Meet Isabelle, Your Acupuncturist
Isabelle D'Arcy is a licensed acupuncturist who graduated from the Oregon College of Oriental Medicine in 2018 with a Master’s Degree in Acupuncture and Chinese Medicine. She is the owner of Blue Jay Acupuncture, located in Denver, Colorado. Isabelle is a general practitioner who treats a wide variety of conditions, from physical pain to sleep issues and stress. She is passionate about supporting her patients in healing and living healthy lives so they can get back to what they love. Isabelle stresses education as a crucial part of treatment: by understanding the root cause of symptoms, patients can become active participants in their recovery and ongoing health.
Treatment Areas
Chinese medicine is as vast and comprehensive as Western medicine in terms of what it treats. Acupuncture and Chinese medicine can help with most health issues. Below are issues we commonly see at Blue Jay Acupuncture:
Modalities
Below are the modalities Isabelle regularly offers in her practice.
Acupuncture
Acupuncture is a therapeutic technique that involves placing tiny, sterile needles into specific points of the body to re-align and rebalance the body. In an acupuncture treatment, needles can be placed in the arms, legs, torso, and head. In fact, there are over 300 acupuncture points all over the body, each with unique treatment properties. After the needles are placed, the patient lies on the treatment table for 30 - 40 minutes. The experience can be so calming, it is not uncommon for patients to doze off during treatment and wake up feeling relaxed and refreshed.
Acupuncture uses a system of energetic channels throughout the body to treat all manner of health imbalances. The Chinese medical approach to treatment is to address the underlying pattern of imbalance that is causing the symptoms or disease patients experience, thus getting at the root of the problem.
Chinese medicine was developed over the course of 2,500 years and in China, it was simply "medicine", used to treat every ailment people faced, from aches and pains to tuberculosis. Some of the issues acupuncture addresses include:
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Pain and injury recovery – sciatic pain, low back pain, neck pain, plantar fascitis, shoulder pain or stiffness, wrist pain and more.
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Inflammation
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Headaches and migraines
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Arthritic pain
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Leg cramping
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TMJ/Jaw issues
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Facial paralysis, Bells Palsy, Trigeminal Neuralgia
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Sinus congestion and pain
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Allergies
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Insomnia and sleep issues
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Women's health – PMS, Menopausal symptoms
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Pregnancy, fertility and post-partum care
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Digestive problems such as abdominal pain, constipation, diarrhea, nausea, acid reflux, bloating
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Weight loss
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Urinary issues
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Fatigue
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Stress, anxious or depressive feelings
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Persistent cough
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Cold and flu, sore throat
People usually have questions before trying acupuncture for the first time. We have tried to address many of the most common questions we hear on our FAQ page. We also offer free 15 minute consultations so you can get a sense of whether acupuncture will be helpful for your particular issue.
Chinese Herbal Medicine
Chinese herbal medicine is the use of whole, natural ingredients such as roots, leaves and seeds, to nourish your body, correct imbalances, and heal disease. Unlike Western medication, Chinese herbal medicine rarely has side effects and is intended to be used for short periods of time to remedy, rather than mask, issues.
Traditionally, Chinese herbal medicine is prepared as a tea, with raw herbs simmered for 45 minutes and then consumed twice a day. To accommodate our busy lives (and desire for our homes to not smell like herbs), more commonly Chinese herbs take the form of granules, which is powder created from the decoction of raw herbs. Granule herbs are mixed with hot water to quickly prepare tea. Finally, herbs come in pill form, which is the easiest form to consume but can take longer to have the same effectiveness.
Isabelle prescribe both granule and pill forms of herbs to patients, determined on a case-by-case basis.
Cupping
Cupping is a therapeutic technique that involves creating suction on the surface of the body in order to draw stagnation to the surface so the body can clear it out and bring in new circulation and healing to areas of tension or pain. Cupping often results in circular marks on the body, which will fade over the course of a week. These marks are called "sha" and is evidence of the stagnation emerging at the surface. There are two primary forms of cupping:
Sliding Cupping
One cup is placed and gently moved across an area of tension for about 2 minutes, which is usually the amount of time it takes for "sha" to emerge. Patients have often remarked that sliding feels like a massage.
Stationary Cupping
Cups are placed and left for 10 - 15 minutes, which is ample time to draw stagnation to the surface but not so long that it becomes overly draining on the body.
At Blue Jay Acupuncture, we frequently include cupping in acupuncture treatments if we feel it will support the treatment. Cupping is also offered as a standalone service.
Gua Sha
Gua Sha is a therapeutic technique that involves "scraping" a tool repeatedly over an area of the body in order to break up stagnation, promote circulation, and relieve pain.
It generally lasts no more than 2 minutes – enough time to get "sha" or redness, which signals that we are dredging up stagnation that the body can now clear out.
Gua sha is frequently incorporated at the end of acupuncture treatments. Patient often notice immediate relief from muscle tension after receiving gua sha.
Microneedling
Microneedling is a skin rejuvenation treatment that stimulates collagen production and facial stem cell regeneration. It is effective in treating acne, facial scarring, hair loss, and wrinkles/fine lines on the face, neck and decollete area.
I practice a more gentle microneedling technique than most estheticians do, with more shallow penetration, as research indicates it to be more effective. Numbing cream is not needed and post-treatment healing time is shorter.
A recommended course of treatment is once a month for 6-8 treatments. Blue Jay Acupuncture offers packages of six treatments at a discounted rate that come with a special gift at your first treatment!
Nano-Needling
Nano-needling is a non-invasive skin treatment that gently exfoliates the skin to reduce puffiness and soften fine lines.
Nano-needling is recommended for fine lines around the eyes, an area that are not safe to address with microneedling. Whereas microneedling treatments are done minimum four weeks apart, nanoneedling can be done weekly and is a great complement to microneedling treatment.
