Acupuncture Providers in Kitsap County, Washington

Acupuncture is an alternative healthcare that is increasing in popularity. With its increased popularity comes the availability of differing professionals offering this service throughout the Kitsap peninsula. All alternative healthcare acupuncturists believe in the holistic approach - that of treating the whole body, not individual parts. Let's see what is offered here in Kitsap County, Washington.

With a Chinese origin dating back about 3000 years, the alternative healthcare known as acupuncture is known best for its use involving pain management. However, there are many other concerns it addresses successfully such as:

· Digestive,
· Joint,
· Menopausal/menstrual,
· Stress,
· Energy,
· Weight loss

Acupuncture is known as working best with health complaints, and concerns/irregularities that are not yet full blown diseases. This alternative healthcare can also used as an "integrative medicine." This means patients can still have their principal medical doctors and prescriptions (western medicine) while engaging in this "eastern medicine."

· Practitioners base their treatment on pattern assessment (where a pattern is multiple symptoms),
· Treat the pattern not the disease;
· Treat multiple problems with one herb formula;
· Do not accept side effects

Using small, thin needles the width of a hair, acupuncture involves inserting these needles into various neural mode sites throughout the body. This helps to increase the blood flow to the affected area. Within recent years there has been an increase in the popularity of acupuncture. This has also led to a consumer push for more insurance coverage of acupuncture procedures and practitioners of alternative healthcare.

In the traditional (Western) medical profession, classes are being taught in alternative healthcare modalities to medical doctors whereby they obtain qualifications for providing acupuncture treatments.

One such M.D. is Port Orchard physician Dr. Jessica Hanford. With a history in family practice, Dr. Hanford is also knowledgeable about the acupuncture field and can combine the two modalities to her patient's satisfaction. She sees patients turning to acupuncture when conventional treatments don't work well. According to Dr. Hanford, "Acupuncture is great for post surgical symptoms-among others." Contact her at (360) 871-4556 for more info.

Joyce M. Brown, Licensed Acupuncturist, is located in East Bremerton at "A Healing Center." While living in Singapore, her interest in acupuncture was sparked. She liked what she saw and decided to begin studying it this form of alternative healthcare. Having been in the field for nine years, she has been practicing in Kitsap County since 1994.

She enjoys helping her patients decrease their medication amounts, balance their body, and also supplement western medicine. She has treated a wide variety of health concerns (energy, headaches, chronic fatigue, insomnia, asthma, etc.), with acupuncture. Joyce Brown can be reached at (360) 792-2586.

Located in Poulsbo, the Acupuncture & Wellness Center, Inc. is the largest acupuncture clinic of its kind in Washington State. Established in 1998, its founders are Robert Doane and Anne Stiller-Doane - both Board Certified in acupuncture and Chinese herbal medicine.

"It helps increase the vital vapor or oxygen to the cells thereby increasing oxygen to the blood vessels. The oxygen nourishes every cell of our body. When the oxygen is flowing correctly, health concerns are minimized." Says Dr. Doane. According to Dr. Doane, "Acupuncture is a totally physically based medicine which identifies most pathologies as being related to blood flow. The purpose of acupuncture is to increase blood flow to the area of the treatment body." For more information, contact the Clinic at (206) 842-2245 or (360) 394-4357.

This article has touched on but a few of the many qualified professionals and disciplines involved in the "alternative healthcare" field throughout Kitsap county.

All alternative healthcare approaches involve the following:
· Patient taking a more active approach towards their health,
· Treating the person as a whole,
· Using natural methods,
· Relying on the body's natural healing process

Next time you are in the market to experience the alternative healthcare of acupuncture and find yourself in Kitsap County, Washington…there is something for you here.