Ancient Fern Medicine, LLC

Healers need healing too! Dr. Tim strained something in his shoulder and upper back last week and was feeling some persistent, burning pain with simple daily activities.

Lately our home treatment table has been living in the zen plant corner of our living room. It is such a gift to engage with regular self care and be reminded that acupuncture does in fact make most things better.

Luna is unfortunately too serious about her guard duty job to be a clinic therapy animal. She is however, a wonderful therapeutic presence for home treatments. She stayed like this while Tim rested with his needles, watching carefully over my work.

If things are hurting, feeling off, and you need a reset, come see us.

Cupping looks strange but feels oh so good!!

Some of the things cupping is great for
-tension
-workout soreness
-respiratory congestion from illness or allergies
-pain from strains and sprains
-generalized malaise and muscle aches

Have you tried this modality? What did you think?

Been curious about it? Ask us anything you’ve ever wanted to know about cupping in the comments.

We are excited to be expanding our clinic hours starting April 17th.

Like so many of you we have juggled changes in school, childcare, and ebbs and flows of business due to Covid-19 for the last 3 years.

While we recognize that Covid is still here with us, life moves forward in many ways.

We are emerging from the maintenance phase and are looking to grow again!

We are accepting new patients and have expanded availability to serve you.

Returning patients can book online at the link in our bio. New patients call the office at 503-616-7177 to schedule.

We look forward to supporting you in your health goals.

As of Monday April 3, 2023 masks will be optional for all patients and practitioners at Ancient Fern Medicine.

This decision was made in response to the latest guidance from the OHA to remove the mask wearing requirement for all healthcare settings.

We will continue to use thorough sanitation, hospital grade HEPA filtration, and illness screening to keep our environment as low risk as we can.

We understand that everyone has a different comfort level with this decision, and encourage patients to do what makes them the most comfortable. If you wish you continue wearing a mask to your appointment, you are welcome to do so.

Additionally, if you arrive to your appointment with any obvious symptoms of illness, such as acute congestion, cough, sneezing, or fever you will kindly be asked to wear a mask for the duration of your visit.

We also ask that if a member of your household is ill at that you consider wearing a mask to protect others.

Above all, we ask that you carefully monitor yourself for all symptoms and signs of illness, and call our office to re-schedule if you are experiencing any signs of acute illness, or have tested positive for covid-19 within the last 10 days.

We will continue to monitor the situation, and follow all updated guidance from the OHA, as we have faithfully done throughout the covid-19 pandemic.

We thank you for your support during the last few challenging years, and we hope to continue caring for you for many years to come.

Please contact us mailto:[email protected] or 503-616-7177 with any questions or concerns.

Super excited to revive our social media after a long pause. New products and services coming soon. Completing training on the micro needling pen today and cannot wait to start offering this exciting new service.

Just a low tech, no frills, no video, no trending audio post coming in to remind you that rest is a radical act.
I had all sorts of plans about starting a bathroom refinish project this evening, and then I got home and realized this week has been long and tiring. What is your body saying to you? Are you listening? Be extra good to you. You deserve it.

We’re going to be talking about this topic all month. Stay tuned for posts, videos, and a live Q and A later in the month.

Lovely flowers from a patient who was grateful for a same day opening to treat acute neck pain and a migraine headache.
Don’t be afraid to reach out if you need a same day appointment.

We can’t always accommodate, but we do our best if you’re in acute pain.

We are out of the office 04/15-04/19. Office staff will be in to assist with scheduling at 503-616-7177 or [email protected]

Feeling pretty grateful for these cozy treatment rooms we get to work out of all day. Feeling equally grateful for all of you who show up and are brave, and vulnerable with your struggles.

Check your email for a brief but important newsletter from us today. Important details regarding upcoming rate increase, changing availability, and how to make the most of your remaining acupuncture benefits.

Ancient Fern Medicine, LLC updated their business hours.

Ancient Fern Medicine, LLC updated their address.

Happy from our rescue pup Luna. She’s a special little lady who makes our family complete. We have no idea what kind of dog she really is, except for adorable. Do you have a special doggy in your life ?

