Jennifer Colucci has been a massage therapist offering integrative massage modalities for 25 years. Recently, she has been working out of the Acupuncture Center of Naples. “Dr. Xiu Qigong Cen is a doctor of Oriental medicine with more than 30 years of experience. She and I have been sharing clients and trading services for the last eight years. I work there one day a week, on Tuesdays. On Thursdays, I’m at the Helix, a wellness center in Naples that specializes in stretching. And I’m teaching hatha yoga at Shangri-La, in Bonita Springs, on Tuesdays and Thursdays. I enjoy the variety,” says Colucci.

Colucci loves working with Cen’s clients because they present with a plethora of various health issues. “It challenges me to find ways to help them and it helps me to learn, too. One of the issues that Dr. Cen’s clients present with is neuropathy, a condition that involves damage to the peripheral nervous system. It can cause nerve damage in the feet, which can lead to difficulties walking and a higher risk for falls,” she says. 

Symptoms of neuropathy in the feet include gradual onset of numbness and prickling or tingling in the feet or hands. These sensations can spread upward into the legs and arms. Individuals might experience sharp, jabbing, throbbing or burning pain, loss of balance and coordination, muscle weakness, especially in the feet, difficulties walking and feeling as if wearing gloves or socks when you’re not. Neuropathy can be caused by diabetes, chemotherapy or statins. Early diagnosis and treatment offer the best chance for controlling symptoms and preventing further damage to the peripheral nerves.

Colucci has been able to help Cen’s patients with neuropathy by using gua sha, a traditional Chinese medicine technique that involves gently scraping the feet with a smooth-edged tool. “It’s helping to reduce inflammation and improve circulation, as well as releasing the fascia in and around the bones of the foot. It’s been used in Traditional Chinese Medicine for thousands of years. 

“Most of my neuropathy patients are cyclists. The neuropathy comes from the feet being pinched in the tight shoes they wear when cycling. I'm having them soak their feet in Epsom salts and roll their feet back and forth over a wooden dowel rod to get circulation moving, and then do what we call in yoga, “legs up the wall”. All these things help to relax and release the fascia. The results depend on how long the person has had the neuropathy,” says Colucci.

For more information or to make an appointment, call Jennifer Colucci at 239-513-9293 or 

239-529-7582, visit AcupunctureCenterOfNaples.com or AwakeningThroughSynergy.com.