Case Study: Acupuncture for Chronic Lower Back Pain

by Dr. Zak Han, MB (1985), MATCM (UK)

We were actually amazed when we typed “causes of lower back pain” into the Google search box. Over 3,770,000 search results exist! By just glancing at the articles that pop up on the first page yields an enormous amount of facts and figures. But… the treatments aren’t always effective. Acupuncture is without question one of the most powerful pain-altering modalities in the world. Its reputation for pain relief is known and respected internationally. It may be practised successfully with a variety of procedures other than needles, including lasers, electronic and noninvasive stimulation devices for those who are needle-phobic and would not consider acupuncture otherwise.

This case study concerns a 58-year-old female patient who presented in February 2008, with severe pain in her lower back, right buttock, leg, and foot. The patient’s pain began in February 2007, when she slipped while cleaning in her home. Following that, she had many different treatments including physiotherapy, osteopathy, chiropractics, etc, but nothing worked. She also received hydrocodone bitartrate/acetaminophen, which provided minor relief but caused nausea.

She described the pain as “cramping, burning, radiating, and squeezing”. She said the pain was constant, with an intense ache in her lower back. Pain radiated right across her hip and buttock, down the posteriolateral aspect of her leg to the sole and top of her foot. She was unable to work because of intolerable pain. On physical examination, it was noted that flexion, extension and lateral movements of the spine were all completely normal. However, on palpation of the L4/L5 facet joint there was extreme tenderness, on the right more than the left, and examination also showed a decreased ankle reflex on the right side.

After presentation at my clinic the patient enrolled in ‘zak acupuncture’. After the first treatment, there was little result. She continued with treatment and received deep and intensive acupuncture in the lower back area for approximately 2 months, almost 10 acupuncture sessions in total, in which she had a lot of thick needles put over the tender facet joints, and in some regional acupuncture points. On the eleventh session, it was difficult to elicit the previous area of tenderness and the patient felt that the pain had completely resolved.

Most low back pain is triggered by some combination of overuse, muscle strain, and injury to the muscles, ligaments, and discs that support the spine. Many experts believe that over time muscle strain can lead to an overall imbalance in the spinal structure. This leads to constant tension in the muscles, ligaments, bones, and discs, making the back more prone to injury or reinjury. Acupuncture is the best solution for back pain relief as it is best for decreasing inflammation and built-up circulation to injured tissue.

In contrast to most acupuncturists, I focus first on trying to find an effective option for my patients. Most of the patients I see have a problem that I can solve with a special acupuncture technique. I spend a significant amount of time practising with new and exciting technologies that have made modern acupuncture technique one of the fastest growing and most technologically advanced areas in all of Chinese medicine. Although I am sorry that you have to come see me because of your chronic and difficult back pain, take comfort in the fact that I have so much more to offer you to solve your pain successfully than any other time in history. Please have a look around my website. I hope it helps you learn more about my practice and understand more about your spine.

Nutritional therapists: quacks or healers?

Some food for thought by nutritional therapist Sally Beare, dip BCNH

Does nutritional therapy work?  According to our detractors, it’s a load of old hogwash (organic, with fresh flax seeds and goji berries mixed in, of course).  My own quick answer to the question is: take 100 or more pairs of twins, and feed one of each pair on nothing but crisps, lollipops and bacon sandwiches for 60 years (if they live that long) and the other on a balanced diet rich in fruit and vegetables, healthy proteins, the right carbs, and a good dose of superfoods.  Keep the first on the sofa in front of the TV and get the second out for a brisk walk each day.  If the bookies were taking bets on which group would live healthier, happier, longer lives, I know which I’d put my money on.

The logic behind nutritional therapy is merely an extension of this. Even the biggest skeptics can’t deny that if one food or nutrient is good for you and another is bad, it stands to reason that you can apply this principle to ALL nutrients.  Broccoli: good.  Sugar: bad.  We all know that.  It gets more difficult, though.  Yoghurt – good or bad?  That depends on the type of yoghurt, and the individual biochemistry of the person standing in front of the yoghurt shelf in the supermarket.  An organic spelt bun?  A pint of grapefruit juice?  A glass of red wine? Lamb chops? Whether or not these will harm you or help you depends on several factors and it is the job of the nutritional therapist to find out which.

