Learning From My Patients

Edith Maskell talks about her experience as a practitioner, and the importance of taking back responsibility for your health.

Some people tell me that I'm very lucky. I'm not sure about lucky but I do consider myself privileged, because over the past 8 years, I've worked with some very special people, my patients. Their vulnerability, honesty, openness, trust in me, commitment and dedication to their treatment programmes, throughout their crises, physical and emotional, have taught me a great deal, about myself and others. Many is the time I have heard myself giving advice which stops me in my tracks. "Edith", I say to myself, "this is a message for you dear"! Funny how we always know how to help others but find it so difficult to see the wood for the trees when it comes to ourselves.

It's true to say that EVERY patient who has ever walked through my door has taught me something and I try to remain open to those messages. Otherwise, I am not able to help anyone else. I profess to be no Guru, no expert. My Practice is based upon knowledge, years of "hands on approach", research and a LOT of experience, personally and professionally. I may not always have an answer but I will do everything in my power to point my patients in the right direction to enable them to try and find the answers for themselves. At the end of the day we ALL have to take responsibility for our health and our lives. I have learned that there is no other way. We can not, indeed, MUST not leave such important matters as our own health, or indeed, our lives, in the hands of others.

NO ONE should ever feel there is nothing we or they can do. There is ALWAYS something ….. something which gives the patient hope and determination, culminating in a quality life. They may be crippled with arthritis. They may feel that they are in front of a 10 foot high wall or in a deep dark pit with no way over or out. I, them, nor any "treatment" in itself, can change what has happened to leave them feeling like that or change the permanent damage that Arthritis or cancer may create. There is no "quick fix" or "magic cure" and neither I, nor my colleagues ever promise that.

But the many skills, knowledge and experiences I have acquired over the years can help them to feel they have some sort of control, instead of feeling bound, tied and gagged by the condition/disease. I can listen with my ears, eyes and hands, empathise, support, walk beside them and provide many varied ways to COPE with their condition thereby improving their quality of life.

When treating my patients, combined treatments like Counselling, (incorporating Bach Flower Remedies), Essential Oils, Reflexology, Massage, Screening for allergies, vitamin and mineral deficiencies, hormonal imbalances all play a role in the road to well being. We can suggest various other coping mechanisms to enable the patient to take back responsibility for their health. Correct postural and breathing techniques, advising on the importance of drinking water, individual nutritional programmes and simple stretching exercises all contribute towards the efficacy of the treatments.

All treatments are powerful whether in combination or in isolation. More important than what is done during a treatment session is the changes which the patient incorporates into his/her life BETWEEN treatments.

This is what creates the difference in feeling "stuck" in that hole, behind that 10 foot wall and feeling that there IS a way out, there IS a light at the end of the tunnel. Each of us is in direct control of our own destiny and we CAN get there.

HOPE IS THE SECRET TO HEALING

There is now hard evidence to prove that these positive emotional attitudes subsequently have a VERY positive effect physically.

This philosophy has been the foundation stone of my practice from day one, along with ongoing professional and personal development. My experience throughout the last 8 years, has been that the majority of people seek out complementary and alternative medicine as a last resort. Mainly because they are totally dissatisfied and frustrated with orthodox medicine.

They have seen all the "experts", had all the tests which ultimately showed "there is nothing wrong". They report Doctor's comments like "It's your age ? - you'll just have to learn to live with it", or "it's a mystery virus, it'll get better on it's own", which usually means doing nothing which the patients find frustrating or taking painkillers/other major drugs for the rest of their lives. Which is the patient's biggest concern. Both options leave them feeling impotent - and uncared for.

In orthodox medicine "nothing wrong" means no evidence of disease. It does NOT mean however, that things haven't started to deteriorate. ie the body is not coping well, with something that it is being exposed to, either internally or externally, physically and emotionally.

Whatever happens to our body, it will ALWAYS try to rectify the problem itself. If we cut ourselves, we bleed. We don't need to do anything. The body will heal itself.

We only notice things are going wrong when the body can no longer cope…. It will let us know by asking for help, ie it will produce a symptom, typically a pain, a fever, inflammation or an allergic reaction.

