Acupuncture and Holistic Health Center

07/30/2025

Dr Michael here!

“I don’t think acupuncture can take care of my allergies”. I have heard that said more than once. That is far from the truth. The truth is acupuncture has been proven to alleviate allergy symptoms especially in rhinitis, also known as hay fever.
When allergy symptoms occur, an immune flare up is often causing the issue. Oftentimes an allergic reaction is your immune system’s way of saying something is wrong and your body doesn’t react well to whatever the allergen is. Some examples are peanuts-as a food allergen, and pollen-as an environmental allergy. Most people have no to little reaction coming in contact with these, but for others it could be severe. But how does acupuncture help with this, you ask?
Acupuncture helps with allergies by reducing inflammation, regulating the immune system, and promoting overall well-being. How it works is that an acupuncture physician like myself would stimulate specific points on your body which would impact the release of biochemicals that reduce pain and inflammation. By calming your overactive immune system, acupuncture addresses the cause of the allergy response. You start treatment once or twice a week, and gradually reduce your frequency of treatment as you get more balanced over a course of treatment. Your allergy symptoms such as sneezing, itchy, watery eyes, and nasal congestion can reduce and stay better.
Will acupuncture alone get rid of your allergies? No. But we also use a reliable and comprehensive food allergy test here in this office so you have a better understanding of other allergy triggers that you may have but didn’t know. Over the years we have helped hundreds of allergy sufferers using this integrated approach of acupuncture plus food allergy testing.
While we cannot cure your allergies, we can surely help you lead a more normal life and maintain your immune benefits through informed diet and occasional acupuncture follow-up treatment. If you would like to live a better life with allergy relief come see us at Acupuncture & Holistic Health Center. Call now to make an appointment at 904-296-9545.

07/29/2025

Dr. Michael here!

Several patients have asked, what happens during an initial consultation? I would be happy to tell you.
Acupuncture practices differ in how they intake a new patient. Some acupuncturists do not do a complete history and physical exam, and simply ask a few questions about your symptoms before beginning the acupuncture treatment. In our clinic, we believe that a comprehensive consultation and examination is essential to providing you the right treatment.
Several things take place during our initial assessment. We review your medical history and health issues from the online health history questionnaires you complete prior to your first appointment. When you come into the office, after our friendly staff take your vitals, we bring you back for a confidential one-hour consultation before we give you your first treatment. We ask you about your past and present health conditions and any relevant family history of your issues. We learn about the specific symptoms that you're experiencing, how they're affecting you and what you have done already to take care of your issues. We ask you about your diet, your sleeping patterns, how your stress levels are, and what other habits that you have that may be affecting your health. A large portion of the initial consultation is talking and getting to know the whole picture of what is going on with you. We make our diagnosis by understanding you as a whole, and seek to find the root cause of your health issues.
After a thorough consultation, at least in our office, we examine you physically, take your Chinese pulse diagnosis at your wrists, and then plan and provide your first acupuncture treatment.
After your first session is done we develop a follow up treatment plan. We discuss everything that was found and then schedule you with your future sessions to get you back in balance and on the road to recovery.
If you're needing to resolve some health problems, no matter how large or small, or just looking to optimize your health, please give us a call here at the Acupuncture & Holistic Health Center at 904-296-9545. We have proudly served our Jacksonville community since 1988, and we are here to help you get better.

07/24/2025

Incorporating acupuncture into your relaxation routine

Dr Michael here!

Take a moment after you read the next questions to close your eyes, breathe and think. Think about this: what relaxes you? Think of the sights, sounds, smells and how you feel when totally relaxed. And breathe.

What did you think of? Did you think of the waves lapping on the beach, a favorite place? How did you feel? Did you feel the pressures of the world off your shoulders, for those fleeting moments?

Unfortunately in today's world everybody is always hustling and bustling. Why not take 1 hour out of your day and take care of yourself? You can take care of yourself by rebalancing yourself - whether to reduce your body pains or just get a mental/emotional reset. You can do all that during acupuncture. Think about it, 1 hour where you're not disturbed by the world's problems. 1 hour where you can relax on the treatment table and have somebody help realign you.

Here at Acupuncture and Holistic Health Center our trained acupuncture physicians can realign you and help you feel like your best self. We can address your pains whether it
be your back, legs, shoulders or headaches, and alleviate anxiety and depression. We can pinpoint all these issues for you. Call us today at 904-296-9545, and let us help you.

07/16/2025

Dr Michael here!

