Pandemic Guidelines for Patients

• Everyone is required to wear an appropriate mask at all times when in the clinic, covering nose & mouth.
• Hand sanitizer is available at the front desk, hallway, and in each room. Please use upon entry into the clinic.
• The waiting room is closed. No guests or other family member allowed at this time.
• Please come at your scheduled appointment time. The door is locked. If I am able, I will bring you into the office earlier. 
• Patient must cancel if they have any symptoms of cough, sore throat, shortness of breath of difficulty breathing, fever, chills, muscle pain, loss of smell or taste. I will be doing the same for you. I am happy to prescribe a formula for you.  
• I ask that the patient report to me if they test positive within 2 days of seeing me at my clinic. This applies to me as well. I am currently being tested at Stanford weekly.
• It's getting cold. My back door and windows will continue to remain open thru the winter for increased ventilation. I have heat lamps and table warmers, but please feel free to bring your own warm clothing or blanket. 

A lot of things have changed since I re-opened in June. I am currently only working with 1 patient at a time instead of the usual 2 (in Los Gatos). This means only 2 people in my space total at any one time. Technically this exceeds Santa Clara County protocols for the size of my office, but feels safer to right now. All surfaces and equipment in each room are sprayed or wiped with an EPA approved disinfectant between each patient. Air purifiers run for over an hour before you even reach the room.  This is a half hour in the case of San Carlos. Each clinic room has it's own air purifier running at all times. I take all the precautions that I can to keep my little oasis a safe place for all of us. We are in this together, and I want to see all of us together on the other side. I look forward to working with you. ​

A cautious welcome back my friends. The office is open as of June 1 with limited hours and days. New policies and procedures will be in place in light of the ongoing pandemic and the office plans on doing its best to keep both you and myself safe as we move forward. Please read the following guidelines. 

New Patients

• All intake forms will be filled in online before our visit. Links are available on this website and instructions will be on your appointment confirmation email. For those who may have difficulty with this, please give me a call and we can make other arrangements. Following receipt of the intake, I will schedule a phone, text or email session with you before you come to the office so that we can further discuss your issues before you come in. Not all forms are quite ready for launch yet but will be soon. Scheduling is not affected by this. 

All Current and New Patients

• All patients are required to fill out and sign the COVID Acknowledgement form. There will be a link from your online appointment form or can be accessed thru this website. 
• All patients are required to wear a mask upon coming to the office and during your visit. A mask will be available for purchase if you forget yours.
• Please arrive at your appointment at the designated time. Unfortunately, for now, the waiting room is closed. If you would like, I am happy to text you as you wait in your car to let you know when the office is ready. Please let me know if this is the case.
• I will be trying to keep direct contact time in the room to a minimum of 15 minutes or less. Due to this, treatments may be modified with little to no direct tuina, cupping, bleeding, etc.. I do not at all think you will receive "less' treatment. I trust my needles, and I hope you do too.
• Those with unusual respiratory symptoms, active cough, loss of smell/taste, chills or suspected temperature are asked to reschedule. No exceptions. I am happy to consult with you online or by phone to see what can be done to help you outside of the clinic setting. 
• Patients are being scheduled one at a time to allow for no shared contact within the office and to allow time for disinfection between patients. 

Changes in the office setting:
Hand sanitizer will be available for all patients upon entering the office. All bedding and soft items have either been removed from the office or covered in order to allow for easy disinfection. 
4-stage Filtration HEPA air purifiers will be running continually in each treatment room. Your room will have had the air filtrated for 1 hour before your use and in between the last patient. 
Hospital grade and FDA listed disinfectants will be used to clean the office between patients. 

(San Carlos Patients: There may be some variation here but your safety is still paramount.)

Payment:
Payment can be done in a variety of ways depending on your comfort level.

1. Online scheduling allows for payment through my system before your visit.
2. My Square credit card reader will be at the front desk. This accepts contactless payment as well as a chip reader. Some transactions may require contact with the reader for signature or chip recognition. But don't worry, wipes and dispensers will be on hand. With your permission, I am also able to store your number on Square's secure system for future transactions. The authorization form can be found here. 
3. The last option is to pay via Square invoice which I will send to your email after your visit. Payment is due upon receipt. 

More than anything I want you to be comfortable in my office. If there is something specific to you, please let me know before you see me. I appreciate your patience and kindness during these unusual times.  

