Eczema or flare ups of dry, itchy, flaky skin can be more than an annoyance for people.  Chronic flare ups of large areas of the skin can be debilitating.  It can be painful to move or use certain body parts as eczema frequently occurs in the creases of fingers, elbows and knees.  Bleeding and weeping cracks leave skin vulnerable to infection. Sometimes people can identify the cause of their flareups and sometimes its a mystery.  Common internal causes of eczema can include stress, hormones and food allergies.  Its also not uncommon that a person gets a nasty eczema f ..read more

The word arthritis conjures up images of swollen, stiff and painful joints, the inability to do loved activities, and lots of advil and tylenol. Arthritis can be caused by many different issues. For example, it may be the result of long ago sports injuries, infection, general wear and tear on the body or an autoimmune condition. There is currently no cure for arthritis, but the good news is there are a lot of ways to manage the condition. Acupuncture is a fantastic way to manage the chronic inflammation, pain and stiffness of arthritis and is even endorsed by the Arthritis Foundation. &nb ..read more

Depression can be more complicated than just sadness. It can look like fatigue, lack of energy and motivation or even body aches and pain. Sometimes it can show up as anger and mood swings and trouble sleeping or sleeping too much.  Depression is commonly co-occurring with chronic pain, fibromyalgia or other chronic diseases. (P.S. Acupuncture is fantastic at treating chronic pain.) Sometimes people do not realize they’re depressed as sometimes their symptoms are not obvious to them or are not typical feelings of sadness. Sometimes it can be hard to describe what you’re feeling, you just ..read more

First, let’s go over how many trips to the bathroom are within a normal range. Six to eight trips in 24 hours are considered “normal”. Frequent urination is annoying and is disruptive, especially at night. A lot of times after getting up and using the bathroom, it can be hard to go back to sleep. There are a lot of reasons for frequent urination and you’re not alone.  Whether it is due to aging, nerve damage, hormones, prostate issues, cancer treatment, weak bladder or pelvic muscles, or just plain stress there are ways to find relief from frequent urination!  Firstly, monitor your f ..read more

Maintaining a healthy blood pressure is crucial for cardiovascular and heart health.  With heart disease and stroke being two of the leading causes of death in the United States, its no wonder that maintaining a healthy blood pressure is top of mind for many people. While salt intake is crucial to reducing high blood pressure, there is another often forgotten factor: stress.  Reducing stress is very, very important.  Stress triggers the body's fight or flight response: one of the features of which (besides increased heart rate and blood flow to muscles) is elevated blood pressu ..read more

Let’s talk about sleep. Barely functioning on poor quality sleep is not optimal. If you find that you need caffeine or energy drinks to survive, you are not sleeping enough! If you find that you have a hard time getting up in the morning, you are not sleeping enough. You might think that you are getting enough sleep, but the quality of sleep is not there to feel truly rested. Sleeping in is not the cure though! Going to bed earlier in the evening with a solid evening routine is generally a better method to getting better, quality sleep. Here are some sleep tips to get you started. Go to bed ..read more

What is routine? It is following the same steps or actions in the same order.  An evening routine signals to the body that it is time to prepare for sleep. This gives the mind time to decompress and ease the body into sleep mode. Routines are not just for kids! Kids can not jump into bed and instantly fall asleep and neither can adults. Resting and decompressing before sleep is an important step to getting good, consistent sleep. Some ideas to consider for a routine are reading a fun book, taking a bath, meditation or journaling, drinking a non-caffeinated herbal tea like chamomile or min ..read more

Do you feel as if your concerns are being dismissed by your doctor? Are you frustrated by only hormonal choices of birth control or expensive creams/patches that may or may not work? Acupuncture can help by smoothing the transition from regular periods to perimenopause to menopause in several ways. Acupuncture helps the common symptoms that many people going through menopause struggle with: temperature shifts (hot or cold), insomnia, weight gain, sugar cravings, brain fog (or forgetfulness), mood swings, anxiety/depression, irregular periods, heavy bleeding, cramps, hair loss, and vaginal dryn ..read more

People are used to how medication works. You take a pill and get an instant result. Pain killers may dull or mask the pain, but they don’t address the underlying cause of the pain.  Acupuncture works differently and while commonly people will notice an immediate improvement in pain sometimes it takes a few treatments to kick in.  Look for reduction of intensity and frequency of each pain episode.  During the course of treatment, the frequency, intensity and duration of pain decreases. It's also not uncommon that the size of the area that hurts starts to shrink.   Peop ..read more

Seasonal allergies don’t have to be the norm this spring or fall.  In addition to your acupuncture treatments use these 3 tips to beat seasonal allergies at home. -Rinse Your Sinuses Twice per Day Use a neti pot or saline sinus rinse twice per day.  If you are using a neti pot use the right amount of salt and distilled water. Wash your neti pot in the dishwasher.  If you have trouble using a neti pot, be sure to tuck your chin, tilt your head sideways, breathe through your mouth and lean over the sink at the waist (not bending forward from your neck).  Be sure to blow your ..read more