As a society, we all either know someone or we are the person we know who struggles with weight loss. Acupuncture can assist in weight loss by helping take care of some contributing factors that can cause issues with it.

Some of the things that acupuncture can help with is to restore Qi, which is your vital energy, to the key points in your body that are associated with metabolism and appetite control. As we get older a lot of people notice that our metabolic rate slows down, so keeping the energy going helps a lot. Controlling your appetite is important too as acupuncture can control the hormones associated with hunger and satiety.

Acupuncture can reduce stress which is especially helpful for those that overeat when stressed, have anxiety or even depression. We help weight wise by triggering the release of endorphins which helps calm down the nervous system and promotes relaxation and stress levels.

Sleeping better can also help with weight loss, and acupuncture can assist with insomnia so you can get a restful sleep. And many people get tired and sore after exercise. Acupuncture can help boost your energy levels and help relieve muscle pain and soreness.

We don’t believe in fad diets. Those diets can give temporary results, only to see the weight return when you go off the diet. Our expert Acupuncture Physicians can customize a diet and exercise program that fits your lifestyle so you can make it a way of life.

If you would like to help yourself have a better weight loss journey, try acupuncture with us at Acupuncture & Holistic Health Center. You can call us at 904-296-9545.

07/14/2025

Can acupuncture help with erectile dysfunction?

Dr Michael here!

I know that this subject is a touchy one among men, but you are not alone. Almost 50 million men in the United States are affected by ED. Unfortunately with the increasing obesity rate and other conditions like high blood pressure, diabetes and heart disease it makes it harder to get that function back. Side effects of some medications cause ED as well.

There is hope though. Coupled with better eating habits, exercise and acupuncture, you can battle ED and have a better s*x life.

How does acupuncture help? Five Element acupuncture targets the root cause of ED, rather than treating it as a symptom. It helps increase energy and blood flow as well as stimulating nitric oxide production, increasing testosterone levels, and reducing oxidative stress.

If you would like to help yourself have a better s*xual lifestyle, try acupuncture with us at Acupuncture & Holistic Health Center. You can call us at 904-296-9545.

07/10/2025

Can acupuncture regulate your cycle?

Dr. Michael here!

Over the many years that I have been a doctor of acupuncture, I have seen many women go through difficulties with their menstruation cycles - whether it be irregular cycles, pain PMS, and other issues like PCOS.

There are a vast number of reasons why a woman would be going through irregular menstruation . It could be a hormonal imbalance, stress and lifestyle choices, medical conditions, weight changes or even thyroid disorders. All these issues can change the cycle length, severity of bleeding or spotting between cycles, heavy cramping or hormonal fluctuations caused by physical or emotional issues.

Now how does acupuncture come into this? By correctly diagnosing and treating the root cause of the menstrual problems, our experienced acupuncture physicians balance your body’s natural Qi energy, which can restore normal endocrine function and optimize other body systems at the same time. By targeting the cause of the issue, we can regulate blood flow, reduce pain, enhance reproductive health and even help relieve stress.

If you are tired of living in pain or an emotional rollercoaster due to your cycle and want to get better, contact our office at 904-296-9545. We look forward to helping you live a pain free life!
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07/08/2025

What is the difference between dry needling and acupuncture?

Dr. Michael here!

I have had the question asked when I get ready to do treatments what the differences are between dry needling and acupuncture. I have the answer for you. While both involve inserting needles each have their own philosophies and treatment approaches.

Dry needling is a symptomatic approach that targets myofascial trigger points (muscular issues like knots or spasms). It temporarily relieves muscle tension and reduces pain. Recently, physical therapists use this technique, and call it dry needling. PT’s do not know how to do acupuncture, so their dry needling treatment has a limited scope in temporarily relieving symptoms.

Acupuncture physicians use similar techniques to treat muscle tension and pain, but we do not call it dry needling. We use these muscle releasing techniques within a broader context of treating the whole person. Acupuncture addresses the root cause of the muscle tension and pain, not only treating it as a symptom.

Acupuncture has been around for thousands of years. It is used to treat musculoskeletal pain and many other body systems. Acupuncture is focused on restoring the correct flow of Qi (the body’s energy) to all parts of the body.

If you have musculoskeletal pain and want to get better contact our office at 904-296-9545. We look forward to helping you live a pain free life!

06/27/2025

Can Acupuncture help prevent disease?

Hi Dr. Michael here!

Everyone gets sick at some point in their lives, whether it is the common cold, flu, or more serious illnesses. Can it be prevented? In many cases, yes. Of course washing your hands and keeping a distance from those who are ill plays a big role in prevention but can acupuncture also help you prevent it? In many cases also yes.

