Five Paths Acupuncture LLC, Chandler

Bart Vermilya didn’t always want to be an acupuncturist. He might still be building computer mainframes for a living had it not been for a shoulder injury he incurred while practicing martial arts. In severe pain, he went to a chiropractor and a massage therapist, both of whom failed to help. He then went to an acupuncturist who reclined him on a table, ignored his shoulder completely, and proceeded to insert needles into his ankle.

“It kind of has to do with tricking your nervous system,” Bart explains. A computer networker and engineer, Bart has a logical approach to problem solving and researches his own treatments with the fervor of a caffeinated skeptic. He finds fascination in sciences that work in spite of logic. “I was surprised too. My ankle. But it worked.”

Inspired by his experience, Bart began studying holistic treatments. His vocation as an engineer, combined with training in acupuncture, Chinese medicine, and holistic healing represents a merger of Eastern and Western philosophies. Today, he custom-blends Chinese herbs based on the client’s condition and on his own extensive scientific research, and integrates various treatments into his practice: a patient complaining of a sore back might receive acupuncture on limbs while Bart places cups along the spine.