Acupuncture    

  Advantage   

  Care             

  Herndon (703)  834 9754                    

              Fredericksburg (Saint Raphael Traditional Medicine Clinic)  (540) 604 9025

                            aac5@earthlink.net

Acupuncture & Chinese herbal medicine

                             Herndon, Virginia office

                Fredericksburg, Virginia office

                                              Virginia State Medical Board Licensed Acupuncture

Patient Testimonial

Patient Testimonial

"I have a protruding vertebra that is fractured in my lumbar spine.  Eventually I will need surgery, but a neurosurgeon said to live with it as long as I can.  I was experiencing severe pain in my lower buttock.  I did months of physical therapy, which did little to help the pain.  I could only stand or walk for 10 or 15 minutes until the pain was so intolerable I’d have to sit down.  Then it took the pain a while to subside.  I finally tried acupuncture with Jake Avancena L.Ac..  After about a month, the pain subsided a lot.  I then went to every two weeks and I feel like I have my life back.  I can walk and stand with very little pain.  I’m a believer!  It has been amazing and I tell my story to anyone who will listen." 

Barbara Kline      Annandale, Virginia

How does acupuncture work?

Acupuncture stimulates a regulatory system affecting the body separately from such systems as the nervous, hormonal, and biochemical systems. This regulatory system is comprised of predictable pathways and points, which have a higher electrical conductivity than the surrounding tissues. When these points are stimulated, they send an electrical signal through the pathways intensifying the healing process and decreasing pain.

Acupuncture treatment consists of carefully inserting hair-thin, disposable needles into the skin. Because the needles are thin, the sensation is generally quite mild. In fact, nearly all patients experience a significant level of relaxation and may even fall asleep during treatment. Following an acupuncture treatment, many patients feel a heightened sense of well-being which may last for several days. Acupuncture is a form of treatment used as the primary form of medical care (along with Chinese herbal medicine) in Asia for many centuries.  It is still used in an integrated fashion with Western medicine in hospitals in modern China.  The determination of treatment strategy with acupuncture is based upon a diagnosis formed using the diagnostic techniques of pulse and tongue reading.  The diagnosis takes into account various factors of systemic health and determines priorities for treatment. 

The goal of acupuncture treatment is to coax the body into healing itself by adjusting the flow of energy in the body.  This is the basis of one of the major benefits of using acupuncture - the body heals itself and therefore little to no side effects occur.  Acupuncture treatment can be extremely valuable in treating acute (acute musculo-skeletal injuries, flus, migraines etc.)  as well as chronic conditions (chronic fatigue, fibromyalgia, anxiety, depression, allergies, IBS etc.).

For the more acute conditions, generally speaking, acupuncture can alleviate the disorder within several treatments.  In more chronic cases, it can take months of treatment.  The goal in frequency of treatment is to always attempt to reach a point where the length of time between treatments is longer and longer and finally on an as needed basis.  It is important for the patient to remember that acupuncture treatment is a cumulative type of treatment.   That means that each treatment builds in strength on the last treatment.  That’s why in the beginning, it may be necessary to have treatments spaced more closely together.   What this also means is that it is critical especially in the beginning of treatment for the patient to not miss treatments.

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