About Us

Greetings! I am Lara Dilkes, Licensed Acupuncturist, herbalist, cupping specialist and practitioner of all things Chinese Medicine. I own and practice at PDX Acupuncture, in Portland, OR. I am also a Certified Functional Nutrition and Lifestyle Practitioner.

Lara is contracted with the following insurance companies: Axis, Aetna, Blue Cross Blue Shield, Moda, Optum, Pacific Source, Providence, Regence BCBS, IPLU Coastwise, United Health Care, Lifewise, Motor Vehicle Accidents (Allstate, AAA, Statefarm etc), Workmans Comp.

I began my acupuncture career 17 years ago with the intent to help humans on their path to optimal health. I was inspired by a man in Hope, Alaska. I heard about this magical ‘healer of the town” when I was working in the fishing industry in Valdez. I had the opportunity to spend some time with him at the end of my fishing summer. He had a big room filled with tinctures, kombucha, vinegars and herbs. He also practiced Shiatsu. After my time spent observing him got my fire going for being just like him! It was shortly after that I started my educational path to my Masters in Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine. If you ever had acupuncture you know it is so incredibly helpful for pretty much everything. We truly love to treat all humans of any race, gender and socio-economic status who want to shift their health in any way that would make them just feel better.

I specialize in acute and chronic musculoskeletal pain, hemiplegic migraines and autoimmune disorders and aesthetic acupuncture.

More specifically, I specialize in musculoskeletal pain paired with chronic and continuing diseases that are complicated and multi-layered are my absolute favorite patients. For example, you pulled your low back out, and you also have diabetes, or lupus or high blood pressure that you struggle to manage in conventional ways, I am the practitioner for you! Frozen shoulders, prolonged sitting posture problems and athletes find my care paramount to their optimal health.

I also specialize in helping patients recover from motor vehicle accidents. Car accidents are so much more intense than people give them credit for. They can lead to a myriad of complicated symptoms that linger and exacerbate with normal daily routines. Such as body pain, headaches and anxiety.

I have a special place in my heart that lights up when I get to help women navigate hormonal rhythms and understand their hormones and menstruation on a more intimate level. I also love working with young women who are experiencing difficult periods or have experienced trauma. I am a good place to start. If your situatio is over my head, or if you are TTC and it's complicated, rest assured I will refer you to a more qualified practitioner.

I love breaking down and investigating the root of complex digestive and auto-immune disorders. My Functional Nutrition training and acupuncture is a winning combination of treatment for autoimmune disorders of any kind and anyone with one should have a regular acupuncture regimen to maintain proper immune function.

My deeper passion as of late has been to assist my patients with stress-induced symptoms are a part of our everyday life in our modern lifestyles and reduce the symptoms that come from prolonged stress. I’ve been creating Herbal Elixirs with adaptogenic herbs for the last 6 years and it's super fun! Check out my other company SuperCube - A coffee-enhancing supplement formulated to support your hormones.

If you would like to go a little deeper with me about my personal health struggles along my path to becoming an acupuncturist.

My practice is successful because acupuncture works, herbs heal, moxa feels good, cups are amazing, I have stellar staff, and I am happy!

But, it was not until I started to see my patients return with the same pains that were resolved months before, that I wanted to dive deeper in a way to get to the true root of the problem. FOOD was my answer!

I decided to train with Andrea Nakayama and enrolled in her Functional Nutrition Licensed Practitioner certification program. It was then that I really discovered what was really motivating me to be the practitioner I am.

I remember being in about 3rd grade… lying in bed.. Aspergum, jello and water by my bedside. I was in that bed long enough for my classmates to write me get well cards. Some nasty viruses and bacteria had taken residence in me. Tonsillitis, pneumonia, strep throat. I felt awful. But, what made me feel the worst during that time was that I was mostly alone. My mom was a single mother and had to go to work. I slept most of the day, but waking up and not having anyone there was really painful for my spirit. That pain has followed me up through the start of my current 17 year long practice, my marriage, it’s end, and with the birth of my two beautiful boys. But it was not until recently, when I really started to examine why I practice medicine the way I do, that I realized that experience alone at home was a very pivotal experience for me.

I learned that I don’t want any human to bear the emotional, physical, mental and spiritual pain of walking on their path to optimum health ALONE. It pains me to think of all the patients that have walked out of conventional and even some natural medicine practitioners' offices feeling like they told their story, and were not even heard, seen or had a shred of empathy enter the space between them.

Taking an interest in how others really feel and having a true intention and passion to want them to feel better has always been very natural for me. My mom used to say that as a child I would often ask adults how they were. They would always look a little surprised when I was intent on finding out the answer! I really wanted to know, and cared about how they were!

If you are experiencing any sort of ill health, I would be delighted to dive deep with you, and be your partner on your path to amazing health. I love more than ever to see people shift their health toward OPTIMAL.

If you live in Portland, we can do physical medicine with Acupuncture and Massage and Functional Nutrition. If you live out of state or in Portland we are happy to provide our Functional Nutrition Services via telemedicine.

I look forward to helping you on your path to balance, calm, fullness and joy!

When I am not treating patients or running the clinic, you can find me on a bike ride with my boys, or running in the city or Forest park trail, doing laps in the pool or jumping into a swimming hole, playing herbalist in my at home apothecary making elixirs, tinctures and salves, enjoying Oregon’s Gorge life and putting her toes in the ocean also feed my soul.

(OR License #AC1068