On the Road to Wellness
by: Emily Bieger & Tracy Ray
Holistic or Alternative medicine and healthcare is growing in popularity as many people today seek out new approaches to treating and preventing disease, with the ultimate goal being prevention. A number of traditional medical facilities are getting on board and combining alternative health care treatments with the more traditional.
Our very own Gwinnett Hospital System (GHS) is no stranger to the idea. Martha Jordan, the Chairperson for the Integrative Medicine Committee at GHS says, “We like to use methods that have scientific evidence to back them up along with traditional medicines,” in an effort to treat the whole person. Guided Imagery, or Visualization, seems to offer effective pain relief for many patients and can even help with behavioral challenges like quitting smoking. “We hear nothing but glowing reports about our Music Therapy,” which incorporates a harpist who plays all throughout the Gwinnett Healthcare System, says Jordan.
Four-Legged Therapy, known to Gwinnett Medical as Atlanta Therapaws (part of Therapy Dogs International) is ever growing in popularity. “We already knew from studies the many benefits of pet therapy,” says Deb Battle, Trauma Clinical Nurse Specialist and Program Manager, “but what came as a surprise to us was the effect the dogs had on the staff!” She’s seen people in suits simply plop right down in the hall and pet a dog.
Naturopath, Gayle Mack-Muth of Body & Nature, has first hand experience with the connection between traditional and non-traditional practices. She consults with several doctors and chiropractors and says, “I’m kind of known as the person who doctors send patients to that they are unable to help, and often times they get better just by raising their immune system.”
Emotions often play a large role in disease recovery, and Voice Assessment is one treatment naturopaths may use to assist with emotional balancing. A patient’s voice pattern is played back to them and over time brings the brain into balance, clearing away a lifetime of anger, hate, guilt or fear.
Physical therapy is probably the best-known therapy for bodily injuries, but this very traditional service is taking on a different life within certain practices. Some therapists are integrating non-traditional methods with the traditional manual techniques.
Pilates is one form of exercise that is growing in popularity as not only exercise for healthy people, but also for rehabilitation purposes. The program focuses on core postural muscles for better balance and spinal support.
Gyrotonics® is an innovative exercise using specialized equipment that stretches and strengthens muscles and tendons while also mobilizing the joints. Maria-Elena Bové of Above Physical Therapy says the Gyrotonics® equipment will highlight a restriction in someone’s spine immediately. “It’s almost diagnostic. You can really see which levels are moving well and which are not.”
Above Physical Therapy also uses a blend of Pilates, Gyrotonics® and traditional exercise equipment for their wellness clients. Bové views the wellness side of the business as preventative healthcare. She has actually helped wellness clients side-step physical therapy altogether by spotting an area of weakness where an injury is likely to occur.
Enhancing Health Co-Owners Steve and Lisa Collett stress the mind-body connection by combining fitness, proper nutrition and some form of stress management to achieve their optimal health goal. Steve says once long and shortterm goals are set, consistency is the key.
Studio 30 Owner, Anne Thallman follows a similar strategy by combining strength training with yoga, cardio, nutritional advice, a personal chef, and she recently partnered with a Reiki Master. Reiki is used to relax the mind and body and decreases stress while promoting healing.
Acupuncture has become a relatively mainstream practice in the alternative healthcare field, but there are many who are still afraid of needles. According to Nancy Sencil, a certified Acupuncturist with Jade Garden Acupuncture, “Acupuncture is a safe, gentle medical art that can treat a wide variety of ailments. It boosts the immune system, increases your energy level and helps reduce or alleviate symptoms.” Most people feel little or no pain as the filiform or hair-thin needles are inserted into holes called acupuncture points. These points on the body are used to unblock “chi” which is a Chinese word used to describe “the natural energy of the Universe.”
This ancient medical procedure originated in China over 2000 years ago and garnered the same respect in China as family medicine did in America. In recent years, the Chinese have been combining acupuncture with Western medicine. Sencil, who has practiced for ten years, feels combining the two promotes optimal health.
Massage Therapy may be the most delicious of all therapies for obvious reasons. It feels good! But all too often massage is viewed as only a luxurious treat instead of the much worthier, necessary part of a healthcare regimen that it is.
You may already be receiving regular chiropractic care, physical therapy, and following a nutrition and exercise regimen, all of which are extremely beneficial to our bodies. These components however may be missing an important piece to the healthy body puzzle, and that is receiving regular therapeutic massage (soft tissue manipulation).
Soft tissues (skin, muscles, tendons and ligaments) play a vital role in how our body functions as a whole. Regular deep tissue, neuromuscular, sports and medical types of massage treatments (weekly or bi-weekly) can reduce trigger points, scar tissue, muscle spasms, muscle tension, and chronic pain, as well as prevent injury and disease.
Not only does therapeutic massage offer tremendous benefits to your body physically, but mentally as well. In fact, all ten of the body systems are enhanced by just 15 minutes of massage.
Many traditional medicines have proven themselves over time. While holistic approaches, both new and ancient, continue to gain momentum, we find our view of traditional medicine also changing and growing. Specialized practice is both necessary and critical, but how we feel in any one area of our bodies has a tremendous affect on us emotionally, and it’s clear our emotions influence our mental and physical health as well.
Other new directions in healthcare include:
- CranioSacral Therapy (CST) is a gentle, hands-on method of evaluating and enhancing the functioning of a physiological body system called the craniosacral system – comprised of the membranes and cerebrospinal fluid that surround and protect the brain and spinal cord.
- Lymph Drainage Therapy (LDT) enables practitioners to detect the specific rhythm, direction, depth and quality of the lymph flow anywhere in the body. Practitioners use their hands to perform Manual Lymphatic Mapping of the vessels to assess overall circulation and determine the best alternate pathways for draining body-fluid stagnations.
- Visceral Therapy, another gentle handson therapy, works through the body’s visceral system (the heart, liver, intestines and other internal organs) to locate and alleviate abnormal points of tension throughout the body. Soft-touch manipulations can potentially improve the functioning of individual organs, the systems the organs function within, and the structural integrity of the entire body.
CONTRIBUTORS:
Shana Scott is a Nationally Certified Massage
Therapist, with nine years of experience.
Chari Sutherland is a freelance writer living in the
Atlanta area. Her articles have appeared in Say Amen,
The Atlanta Tribune, and The Champion Free Press.
Accent Gwinnett has used its best efforts in assembling material for this list but does not warrant that the information contained herein is complete or accurate, and does not assume, and hereby disclaims, any liability to any person for any loss or damage caused by error or omissions herein whether such errors or omissions result from negligence, accident or any other cause. Advertising in Accent Gwinnett is not linked in any way to the selection of doctors in this issue or any future issues. Any information provided is not a substitute for the professional judgment of a qualified heath care provider based upon actual examination of a patient’s condition and history.