How does it work? A trained practitioner such as myself can tell through the pulses of a person and use other diagnostic means to figure out what part of the body is out of balance. When one part of your body is out of balance it will eventually throw off the rest of the body and that is what myself and our expert acupuncture physicians in our practice will try to prevent by rebalancing the areas that are out of balance. When the body is rebalanced and the body is able to return to its normal function, it will prevent disease from developing.

Regular checkups - at least five times per year, at the change of the five seasons - are the ticket to health. As they say, “an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure”. That is why we would be happy to keep you healthy here at Acupuncture & Holistic Health Center. Call at (904) 296-9545 to schedule your acupuncture treatment to maintain your optimum health.

06/26/2025

Hi Dr. Michael here!

Are you having difficulties walking due to knee pain? Knee pain can come from several causes - not just age or accidents, but also bodily issues such as arthritis, tendonitis, bursitis, and postsurgical inflammation can be contributing factors. The real question here is, can acupuncture help me with these issues. The answer is yes.

Acupuncture has been shown to help the healing process after surgery and help relieve pain from accidents. Now, how does it do that? Acupuncture can help reduce inflammation and increase blood flow to promote healing and reduce stiffness and pain associated with the inflammation. Acupuncture also helps trigger the release of endorphins which are the body’s natural painkillers, giving you relief. If you don’t like taking over the counter medications (and who really does), acupuncture can be a great way to reduce dependency on pain medications and their potential side effects.

In our practice, we focus on treating not just symptoms, but addressing the root cause of your knee pain. Call us at the Acupuncture & Holistic Health Center at (904) 296-9545 to schedule your acupuncture treatment to help get your knee relief! Pain

06/23/2025

Hi Dr. Michael here!

What do you think of when you think of summer? Do you think of vacations? The beach? The heat? When I think of summer I think of the Fire Element and what it does in acupuncture.

What is the Fire Element and how does it pertain to your body? Each part of your body is represented by an element and season. That is why Summer being the warmest part of the year is fire. The organs and parts of the body associated with fire are the heart, small intestines, blood circulation and s*xual organs, and the three heater. The three heater really isn’t an organ but it controls the temperature and energy flow in three sections of the body- upper (heart, pericardium and lungs), middle (stomach, spleen, pancreas, liver, and gallbladder) and lower (small and large intestines, kidneys, and bladder).

The Fire Element affects not only your body, but also your mind, emotions, and spirit. When one or more of the meridians of your vital energy (qi) in the Fire Element are stimulated through acupuncture it can actually create joy and fuel passion. It can warm you up, give you more energy and potentially transform how you feel after even just one acupuncture treatment.

When you are feeling anxiety, agitation and trouble sleeping your Fire Element may be out of balance and may be time to tune it. Call us at the Acupuncture & Holistic Health Center at (904) 296-9545 to schedule your acupuncture treatment to help get you back into alignment! ,

06/12/2025

05/21/2025

Summer and the Fire Element
Dr. Michael here!
Summer has arrived in Jacksonville. Summer is the best time of year to have fun! Get outside and let the sunshine warm you through and through. We can feel happier inside as we soak up its radiant energy.

In Chinese medicine, summer is the season of the Fire Element. Fire is about heat, passion, joy, enthusiasm, activity, and openness. The organs and functions of the Fire Element are Heart, Small Intestines, Three Heater and Heart Protector. The spiritual quality of the Fire is unconditional love, which comes from the Heart itself. We use phrases like “warm-hearted” or “open-hearted” to describe this Fire quality. When your Heart is made safe by a strong Heart Protector, your Heart is free to radiate love, joy and compassion. The health, happiness and quality of all your relationships comes from the vital Qi energy of your Fire Element.

This summer, make a commitment to yourself to go with the flow of Nature and become more active with the energy of Fire. Get moving! Get outside and walk in the mornings when its cooler. Doing these things will feed the Fire Element within you and you will begin to feel more joyful. Start with small steps and, pretty soon, these small steps add up to bigger steps.

Receiving acupuncture on your Fire Element organs is a great way to fire up your joy, power up your passion, and enhance your relationships. If you haven’t received an acupuncture treatment in a while, summer is the best time of year to charge up your Fire Element. Call us at (904) 299-0116 to schedule your summer tune up today. From all of us at the Acupuncture & Holistic Health Center, we wish you a very happy and healthy summer!
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