Online scheduling available today

Read the winter newsletter to help you keep the sniffles at bay this season.
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It was a patient who recently brought up the possibility of using a posture correcting brace. I admit, my immediate reaction was to respond negatively believing that a person should actively learn how to adapt to a better posture instead of using a crutch. But......upon thinking about it, and thinking about some of the patients I have in my pool, maybe no is not the best answer. 

Some of my patients don't have the musculature base to work from easily. Some of my patients  don't have the focus needed to correct and re-correct old patterns. Some of my patients work so hard and long that fatigue inevitably comes into play; and without having the strong "corset" muscles to begin with, correction becomes increasingly more difficult as the day goes on. I think that these are strong cases for using some type of correctional support in order to start to re-train the body and to minimize or possibly even avoid the chronic pain that comes from working in the modern world. 

The patient that first brought this up with me is someone who is pretty dedicated to not only using acupuncture to relieve their inflammation, but also correcting the poor habits that could be contributing to their current condition. The patient tried the brace and found that when he started to slump, the brace would dig into his shoulders in such a way that it was a mild but definitive reminder to reposition his body. Meanwhile, during the times he had awareness of his posture, the brace helped to keep it there. There is obviously an assist in doing this, but at the same times, muscles that have been shortened for years because of hunching are being allowed the freedom to stretch. All good. 

And because the world has a way of coming together at the right time,  Esther Gokhale of the Gokahle Method (my go-to guru for all things posture), posted a blog post today regarding this very thing. So, braces, should we use them? Yes! The only "but", I would add is that yes, use the support, but first, understand exactly what it is you are correcting. I am happy to give you the pointers that I learned from The Gokhale Method. Or go to the source yourself and learn what you can. 

Esther Gokhale's Blog Post: When, Why, and How to Use a Back Brace

I think it's a mini project of mine to find all of the ultrarunning acupuncturists out there in the world. This article has been making the rounds in my feed lately. It was great to read about an acupuncturist who got hooked into the sport because he was treating an athlete who ended up recovering and then training the acupuncturist to his first ultra, and ultimately his first 100 miler. Acupuncture & endurance sports? Match made in heaven if you ask me. Welcome to the fold, my friend. 


"On Ultrarunning, Acupuncture, and Believing"

Attending acupuncture school was eye opening in more ways than just the obvious education of inserting needles into people and watching healing happen.  I also went to school with a "bunch of hippies" as I used to joke. These colleagues and teachers began to show me what they had understood deeply for years, which was exactly how poisoned our food system had become, and how vigilant we need to be in order to avoid ingesting pesticides, chemicals, and other pollutants. It was a shocking revelation to find out how unprotected we are by the powers that be. 

There are a lot of documentaries out there that will give you the rundown of how our food system works in the U.S., and The Bullish Farmer should be added to that library. It's a great film that shows how a small farm should be run, could be run, and used to be run if not for large corporations that instead push for profit, leaving quality and sustainability in the dust. 

But what does a cleaner diet mean anyways? There are many factors that go into an individuals health, but what if it meant less allergies, what if it meant no constipation, bloating, GERD, less colds and flus, less chance of cancer and disease? What if it means that your sleep, energy, and moods get better? What if it meant that your pain went away and you saw me less often? We eat every single day. Shouldn't what we eat be natural and not filled with poisonous pesticides and untested modified genetics? Yes please. 


THE BULLISH FARMER is a feature-length documentary on sustainable agriculture. It journeys into the life of a Wall Street investment banker-turned farmer as he struggles to build and run a farm that feeds his family and his community. 

​
Los Gatos & Redwood City
Announcing two new locations to serve both the Peninsula and South Bay.  

For current patients, my Los Gatos location has moved. Not far from my previous spot, the new location is inside Pilates Sante, about a mile away . Beautiful, quiet, and plenty of parking, I know you'll enjoy the new space. 

And finally, an office space for me in lovely Redwood City, my new hometown. Something I have wanted to do for years, I am looking forward to being accessible to patients on the Peninsula.

I am excited that both locations are situated in conjunction with businesses that complement my therapy services, and I think you will all benefit from the potential symbiosis.