That may sound like splitting hairs to some, but the impact on a person of what they eat can be so profound and life-changing that it inspires us nutritional therapists to keep going in the face of criticism from the anti-nutrition brigade.  Go ahead, throw your eggs and tomatoes at us – we’ll turn them into a lycopene-rich omelette with all the essential amino acids, so there.  It isn’t just about worshipping at the temple of our bodies but about preventing serious illness, enhancing quality of life, boosting our mental state, being there for longer for our families, and reducing the burden on the NHS – bearing in mind that even the medical profession acknowledges that the vast majority of illnesses are diet-related.

Medical science can be lifesaving and invaluable – I’m thinking back to that wonderful surgeon who pushed my daughter’s nose back into shape after my son broke it with his head – but it also has its shortcomings.  Iatrogenic death, otherwise known as death by doctoring, kills an estimated 90,000 people in the UK annually, largely through adverse effects to pharmaceutical drugs, and let’s not even start on superbugs, vaccinations, and ‘the tests don’t show anything is wrong, maybe it’s all in your mind’.

Rather than throwing drugs at the problem, nutritional therapists seek to find the root cause of symptoms and use nutrients to enable a person to regain optimum health.  Digestive disorders, obesity issues, poor immunity, hormonal imbalances, fatigue, headaches, inflammatory conditions and other ‘vague’ conditions which are hard to label medically can all respond dramatically to nutritional therapy.

The biggest problem with nutritional therapy today is that the profession is not regulated by law.  Last year, a tragedy occurred when a woman visited a nutritional therapist and was put on a detox diet.  Somehow, it seems she ended up drinking too much water and allegedly ended up suffering from brain damage as a result of hyperhydration and excessively low salt levels.  It may be that the nutritional therapist in question had not been properly trained, because it should be basic knowledge to a nutritional therapist that drinking too much water at once can lead to loss of electrolytes with potential adverse consequences.

Lack of regulation means that anyone can call themselves a ‘nutritional therapist’ whether they have been rigorously trained and examined over several years at a good college, attended a single weekend course, or have simply decided one day to be a nutritional therapist and had a card printed up.  So how does a client know how to choose a properly-trained nutritional therapist?

If the therapist is a member of BANT (the British Association for Applied Nutrition and Nutritional Therapy), this means that they have a qualification from a recognized training establishment.  However, it does not mean that they themselves are individually regulated.  The best way to be sure that a nutritional therapist has an acceptable level of expertise is if they are accredited by the Nutritional Therapy Council (NTC), currently being taken over by the Complementary and Natural Healthcare Council (CNHC).  Only practitioners who have given evidence of their competence to practice and have trained with an establishment which matches the National Occupational Standards for nutritional therapy will have NTC/CNHC accreditation. Registration is voluntary, so there are likely to be some good practitioners who are not accredited, but this is currently the best way for clients to be sure of what they are getting.  The NTC and/or CNHC status of any practitioner can be checked on the NTC or CNHC websites.  There are currently 300 practitioners on the list, with more (including myself) currently undergoing registration; it is hoped that in future all practitioners will have been assessed in this way for the good of both nutritional therapy and the general public.

Weight Control

by Clementine O’Shaughnessy, Clinical Hypnotherapist

Dear Clementine,

I have struggled with my weight for years and now feel desperate to be a normal size. Even though I exercise and try to choose healthy food, somehow my size just creeps up every year. I feel my confidence and relationships are affected by my size and I want to feel sexy again. Ive heard that hypnotherapy can help me to loose the excess weight and more importantly, keep it off. Is this true and if so, how does it work?

Answer:

I sympathise with your situation. You are not alone with this problem as 46% of men and 32% of women in England are overweight at the moment.

Being over weight not only effects your morale and self esteem, but it seriously effects your health. These health risks include heart disease, diabetes, high blood pressure, stroke, cancer etc.

Over-eating is often a pattern of behaviour that responds well to hypnotherapy as often people tend to over-eat in an unconscious way. This leads them to consume more calories than they are aware of. Also, eating as a way of comforting themselves also leads to weight gain.

