FREE RANGE ACUPUNCTURE
SPORT MEDICINE & PRIMARY CARE
Santa Cruz & Silicon Valley
CUPPING
Relax & Rest & Regenerate
Cupping involves twirling a cotton ball lit on fire inside a cup to make a glass cup stick to your body as the fire is withdrawn. The skin, muscles, nerves, get irrigated by the growth and repair factors released throughout the body by the pulling action of the cups on the tissue.
HERBAL MEDICINE
The Inside Job
Address your condition, and augment your acupuncture treatment from the inside. Herbs are safe and effective when prescribed by a professional herbalist. I only trust brands that adhere to strict quality standards, and deliver results.
ACUPUNCTURE
Ancient methods for contemporary issues
By now... you must have at least heard of it! Acupuncture uses sterile single use needles that are so thin that they are barely perceptible to you. But to your body, the needles are a catalyst for tissue regeneration, relaxation, and body awareness.
PRIMARY CARE
Integrative Wellness
Trust this powerful medicine to keep you well and strong, and rely on prevention. Your acupuncturist can help you navigate and order simple metabolic tests, as well as assist you with imaging when needed (Xray, MRI).
Chinese Medicine is widely based on the observation of nature. "Tune up" and regulate through the seasons in preparation for a trip, when forecasting a busy and loaded work period, or to prepare for your favorite activities.
DRY NEEDLING
Trigger Point Therapy
This increasingly popular technique has become a favorite of athletes, and is sought after to treat myofascial pain, increase range of motion, and speed up injury recovery.
By inserting, and manipulating a needle in a trigger point, a cascade of favorable metabolic events ensue around the injured tissues to promote healing, and natural pain relief.
Trigger points are highly "excitable", and will relax after the inserted needle provokes an involuntary twitch (fasciculation) in the muscle. People tolerate the stimulation with various degrees of discomfort, but the results are consistent. Be aware that soreness is to be expected following your appointment (48 hrs), but does not prevent activity.
SPORTS MEDICINE
The Essence of Free Range Acupuncture
Injuries, aches, and pains are well treated with acupuncture. The needles are there to bring your body's attention to the problem. They create non-traumatic micro tears in the surrounding tissues, bringing fresh, oxygenated blood to the tissues, releasing natural painkillers, and stimulating the healing process.
PEDIATRICS
As They Grow
It is never too early to start using traditional methods and remedies to treat your young one(s). From "growing pains" to anxiety, exposing your child to a medicine much different than the one they are used to ultimately gives them the knowledge, and lifeskill to explore holistic wellness solutions later in life.
Afraid of needles?? Gentle techniques, and a few tricks are used to accommodate every patient's comfort level.
LED Light Therapy
The Gentle Power of Light
Low level light therapy is a safe and efficient way to stimulate your body's collagen matrix, and enhance cellular activity.
LED light therapy is backed up by clinical research and is
scientifically proven to relieve arthritic pain, muscle and joint pain and stiffness. Light therapy boosts cellular energy resulting in a cascade of metabolic events leading to an increase in micro-circulation, tissue repair, and a decrease in inflammation and pain.
REVIEWS & FEEDBACK
Melanie is amazing. I started seeing her in late 2016. She changed my entire outlook on acupuncture. I have since recovered from an injury that consumed my life - For more than year I did not run or jump due to the pain in my heel. After seeing Melanie consistently every 2-3 weeks my injuries became less noticeable. I am able to do short runs now and light jumping with no pain or aches. She has helped me maintain and stay injury free.
Sarah Foster
More recently, I came to her with chronic pain in my forearms from old injuries exacerbated by computer work/typing and yoga. I've had this pain for over 6 years and no one has been able to treat it like she has. She listened carefully, analyzed the problem, and combined a few types of treatment to bring me the most relief I've had in years. I had resigned myself to this being a forever issue; now with Melanie's expertise I feel hopeful that we can truly treat this issue.
Anna Schmidt
Melanie is amazing - knowledgeable, kind, detail-oriented, and therapeutically on-point. She spends time with you and really makes you feel like you are the only thing she is paying attention to while you are there. She won my business out right and I’ll be referring her to all my friends/family!