing the environment around the brain and spinal cord to alleviate a wide variety of dysfunctions, from chronic pain and sports injuries to stroke and neurological impairment.  Please click here for more information.

Osteopathic Manual Medicine

Please note: after three years at the Center, Rick will be retiring as of the end of May and is no longer excepting new patients. We are sorry to see him go and wish him well on his adventures! Osteopathic Manual Medicine directly manipulates the structures of the musculo-skeletal (MSK) system: muscles, bones, fascia, tendons, and ligaments. Techniques used include myofascial release, muscle energy, craniosacral, and select muscle strengthening and stretching. Imbalances in the complex MSK system can create a host of physical problems and complaints, which literally can extend from head to toe. Most of us are familiar with and have experienced the results of these imbalances, commonly occurring in the form of headaches, back pain, neck pain, and chronic pain or stiffness of the muscles or joints. Many of these problems can arise from old injuries which were never diagnosed or properly treated. Please click here for more information.

Therapeutic Massage

Massage is the manual manipulation of soft body tissues in order to enhance health and well being. Medical research has shown that massage can reduce acute and chronic pain, hasten healing from trauma or injury, improve posture and flexibility, relax muscles, and enhance sports performance. It can increase relaxation and decrease stress, anxiety, and depression. It can even have a positive affect on certain medical conditions like high blood pressure and insomnia, and increase immune function. It has been proposed that massage works by blocking pain perception, activating the release of endorphins and serotonin, preventing formation of scar tissue, releasing tension, and increasing the flow of lymph and blood. Please click here for more information.