Needle Free Treatments

Low level laser therapy is the use of a small red 650 Thz laser on acupuncture points to treat various conditions. Although laser isn't as powerful as acupuncture with needles, it's pretty close! There is no pain or burning and no side effects. Laser helps stimulate blood flow, helps heal injuries faster, stimulates ATP and great for anything we use acupuncture for.

Cupping feels fantastic! We use either traditional fire cupping or plastic pump cups. It is great to help boost the immune system, clear cough and asthma, or help with pain.

We can use an acupressure probe or tool to help stimulate certain acupuncture points. We can use an electrical stimulation probe that uses a very small current and when touched to the skin it sends a little "tickle" which can help stimulate the acupuncture point.

Graston is known by several names. It has been used in Traditional Chinese Medicine and other alternative ancient medicines for hundreds of years prior to western civilization recognizing it and renaming this therapy to Graston. This method is the use of a smooth sided tool to "scrape" the skin gently. The goal is to increase blood circulation in the connective tissue or fascia which is the fiberous material between our skin and muscles. This connective tissue can become blocked by adhesions or knots which can contribute to a host of issues. Graston can be gentle or more abrasive depending on the goal. The red marks that occur with Graston are just like cupping marks. They are not bruises, but simply the blood that comes near the surfaces. Graston feels wonderful!

K tape is an elastic cotton strip with an acrylic adhesive that is used with the intent of treating pain and disability from athletic injuries and a variety of other physical disorders. In individuals with chronic musculoskeletal pain, research suggests that elastic taping may help relieve pain. The tape is not meant to be like traditional sports tape where the goal is to stabilize a muscle or inhibit movement. The goal with K Tape is to enhance the blood flow in the connective tissue layer which is the space between the skin and muscle.

Similar to how "Breathe-Right" strips work for snoring is how K Tape works. With "Breathe-Right" strips a small elastic band is anchored on either side of the nose which causes a stretch or flare of the nostrils so more oxygen can enter the nose. With the K Tape, we anchor the tape first, then stretch the tape in the middle, and anchor again at the other end. This causes the skin to lift up just enough from the muscle helping to increase blood circulation and decrease pressure and pain. The tape stays on for several days, even in the water.

Auricular therapy is the stimulation of certain areas around the human ear to help affect the vagus nerve. The vagus nerve is a large cranial nerve that begins in the brain, splits into a small brach through the ear lobe, goes through the neck, and then stimulates most of our major organs. The primary job of the vagus nerve is to stimulate "rest and digest" or the relaxation of certain bodily functions and organ functions. Auricular therapy might be used if someone has too much "fight or flight" or sympathetic responses occuring. Laser and acupressure are used to stimulate this function with our needle-free treatment.