Once this happens, the particular part or perhaps various parts of the body will continue to function but not at their best, and the longer the problem persists untreated, the harder the body has to work and the more stressed or "confused" it will become. At this point there still may not be any signs of disease. Therefore orthodox tests will show up negative.

But this situation is clearly not in the best interests of the patient and ultimately the whole body will be unable to function properly because of the domino effect.

More symptoms will manifest physically and emotionally in an attempt to tell you to STOP and look at what is going on. If you don't stop and address the CAUSE of the problem, then symptoms WILL progress to deterioration and disease because the organs/structures get weaker and weaker until they can not cope any more and finally give up.

ORTHODOX MEDICINE - A FLAWED APPROACH?

Orthodox medicine does not look for causes. It looks for disease. So, if there is no disease, it is indeed true (in Orthodox terms) to say that there is "nothing wrong". But where does that leave the patient who has all the symptoms?

These feelings of being very ill are not a figment of their imagination - they are clearly physically unwell and this sometimes deteriorates to emotional despair and depression. Yet, so often these people may be labelled "hypochondriacs".

In complementary and alternative medicine (CAM), particular symptoms are not so important, the fact that there are symptoms however, is seen as a very good indicator that the body is failing to do it's job and asking for help (which we are all too good at ignoring) !.

All practitioners in CAM, whatever the modality, will ALWAYS look and treat symptoms only in as much as first aid. In the first instance, they will endeavour to reduce pain, inflammation, relax and calm the nervous system, digestive system etc …… after which they will look for, and treat the CAUSE of the problem.

Because if the cause is not addressed and appropriate changes made, the problem will NOT go away. How can it ? Hence the reason why , regardless of the treatment (Reflexology, Massage, Chiropractic etc) will consist of at LEAST 4, possibly as much as 12 treatments on a weekly basis. Treatment time will depend on how long the problem has been in existence. It is generally considered that one month should be allowed for EVERY year the symptoms have been presenting. Once the symptoms subside and the patient feels they are on the road to well being, treatment times will be extended.

At the end of which time, "maintenance" treatments only should be necessary to ensure continued progress. which could be every 4, 6, 8 or 12 weeks. This is entirely dependent upon the condition, the patient's lifestyle, and what changes they are prepared or are able to make.

TOWARDS MANAGING YOUR OWN HEALTH

By this time the patients are usually so aware of their own body that they know when and if they need a treatment and they manage their treatment times themselves, which is the key to it all. Success has been achieved. At this stage our Treatment Specifications are complete.

Why do patients need "maintenance" ? (a) because we can not CURE anything (b) if the patient always does what the patient has always done, the patient will always have what the patient has ! Old habits die hard. If you're in a stressful job or a difficult relationship and choose to stay in it, for whatever reason; if you can't or WON'T change anything … things will stay as they are.

And it is important to bear in mind that some people do CHOOSE to keep what they have. Sometimes they don't want to hear that changes have to be made. If our advice is that beer drinking is causing a lot of the damage and beer drinking is where you're at every weekend, unless you're assured that this is a life and death situation, you may well CHOOSE to "put up with the inconvenience" of your symptoms and take a chance that it will all be all right in the end !! This is VERY common. And remember if there is no known disease YET, this is not a life and death situation YET.

Telling a Mother that her young baby's allergies are most likely to be caused by cows milk when cows milk is the only food the baby will take is very distressing for the Mother to hear. The whole family's life would be affected by this drastic action. The Mother feels it would be impossible to achieve. And in that situation some Mothers will choose to ignore the advice. It's easier.

Making changes to your life is NOT easy but it does give you full responsibility for your well being. Even if you have a life threatening disease, making lifestyle changes may not bring you back to full health, but it may give you a better quality of life and indeed prolong your life. It's NEVER too late to start.

Our work is about finding the CAUSE of the problem and about PREVENTING the progression of disease. Therefore if our patients are not ready to make changes, they will ignore our advice, and that is their free choice. However, their symptoms tend not to go away and they tend not to get better…. Therefore, by choosing not to make the changes, they have CHOSEN to keep their symptoms.

