We offer traditional acupuncture as well as electro-acupuncture (also known as e-stim) and trigger point acupuncture (also known as dry needling in some health professions).

Acupuncture is the insertion of sterile, disposable, single-use needles into the skin in order to:

• Increase blood flow to a target area of the body (ie. injury site, brain, uterus, etc..).

• Improve systemic circulation by enhancing generation of nitric oxide (1). Nitric oxide is a vasodilator, meaning it relaxes the smooth muscle of your blood vessels, increasing blood flow and regulating blood pressure.

• Release muscle tension and pain by stimulating and breaking up bands of bound muscle fibers called trigger points.

• Relieve pain by interrupting redundant pain signal “feedback loops” and produce endorphins, your body’s natural opioid-like peptides.

• Activate the parasympathetic nervous system (2), the body’s “rest and digest” state in which healing can occur.

• Regulate the immune system by stimulating production of cytokines, T-cells, and B-cells (3).

When our body is in a state of stress and our sympathetic nervous system (“fight or flight” mode) is engaged we experience increased muscle tension, blood pressure, and inflammation. With acupuncture we can help regulate the nervous system. This is one of the primary reasons acupuncture has been adopted by the VA medical system as a modality regularly used to treat veterans dealing with mental, emotional and physical trauma.

Acupuncture has been shown to stimulate the release of enkephalin, beta-endorphin, endomorphin, and dynorphin, which together have an analgesic (pain relieving) effect similar to opioid drugs but without the side effects.

Acupuncture is part of a system of medicine originating in China over 3,000 years ago. It has truly withstood the test of time, undergoing numerous processes of critical inquiry, experimentation, formalization, and refinement throughout the millennia.