In the therapy we will look at all the areas concerning food i.e learning to eat only when hungry, sorting out emotional stress, issues around rewarding yourself with food, childhood beliefs such as ”eating all on your plate to please the cook” or ”eating so you don’t get ill”, self image as an over weight person, the preference of sweet or fatty foods, portion size, learning to feel full, consciously eating, the belief that sensible eating is deprivation, fear of scales, exercise and physical activity, bringing down anxiety so thoughts of food are less, learning to think positively about yourself, ways to motivate toward goals, learning how to keep weight off, using the imagination to  see yourself thiner, learning to feel confident and in control of your life etc.

The therapy is positive, goal orientated and relaxing. It takes 8 sessions which are weeky to start and then spread out as you make progress. We aim to loose 2lbs a week.

The sessions cost £50 each or £350 for the 8 week programme.

Depression

by Clementine O’Shaughnessy, Clinical Hypnotherapist

Dear Clementine,

I am 34 years old and have suffered with depression for years with no help other than antidepressant tablets which I’d like to stop taking. I feel like my depression has become a way of life and I cant remember what it felt like to be normal anymore. I realise I am constantly criticising myself, I am socially withdrawn, scared of the streets and wont meet with anyone I don’t know as I worry about what people think of me. I am bored with my job, but cannot imaging changing it as I feel I couldn’t do anything else. I would like to have a boyfriend, meet new people and live a life rather than be invisible. Why do I feel like this and is there any way out? – I’m desperate.

Answer:

I really feel for you, depression effects half the population at some time in their life and it sounds like you have experienced more than your share of it. It is probably the most common psychological disorder, so you’re not alone. Often individuals turn in on themselves making matters worse. By being critical of yourself, you create low self esteem and your confidence suffers.

To add to this, today’s society is often a stressful place to live in, with families living apart, communities unsupportive, a fear of strangers, jobs being insecure and the pressure to consume more and more.

Depression often starts as a feeling of low mood and is then exacerbated by negative thinking such as your work situation or anxious feelings about what others think of you. All this results in the natural feel- good chemicals, such as serotonin being depleted as our mind perceives we are in a situation that requires us to withdraw from life. This primitive survival mechanism was useful to us in cave-man times as it allowed us to conserve our resources and energy. However, it is not useful now and there are ways to help you to see different perspectives on your life.

Research shows that Cognitive Therapies can help enormously with depression and anxiety. I will tell you how Solution Focused Brief Hypnotherapy can help with depression as it is considered the most effective treatment – even in severe cases. Depression also has a dramatically lower rate of relapse with hypnotherapy than with antidepressants as it teaches you how to think in a new way.

Most overly emotional behaviour exists in the subconscious part of our minds where our beliefs and patterns of behaviour reside. Often these beliefs are learnt in childhood or from more recent experiences and result in faulty thinking or programming.

Changing this programming is difficult without help as the subconscious does not understand logic. This is where hypnosis is useful as it bypasses the conscious mind and can reprogramme beliefs through suggestions made to you whilst you are in a deeply relaxed state.

The Therapy will take from between 8-12 sessions depending on how quickly things change for you. We will look at solutions to improving your life with your unique resources, with goals set by you. In Solution Focused Therapy we will concentrate on your preferred future and how you want it to be rather than the past and any problems you had.

As you start to gain control and find ways to improve your life with small changes, your feel-good chemical such as nor-adrenalin, serotonin and dopamine will be released to enable you to cope better with life. You will learn how to think more positively which will also help with an upward spiral instead of a downward one.

Sessions cost £50 and will be relaxing, motivating and future focused.

Clementine is a Clinical, Registered Hypnotherapist who works on Saturday mornings at The Natural Health Clinic. She is very happy to be contacted to discuss any aspects of the therapy.  Tel: 966 4318  /  07742 170 820

www.clementine-hypnotherapy.co.uk

Panic Attacks and Anxiety

by Clementine O’Shaughnessy, Clinical Hypnotherapist

Dear Clementine,

I am 27 years old and have been having what I think are panic attacks. I have been under stress recently with work and other problems. I feel like I am very emotional and feel angry or tearful easily. I am afraid of the dark, afraid of travelling and also get road rage and other angry episodes. I feel stressed and out of control with my life. I also tend to be too emotional and over-react to simple things. It is starting to interfere with everything and effecting my relationships , my sleep and confidence. Any info you can provide would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.

