E51: Needles Don't Have to Hurt: Debunking Acupuncture Myths with Eric

From a childhood martial arts class to a thriving acupuncture practice, Eric Richards' journey into Chinese medicine began with watching his mother find relief from debilitating migraines. Now, after 30 years of helping Fort Collins residents overcome pain and inflammation, Eric shares his story and expertise on the Good Neighbor Podcast.

"Acupuncture doesn't have to hurt," Eric explains, dispelling the biggest misconception about his practice. In fact, about half his patients fall asleep during treatment, finding deep relaxation alongside pain relief. Specializing in treating athletes, weekend warriors, and those with arthritis, Eric employs traditional acupuncture alongside herbal injections, cupping, and tuina to address inflammation and muscle tension.

The conversation takes a personal turn as Eric opens up about recent challenges—losing his beloved dog, Mico, and facing unexpected unemployment when Village Medical restructured. These setbacks became the catalyst for launching Acupuncture by Eric in January 2024. His resilience mirrors his treatment philosophy: "We try to get you back to what you love and let you get at it." Unlike practices that create dependency, Eric focuses on effective treatments that return patients to active living. When not treating patients, he's paddleboarding, competing in Spartan races, or enjoying Colorado's outdoor playground—a lifestyle that helps him understand his athletic patients' needs firsthand.

Ready to experience affordable, effective treatment for pain or inflammation? Discover how acupuncture might change your life the way it changed Eric's family. Visit https://acupuncturebyeric.com/ to learn more about this ancient healing art and its modern applications.

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
This is the Good Neighbor Podcast, the place
where local businesses andneighbors come together.
Here's your host, Nick George.

Speaker 2 (00:12):
Welcome to the Good Neighbor Podcast.
Are you in need of a naturalpath and practice designed to
ease pain, calm stress andrestore your body's natural
balance?
One might be closer than youthink.
Today I have the pleasure ofintroducing your good neighbor,
eric Richards, with Acupunctureby Eric Eric, how's it going?

Speaker 3 (00:30):
It's going great.
How about you, Nick?

Speaker 2 (00:33):
Excellent.
We're excited to learn allabout you and your business,
your practice.
Tell us about it.

Speaker 3 (00:39):
Well, I've been in practice in Fort Collins for 30
years.
I started out with a painmanagement center that
unfortunately went out ofbusiness in 99.
So I jumped on to Associates inFamily Medicine, worked with
them for about 23 years.
Then they were bought byVillage Medical, so I was with

(01:00):
them for a couple of years andthen and this this this year,
january of 2025, I startedacupuncture by Eric.
I'm just an acupuncturist, well, not just just, but I'm an
acupuncturist.
I do all kinds of treatments,from orthopedics to arthritis,

(01:20):
treat a lot of aging populationas well as athletes.
There is injection medicationwell, herbal injections that I
do as well, and then cupping andtuina and all those other
Chinese medical modalities, butto treat mostly just
inflammation and relax muscles,increase blood flow.
That such a thing.

Speaker 2 (01:42):
How did you get into this practice?

Speaker 3 (01:45):
That's a common question I get a lot.
How I actually got interestedin it?
I was in martial arts as a kid.
Very young about eight, nineyears old.
My mother had tremendousheadaches.
Our whole family dynamic wasaffected by it.
One of the people that was inmy martial art class was an
acupuncturist.
He kind of talked me intopursuing trying to get my mom

(02:09):
interested in it because he sawhow it affected our whole family
.
So she went, started going tosome treatments for him just
kind of changed her entire life.
She less intense, less frequentmigraines as well as daily
headaches were almost gone.
So it changed our whole familydynamics, which of course

(02:30):
sparked my interest in intopursuing that and actually
giving back to the community forthat same way.

Speaker 2 (02:38):
Wow, what are some myths and misconceptions in your
industry.

Speaker 3 (02:43):
So a popular one is acupuncture hurts because it's a
needle insertion.
It doesn't necessarily have tohurt.
Sometimes it does have a needleinsertion feeling, but most all
the time people are verypleasantly surprised that it is
painless and in fact most peopledo relax and it's treated for
anxiety and stress as well.

