Local Business Feature

I had the pleasure of meeting Lisa earlier this year after a not so pleasant shoulder injury playing volleyball. Indoor sand volleyball has become my new work-out routine for Winter so I was really bummed about not being able to play!

Being in medicine, particularly with a background in Sports Medicine, I already knew I had strained my rotator cuff but I knew it wasn’t serious (yet). I wasn’t really keen on going to see my PCP who would likely tell me what I already knew: RICE (rest, ice, compression, elevation).

I figured that I would try to rehab it with physical therapy and maybe try out acupuncture for the pain. I was getting an intense throbbing “ice pick” pain at the edge of my shoulder that radiated into my collar bone and kept me up most nights since the injury.

I read all sorts of reviews online on various practitioners. I knew that I wanted someone local, in Highlands Ranch preferably. I was also hoping to find someone that wouldn’t just tell me to take it easy. Lisa seemed like a great fit because I read in her profile that she is a runner and that she specializes in treating athletes, perfect!

The 1st time I saw her she spent over an hour with me and really listened. I also appreciated that she immediately empathized with me as an athlete, she doesn’t like to take it easy either. Despite that I instantly liked her, I was still kind of a skeptic at first, I didn’t think there was any way that I would see a difference after one session.

So I was pretty amazed when I started the appointment unable to raise my arm laterally more than 45 degrees and at the end could get to almost 90 degrees. It also took away the pain (temporarily). She set my expectations very well though and let me know that once the needles were out that likely all of my symptoms would come back in a few hours but that each time it would get better and better.

I have seen Lisa fairly consistently over the last few months now and she has made a huge difference with my shoulder pain. I suspect that if I was actually resting it I would be 100% healed by now. However, the fact that I can still play and be active is enough for the time being.

I have also gotten to know Lisa and am very impressed with her as a person and practitioner. She truly has a passion for helping people and a unique intuition about the human body, pain and how to treat it. She also loves animals (instant brownie points in my book) and we chat a lot about how our businesses might help animals in the future.

I highly recommend Lisa so I am very excited to talk about her business and hope that she can help a few of you the way she has helped me!

Name of local business: Highlands Ranch Family Acupuncture

Owner: Lisa Davino

Type of Business: Chinese Medicine/Acupuncture

When was the business started? 2011

Where are you located? The Hearth in Highlands Ranch

What services do you offer? Acupuncture for all conditions but specializing in allergy elimination and sports injury & pain (more below)

What do you charge for your services? Initial $95, follow-up $70

What types of people do you work with? Families, athletes

What ages do you work with? Infant to geriatric

How can customers reach you? Text or call 303-346-4426, email HRacu@gmail.com

Do you have a website? HRFacu.com

How long have you lived in HR? Since 2005

What is your favorite part about living or working in HR? I love the community aspect of HR. The focus on family is also very important to me.

Tell us about your business story or your personal story that lead you to start your business: I lived with TMJ (jaw popping and pain) my entire life. It had gotten so bad in my 30’s that I was living with daily headaches and the inability to chew properly. In 2003 I had an 8-hour surgery that was supposed to fix everything. While it fixed by bite I was still living with constant pain. I felt like I had done everything and was frustrated . Then someone suggested I try acupuncture. As a last result I was willing to try it. Within 6-months I was pain free for the first time in 35 plus years. I decided I needed to be able to offer this service to everyone.

What challenges have you faced in starting and growing your business? Being that I work out of my house I lacked the exposure of a retail location in the beginning. I was hidden from the public eye so it was harder to get the word out there. Plus working out of my house some people didn’t take it as a serious business.

What challenges have you faced as a woman in business, if any? I actually think that being a woman has helped me because I can be compassionate and caring.

How did you overcome your obstacles? Referrals from patients.

What is the best part about your job? Changing peoples lives and giving them their health back.

How does your business support women in the community or how would you like it to? Being that I treat a lot of mothers and sisters I give them the opportunity to accomplish more in their daily lives. This trickles into what they can do in the community.

What advice would you give to other women interested in starting a business? Believe that you are doing the right thing no matter what. If you believe in yourself and what you are doing you will change your life and those around you.

What are a few of your business goals for 2019? To find a sports team to work with and to help prevent injury and increase performance; to expand my practice out in the community more.

What else would you like people to know about you or your business? I understand what it’s like to be frustrated with your health and not know where to turn for help. Every patient of mine gets treated as an individual & receives treatment based on what their body needs. It isn’t just cookie cutter or what a textbook tells me.

I treat all conditions but specialize in allergy elimination and sports injuries & pain. Being an athlete all my life I understand the limitations pain can put on your body. The allergy elimination I do is because I have seen how it changed my daughter’s life for the better.