Answer:

I sympathise with your situation as it sounds very exhausting and emotional. It sounds like you have become overly anxious due to either child-hood or recent events.

I believe hypnotherapy can help with your problem. I will explain briefly why you feel out if control with fear and how hypnotherapy can help.

Panic attacks are a subconscious primitive response – the fight or flight mechanism – to what our mind perceives as a dangerous situation. Even though we are not living in a dangerous war zone, our mind perceives it is. This ‘crisis situation’ is due to our thought patterns surrounding events in our life. Our subconscious relies on our thoughts to determine how our life is. So if we are thinking and behaving in a negative way, our mind will protect us by being unduly anxious, angry or depressed ( all all three) as a means of survival.

The mind cannot tell the difference between imagined thoughts and reality, so if we imagine a fearful situation i.e. socially, or the dark, or with work, the mind thinks it really is happening. Negativity is always converted into anxiety.

Hypnotherapy will help in 3 ways: Bringing down anxiety during hypnosis, so you are calmer, in control of your life and sleeping better. Resolving issues in your life that are contributing to stress. And teaching you how to think in a positive way. This will help to produce serotonin, a neurotransmitter that helps you to cope, instead of adrenalin which is produced when anxious.

Using Solution Focused Brief Therapy, we will look at how you want your life to be, rather than the cause of the problems. The therapy is positive, motivating and looks for solutions.

In hypnosis we can bypass the conscious mind which is analytical and anxious to effectively change unwanted behaviour. As a consequence, results are often achieved faster than with other therapies.

Treatment would be weekly and takes between 8 -12 sessions.

www.clementine-hypnotherapy.co.uk

Can diet cure MS?

by Sally Beare, dip BCNH – Nutritional Therapist

When the well-known Hollywood writer and musician Roger MacDougall was diagnosed with MS in 1953, it seemed as though there was little hope for him. The orthodox view of MS is that it is debilitating at best and terminal at worst, and sure enough, within a few years MacDougall was unable to use his legs, eyes, or fingers and he could not stand upright.

Yet 30 years later, MacDougall’s eyesight was restored, he could run up and down stairs, and he led a fully active life until eventually dying in his 80s with no symptoms of MS.  This, he claimed, was entirely due to changing his diet. After making the changes, Macdougall’s condition stopped deteriorating and he began to make slow but steady progress back to good health.  In his own words, ‘instead of a wheelchair-confined cabbage I became a normal human being again.’  MS sufferers can go into periods of remission, but Macdougall’s neurologist had to admit that he had never witnessed such a spectacular and long-lasting one.

MacDougall began by removing foods from his diet which he felt his body was reacting badly to.  The simple tests we now have to identify food allergens were not available then, but the foods he removed were the two most common culprits – gluten and dairy products – and he also removed animal fats and sugar.  MS is an autoimmune disease, so removing potential
saboteurs of the immune system (such as wheat and dairy) makes perfect
sense.  Saturated fats and sugar are also harmful in a number of ways and
Macdougall found that it was necessary to remove them too.

Macdougall’s diet ended up resembling that of our hunter-gatherer ancestors, before modern man started to grow cereals, keep dairy cows and use sugar: it is the diet which drove evolution and to which our biochemistry is best suited.  It seems logical that what is good for our bodies generally might also be able to reverse specific ‘incurable’ diseases such as MS.  The hunter-gatherer diet, also known as the Paleolithic diet, is today gaining in popularity as a treatment for other modern degenerative conditions including heart disease and cancer.

The hunter-gatherer diet was high in essential fatty acids (EFAs), but the
modern diet is woefully lacking in these.  MS is characterized by destruction
of the myelin sheath surrounding nerve fibres in the brain and spinal chord,
and myelin requires EFAs for correct structure and functioning.  The myelin is destroyed by immune cells attacking it, seemingly in a case of mistaken
identity, and saturated fats interfere with EFA function.  Thus you can see
how EFA deficiency, saturated fats and a faulty immune system all fit together in the MS jigsaw and how logical the dietary solutions are.  There are other aspects of MS such as possible connections with viruses and lack of vitamin D, the ‘sunshine’ vitamin which is involved in autoimmunity – people in colder climates are at much greater risk.  These factors also have dietary and lifestyle solutions: viruses can be kept at bay by an immune system kept robust with the right diet, whilst vitamin D comes from sunlight and some dietary sources such as eggs.

