Positive Health Treatment Modalities

Acupuncture

Specific points on the body are stimulated by the insertion of thin, fine, sterile, stainless steel needles. Results from a number of studies suggest that acupuncture may help ease types of pain that are often chronic such as low-back pain, neck pain, and osteoarthritis/knee pain. It also may help reduce the frequency of tension headaches and prevent migraine headaches. Although relatively new to the U.S., acupuncture is a key traditional Chinese health care which has been practiced in Asia for over 3,000 years.

 

Acupuncture Benefits May Include:

• Migraine and Headache Relief
• Chronic Neck and Back Pain Relief
• Sports Related issues with knees, tennis elbow, tendonitis, sprains
• Arthritis Pain Relief
• Insomnia
• Allergies

Cupping

Cupping involves the use of small glass jars to create suction on the body part being treated. The suction pulls skin, connective tissue and muscles upward to help release the tissue and improve circulation.  Cupping therapy does not hurt, but it does leave bruises from the cups that will disappear in a few days. The practice of Chinese cupping dates back over 2,000 years and possibly as much as 5,000 years.

 

Benefits of Cupping Treatments May Include:

• Ease Chronic Pain
• Allergies and Asthma
• Overall Relaxation
• Improve Blood Flow
• Detoxification
• Relieve Muscle Spasms

Massage Techniques

The basic massage therapy philosophy embraces the concept of vis Medicatrix naturae, meaning “to aid the ability of the body to heal itself.” Massage therapy is one of the oldest forms of bodywork involving a hands-on approach to healing and relaxation. Massage is the manipulation of the soft tissues by the therapist with her hands, forearms, and elbows. Massage primarily addresses normalizing the tissues and returning the body back to its normal state. It offers many benefits to help the muscular, skeletal, circulatory, lymphatic, nervous, and other systems of the body. Carol McGlauchlin is trained in several very helpful massage techniques.

Spontaneous Muscle Release Technique (SMRT)

Spontaneous Muscle Release Technique (SMRT) goes beyond traditional massage and addresses not just the muscle but ligaments, tendons, and fascia. It is the ideal release to trigger points without the pain of Myofascial Trigger Point Therapy. SMRT is a positional release modality that interrupts pain signals in the body, works quickly and painlessly, has an incredibly calming effect on the nervous system, and is highly stimulating to the lymphatic system.  I use mild compression to help a muscle become slack; then hold the position for 20-45 seconds to achieve release of the muscle. In combination with other modalities it can create an effective therapy with long term results. Learn More About SMRT Here

Myofascial Trigger Point Therapy

Trigger points are knots that develop in the muscles because of trauma, poor posture habits, nutritional deficiencies, or chronic stress, among other factors. Trigger points can cause the affected muscle to remain in a semi-contracted state, unable to relax back to its normal resting length. The result is reduced range of motion and pain. Often, trigger points are referring pain to other parts of the body, which makes their treatment somewhat complicated. Muscles may also contract in order to splint a joint that is not in a neutral position. Myofascial Trigger Point Therapy usually involves pressure (to the client’s tolerance) on the trigger points to release them, stretching to encourage the muscle to relax back to its normal resting length, and muscle energy techniques that use the patient’s own muscles to encourage joints to move back to a neutral position. (These techniques with the joint do not include chiropractic style manipulation.)

Myofascial Release Therapy

Myo is a Greek prefix meaning muscle, and fascia is the connective tissue that surrounds and permeates muscle tissue and organs.  Myofascial treatment consists of focused manual pressure with slow gliding that stretches and releases the fascia so the muscles may move more freely.  It is effective when there is lost flexibility and function from chronically tight muscles, or when restricted fascia pulls the body out of alignment.

Sports Massage

Sports massage is a therapeutic treatment that focuses on the unique physical and biomechanical needs of athletes. The goal of sports massage is to improve flexibility and range of motion and help prevent injuries. It may include pre-event, post-event or maintenance treatments. A sports massage generally includes more mobilization and stretching, myofascial therapy, and other targeted techniques than a relaxing massage does.

Orthopedic Massage

Orthopedic massage is a system of assessment and advanced manual therapy techniques that is used to discover the source of one’s pain and dysfunction and to restore pain-free balance and functionality.  The focus is finding and releasing trapped tissues in joint capsules, ligaments, muscles and fascia to resolve structural pain and dysfunction at the source.  It is typically issue-oriented and therefore not usually a full-body massage.

Kinesio Taping

Kinesio taping is the application of special flexible tape to promote healing while it provides support and stability to a problem area without restricting range of motion. It lifts the skin slightly, allowing improved circulation and lymphatic drainage from the area that then helps to reduce inflammation. Taping can treat a variety of musculoskeletal and neurological conditions. It’s like taking your therapist home with you!

Thai Massage

Thai massage involves gentle but deep compression, traction, rocking, and passive stretching of the client to increase flexibility, relieve muscle and joint tension, and balance the body’s energy systems.  It is done on a padded mat on the floor with clothes on.  I may use my hands, forearms, knees or feet to accomplish the compression techniques.

Muscle Energy Technique

Muscle Energy Technique (MET) is the gentle contraction of a muscle by the client against a resistive force provided by the therapist.  MET takes advantage of special cells in the muscles and tendons that monitor the length and movement of the muscle, to cause the muscle to relax.

Frequency Specific Microcurrent (FSM)

Microcurrent involves the use of current in the microampere range to effect changes in the body. In contrast, TENS units use current in the milliamp range to anesthetize pain in the treatment area, which is approximately 1,000 times the amount of current used in microcurrent therapy. FSM uses specific frequencies on two channels to affect specific conditions in tissues in the body. One channel targets the tissue and the other channel targets the condition. Just a few of the condition frequencies are inflammation, fibrosis, scarring, “torn or broken”, polyps, eczema, hemorrhage, congestion, and numerous toxins, infectious agents and parasites. There are tissue frequencies for most of the tissues and organs in the body. There are protocols, using multiple frequencies in sequence on multiple tissues, for many common conditions.

Reiki

According to the International Center for Reiki Training, Reiki is a Japanese technique for stress reduction and relaxation that also promotes healing. Reiki is a form of energy healing by laying on of hands. It is thought that universal life force energy is channeled through the practitioner’s hands to the patient. If our life force energy is low, then we are more likely to get sick or feel stress, and if it is high, we are more capable of being happy and healthy.  Reiki is believed to replenish our life force energy and can be used in combination with any hands on modality at Positive Health.

Herbs and Supplements

I use both modern and traditional Chinese herbal formulas, as well as occasional western herbs and nutritional supplements, to treat a variety of conditions. Herbs and nutritional supplements work by nourishing and supporting normal body functions. They do not override or artificially stimulate or depress the body’s functions. They have an advantage over pharmaceuticals given there are significantly fewer side effects; however, they take a little longer to heal the system rather than mask the symptoms.