At the start of this article, I stated that I consider myself privileged - why ? because I have worked with many who have chosen the road to well being and been successful as a result. I admire and respect them for it. It is very hard work.

MAKING THE CHOICE TO GET BETTER

I know CAM works but, IF and ONLY if, it's what the patient chooses for themselves. We never consider that those who choose otherwise are lost. It may be that the time isn't right for them at the moment. But, they have nevertheless received the information and that can never be taken away so when the time IS right they can choose to "pick up the ball" and run forwards in their own time.

It's just like trying to give up an addictive habit or losing weight. We have to be in the right frame of mind and really WANT to do it for ourselves if we are to succeed. It's doesn't work if we try to do it to please someone else.

My heart sinks every time I ask a patient ….. how can I help ? To be told "I don't know, my wife (or A. N. Other) thought it would be a good idea to come and see you". I have to tell them, what about you ? Do you consider you have a problem, that we can help you with ? because if you don't … we can't. To embark on a treatment programme is a partnership …. Both parties must participate.

I have always believed that we can have anything we want, it just depends how MUCH we want it. And in the case of health, it depends how MUCH patients want it.

Paying lip service to it, being seen to be doing something about it, making all kinds of excuses as to why appointments can't be kept, throwing money at it and not fully participating in the programme, expecting us to create a miracle, doesn't work. That's why I or any other practitioner in complementary and alternative medicine can not and should NEVER promise cure. It is out of our hands.

Even in cases where disease/decay has set in CAM practitioners can not "reverse the clock" but we can slow down the progression and again, provide a better quality of life. But ONLY if the patient is prepared to make sacrifices. If dietary changes are advised, it's no good replying, "I can't do that … I would be too miserable, it's too complicated when I eat out, my life wouldn't be worth living" !! My reply may be "well, if you're not prepared to make changes, you are CHOOSING what you've got now, which sounds pretty miserable anyway "!

And that's why we encourage our patients to take full responsibility and choose something DIFFERENT to what they have. Some might say we can't choose NOT to have a life threatening disease. Maybe, that's true, once we have the disease, but what I would say is that in those circumstances, we can choose a better quality of life. Clearly more and more people also believe in that premise, otherwise why do so many turn to complementary medicine in a crisis ?

They are clearly looking for advice or an ALTERNATIVE way but sadly (as I said at the beginning) because complementary medicine is something to which many patients turn to as a last resort, it is often too late.

In the East, the patient visits the Doctor in order to stay healthy ….. if they become ill, they sue !! in the West, we wait until we are ill, or worse still have a life threatening disease and THEN visit our Doctor in the vain hope that a miracle can be procured ! Getting this message across is the most difficult part of our job. This is what "maintenance" is all about.

When patients visit us because we are the last hope. They are desperately unhappy because they nearly all report that they have been passed from pillar to post, tried this drug and that. Been in their GP surgery for 10 minutes (if they're lucky) talking to the back of the Doctor's head only to come out with yet another prescription which they don't want.

We, on the other hand, explain that progress is dependent on being given the TIME to do the work, coupled with patient participation. Patients need to attend their appointments regularly and consistently to enable us to do the job properly AND to do their homework between appointments !!!

THE PATIENTS CONTRIBUTION TO THE TREAMENT PROGRAMME

Homework is such an important and very necessary aspect that patients need to put in BETWEEN appointments. Sometimes, there is a need to trust and be willing to work openly share emotions, the various trials and tribulations of life without feeling insecure or "weak". Most of all it is important to follow the mutually agreed plan of action. Reasons for cancelling an appointment half an hour before the allotted time like the "gas man is coming to read the meter" is not a REAL commitment to the plan !

Of course, all patients are adults, (in the case of children, it is still the adults who are making the decisions) and adults have freedom of choice.

If patients "fall off the wagon" because of a lack of commitment, they have the right to choose. But part and parcel of my job, as I see it, is to bring about self awareness. In cases where patients lose the motivation, there is always a danger that they walk away feeling they have failed again. They may also feel that we have failed them in the same way our orthodox counterparts have done and that is exactly the reason I am so passionate about patient participation.