After finding such success with his diet, Macdougall produced a booklet which he hoped would help other sufferers.  He found that the diet worked well for some but not for all and came to the conclusion that since no two individuals are exactly alike, the exact correct diet would also vary according to a person’s own particular food intolerances and metabolic processes.  Some people’s immune systems can tolerate cheese but not eggs; others can have barley but not corn.  Therefore, a logical first step for any MS sufferer wanting to change their diet would be to have a test for food allergens and intolerances.  A diet can then be tailored with the help of a nutritionist who has knowledge of the specific nutrients required for MS sufferers.

A useful companion for those wishing to embark on this journey is the Multiple Sclerosis Diet Book by the late Dr Roy Swank.  Swank devised his diet in 1948 after finding that there was a high incidence of MS in dairy-farming areas of Norway where high amounts of saturated fats were consumed, whereas the fishing communities on the coast had a very low incidence.  As one would expect, the diet is very similar to the Macdougall diet.

Over the following 5 decades Dr Swank treated over 5,000 MS patients with
remarkable success.  A study of his work which was published in the Lancet
showed that 95% of those who followed the diet did not deteriorate over the
decades, whereas those who did not follow the diet did.  Furthermore, those
who followed the diet had a reduced risk of heart disease and other illnesses.
Unfortunately a lack of double-blind testing has meant that the orthodox
medical community is dismissive of Swank’s work.  However, a look at the
reviews of his book on Amazon shows that a great many people with MS
have benefited hugely from the diet and astounded their neurologists with
their recoveries.  More information is available on the Swank MS Foundation website, www.swankmsdiet.org.

MS patients wanting to try a dietary cure must be just that – patient. They
must also be determined. It was more than four years after changing his diet
before Macdougall was able to do up a button on his shirt and he also knew
that he could not relax his dietary regime for a moment or he might suffer a
relapse.  However, quick fixes are not available.  There is no drug yet in
existence which can cure the disease – drugs can manage symptoms, but
there can be unpleasant side effects including increased cancer risk and
osteoporosis.

If you are an MS sufferer or if you know someone who has MS, there is every
reason to believe that a dietary solution can bring you hope.  Giving up the
foods which are all around us can be hard, and it is all too easy to give up if
change isn’t immediate.  But slow and steady wins the race, and who knows,
in the years and decades hence you could even find yourself in better health
than those around you.

Sally Beare works as a nutritional therapist at the Natural Health Clinic in
Bristol.  She is the author of the Anti-Ageing Book (Piatkus, UK, 2003) and
50 Secrets of the World’s Longest-Living People (Avalon, USA, 2006).

Eat more to weigh less

by Sally Beare, dipBCNH – Nutritional Therapist

‘I’ll never be hungry again!’  Thus spoke Scarlett O’ Hara as, eyes flashing heavenward, she stood upon the ruined soil of her family’s Georgia plantation, clutching a root in her hand.

If only the same vow could be made by the millions of women in the western world who seem to be permanently either on a diet, about to start a diet, or on a binge between diets.  It’s ironic that with so many supermarkets, restaurants and delicatessens at our disposal, together bringing to us the cream of the entire world’s produce, we often eat so badly and subject ourselves to pointless starving and yo-yo dieting.  Of course, it’s not our fault.  If you put laboratory rats in the same conditions, they will not only be unable to resist the fattiest and most sugary foods but they will show even less willpower than us and just eat and eat until they burst.  Many of us humans seem to be at the stage where we eat and eat until we almost burst and then go on a starvation diet.  Ideally, however, we should be taking what is best for us and eating just what we need.  This, as has been shown time and again in studies on humans and animals, is exactly what we need to keep our bodies in peak condition (along with other lifestyle factors of course).