(03:05):
And most people do fall asleep.
Probably 50% of patients fallasleep during the treatment.
So misconception that it's apainful procedure is probably
the biggest one.

Speaker 2 (03:17):
Who are your target customers and how would you
attract them?
How do you attract them now?

Speaker 3 (03:22):
So that's mostly athletes or weekend warriors as
well as more of the agingpopulation, of arthritis type of
thing.
So it's mostly pain patients, alot of joint issues as well.
How I attract them mostly it'sall word of mouth.
Which is biggest compliment iswhen somebody knows that you

(03:45):
just treated them.
They had back pain for yearsand four treatments and they
changed their life.
Well, that's, they starttelling their neighbors, as well
as their friends and family,and that's the biggest one.
But I do get a lot from familyphysicians around town and
specialists as well around town,and specialists as well.

Speaker 2 (04:08):
Have you thought about hosting your own podcast
with these success stories?

Speaker 3 (04:11):
as your co-hosts or guests.
Oh, I've never thought aboutthat.
That would be an interestingpursuit there.

Speaker 2 (04:16):
That's the new word of mouth.
Outside of work, what do you dofor fun?

Speaker 3 (04:21):
Well, I do pretty much everything.
So, um, do cycle, um, uh, inthe past mostly mountain biking,
but everything outdoors is whatI do currently.
I'm more uh into um axethrowing leagues as well as
cornhole leagues.
Uh, I do a lot of paddleboard.

(04:42):
Started getting intopaddleboard racing the last
couple of years.
I do Spartan races, which is anobstacle course, kind of like a
tough mudder type of a thing,then hike with my wife and my
kids, et cetera, and thenanything outdoors, but in the
winter it's more skiing,snowboarding, ice fishing,

(05:04):
snowshoeing so pretty muchanything that's outside.

Speaker 2 (05:08):
Let's switch gears.
Can you describe a hardship orlife challenge that you overcame
and how it made you stronger?
What comes to mind?

Speaker 3 (05:15):
Well, the biggest one that comes to mind is well, in
last July I lost my soulmate dog.
He was my everything and sothat kind of it was a very
shocker.
Just left one day.
He had a heart issue that wedidn't really know about but he
fell in the backyard during theday.

(05:38):
So that kind of threw off allof last summer.
So that was last July.
And then in November I got laidoff of Village Medical.
They went in a different wayand laid off a bunch of
providers and that made me haveto do a life switch.
So definitely had a lot left togive in the acupuncture realm.

(06:02):
So opening up my own practice.
So that took a lot of effort toget through.
So a lot of family, my wife,friends, all support group
helping me through that for bothof those for 2024.
So 2024 was the biggest problemrecently.

Speaker 2 (06:22):
Me too, Eric.
Please tell our listeners onething that they should remember
about acupuncture by Eric.

Speaker 3 (06:28):
Well, probably that it treats pretty much any type
of inflammation, muscle relaxanttype of thing that you might
have for a condition.
It's not painful at all, it'smore affordable than you think
would be and it isn't somethingthat you have to do consistently
.
We try to get you back to whatyou love and let you get at it.

Speaker 2 (06:53):
How can our listeners learn more about Acupuncture by
Eric?

Speaker 3 (06:57):
Well, that's right there in the name, is what?
So the website isacupuncturebyericcom, so that's
the easiest way to do that.
I'm not on social media.
I don't really like socialmedia, so I'm not on that aspect
.
But on the web they can getmore information about how to
get ahold of me, as well as somelinks on acupuncture in general

(07:18):
.

Speaker 2 (07:20):
Well, Eric, I really appreciate you being on the show
.
We wish you and your practicethe best moving forward.
Well, thank you reallyappreciate you being on the show
.

Speaker 3 (07:25):
We wish you and your practice the best moving forward
.
Well, thank you.

Speaker 1 (07:30):
Nice meeting you, nick.
Thank you for listening to theGood Neighbor Podcast.
To nominate your favorite localbusinesses to be featured on
the show, go tognpfortcollinscom.
That's gnpfortcollinscom, orcall 970-438-0825.