Please enjoy this collection of the good doctor Timothy Nelson demonstrating the jump squat smash cardboard technique. We filled the dumpster with our furniture packaging despite breaking it all down completely flat.

It’s not all glamorous opening a new office space. Behind the scenes there are many errands, a lot of furniture assembly, organizing, cleaning, and then cleaning up again. This fabulous human is our dear friend and a professional organizer and assistant. We could not do this without her. If you need help with a project, big or small, of Simply Sarah is your gal.

First sneak peek of the new space! We are SO excited to share this with you. Stay tuned for a walk through video update tomorrow afternoon.

Clinic decisions are in full effect! Tell me your vote! Left or right ?? These gorgeous doors are staying, and we’re looking to compliment, but not match exactly.

Check your inbox for important details regarding the move.

We expect our lease to be finalized within the next 24-48 hours. Our vacation closure has been extended slightly to complete necessary projects.

We will be out of office July 29th and reopen Monday august 16th to welcome you into our new clinic home.

If you’d like to get in before this closure we recommend scheduling now, as only a few time slots remain. Link to schedule In bio.

You may have heard the news that the clinic we currently operate in is closing up shop as of 08/07.

We know a lot of you are wondering what this means for Ancient fern. We want to assure you that we are NOT closing.

We had in fact been planning an expansion for quite some time, and this just speeds up that timeline.

We are in lease negotiation for a space VERY close to Bridgeport Village. We will share that location as soon as the lease is finalized.

We wish the absolute best for Dr Alicia, and Dr Bob in their next chapter of practicing medicine. This isn’t the end for us, or for them. We remain friends and colleagues.

We are very excited for the next phase of ancient fern and cannot wait to share it with you. We promise it’s going to be good!

Happy Friday! We have been a bit quiet this past month. We have been in the process of moving into our new home, while completing a renovation project. This is our first home purchase and we couldn’t be more excited. We promise to be back soon educating, supporting, and inspiring. For now we just want to say thank you. For trusting us and supporting our small business. It means the world to our family. ❤️

What's the inspiration behind the Ancient Fern name? ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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Our name was inspired by the lush forests of the PNW. The name came to Tim on a hike in forest park, near where he was living during his time in school for Chinese medicine. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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Ferns represent transformation and resilience. They are one of the oldest forms of plant life on Earth. After a fire or volcanic eruption they are one of the first forms of life to return to a devastated area. The spores are amazingly resilient and can survive very cold and very hot conditions. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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Our name represents two core principles that inform our approach to medicine. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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1. That the wisdom of nature is deep and powerful. When we learn to live in harmony with the rhythms of the natural world, we experience greater potential for health. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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2. That within each of us is the ability to be resilient, to heal, and to regenerate. Even in the midst of difficult, chronic illness, we see this healing potential in each and every patient that walks into our office. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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Nature always reminds of us of what is possible.

There are many forms of treatment that don't involve needles. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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We work with a lot of patients with needle phobia, or increased needle sensitivity. We pride ourselves on being able to deliver effective treatment that is comfortable and relaxing to the patient. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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Shown here are some non-insertive tools we use for various stroking, brushing, and tapping acupressure techniques. We have been doing these treatments with our own son, since he was very young. He often requests it when he gets carsick, has difficulty sleeping, is sick, or has pain from a fall or injury. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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These treatment options are great for kids, the elderly, or people with needle phobia and sensitivity. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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We often combine these techniques with Asian bodywork treatments, and craniosacral therapy to make a deeply relaxing and whole body therapeutic experience.

One of our most powerful treatment trios pictured here ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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✅cupping ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
✅acupuncture ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
✅gua sha ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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Cupping is great for improving blood and lymphatic circulation. If you have tension, achy muscles, or respiratory congestion when done on the upper back and chest. It can even be done gently on the face to help with seasonal allergies, facial swelling, and to promote an even and glowing complexion.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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Acupuncture is often performed after or in conjunction with cupping. We find that when we use cupping to open the blood flow in the larger muscles, that it requires fewer needles to achieve awesome outcomes.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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Gua sha is the act of using a specialized tool (shown here) or anything with an edge, like a spoon, coin, or jar lid. To do swift and firm scraping motions that help to loosen adhesions in the connective tissue layer and promote blood flow and pain relief. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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While these therapies are a little different than traditional massage, they are highly effective in the treatment of musculoskeletal pain. If you’re feeling achy, tense, congested, or tired, chat with us about whether you’re a good candidate to have cupping and guasha added to your next acupuncture visit.