The most important part of my job is to show sufficient empathy that my patients CHOOSE to get well by taking responsibility, and by so doing, commit to the task through to the end, physically and emotionally.

One of the reasons Complementary and Alternative Medicine Practitioners look at a person from every aspect, including mood, personality, state of mind etc is because whether we accept it or not, emotions play a huge role in the overall well being of every individual.

CONSIDERING EMOTIONAL HEALTH

Again, patients report many scenarios to us as to why they eventually considered alternative medicine.

The reports that concern me the most are patients who have been or are going through emotional turmoil or crises only to be told "you're depressed" and promptly prescribed Prozac without any investigation into what might be at the bottom of the "so called" depression.

It never ceases to amaze me that when patients have experienced the most horrendous emotional crises in their lives, it's extremely rare for their GP's (or any other orthodox medicine practitioners) to offer any kind emotional support. Usually because they don't have the time but also because it is not part of the training.

If a patient is traumatised or bereaved, whether it be the death of a family member, very dear friend, baby, parent, miscarriage, a divorce or relationship break up, loss of a well loved animal, the loss of a job or financial crisis - These situations all come under the category of bereavements - how can Prozac or something similar be the resolution to grief, which is a normal process of life that we all have to travel - there is no escape - we have to experience the gamut of emotions grief brings in order to get to the other side?

If someone is being intimated at work or in a relationship - of course they are going to be depressed. They will also probably feel stifled, they may feel very angry - this is a form of abuse - they are not able to speak out. FEELING unable to express oneself is almost strangulation. Prozac will not RESOLVE this problem.

Prozac is an emotional pain killer, it may well cloud the issues, suppress the emotional pain, but it won't deal with the cause of the depression, ie help the patient come to terms with any sadness, grief, unhappiness, anger, hate, jealousy. These are all genuine emotions which need to be addressed if patients are to come through their trauma and continue on with their life in a positive and constructive healthy way.

What Prozac does is put everything on the back burner, it lulls patients into a false sense of security. Makes it easier to forget (in the short term). But deep, deep in their psyche remains the sadness, the scars, the hurt, the anger, the bitterness, the mistrust and the very real physical pain all of those emotions bring.

We are all very good (probably too good) at picking ourselves up, dusting ourselves down, putting on a brace face and starting all over again. Very often it FEELS like the ONLY way. Our friends and family are only too keen to tell us how "life has to go on". Mainly, because they can't deal with their own grief, so they find it even harder to deal with anyone else's, no matter how well meaning they are. It's difficult, they see us hurting, they desperately want to fix things for us and put it right but there's nothing they can do or say, there is no language for emotional pain. So they make us a cup of tea and try to make us laugh to forget it and put it behind us.

Anyone who has been a parent will know how devastating it is to see your child ill, you wish you could swap places. It breaks your heart to see them in pain, and worse still if they can't even tell you where they hurt or how much it hurts. Yet we get caught up in the fears of "should I take the child to the hospital or am I just being paranoid ?" We find it difficult to cope … we want everything to be perfect.

In most cases, when you are hurting so bad emotionally, all you want to do is cry…………… rivers of tears, there are no words sometimes, no language for deep emotional pain, so crying, wailing, screaming is the ONLY release.

Southern European cultures are much better at releasing grief. But what do we do ? we try to make a joke of it or say things like "don't cry, dry your tears, this or that person isn't worth it". "There's plenty more fish in the sea" !!! "You'll get over it, time will heal" and so on and so on.

When our babies cry, we spend SO many hours of it's young life …. Not ALLOWING it to cry. Have you never heard a frustrated Mother screaming to her toddler "if you don't shut up, I'll give you something to cry about !!!!" Did your Mother say that or something similar to you ?

HOW OUR EARLY YEARS AFFECT OUR HEALTH

Babies/children have no language. Crying/tantrums are the ONLY way they can express themselves …… and we respond by trying to STOP them crying, smacking or chastising or amusing them. How frustrating must that be for the child/baby?

