Human Touch
With the current practice of social distancing, which really should be called physical distancing, those of us in the healthcare and healing professions have already noticed the recent trend of our patients losing the human touch.
Tag Archives: chronic pain
Aromatherapy & The Empowered Patient Series
The Empowered Patient Series is held every 3rd Wednesday of the month at 7pm. Snacks & drinks are provided. You do not have to be a patient in the clinic to attend, in fact, please feel free to bring your friends and family.
Back in the year 2000, I was still pretty new in my massage therapy practice when I became pregnant in November. I had received some aromatherapy training during my massage school, so I knew there were some properties in essential oils that would not be safe to use during pregnancy. Thank goodness for the internet back then and I was able to find out which essential oils (eo’s) I needed to avoid. Apparently my favorite massage lotion had Sage eo in it, and Sage (Salvia officinalis) is known as an abortifacient, which means it causes an abortion. Well I certainly didn’t want that!
I also had high blood pressure during my pregnancy, so that meant I could not use anything that could potentially raise my blood pressure such as rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis) or juniper (Juniperi communis). Clary Sage (Salvia sclarea) is also an essential oil that needs to be avoided during pregnancy because it acts on the body just like estrogen.
Have you noticed that every time I write out the name of an essential oil, it’s followed by a name in parenthesis? This is the scientific or Latin name of the essential oil. It is always written in italics with the first name capitalized but not the second. Why is this important?
Most people are quite familiar with the benefits of Lavender essential oil. But how many different types of lavender are there? Quite a few. The Lavender that is most commonly used is Lavandula angustifolia also known as true lavender or common lavender. This type is what gives us those wonderful properties of the essential oil that we all love so much. There are other types that are less potent and less expensive, so any time you want to purchase Lavender eo, make sure you see (Lavandula angustifolia) after the name.
My favorite story to tell about essential oils, and the history of how essential oils became the healing products that we know today, is the story of a French chemist and perfumist, Rene Maurice Gattefosse. In 1910, Monsieur Gattefosse was burned in a laboratory explosion, which left untreated would have caused gangrene. He applied the “essence of Lavender” to his hands which he claimed “stopped the gasification of tissue”. He later wrote a book in 1937 called Aromatherapie, which was the first time the phrase aromatherapy was used.
To this day, Lavender (Lavandula angustifolia) essential oil is always kept in my kitchen so that it can be applied to a burn instantly. Try this the next time you burn your hand on the toaster or oven. Lavender (Lavandula angustifolia) and Tea Tree (Mellaleuca alternifolia) are the only two essential oils that can be applied neat, meaning directly to the skin without needing a carrier oil. Carrier oils are used to dilute essential oils so the eo’s can be applied directly to the skin. These are usually extracted oils from nuts, seeds or kernals of plants such as almond, olive, coconut, etc. For massage oils in a pinch, I’d use the olive oil from my kitchen cabinet and blend the eo’s directly from there. This is the easiest, most readily available, however, olive oil, including extra virgin olive oil, still has a mild scent to it and can therefore, effect the desired scent of the essential oils. My personal favorite now is to use extra virgin coconut oil, which sometimes still has that scent, but I like it better.
Now, because I’m “old school” with my aromatherapy teachings, I still hold true to these two oils being the only oils I would apply neat to the skin. Almost 20 years later, it seems that everyone is willing to apply essential oils neat to the skin. Young Living is an essential oil company who created an entire Raindrop Technique which applies quite a few of the savory essential oils neat to the skin along the spine. I am NOT in favor of this, nor do I recommend this, however many people swear by this.
I am rather a connoisseur, okay let’s face it, I’m a SNOB when it comes to essential oils. I tend to really resonate with the rather expensive and rare oils and resins and I know what to smell for when judging the appropriateness of an essential oil. I guess I am a bit of a sommelier (wine steward) of essential oils. I also love to tell the stories about how some of the oils came to be.
I had an aromatherapy company in the early 2000’s where my partner and I would do “Home Fragrance Parties”. Similar to a Pampered Chef party or a Tupperware Party, we would have a hostess invite all of her friends and we would tell the stories about the essential oils to include the physical healing properties, emotional and even spiritual properties. We made products such as whipped body butter, lotion bars, anointing oils, etc. When the tsunami of 2004 hit Sri Lanka and the Pacific Rim, many of our raw materials became too expensive to buy and make products, so we closed the company and I focused on my massage practice instead.
I have finally decided to partner with DoTerra oils because I like their oils and how they are cleanly cultivated. Unfortunately, their oils are on the more expensive side compared to what you can purchase at Whole Foods, or now even Target sells essential oils. The old adage of “you get what you pay for” plays an important role in this. You are getting a rather high quality product, enough that I am impressed to provide these oils in my practice.
Disclaimer. Integrity is one of my highest values and I do not believe it is appropriate for a doctor to be involved in what is essentially a multi level marketing company. I have no problem selling products directly to my patients, but I will not ever try to sign up a patient to sell products under my name. Unfortunately, this is the only way that these companies do business, therefore, it’s utterly important to me to find an individual who knows just as much, if not more, about essential oils as I do. I have found this person. She is Brenna Gregg.