Happy snow day!

We are closed today, due to 🥶❄️ conditions in the Portland metro.

My 🌱 based snow day breakfast inspired me to share something with you.

A patient shared a story with me yesterday. It went something like “I decided to go plant based, you know, to be healthier, but then x number of years later, I got super sick. My energy flattened out, my thyroid was suffering, I was having headaches, and digestive problems.”

I’ve heard this story a LOT unfortunately.

In this case the person started eating a lot of “meat replacement” products, which happen to contain a lot of soy. This caused so much inflammation in the digestive system that it eventually led to acute thyroiditis (inflammation of the thyroid). It was a long process of discovering what was making the patient unwell. Two years later the patient is still rebuilding iron and b12 levels back to normal.

The point is. No diet is inherently healthy or unhealthy. ANY diet...Keto, paleo, vegetarian, vegan, AIP, SCD can be done in a way that does not support your body.

We are not down with diet dogma. Demonizing entire food groups as bad, tends to lead to disordered eating habits.

Food can be our most powerful medicine. We’re here to help you develop a unique plan that works for YOUR body.

Now what should we bake for snow day?

Caring for yourself can be simple. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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Making small, mindful shifts in your daily routine, can have a big impact in your health. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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We treat a lot of anxiety, insomnia, and endocrine disorders like and thyroiditis and axis dysfunction aka adrenal fatigue (although this name isn’t quite accurate) as people refer to it. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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When you’re chronically tired, wired, these and exhausted, but still can’t sleep well , it’s a difficult cycle to break out of. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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We look at lifestyle factors like caffeine and alcohol consumption, exercise, stress load, coping tools, social supports etc.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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While not everyone needs to be strictly caffeine free, many folks with chronic exhaustion and pain find that when they reduce caffeine consumption their nervous system thanks them! ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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We encourage patients to work with simple ingredients to explore other types of hot beverages as part of their morning and daytime routine. My top favorites are ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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✅mint and ginger steeped in hot water ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
✅rooibos chai with warming spices like cinnamon and clove ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
✅fresh ginger root and lemon wedges squeezed into warm water ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
✅club soda with any type of fresh citrus wedge added, a splash of ginger beer if I’m feeling fancy ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
✅green tea as a caffeinated option that’s more gentle on the gut and nervous system and has beneficial antioxidants and other compounds to lower inflammation ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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What’s your favorite non coffee hot beverage ??

New on the Ancient Fern Medicine blog. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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We get asked about food sensitivity ALL the time. Especially with the rise of so many at home tests creating confusion as to the benefits and accuracy of these tests. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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In this blog, we break down what this testing can tell you, and what it can't. We talk about how to use it as just one part of a comprehensive approach to healing digestive ailments, and other chronic inflammatory conditions. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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Link to the full post in bio, and in comments.

See what patients are saying about working with Tim. While we have very similar training, we bring unique personalities to our work. Check out Dr. Tim's schedule openings in the link in bio.

Have you ever experienced craniosacral therapy? This gentle, and deeply relaxing modality is something we offer as a stand alone service, or an add on to other services.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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Craniosacral therapy uses very gentle pressure, and the most subtle of hands on adjustments to balance the flow of cerebrospinal fluid in the head, neck, and spine. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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This fluid circulates around the brain, spinal cord, and sacrum. When the flow of this fluid is restricted, or uneven, it can exacerbate many different symptoms such as...⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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✅headaches ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
✅dizziness ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
✅chronic muscle pain and tension ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
✅congestion in the sinuses and ears ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
✅mental fatigue ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
✅sleep disruption ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
✅feelings of pressure or fullness in the head..and much more ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
✅post concussion syndrome ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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This modality is an excellent choice for those who are sensitive to needles, deep bodywork, and chiropractic adjustments. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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Come see us this week if you need some deeply restorative bodywork ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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Link to schedule in bio