Located on Detroit Avenue, Norris Family Chiropractic (NFC) is Lakewood’s very own local chiropractic office. NFC offers chiropractic care for all kinds of patients’ needs, treating both adults and children, while also offering massages in their relaxing office. With everything done by highly skilled chiropractors, customers are guaranteed a pleasing experience at NFC.
Starting March 7, NFC is offering free ear acupuncture treatments on Saturdays from 4 to 7 p.m. Acupuncture is commonly performed with needles, but NFC offers the treatment with the use of ear seeds. This allows ear acupuncture to be done without the risk of needles, limits paperwork, and allows the process to be much shorter.
The treatment is provided by the National Acupuncture Detoxification Association (NADA), a non-profit corporation that promotes “drug-free” approaches to improving emotional well-being and helping with addiction.
The treatment begins with a sanitization of the ear with alcohol pads before the patient chooses between black radish seeds or silver and gold magnetic beads. Ear shape determines where the seeds or magnetic beads are applied, targeting pressure points.
“The first point on the outside of the ear is called sympathetic; the treatment helps balance the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems,” said Isis Chen Lan Lum, the acupuncturist performing the treatments.
Each pressure point focuses on a different aspect of healing. Ear seeds and beads typically stay on for about a week before falling off by themselves, though patients can remove them at any time.
At NFC, patients can find many binders in different languages explaining how ear acupuncture works and what it does. Signs asks everyone to remain silent while waiting as a part of their “non-verbal” approach to treatment, preserving the office’s calm, inviting energy.
The comfort from the office’s atmosphere provides reprieve from daily stressors. “We’re always busy, our lives are always stressful. I’ll be back next week,” said Jennifer Flasher, an ear acupuncture patient.
While acupuncture isn’t a replacement for medical or psychosocial care, it is a supportive tool with wide potential benefits, including increased calmness, improved sleep, stress relief, emotional trauma support, and curbing cravings.
While some patients require only one to three treatments to get the benefits, others choose weekly treatments. Within 48 hours, patients might feel more relaxed than usual. If any discomfort, irritation, or headaches from the treatment occur, patients are encouraged to remove the beads/seeds.
“This treatment puts the brakes on worrying thinking. It helps people take a breath and not worry or think about what we don’t have power over,” Chen Lum said.
Chen Lum has been a practitioner of acupuncture for 37 years, including five years of acupuncture school and internships, as well as a two-year training with NADA. She has specialized in Five Element treatments, Hara (abdominal) work, and Kiiko Style Acupuncture (KSA).
“I find her to be a really calm person. I believe the treatment has been a good thing for people,” said Allison Norris, owner of NFC.
NADA and NFC believe in making acupuncture accessible, allowing many people who can’t afford acupuncture to experience the benefits it can have on their lives.
“You’d be surprised how many acupuncturists can’t afford to get acupuncture,” Chen Lum said.
Following the success of the free acupuncture treatments, NFC is considering continuing the treatments through April or potentially opening a clinic with needles in the future.
