About Richmond Natural Healing!

This is the practice of Jake Avancena L.Ac.. I have been in practice for over 20 years in the Washington DC area. Having always had a soft spot for Richmond, my wife and I decided to move and open a practice here. My Northern Virginia practice was very successful and catered to a wide variety of patients who also had a wide variety of disorders. Over the years, I branched out from Traditional Chinese medicine (which includes acupuncture, Chinese herbal medicine and other techniques). The first stimulus to move beyond Traditional Chinese medicine was a case of Lyme Disease that a patient presented with. This patient was really suffering with the common symptoms associated with Lyme. She had terrible muscle and joint pains, unexplained anxiety and debilitating fatigue. I tried everything that I knew at the time that might help and found that I was unable to make much progress. This motivated me to begin to research other methods that might successfully treat Lyme Disease. For two years, I did intensive research – I tried a wide variety of devices and a wide variety of supplements. Finally, I combined several treatment methods (acupuncture points, homeopathics and a low level laser). I found that the treatment was successful in treating Lyme Disease! I could now address the vast majority of Lyme patients within 8 treatments. I was very pleased and so were my Lyme patients. This was the development of the Laser Acupuncture protocol. To my surprise, I found that I was also able to also treat many other internal disorders (those disorders that are associated with internal organs and tissues – e.g. sinuses, ears, gastrointestinal etc.). The great thing about the Laser Acupuncture protocol is that it is completely non-invasive and a pain-free treatment. So it is amazing for young children and others. Most problems respond to Laser Acupuncture within 3 to 6 treatments! Another problem that started to concern me over the years was the increasing number of patients who had very chronic and severe disorders. I began to have a significant increase in patients who had been through a multitude of various health care providers but were unable to have their underlying ailments addressed properly - either the side-effects of the medications that they were proscribed were too severe or the relief that they received was partial or short-term in its effect. Again, I began a long period of research that led me beyond just supplements or herbs. What I found was that ultimate cause of many chronic/severe disorders is dietary imbalance, stress and lack of rest. The solution to this state is to address the individual weaknesses that come about due to these lifestyle errors. Traditional Chinese Medicine which includes primarily acupuncture and Chinese herbal medicine has a long history of success in treating a wide range of disorders in a natural way. This method seeks to provide the catalyst for the body to move from impaired function to normal healthy function. In my practice, I mainly use traditional acupuncture to treat muscle and joint pain. The acupuncture may be used in conjunction with Tui Na (which is a type of Chinese massage/manual therapy) and electrical stimulation. I use Chinese herbal medicine in cases where it will produce a significant improvement in the condition on a case by case basis. Depending upon the individual patient, I may use one or all of the methods of treatment described here. If you have any specific questions concerning your own condition and you would like to contact me, please don’t hesitate. I am happy to provide information freely.