Key Element Acupuncture

Located in the Silo Office Building at 90th and Wadsworth, the clinic lies a little less than half a mile north of the Arvada city limit. Patients often travel from Westminster, Arvada, Broomfield, Thornton and the northern Denver metro. The website names Autumn Jensen, L.Ac., as the practitioner. Bookings can be made online at any hour; if no online slot works, call (720) 443-2248 to schedule by phone. Opening hours: Monday 11:00am to 5:00pm; Tuesday 9:00am to 1:00pm; Wednesday 1:00pm to 6:00pm; Thursday 11:00am to 4:00pm. Closed Friday through Sunday.

A first visit happens in a private room and begins with a full intake covering health history. Intake questions can reach beyond the complaint itself, because the aim is to find the pattern underneath it. Needles are then placed and left in for 25 to 30 minutes of rest, and the whole visit takes about an hour. Plans are shaped around each patient's history, goals and how their body responds. For a new course, the clinic generally suggests six to ten treatments to judge whether acupuncture is helping, usually once or twice a week at the start. Needles are sterile, single-use and discarded after each treatment. Cupping and gua sha are added when the muscle needs more than needles alone, and Chinese herbs are offered when recommended and charged separately by formula.

Care covers back, neck and shoulder pain, headaches and migraines, joint pain and arthritis, sports injuries and recovery after surgery. Women's health work includes painful or irregular cycles, PMS, fertility and IVF support, pregnancy and postpartum recovery, and perimenopause. This work runs alongside a patient's OB or fertility doctor. For cycle-related concerns, treatment often starts weekly, with Chinese herbs frequently prescribed alongside acupuncture, and fertility treatment is generally suggested over three to six months depending on health history. Stress, anxiety and sleep are also treated.

Community acupuncture takes place in the Acu-Lounge, a shared room with three zero gravity spa chairs. It is open to patients from their second appointment onward, and the room is kept quiet, with conversation low and ear buds welcome. The practice says it is the more affordable way to receive treatment. Facial rejuvenation acupuncture targets fine lines, texture and scarring. It combines face and body points and finishes with facial cupping and gua sha. Pediatric Shonishin is a needle-free style that uses small tools to tap or brush points, and it is offered to infants from one month old up to age 10. Shonishin was developed in Japan in the 1700s. Monthly Full Moon Shonishin sessions are open to children who are not sick. Children aged 8 to 10 are gradually encouraged to move from Shonishin to needles.

Microneedling uses an AcuMicro Pen Plus at 18,000 rpm, and each session includes light therapy and a choice of serums, including an apple stem cell serum. Sessions run 45 to 50 minutes with about 20 minutes of microneedling. It addresses fine lines, wrinkles, age spots, sagging skin, acne scarring, stretch marks and sun damage. Redness typically lasts 8 to 12 hours, and fuller results appear three to six weeks later. Treatments are usually spaced about a month apart. Patients are asked to avoid fillers or Botox for a month beforehand and to stop retinol two days before. Microneedling can be combined with acupuncture in the same visit. The FDA advises against microneedling for people with certain bleeding or clotting disorders, active skin infection, uncontrolled diabetes, recent isotretinoin use, or who are pregnant or breastfeeding.

Fees: new patient visit $145; follow-up acupuncture $95; acupuncture with cupping $110; maintenance plan $95 monthly; trial course (first visit plus five follow-ups) $620; full course (first visit plus nine follow-ups) $1,000; facial rejuvenation $140 per session or $1,300 for ten; microneedling $300 for one session, $750 for three, or $1,350 for six. A complimentary consultation is available. A super-bill with diagnostic codes can be issued for insurance reimbursement. Acupuncture generally counts toward HSA and FSA spending, though patients should confirm eligibility with their plan administrator.

Each treatment plan is individualized around the patient's history, goals and how their body responds, with intake questions that may reach beyond the complaint to find its underlying pattern.

The practice describes itself as friendly and welcoming, and the shared Acu-Lounge is kept calm and quiet.