Brenna will be presenting in the next Empowered Patient Series on Wednesday, September 19, 2018, 7pm, at the Fusion Chiropractic office. This is a free event and there is never an obligation to purchase anything at these events. The Empowered Patient Series is all about educating people about their options and communication in healthcare. Brenna will be available to tell her story and how you can use essential oils in your life. If you are interested in further information, we will have that information available for you so that you can meet with Brenna at a future time if you are so interested.
Please invite your friends to this event. You do not have to be a current patient to attend these events. Snacks and drinks will be provided. If you are interested in how to make some of these essential oil products such as whipped body butter or lotion bars, just let me know and we will schedule that class as well.
The Empowered Patient
The Empowered Patient
The patient that is highly in tune with the subtle energies of the body is an empowered patient.
We tend to wait until our symptoms are overt and overwhelming before we seek assistance.
By this time we are deep in the throws of ‘need of care’ and recovery can seem overwhelming and often impossible.
By teaching people how to tune in to the physical and emotional side of the human body, we can often address issues well before they turn into full blown emergency states.
Knowing the body and taking account of your daily, weekly, monthly ‘body status’ not only helps us nip issues in the bud, it helps our care givers have a more accurate starting point for diagnosis and treatment.
The result of which can be multi-fold….
- Reduced need for unnecessary testing.
- Reduced misdiagnosis
- Reduced unnecessary treatment modalities.
- Reduced ineffective treatment modalities.
- Increased efficacy of treatment
- Reduced overall costs of treatment
- Increased speed of recovery.
Don’t worry…tuning into the subtle energies of the body won’t make you ‘Psychic’. You won’t quit your job and become a Medical Medium. You’ll simply know your body better and find a strength in empowerment that can lead to faster healing and more effective personal change.
Knowing your own body, your own biological needs is something that everyone has within them, we just tend to ignore this process and defer to experts. No wonder why we hate going to the doctor so much…intuitively we know they are often looking for a needle in a haystack.
But what if we could help them pinpoint a specific area that the needle was located? What if we could eliminate a significant amount of guesswork in the diagnosis process? What if we could see ourselves as an energy system and determine at least, which areas of that system seem stagnant or simply not functioning at full capacity? We’d be empowered and two steps ahead of the standard process…which as mentioned, can result in many benefits.
So how do we do this? Do we need to take classes on spiritual development or train with some sort of guru? Do we need to go to medical school? NO. All you need to do is slow down, tune in, pay attention and learn to become aware of your body’s rhythms, norms, standards and make note of anything that is not in your definition of 100% healthy and effective.
This process will give your care giver a much more detailed portrait of you to start with. We like to blame doctors for not knowing what’s wrong with us by just glancing at us or running a few tests, but the truth is, we are so complex that giving them a leg up with detailed information on our energy (no matter how subtle) can only yield more effective results.
So let’s get to it! Let’s start with very simple processes of ‘tuning in’ to ourselves.
Simple processes include….
Daily observation and attention.
Logging and charting.
Learning to describe subtle body differences and simple ‘body scanning’.
You should keep a journal of your observations.
Each person’s health goals will help determine what they should be paying attention to and what they should be logging.
The empowered patient isn’t just empowered because they know what’s ailing before the doctors do, they are empowered because they are paying attention to, and keeping a log of all things that are effecting their health, from stress levels, to nutrition, to environmental exposures, to simple every day things like the way we sit in our vehicle or carry our handbag.
The Empowered Patient Series is presented by Dr. Cynthia Seebacher, D.C. and Samantha Hall, psychic medium and women’s empowerment coach.
Please feel free to invite guests.
Snacks and Wine will be provided.
This is the first of the Women, Wine & Wellness on Wednesday series.
R.S.V.P. is appreciated. Simply text your name and how many people you are bringing to
Dr. Cynthia @ 404-838-8985.
Psoriatic Arthritis
There are different types of arthrits: OsteoArthritis vs Inflammatory Arthritis
Psoriatic (Sor-ee-at-tic) Arthritis is an autoimmune inflammatory arthritis, similar to Rheumatoid Arthritis, but with a negative RA factor. When we talk about ARTHRITIS, most people think of the good old fashioned wear and tear arthritis where the joint has lost it’s cartilage or lubricating factor, so that it’s bone on bone grinding. This kind of arthritis is known as OSTEO Arthritis.
There is another kind of arthritis, at the other end of the spectrum, called INFLAMMATORY ARTHRITIS. These are the AUTO-IMMUNE types of arthritis where your body attacks it’s own tissue, thinking your own tissue is a foreign invader. The immune system goes in to over-drive as it attempts to fight what it thinks is a bacteria or virus. White blood cells flood the area, in this case the joint, and this creates inflammation, which causes swelling, redness, heat and pain. In this realm of inflammatory arthritis, there is a further separation into two categories. On the one side is the Rheumatoid Factor, RF or RA positive, which includes Rheumatoid Arthritis, Systemic Lupus, Scleroderma, etc. On the other side is the “Negative RA Factor” side, meaning there is no RF antibodies present and is called SPONDYLO-ARTHRITIS (spon-de-low). The blood test that indicates this side of inflammatory arthritis is called HLA-B27 (Human Leukocyte Antibody) and includes the inflammatory arthritis categories as Psoriatic Arthritis, Ankylosing Spondylitis, Enteropathic Arthritis, and Reactive Arthritis.
