Denver acupuncture clinic is opened by Dr. Martha Lucas in Capitol Hill area of the city

Martha Lucas, Ph.D., L.Ac., has opened The Colorado Center of Traditional Medicine. Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) is a complete system of medicine that looks for the cause of symptoms or disease and treats the patient as a whole. TCM includes Acupuncture, Herbal Medicine, QiGong Medical Massage, and nutritional advice along with some other therapies.

Though she treats a variety of conditions, Lucas specializes in non-surgical face-lifts and the treatment of breast disease or discomfort, arthritis and other chronic pain, allergies, and sports injuries. Additionally, she offers a variety of training and seminars including Dr. Martha Lucas' Natural Guide to Healthier Breasts and Corporate QiGong. Her meditation CD, QiGong Meditations for Life: Basic Maintenance, can be used to improve general health and is available at her office or through her website.

Dr. Lucas prefers to use the word "traditional," rather than "alternative," when she refers to the therapies she uses because they have a tradition of more than 3000 years. "In fact," she says, "when you really think about it, modern Western medicine is the alternative, not TCM or Acupuncture since it (modern medicine) has a much shorter history than TCM, Acupuncture, or energetic therapies like Reiki.

"When treating a patient, I may begin by alleviating uncomfortable symptoms but always in conjunction with determining the cause of the disease or discomfort. This is so that I can develop a treatment plan to correct or eliminate that cause in order to bring the person into a healthy state. Then I advise patients about diet and lifestyle changes that may be needed for them to prevent future disease and together we build a plan for better health. Patients even continue to come for treatment when they feel that they are well in order to maintain that optimal state of health. This is one of the major 'attitudinal' or 'behavioral' differences between TCM and modern medicine - you don't have to feel sick to benefit from treatment. In fact it's very important to maintain your new healthy state by getting regular treatments and making healthy lifestyle choices," explains Lucas.

A Clinical Instructor at the University of Colorado School of Medicine, Lucas received her Ph.D. in Research Psychology from the University of Louisville, Louisville, Kentucky, and her degree in TCM from the Colorado School of Traditional Chinese Medicine in Denver. Besides her direct training in TCM school, she has advanced training in QiGong Medical Massage, pulse-taking diagnostics, and is continuing an ongoing internship with practitioner Timothy McGee in Fort Collins.

In addition to her experience in traditional medicine, Lucas has a long and varied history of academic research and private sector consulting. She is a Chief Consultant at Crestone Research Group where she recently completed a project for the City of Colorado Springs evaluating their Domestic Violence Emergency Response Team. Previous to that, she has conducted workplace violence prevention evaluations for Workplace Violence Prevention through Education, facilitated training for the Colorado Regional Community Policing Institute, and written curriculum and facilitated for Denver's Neighborhood Resource Center.

In addition, she has conducted research at Jewish Hospital, the Jewish Hospital Heart and Lung Institute, and the Humana Heart Institute located in Louisville and has published scholarly articles in the Journal of Cardiopulmonary Rehabilitation and the Journal of Social Behavior and Personality. She is the former President of the Professional Association of Traditional Healers, has been a long-term member on the Board of Directors of the Colorado non-profit, Wellness, NOW, and is a volunteer at Qual-Life Wellness Community.

How did she end up in Denver? Lucas says that "my husband spent a good part of his life growing up in Colorado, his Mom still lives here, and his son is a student at CSU. He returned several years ago to help with the family landscaping business while he established a consulting presence on a part-time basis. Since then, my daughters have moved here and my son works here during the summers. Besides, we both believe that it is important to work where you love to live and we both love the Mountain West. In fact, we have a small vacation home in Moab, UT and I'm planning to add a branch of The Colorado Center of Traditional Medicine there."