Blog

Why Chinese Herbs

During your time at MCA your acupuncturist might have brought up adding Chinese Herbs to your treatments. Why? The simplest answer is, sometimes acupuncture isn’t the only or best way to address various health concerns.

Chinese herbs are the medicine that makes Traditional Chinese Medicine (or TCM as it is commonly referred to) a complete system of healthcare. It is the yin to the yang of acupuncture. There are thousands of traditional formulas of herbs, all of them based on a system of understanding that combines taste (sour, bitter, sweet, pungent, & bland) and temperature (cold, warm, hot) of a plant material (leaves, twigs, bark, roots) to create a desired effect on the chemistry of the body. An easy analogy for Chinese herbs is food. We eat certain foods to have certain effects inside the body. For example, lemons are bitter and sour and create the pucker that helps to create saliva, while bone broths would be considered sweet and bland and help to repair tissue after illness. Chinese herbs are used to help the body to repair itself over time instead of masking the symptoms like an over the counter medication would.

Chinese herbs can be used to address a variety of symptoms and conditions. They are not recommended for everyone, especially those on certain medications like blood thinners, but in the right circumstance herbs can help improve conditions faster than acupuncture alone. At MCA we like to use acupuncture first and then add herbs as needed (or desired) on a patient by patient basis. All of our acupuncturists are board certified in Chinese Herbology, and during their training spent many hours studying Chinese herbs and formulas. All of the Chinese herbs at MCA are tested for safety and efficacy, and come as a pill similar to a supplement. We carry a wide array of formulas that address everything from constipation and menstrual issues to the common cold and sinus congestion. Chinese herbs range in price, and can cost anywhere from $10-15 for a two week supply.

So the next time you see your acupuncturist, ask how Chinese herbs could benefit you!

This month marks the 10 year anniversary of Milwaukee Community Acupuncture! It has been an honor and privilege to serve the community ever since. Continuing to make lasting partnerships with patients and providers in the area is why we started the clinic 10 years ago.

To mark this momentous occasion we are having a 10th anniversary fundraiser party the evening of Saturday, October 12th. Tickets for the event can be purchased at MCA or online at milwaukeecommunityacupuncture.org/10yearparty. There will be food, music from local musician Lisa Gatewood and a silent auction filled with loads of goodies from other local businesses!

I sat down with the founders of Milwaukee Community Acupuncture, Amy Severinsen and Olive Crane, to reflect.

After 10 years, what are you most proud of?
Amy: I’m so proud of so many aspects of the clinic, but I would have to say our growth! I knew a Community Acupuncture (CA) clinic would thrive in Bay View, but I had no idea we would expand to six full-time acupuncturists and being open seven days a week. Our community has really embraced us, but that’s also thanks to our amazing staff, of which I am also very proud. See what I did there? I snuck another one in. ;)
Olive: When we first opened our primary goals were to create a clinic that was accessible & affordable and create jobs for ourselves that we enjoy. After 10 years I’m very proud to look back and feel like we have achieved all of these goals! We’ve been able to steadily grow, expand our hours and hire amazing acupuncturists, all while keeping our sliding scale low. I feel so grateful that I have a job that I love. Sometimes I get asked if I get bored doing the same thing over and over and I don’t! I love working with a diverse clientele and meeting new people all the time and I find that developing treatments is a great creative outlet for me.

So, 10 years ago...that would have been during the recession? How did that affect your business?
Amy: We were so lucky that our business model focuses on making our service affordable. Being high volume, we are able to see more patients per hour, and therefore charge less per treatment, which allows patients to afford to come back regularly. If we were charging market rates for private room acupuncture I don’t believe our business would have thrived, much less survived the recession.
Olive: We might be a business that people turn to in a recession for many reasons. The primary reason would be our low cost, but recessions are also very stressful for many people. Acupuncture is great at managing stress and all of the other health imbalances that stress leads to.

What is your favorite part about owning a community centered business?
Amy: My favorite part is knowing that we are doing something that truly fosters a healthy community. By easing pain, reducing anxiety and depression, and balancing hormones we are able to create healthier community members that are able to function better in their day to day lives.
Olive: I love being a resource that people can turn to when they need it. We have a lot of patients that have been with us for years, some steadily and some here and there whenever something pops up for them. It’s great to know that we are often one of the first places our patients think of when a new health condition arises, stress gets unmanageable or life just feels a little out of balance.

Where do you see MCA in 20 years?
Amy: Our biggest complaint from our patients has always been that we need another location. Or three. Haha. While I can assure you that nothing like that is currently in the works, I will say that I’d like to make that happen eventually.
Olive: Good question! I definitely see ourselves still here and possibly with another location depending on how it all shakes out.

Anything else you’d like to add?
Olive: I just want to thank our patients for supporting us and spreading the word. Most of our new patients come in because they have heard of us from a family member, friend or colleague, or because they read positive online reviews that our patients have left. It means so much to us that our patients continue to refer people our way and we wouldn’t be where we are today without their support.

Clinic Updates!

Donate to MCA

Donations to MCA help fund our pay-it-forward program and are tax deductible. For every $20 donated to MCA, we will give 1 free acupuncture treatment to a community member.

New Patients

Please call to schedule your first visit. You will be able to schedule subsequent appointments online.

Acupuncture for Veterans

MCA is a Community Care Network provider through the VA. Veterans can request a referral from the VA and receive acupuncture treatments at no cost to them with an active referral.

COVID-19 Appointment Guidelines & Illness Guidelines

Masking is optional

We provide surgical and KN95 masks at the front desk free of charge

Patients can request that their acupuncturist wear a mask while treating them

Please reschedule if…

You feel ill or have any symptoms of COVID-19. Symptoms include fever, chills, muscle aches, cough, shortness of breath, sore throat, headache, or new loss of taste or smell. Even if you have tested negative, please wait until your symptoms have subsided to come in for an appointment.

You currently have allergies and can’t control coughing or sneezing.

At your appointment:

Check in with the receptionist.

If you are new to our clinic, please fill out our online paperwork before your appointment time or arrive early to fill it out in the office.

Pay for your appointment before heading back to the treatment room.

Sliding scale is $20-$50.

Enter treatment room, choose a chair with a Ready sign in the seat.

Blog

10 years of Community Acupuncture, and still going strong!

Milwaukee Community Acupuncture

Clinic Updates!

Donate to MCA

New Patients

Acupuncture for Veterans

COVID-19 Appointment Guidelines & Illness Guidelines

At your appointment:

Hours

Sign up for our mailing list:

Contact