I was first diagnosed with Psoriatic Arthritis in 2003. I was fortunate enough that my Primary Care Physician listened to 
my complaints and referred me to a Rheumatologist – a doctor who specializes in musculo-skeletal disease and systemic (whole body) auto-immune conditions. Having psoriasis (red patches with silver scales) does not necessarily mean you will have Psoriatic Arthritis. Psoriasis itself is an auto-immune condition caused by inflammation, and usually indicative of liver congestion according to the nutrition specialists and functional medicine specialists. When I was diagnosed, I had psoriasis on my elbows and there was a 5-10% chance of developing into Psoriatic Arthritis (PsA). Today, that number has increased to 30%. This is a clinical diagnosis, which means its a careful collection of symptoms, including a positive HLA-B27 genetic marker, joint pain – usually in the hands, feet and along the spine, particularly the Sacro-Iliac joints (SI joints) and the neck. The GOLD STANDARD for diagnosis is the SAUSAGE DIGIT, where one of your fingers or toes along the entire length of the digit becomes hot, swollen, purple or red and very painful – looking like a sausage.
PsA is a long term condition that waxes and wanes, but essentially becomes progressively worse by damaging the joints. My Rheumatologist (affectionately written as *Rheumy from time to time) explained to me at the time that any time there is pain and inflammation present in the joint, there is damage being done. Of course, I had to have this conversation because I am, or at least I was, the kind of patient who did not like to take medication no matter what… until he explained it to me as damage. The pharmaceutical options include anti-inflammatory medication (NSAIDs or steroids), a DMARD – disease modifying anti-rheumatic drug, and finally a Biologic – injections or infusion of medicine that targets a specific cell called TNF alpha – Tumor Necrosing Factor alpha.
The non-pharmaceutical prevention and care plan is where the magic happens, which I share about on my website, blogs and Facebook Live. You can follow an anti-inflammatory diet, get adequate sleep, exercise on a regular basis, and my all time favorites: chiropractic and massage. For me, my maintenance care plan is to get adjusted once per week and get a therapeutic massage every two weeks. I had to change my sleeping habits, which is challenging enough as it is, and I was in chiropractic school when I had to make my change. Basically, the more hours of sleep you can get before the midnight hour, the better your sleep hygiene. I had to learn how to pace myself, balancing high energy days with days of recuperation and rest. I had to become aware of the ebb and flow of the disease, also known as FLARE UPs and take extra self-care measures when I would have a flare up. Most people with these types of chronic pain illnesses (this includes Fibromyalgia) will notice a rather big flare up around January when the weather changes to cold and damp, and the stress of the holidays is over. A flare up always seems to rear it’s ugly head AFTER the stress has subsided. It’s just the nature of the beast.
With PsA, when it affects the fingers and toes, it’s usually the most distal joint, closest to the finger/toenail. PsA attackes the ENTHESIS (en-the-sis), which is where the tendon meets the bone. When this becomes inflamed, it’s called ENTHESOPATHY (En-thes-o-path-ee). This, to me, is such an intense, sharp, stabbing, electric-like pain in the edge of the finger when it is barely brushed against something. PsA also attacks the SI joints on either one side or both sides. It also loves to attack the neck.
The disease progresses either rapidly or slowly, depending on your environment, stress levels, self-care and how well you can manage inflammation. The first 10 years of my diagnosis, I rode horses, taught yoga and Pilates and worked as a massage therapist. I am often asked how can I do all of that without my hands hurting or my body hurting. For me, staying physically active, especially with giving massages, always made me feel better. When I give massage, it’s not just my hands, but my entire body goes in to my work. The other major contributor to managing this disease is to get regular chiropractic care and regular massages myself.
There are several more symptoms that go along with an inflammatory arthritis, which is why these are called systemic auto-immune diseases. There can be inflammation of the iris of the eye, called UVEITIS (you-vee-eye-tis) or IRITIS (eye-ry-tis), which is quite painful causing your eye to turn red and vision is blurry. There is definitely the factor of sleep disturbance where some people may not be able to get fully in to REM sleep, tossing and turning all night, or having pain that wakes you up at night. Fatigue is also a problem, mostly during a flare up, but also associated with chronic pain. There are also a lot of gastro-intestinal problems such as diarrhea, bloating, constipation, or all of the above.
If you have a family history of an inflammatory arthritis, or psoriasis, and you are experiencing joint pain, please don’t hesitate to contact me to discuss how chiropractic care and therapeutic massage can help you. At Fusion Chiropractic, we discover together what positive coping skills will keep you managing a functional lifestyle with pain relief.
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