Babies can have an extremely traumatic time during the process of birth. It is possible that they can harbour anger, real physical pain as a result. When, how, where can they express it ? When we spend hours pacing the floor suppressing their emotions. Is it any surprise that so many children grow up into angry, confused and dare I say, emotionally "dead" adults. There could very definitely be a connection here with digestive and respiratory problems in the very young.

The area of the throat, heart and stomach are THE places where all these emotions are stored. And this is where it is SO important to teach babies from the very beginning (not 3 or 6 months down the line) the benefits of massage, real POSITIVE touch. It starts from the MOMENT they are born. Premature babies (because of their heightened sensitivity) need a very special touch and in these cases, it is best to seek the advice of a professional trained in Infant Massage.

After a difficult birth, often the first experience of touch that many of our babies have is extremely negative. After emerging from the very safe, calm quiet environment of the womb, here they are in this stark, bright, loud technologically cold world of the Labour Room - having had a difficult journey only to have it's bottom smack, needles stuck into the sensitive feet, bathed, clothed and goodness knows what else ? Is it any surprise that they feel angry ? It's all touch and none of it is very positive. It must be a terrible shock and VERY frightening. Wouldn't you feel angry and scared ? Caesarean births are even worse.

There are these tiny babies, nestling happily, quietly minding their own business and without any warning at all, BINGO - they are probably drugged (I can't believe that epidurals and other drugs do not have an effect on the babies) and then plucked from the womb and thrust into the starkness and reality of the noisy, technology of the outside world. What a shock that must be to their vulnerable systems ? I wouldn't mind betting that the old "fright and flight" mechanisms are FULLY switched on instantly. The adrenal glands must be pumping out adrenal right from the beginning - not a very good start to life is it ? Stressed from the moment of birth. I can only imagine it must be a bit like plucking you from your bed in the middle of the night and being thrown into a bath of cold water with all the lights on and loud "head banging" music blaring?

Whilst I appreciate that in most cases, these procedures are carried out for the safety of the Mother and Baby, it is true to say that in this day and age, sadly (in my book) some Mothers and Doctors both CHOOSE to go down the route of Caesarean because it is CONVENIENT.

Believe it or not, some Mothers choose this as a "soft option", I sincerely believe that for the sake of our children (who have no choice), we may need to step back and re-consider our ADULT choices. Our babies deserve more respect. Who knows, maybe then they might grow up into more respecting adults.

UNADRESSED EMOTIONS

As adults when we are stressed or grieving, we push ourselves onward instead of giving ourselves time to heal for all sorts of reasons. We have mouths to feed, children to get to school etc. Jobs to go to. People to face.

We experience, as a result of our very stressful lives, the full range of emotions and traumas from the very beginning of our lives and ALL these emotions can and may well manifest themselves as physical conditions at a later date.

Un-addressed emotions have a habit of laying dormant, ready to come back and hit us full in the face further down the line and what's worse, when we're least expecting it, possibly at a time we feel we are most "in control". Hence the reason why so many people have such vicious angry outbursts over such minor situations.

For instance, when we're very good at being "in control", we feel that this is putting out the message that NOBODY can touch us. It's self protection … we are not allowing ourselves to be hurt again, we are consciously being PHYCISALLY and EMOTIONALLY rigid. (And this process can begin at a VERY young age).

Very often it only needs something very minor to spark off an explosion of emotions. Then everyone stands back in amazement and says "she's flipped her lid. I can't understand it, she's always had such good control, always seems to cope so well, never seems to let anything affect her." That is EXACTLY the problem …..always such good control ……always been so good at keeping up the image, "putting a lid on things ".

When we're at work, or in any public arena, we're all afraid to express emotion, it leaves us open to criticism …. we fear this will make us appear weak, not able to "hack" it, can't handle the pressure like the next guy. Therefore "he'll get the promotion and I won't". We can't afford to lose our jobs we have big mortgages to pay, or big credit card debts…. So we put up with jobs we hate because it pays well. We hate the job or the boss so much we can hardly drag ourselves from our beds to go to work but we go because we need the money. Added to that, we work long hours and travel to work in crowded conditions herded onto trains like cattle or spend hours on packed stressful motorways.