When I left university I was slightly overweight from my 3-year diet of beer, pasta and chocolate, so I decided to go on a diet.  This, I discovered, made me want food more (there’s nothing like being told you can’t have something to make you want it), so I ended up getting fatter.  Eventually, clutching a carrot in my hand, eyes turned heavenward, I gasped ‘I will never diet again!’ Since then, I have never dieted or had to suffer the trials of being permanently stuck in a diet-binge-diet cycle.  This may sound unbearably smug, but I mean it helpfully.  I enjoy my food and when I am hungry I eat, and although as a nutritional therapist I am probably labeled by some as a ‘crank who is obsessed with food’, I actually feel I have a hassle-free relationship with it so long as I have access to good healthy food, as we are so lucky to do here in the UK.

For those who wish to exit the yo-yo dieting cycle, eating healthily is a good way out of the trap.  You can then focus on what you CAN eat rather than what you can’t.  Avocado salads with olive oil dressings, buckwheat pancakes with bananas and raisins, fresh grilled fish with oven-roasted vegetables and herbs, crusty rye bread with goat’s cheese and roasted red peppers, miso soup with chicken and broccoli…where’s the deprivation in that?  Not only that, but when following a healthy eating plan you HAVE to eat breakfast, lunch, and supper, as well as snacks in between if hungry.  Keeping blood sugar levels even is absolutely key to good health, an upbeat mood, and an efficient metabolism.  Starving and bingeing, on the other hand, confuses the body’s insulin into storing everything away as fat rather than burning it for energy – so you not only put on weight but you also feel tired and ratty.  And THAT’s when you reach for the doughnut, and so it goes on in a downward vicious spiral.

When eating healthily most of the time as a long-term habit, there is room for little treats such as a glass of wine or a piece of birthday cake.  Deviating from a generally healthy diet does not mean that we then have to go on an orgy of ‘I may as well go the whole way now I’ve fallen off the wagon’ bingeing.  In fact not beating ourselves up about the wine and the birthday cake paradoxically tends to make us want it less, perhaps because we are out of the addictive love-hate relationship.  In any case, there are other ways to reward ourselves for a hard day with the children or at the office.  TLC does not have to be brown, triangular and chocolate-flavoured – it can take the form of a relaxing bath with aromatherapy oils, or a foot massage, for example.

In my clinical practice, I aim to find a way of eating which is enjoyable and workable for you.  This may mean breaking old habits and trying new foods and ways of cooking them, but that in itself can be a rewarding experience.  My ultimate aim is not to get you to fit into a favourite piece of clothing which has become too tight but, rather, to heal minor ailments, prevent major ones, and put you in control of your health and your eating.  Happily, these things all tend to go together, and it’s easier than you might think.

The Bristol Chinese Herb Garden

The entrance to the Chinese Herb Garden at the University of Bristol Botanic Garden.

The Natural Health Clinic Chinese Herb Garden started on a very small scale in the back garden of one of the founders of the Natural Health Clinic. Chinese Herbal Medicine arrived in the UK about 30 years ago, some time after the initial wave of acupuncture. The garden was started by Tony Harrison in 1994 when studying Chinese Herbal Medicine. During the entire course, there was never a single living plant. Could the source plants actually be grown in the UK?  What is the quality of the living plant? Could the herbs be grown commercially in this country?  Is the practice of Chinese Herbal Medicine having an adverse effect on the survival of the wild plants in China? It was these questions which prompted the start of the garden and continue to be behind the garden as it has develops.

Salvia miltihorriza (dan shen) was first grown in the UK in 1994 at the Bristol Chinese Herb Garden.

In 1997, the garden was adopted by the Register of Chinese Herbal Medicine, which is the main professional body for Chinese Herbalists in the UK. In 1999, the garden won a Winston Churchill Travel Scholarship for research on existing Chinese Herb gardens in China. This enabled the collection to grow and also founded a partnership with Nanjing Botanic Gardens in China. In 2000 the collection was incorporated into the University of Bristol Botanic gardens as a teaching garden for herbal students.

The move of the Botanic Garden in 2006 enabled the Chinese Herb garden to develop new areas including:

•    A teaching garden for students and the public
•    A Chinese peony garden
•    Ferns in Medicine
•    Conservation of Chinese Herbs
•    Research bed
•    Tropical Zone

The Sacred Lotus var. sheng xian flowering in the tropical zone.

