Eric R. Richards, Acupuncture

Eric was born and raised in Denver. At age 10 he started practicing Shao-lin Kung Fu and developed to the rank of 3rddegree blackbelt. This martial art training was a catalyst in his future interest in Chinese Medicine. Thru out his childhood, Eric’s mother suffered from chronic sinus and migraine headaches. She started acupuncture treatments which significantly controlled her headaches. This relief of pain had not only changed his mother’s life but gave another nudge for Eric to pursue acupuncture. In the 1980s, Eric started competing in tournament fighting called Arsi Hara which was an earlier form of UFC. After one fight, Eric decided his stronger desire was to help people rather than hurt, which was the last factor in his decision to go into medicine.

Eric graduated from Mullen High School in Denver. Next was Colorado State University for degree in Biochemistry. In his last two years at CSU he started working for the State of Colorado in the Water Test Division at CSU. In 1991, he started classes in Chinese Medicine at the Colorado School of Traditional Chinese Medicine in Denver. He continued working for the State as well as taking classes for the next 3 years. Eric graduated from CSTCM in 1994 and upon passing the National Boards; he started working at the Rocky Mountain Regional Pain Management Center. In 1999, Eric moved his practice to AFM at the Horsetooth office.

Although Eric’s practice focus is in orthopedics/sports medicine, he treats a vast amount of other complaints. Common complaints include: headaches, back pain, neck pain, and arthritis (all types). Other conditions seen include: Hypertension, menopause, menstrual disorders, infertility, IBS, neurological conditions such as Bell palsy and post herpetic neuralgia.

Eric’s has a wife, daughter (26), daughter (22), son (18) and a granddaughter (2). Interests include: traveling, camping, rock climbing, snowshoeing, ice fishing, bird hunting, auto mechanics, aviation, bow hunting, lacrosse, football, astronomy, technology, et al.

Tags: Acupuncture, Complementary Medicine