Problem is though, often if that suppression of emotions has gone on all day, that person is then likely to go home and either kick next door's cat, beat up his kids or his wife to get things out of the system or go to the gym and go at it like a "bull in a china shop" in an attempt to "let it all out".

Each of the latter resolutions come with their own ready made problems. How many patients do we see who have injured themselves in the gym because they were so tense when they arrived and then worked out really hard to de-stress ? What they haven't understood is that the whole of the musculature is so tense that it breaks down under all that hard work and believe you me, "something" will give under the strain as a result.

Then they come to see us. It would have made much more sense if they came to see us first, had a massage to relax the whole system and THEN gone to the gym !! But there is this myth that people only have a massage for relaxation when they want to TREAT themselves !! Usually when they are on holiday…. And probably at a time when they need it least.

It's the same scenario as going to the doctor AFTER becoming ill. Much better to go beforehand and PREVENT illness.

Fear of losing control can affect us in many ways. Claustrophobia for instance, can be more about the fear of "loss of control" in a public place than about the actual "fear of closed spaces".

STRESS IN MODERN CULTURE

Stress can affect ANY age. As explained earlier, even newly born babies can experience stress. I once treated an 18 year old …. And when the mother came to see me afterwards she asked me what the problem was, I suggested it could be stress. "Stress" said the Mother …… in an irritated tone ….. "what could an 18 year old possibly have to be stressed about, particularly her, she has everything she wants in life". Ummmmm thought I, without saying anything.

There are more and more young people suffering at the hands of "stress" for so many different reasons. Many have such pressurised jobs, always striving to meet targets, students are under pressure at school to choose subjects to specialise, why so much pressure is put on our children when they are least able to make such choices is beyond me. We pressurise them into choosing Universities, to pass exams, there is peer pressure, they have to be seen wearing the best clothes, have all the best gear etc and that pressure spills over into the rest of their lives.

These days, we don't choose jobs for life, we can go to University at ANY age and study ANY subject. I don't believe our children are geared up to make such big choices at such a young age. No wonder they are stressed.

When we are so determined to be in control because it's important for everyone to see that we are not crumbling under the pressure we subconsciously insert a rod right down through our spine.

We will not crumble. We will not display emotion. So many people find it hard to cry, indeed some will proudly tell me that they do not allow themselves to cry, as though it were an asset.

We work so hard not to be "touched". We are upright and in control … we have to be … otherwise, the minute we let go, we fear that it will all come tumbling down and there we are - vulnerable again. We get VERY angry, very quickly if anyone looks remotely that they might threaten us. And indeed, if we feel there is any danger that a person or persons MIGHT get close to us, we'll put up barriers to keep them at a distance. Anger and solitude can be a mask for vulnerability.

Subconscious rigidity means that we are always "at the ready", on the alert, on guard - the whole time. Such physical pressure on the body. Such tension. Such responsibility. It affects our posture and our breathing, our whole being.

Our musculature is attached to joints to enable them to move. In order that joints do not become locked - muscles must have complete freedom at all times. Movement is restricted if we are subconsciously "holding on". The same things happens when we physically hurt ourselves, we might have a whiplash accident. Because it hurts so bad and we fear the pain so much, we "hold" our heads in one position, indeed subconsciously "lock" it in that position.

Literally "holding onto the pain". If no treatment takes place immediately, surprise, surprise the tension is held in over the long term, this locked position eventually becomes a "natural" position . Blood flow is restricted, nerves are pinched. Without a good flow of oxygen, clear blood and nerve pathways, all kinds of problems may result and the body is restricted in its' ability to heal itself.

This may mean that years later there is even further restriction of movement and possibly a great deal of pain coupled with subsequent wear and tear of joints.

When joints don't move, muscles have to work even harder and become more tense. Now we have rigidity in muscles and joints. So an accident to the neck can quite easily cause nerve problems in the legs and feet. The Sciatic nerve is the largest and longest nerve in the body. It starts at the neck and travels right down the spine into the buttocks and all the way down the legs - if it becomes pinched at the neck or anywhere else along the line - you will certainly feel it in your buttocks and right down the leg into and under the foot. (Otherwise known as Sciatica).

