(Originally published in 2021) Dr. Jen Kralowetz is no stranger to medicine. Although Dr. Kralowetz is new to the team at Evergreen Medical Acupuncture, she's been treating patients for a decade. Now she is serving patients in Evergreen on Saturdays (our most requested day!). Jen's journey into helping people overcome all sorts of health challenges...

(Originally published in 2021) Most people have heard of acupuncture, but many people don't fully understand how it works or what kind of diseases and symptoms it can treat. I thought I'd highlight some interesting cases my clinic has seen over the years. The easiest thing to treat with acupuncture is pain: all types, any location, acute or chronic...

Myofascial Trigger Points (MTrps) are clinically diagnosed as palpable taut bands in the muscle that are tender when pressed (muscle knots). Often, these points refer lightning pain in distant areas and pain with stretching. A local twitch response with needling confirms active MTrps. MTrps have been found in 147 different muscles. Headaches, rotat...

 I can't tell you how often we get the question, "What is the difference between dry needling (DN) and medical acupuncture (MA)?" Simply put, DN is needling into muscles, while MA is needling along nerve and connective tissue pathways. DN is best for painful muscle knots, while MA employs a variety of needling techniques and needling locations...

First off, the cardinal rule of medicine (besides do no harm) is to never say you can cure something. Lesson No. 1: If you run into someone claiming they can cure you, they probably haven't been in the business of medicine long enough to know that is such a misleading statement. What does "to cure" even mean? It means to completely get rid of, to c...

It finally snowed! Coloradans are welcoming the much-needed moisture and fresh feeling as we head into 2022. Winter adventures are on the horizon, so we should all remember to be careful on the road if we want to make the most of the season when we get to our destination. Motor vehicle accidents (MVAs) are a leading cause of injury, and the effects...

Did you know that the most common condition people seek an acupuncturist for is pain? Pain is both what you feel (subjective) and a physical change in the body (objective). If you twist your ankle, you feel pain and see marked redness and swelling. Pain is your body's way of saying something is wrong, so pay attention. Would you ignore your gas lig...

 Lower back pain is the number one complaint that people come to see us for at Evergreen Medical Acupuncture. It's one of the most common ailments in America, and one that responds very well to acupuncture therapy. Scientific research supports its efficacy based on multiple studies and comprehensive systematic reviews—so much so that the ...

The term Trigger Point Injection is synonymous with "wet needling". This treatment was the original therapeutic founded by Dr. Janet Travell, MD whose treatments and research eventually paved the way for the treatment of "dry needling". Dry needling involves an acupuncture needle (solid, non-hypodermic) inserted into a taught muscle band or knot (c...

In January 2020, the Federal government made a groundbreaking exception for Acupuncturists to bill Medicare. After years of volunteers' fighting, we were finally, partially, accepted. Congress saw all the proof, which was summed up in a 200-page document of the research behind Medical Acupuncture and its efficacy for low back pain. Unfortunately, C...

As the owner of Evergreen Medical Acupuncture, and Evergreen native, I have been committed to serving my community in whatever ways possible. I think it's safe to say that the prices of goods, services, and the general cost of living has been exponentially rising and non-essential medical services such as acupuncture, and even chiropractic or massa...

I think everyone can understand that scars can be anything from a cosmetic eyesore to a major body-altering issue. Scars are made up of a thicker collagen that mends together injured tissue. Hypertrophic scarring is a typical wavy formation of scarring that outlines just where the injury, incision, or damage occurred. However, Keloid scarring, whic...

 Myofascial Trigger Points (MTrPs) Almost all of us suffer from trigger points. MTrPs are clinically diagnosed as palpable taut bands in the muscle that are tender when pressed. Often, these trigger points refer lightning pain in distant areas and pain with stretching. A local twitch response with acupuncture confirms active MTrPs. MTrPs have ...

What is the scope of practice for acupuncturists and physical therapists? You might be surprised to find that although physical therapists around the country are performing dry needling, they may be doing so illegally. Each profession has a scope of practice that is determined by each state. State by state the SOP (scope of practice) changes. There...

 In case you haven't tried dry needling, here is what it looks like... OUCH!? I would say that dry needling is usually painful and effective. I incorporate both dry needling and traditional acupuncture into my practice. In recent studies it has been suggested that the combination of the two is more effective than dry needling alone. It's been ...

 Acupuncturist VS Physical Therapist April 18th, 2017 The Denver Post published an article about the new lawsuit the Acupuncture Association of Colorado served APTA (American Physical Therapy Association) of Colorado for Dry Needling. Let's take a look at the ambiguity in the debate over training hours spent needling. In the Denver Post articl...

 Earlier this year, the Acupuncture Association of Colorado (AAC) filed a lawsuit against the Colorado branch of American Physical Therapy Association (APTA) for the "unsafe use of Dry Needling." Why? Because less than 200 acupuncturists in the state of Colorado who are members of the AAC have determined that dry needling done by physical ther...