This last expansion into tropical plants has allowed more exotic species to be cultivated including a rare collection of the sacred lotus Nelumbo nucifera, donated by Nanjing Botanic Garden.

The new University of Bristol Botanic Garden, including the Chinese Herb Garden, will be opened in the Spring of 2008. Past and future developments of this garden can be followed on www.rchm.co.uk The new site also includes a modern course room for talks and training for a wide range of levels. Details can also be found on this website.

Here you can see how the garden has grown from quite humble beginnings to become one of the most active and detailed of its kind outside China.
For more information contact t.harrison@rchm.co.uk

Tony Harrison is currently vice-presidentof the Register of Chinese Herbal Medicine. In this role he is highly committed to raising the standards of dispensary practice and herb supply.

Tony is one of the founders of the Natural Health Clinic, and still runs a busy practice, where he offers acupuncture and chinese herbal medicine.

Gardening: Mind Your Back!

Some handy tips from one of our osteopaths, Rebecca Winsor:

The gardening season is coming up, at least the digging season in preparation. Here are a few warm up exercises that should help you get into it with a swing…

1) Pelvis & hip circles: Circle the pelvis several times while standing feet shoulder width apart, knees slightly bent, feet pointing forwards. Remember not to stick your bottom out. In the same position rest the foot lightly on the forefoot and gently circle the hip and knee outwards and then inwards. Repeat left and right.

2) Arm swings: Standing in the same position, swing the arms forwards and backwards a few times. Then swing the arms around the body alternating circles to the left and right.

3) Shoulder circling: Again standing in the same position with arms hanging down circle the shoulder joints, doing a few circles from front to back and then a few in the reverse direction.

4) Shallow squats: These help strengthen the thighs for the digging position. It is better to bend the knees for the digging position rather than bending forward with knees straight. Standing in the same position slowly bend the knees sinking into a shallow squat, while keeping your back straight and bottom tucked under. Hold the position for 10 secs then slowly straighten into the standing position. Try and increase the length of time you hold the squat. Your muscles shouldn’t tremble while you do it, this is a sign they are weak, and you should only build up the length of time gradually.

A common cause of hip and lower back restriction and pain is bending and twisting with the legs straight.When digging or lifting, keep the knees bent and as far as possible keep the trunk and hips in line. In other words, turn your whole body with the feet rather than twisting at the waist. Any movement of one part of the body away from the midline increases the load on the lower back muscles. Bending down and then twisting from the waist particularly affects the alignment of the hip.

If you don’t follow the recommendations above and get into trouble, you may consider seeing an osteopath.  People often think that a visit to the osteopath involves a lot of clicking and crunching. However one of my favourite techniques Balanced Ligamentous Technique is gentle non invasive and effective. It can be used to free up and align most joints such as spine, knee, hip, wrist, foot, jaw, and ribs. It involves the osteopath positioning the patient and the patient holding a position that exaggerates the direction in which the particular joint has been strained, in other words, following the ease of movement of the joint. This alters the tension in the ligaments around that joint, allowing it to take up a better alignment. The patient might also have to use a breathing technique at the point of alignment. Afterwards the range of movement should be much improved on testing and the pain in the surrounding muscles will be eased.

La Stone Massage: a new therapy at the Natural Health Clinic

by Claire Rees

There are many benefits of this therapy, which has its roots in Native American tradition. Originating in Arizona USA, the stones enable the therapist to work deeply using temperature and a variety of techniques. Benefits of using hot and cold application on the body have been scientifically and medically proven.

The stones are used hot and cold, and enable the therapist to work deeply by alternate applications, which can have a penetrating effect on the physiological systems of the body. The alternating temperatures encourage a deep sense of relaxation and invigoration.

The heated stones warm and relax muscle tissue, increasing the circulation of blood, lymph, and digestive fluids. Chilled stones can ease swelling, congestion and pain, stimulate the nervous system, increase metabolism and tone systems of the body.

The combination creates a natural healing, with a cleansing and nourishing effect.

During the 90-minute treatment, stones are placed underneath and on top of the body enabling treatment to take place simultaneously on both sides of the body. The client is covered with a large sheet with only the area being worked on exposed. Warm oil is applied with the hands at first and then the stones are introduced accordingly – deep relaxation follows.