Additional Therapies
These may be included in your treatment as determined by your practitioner, to achieve our best results. They are usually added to your visit at no extra charge. If extra time is needed, we may need to schedule a longer visit next time.
Cupping
Cupping therapy, also known as pneumatic decompression, has been used for centuries in Chinese medicine, and has become a well-known therapy in modern western treatments as well. You have probably seen pictures of athletes, like Michael Phelps, with cup marks on their backs.
We use suction cups to release tight muscles and fascia. This can be immensely helpful in treating chronic pain patterns that keep coming back.
In Chinese medicine, we also use cupping to release toxins and “pathogenic factors” from the tissues. We can tell from the color and intensity of the cup marks whether you have cold, heat or stagnation stuck in the tissues.
Cupping usually leaves reddish or light purple marks on the skin that last a few days. We call it “Sha,” and it’s a good sign of release of stagnation. The marks are usually painless. We ask that you keep them covered to avoid getting a draft on the opened pores.
All cups are sterilized thoroughly after each use.
Gua Sha
Gua Sha, or muscle scraping, is used to release pathogens from the body, much like cupping. It is extremely helpful in cases of chronic cough to open the chest, among other issues.
Gua Sha leaves red marks on the skin, and as with cupping, we ask that you keep it covered to protect the open pores.
The modern chiropractic technique, Graston Therapy, is derived from traditional Gua Sha.
Far Infrared Therapy
In almost every treatment, we use our far-infrared TDP lamps. These not only keep you warm, they are a treatment in their own right. These special lamps have a mineral plate that emits the infrared heat at the same wavelength as your tissue, so it can penetrate deeper into the body. They are excellent for deeply warming, as well as healing tissue and injuries.
We also have a hand-held infra-red light for spot treatment, in place of moxibustion. We do not use regular moxa in our office due to many extremely sensitive patients and young children who cannot tolerate the smoke. We also have an electric moxa stick.