If nerves are pinched in the neck you can also find yourself suffering from Carpal Tunnel Syndrome …. .those nerve endings also feed all the way down the arms and into the hands. If you spend hours hunched over a computer or with a telephone cradled in your neck, with your hand cupping a "mouse" for many hours …. every day … unless you take steps to counteract, you WILL eventually have pins and needles running down your arms and in your wrist. That more or less permanent posture will result in the joints, muscles and nerves in the hands being constricted.

I think it is a shame that so many people then suffer surgery in an attempt to put the matter right when, in my experience, appropriate Reflexology, deep Remedial/Acupressure Massage and/or Chiropractic treatment can often, very easily sort out the problem.

THE PHYSICAL EFFECTS OF STRESS

And so it can be seen that it is possible for FEAR of the pain, fear of the accident itself, or fear of having another similar accident, can cause more damage than the UNTREATED whiplash !

When our patients say, on their first visit, "I have a damaged neck or spine because of a whiplash accident xxxxxx years ago. It could be more likely that the body will have healed any damage to the area of the whiplash, BUT further damage has been indeed been caused by the fear and subsequent bad posture following the accident.

Posturally, the body locks into the position it was in at the time of the accident and our job (be it Massage, Reflexology, Physiotherapy or Chiropractic) will be to "undo", peel off the layers that have built up, before the patient will see an improvement. Once again, miracles is not something we can achieve, certainly not in one treatment.

The same rules apply to all "conditions" for all the same reasons.

And there's every possibility that the aches and pains involved may get worse before they get better. It needs to be explained very clearly to the patient, that this process does no harm, it is merely gradually unravels the layers.

And just like when you go to the Gym after a long spell, when you work muscles and joints hard (this basically amounts to a treatment) which have become lazy over a period of time - they will hurt the next day and possibly longer.

Hence the reason why it is SO important to get ANY injury, aches, pains or any other symptom treated IMMEDIATELY. Things will NOT improve on their own BECAUSE emotions and postural changes interfere with the healing process and quite possibly create further problems.

By dealing with the emotions, by removing the fear, the body can do it's job. It needs to be remembered that although it sometimes feels like the problem will go away on it's own, or has gone away on it's own, it's simply because the body will ALWAYS try to rectify the problem. But IF it isn't able to do so (because emotions or changed posture have interfered in the process), it is possible that irreparable physical changes (decay) will set in and by the time you become aware of it, it may well be too late to do anything about it.

Then there is far more work for us to deal with. Hence the length of treatment time will be extended. If you visit a Chiropractor say, the day of a whiplash accident. Within a very short period you should be back to normal with no long term damage. Leave it, assuming that it will get better on it's own and you can be sure that years later when you have forgotten all about your whiplash accident, you will pay the price when (say) you bend over one morning to brush your teeth and your back will go and you visit someone like us, demanding to see someone immediately because you are in serious trouble. Firmly convinced that the problem occurred without any warning and for no reason.

You will then say "I must have slept funny last night". You may notice the Chiropractor, Massage Therapist or Physio smile wryly and heave a big sigh !

These situations not only make it expensive and possibly painful for the patient, it makes it much more hard work for the practitioner.

Whereas, if the patient had come to us in the FIRST place instead of LAST, it may have been SO easy for us and so less painful for them in terms of treatment and their pocket!!!!!!!!

In general, in these situations, patients tend to go to see their GP first, who will more than likely prescribe bed rest (encouraging the "locking" in process). Pain killers may be prescribed (possibly not a bad thing). Except that this may lull the patient into a false sense of security and they can then over do things. Anti-inflammatory drugs may also be prescribed - possibly a bad thing - they can have very serious side effects.

If patients are very lucky they may be offered Physiotherapy …………… many weeks down the line, after the damage has been done, and offered a limited number of treatments, usually 6. Treatments (purely hearsay - I have no personal experience) tend to consist of being connected to a machine for 10 minutes. The NHS Physiotherapist leaves you there whilst they move on to treat one or more other patients, then comes back, gives you a set of exercises and sends you on your way.