Both locations will be available on the week of August 15th. I am currently taking new patients and scheduling now. More details on the contacts page.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                                               (206) 856-9737
California Court Issues Temporary Injunction Stopping Companies from “Dry Needling” in California and Enjoining
Sales of “Myotech Dry Needles”
Orange County, CA – Late last week, the Orange County Superior Court granted a temporary restraining order against several out-of-state companies and their owners after plans surfaced that they intended to insert acupuncture needles and distribute acupuncture needle samples at a physical therapy conference in Anaheim, California.  The Defendants lacked state licensure as acupuncturists or medical doctors and were not registered under California’s Pharmacy Law. Kinetacore, a main Defendant in the case, engages in training workshops marketed primarily to physical therapists for what they refer to as “dry needling.”  US Dry Needling, another main Defendant in the case, sells acupuncture needles under the brand name “Myotech Dry Needles,” while failing to identify the needles as acupuncture needles.  Dry needling is highly controversial since it involves the insertion of FDA-regulated acupuncture needles through the skin and into acupuncture points, which are located in muscles or connective tissue, for therapeutic purposes by physical therapists or chiropractors who can have as little as a weekend of training in acupuncture.
Those practicing “dry needling” claim that they are not practicing “acupuncture” and, therefore, are not required to comply with the strict state safety, training, and licensing requirements that apply to the practice of acupuncture.  California acupuncturists, for example, are required to have at least 3,000 hours of formal training in acupuncture, whereas Kinetacore’s weekend “certification” workshop in “dry needling” is just 27 hours.  There have been a number of high-profile injuries in recent years where physical therapists or chiropractors have punctured the lungs of their patients upon incorrectly inserting acupuncture needles.  Courts in Washington and Oregon have permanently enjoined physical therapists and chiropractors, respectively, from practicing “dry needling” by finding it was outside their legal scopes of practice.
“The insertion of acupuncture needles by physical therapists or other persons who have little or no training in the safe and effective use of acupuncture needles constitutes a significant threat to public safety,” says Dr. Amy Matecki, who is the medical director for the International Center for Integrative Medicine, which filed the lawsuit last week.  “Physical therapists are not trained in the safe use of acupuncture needles and are not legally authorized to use acupuncture needles in the State of California.”
The lawsuit was filed by the International Center for Integrative Medicine in Oakland, California, and alleges that plans by Kinetacore’s owner, Edo Zylstra, to insert acupuncture needles as a part of a dry needling demonstration violates California’s Acupuncture Licensure Act and Medical Practice Act.  The case challenges plans by US Dry Needling and its owners, Paul Killoren, Austin Woods, and Edo Zylstra, to distribute samples and accept on-line sales of the “Myotech Dry Needle,” which is an acupuncture needle.  The lawsuit also alleges that distribution of such needles constitutes a violation of California’s Pharmacy Law.
A copy of the injunction can be found here (http://docdro.id/Kuk6GiY). And a copy of the argument in support of the injunction can be found here (http://docdro.id/kaizQ5P).
The temporary restraining order will stay in effect until mid-March, when the court will consider issuing a preliminary injunction that would continue the injunctive relief until the case can be decided on.

It was back in July of 2014 that I became contracted with American Specialty Health (ASHN),  a health insurance & management company for others networks such as Blue Cross, Cigna, Aetna, and Health Net. It was supposed to be a win win situation. I get access to their patient network and patients get access to me.  However, one long year later, for the sake of my sanity and my desire to provide the best quality of time and care to my patients, I have decided to cut ties with all insurance.

I try to do the best by my patients when they are under my care. To work within ASHN's restrictions and edicts has not only tried to shape and limit the type of treatments that I give, but also limit the number of treatments my patients receive despite chronicity of condition, and despite the number of treatments allowed by their plan. Besides being an insult to my way of practicing medicine, they have also mishandled my contract, made errors in billing, gave me contradictory information, all the while continually (and I do mean continually) asking that more information be sent to them that had either already been sent or should have already been in their systems. Shockingly disorganized or intentionally malicious, it became increasingly frustrating and disheartening to work with them. So, one year later, as of July 3, 2015, I will no longer be contracted with ASHN or any other insurance associated with them. 

For those of you who would like to continue under my care, I will be in-network until July 3, 2015, and it would be an honor to continue what we have begun. After that date, my fees will revert to my usual cash practice fees. However, I am willing to discuss those with financial hardships on a case by case basis. I will also continue to process claims online as an out-of-network practitioner dependent on your carrier and their policies. 

Happiness & Health