Dr. Carlos Chapa is the founder and medical director of the Acupuncture and Integrative Medical Center for Holistic Healing (AIMC), with locations in the Dallas metroplex. People with conditions ranging from insomnia to glaucoma are increasingly turning to alternative and integrative medicine for pain, stress and weight loss and focusing on wellness instead of illness.

Chapa is a double board certified naturopathic doctor and Eastern medical doctor who has trained in China, Korea and Japan, with comprehensive experience in holistic healing. He states, “Our goal is the total removal of disease symptoms and the rapid, gentle and permanent restoration of health. For the most part, people can use the alternative medical system for almost all their healthcare needs.”

Eastern medicine traditionally looks at the root causes and underlying issues of an illness, AIMC treats myriad of conditions including chronic pain, degenerative eye conditions, stress and anxiety, digestive disorders, allergies, and infertility. Eastern medicine, including acupuncture, is especially effective for helping neurological conditions such as Parkinson’s and Bell’s Palsy, and the clinic specializes in helping people regain overall wellness and balance.

“When a patient has an illness, it usually means the body cannot handle a problem and needs help and support. They have symptoms or imbalances such as inflammation, weakness, or compromised organ function,” says Chapa. “We use a combination of naturopathic medicine treatments such as homeopathy, detoxes and iridology; functional medicine for blood work analysis; and Eastern medicine approaches, including herbal medicine, cupping and acupuncture.”

Reflecting upon his long experience in the field, Chapa notes, “I’ve worked in a number of Western emergency rooms and trauma centers where the treatment is the same for every patient’s symptoms. They use a lot of steroids, antibiotics and medications, which may help inflammation and provide temporary relief, but do not address the underlying issues. Most of our patients at the clinic see immediate improvement, and after a few treatments of using safe, natural, effective modalities without side effects, are on a pathway to healing.”

Although it still uses needles, modern acupuncture is a minimally invasive and extremely safe procedure that stimulates the nervous system and connection tissue in ways that no other intervention can. “No medication, therapy, or surgery can get the same results, advises Chapa. “We use laser acupuncture, which sends low-level laser therapy to certain acupuncture points, and traditional acupuncture, which uses hair-thin, tiny needles inserted in certain points of the body to elicit different neurological responses. For example, if a patient has a severe headache on a certain part of the head, we might find a point on the hands, forearm or wrist that corresponds to that specific type of headache.”

The doctor says they have had especially good results with Bell’s Palsy, which exhibits either weakness or paralysis of the muscles on one side of the face due to malfunction of the facial nerve. He explains, “Eastern medicine has found the correlation with body fatigue, stress or a virus caused by a liver problem, and can have a lot of success with acupuncture, especially if it’s started when symptoms first appear.”

Chapa believes that complementary, alternative and Eastern medicine is a complete system within itself which has been around for thousands of years. “It is safe, natural, and very effective without side effects,” he advises. “We focus on prevention, balance and wellness, and offer a level of comprehensive care that is rare in today’s healthcare climate.” AIMC accepts most insurance plans.

AIMC has locations in Mesquite and Irving, and is taking Oct. appointments for a new location in Plano. For appointments, call 972-444-0660 or email [email protected]. For more information, visit aimc-dfw.com.