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Omaha acupuncture business booming despite pandemic

Posted at 7:16 AM, May 17, 2021
and last updated 2021-05-17 08:16:27-04

OMAHA, Neb. (KMTV) - A medical clinic in Omaha doesn’t treat people who are ill but rather people with chronic pain issues.

The family business is using acupuncture to help make a difference in the lives of their patients.

"We have patients that come and say, ‘You have completely changed my life. I had lost all hope and thought I was going to have to live with this pain for the rest of my life,’ and we've given them that hope back. That is why we do what we do every single day,” said 4 Paths Acupuncture and Integrative Health co-owner Chalee Nyenhuis.

Chalee and her husband, Dr. Cory Nyenhuis, own the business on North 109th Plaza in Omaha.

If you're worried about needles, the husband and wife duo said it's not like what you see in the movies.

"On average anywhere between five and 20 needles. Some people get two needles, some people get more than that, it is just different for everybody. It depends on what they are presenting and that is what our doctor of acupuncture does,” Chalee said. “I always think of Kung Fu Panda, where he is getting acupuncture and he's got needles literally all over his body. It is nothing like that."

Patients come for all kinds of treatment. They offer acupuncture, of course, but they also practice Chinese medicine and offer IV therapy.

Like a lot of businesses, 4 Paths Acupuncture and Integrative Health closed its doors when the pandemic started. But the Nyenhuis' realized something. The stress that the pandemic was causing meant their patients needed them now more than ever.

What they didn't realize is the clientele was about to grow, and grow fast.

"We probably grew about 20 percent since the start of the pandemic,” Cory said.

They acquired more space as the company next to them closed, to accommodate more patients.

"We decided to build four more treatment rooms and we are going to have an acupuncture lounge,” Chalee said.

Like most families over the last year, they've had to make changes at home. The couple’s son is home-schooled and now has a very important job at 4 Paths Acupuncture and Integrative Health.

"He is the official laugh coordinator of 4 Paths Acupuncture and Integrative Health,” Chalee said. “He takes his job very seriously so he goes out there and does his homework and learns as many knock-knock jokes as possible so that he can entertain our patients.”

To learn more about 4 Paths Acupuncture and Integrative Health, click here.

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