Is this why we see so many patients who say they have tried Physiotherapy and it didn't work ? Because it should be effective but in these cases, it clearly is not otherwise they would not be coming to us. I can only guess that the reason it hasn't been effective is because (a) on the NHS they haven't had long enough treatment times and (b) insufficient number of treatments. All totally outside the control of the well trained Physiotherapist.

Could it also be that treatment programmes of this kind do not include "addressing the emotional issues" involved … the FEAR of the pain and it's incumbent problems.

Emotional "rigidity" CAN and does manifest itself as very real physical rigidity and the myriad of diseases/conditions that go with it. For example, arthritis in all it's forms, bone disease and even paralysis. If untreated, in time obviously decay will take place. If you drive your car when you know the tyre is flat or you have a puncture. You wouldn't expect that it would repair itself would you?

No, you would get out and change it whereupon, hopefully there would still be a long life left in the tyre. Drive it until the tyre bursts and shreds - there is no going back. No one can produce a miracle out of a shredded tyre. Why do we treat our bodies any different from our cars. We can replace the car … but we only have one body. Why do we all take such risks with it ?

BREATHING AND POSTURE

Fear also affects breathing. We become virtually permanently in the "flight and fright" mode when we shallow breathe. The adrenal glands (hormones) treat a lack of oxygen as a crisis, ie life and death. When we breathe our last breath …. That 's it ….. lights out… no surprise then, in circumstances where there is a lack of it, ALL the systems, Brain, Endocrine (hormones), Nervous System, Digestive and Respiratory, Urino-Genitary etc, all switch themselves on and adrenaline is pumped out to cope with the "crisis" created by fear, anger, pain etc.

We feel emotions, PHYSICALLY, everywhere, in the gut (pain, anxiety, urge to go to the toilet), irrational behaviour, brain (can't think straight) eyes (can't focus) ears (things go over our heads, don't hear, not listening) breathing becomes laboured, can't concentrate. Still doubt that emotions don't have a physical effect?

All of these reactions will, as I said earlier, change our posture, we may go into the foetal position to protect ourselves, round our shoulders and rib cage. The rib cage is a bony box designed to protect our heart and lungs.

The lungs are bellows with a large capacity for oxygen. Oxygen is pumped by the heart around the body by the blood….. If the lungs are not able to fill properly because they are constricted, or we simply do not take in sufficient, there is less oxygen available to be pumped around the body. Oxygen is needed by ALL the organs and structures in the body, including muscles, joints and all the cells and tissues and most of all the brain.

If the body is starved of oxygen ….…… is it any wonder that it goes into crisis mode ? …... If the brain is starved of oxygen for long enough it will eventually think it is going to die. Then messages will be sent to the rest of the body to prepare for action - a crisis. Messages from the brain result in chemical reactions (hormonal) in the body with other "knock on" effects.

No part of our body is disconnected from the rest. "The hip bone's connected to the thigh bone, the thigh bones connected to the knee bone, the knee bone's connected to the ankle bone ….. and so on, as the song goes.

Similarly, no matter how hard we try, or deny it, not one single one of us is purely a physical being … .emotional, spiritual, physical is all inter linked. Therefore…. not one part of the body can be in trouble without the domino effect everywhere else.

THE IMPORTANCE OF WATER

If there is insufficient water in the body, and again, all the muscles, joints, cells and tissues need water to function correctly; when there are limited amounts coming in, the brain will send messages to the body (via the nervous system) that there is a crisis, a water shortage. it will then carry out damage limitation, and HOLD on to water.

Now the water it chooses to hold on to may well be "dirty/used" water which ordinarily should be eliminated by the natural processes of the kidneys/bladder/skin/respiratory system. So the "mountain stream" which should be circulating in your body (75% of our bodies are water) turns into a murky pond ! Which is basically a breeding ground for disease.

Again, is it any wonder we have aches, pains, tense muscles, joint conditions, inflammation all over our bodies (including the brain …. And inflammation on the brain will create mood changes).

Yes, we should all be drinking 2 -3 litres of water daily. How do you know when you have drunk enough ? A good indicator is if it is the same colour on it's way out as it is going in !

However if your GP diagnoses water retention, he may well prescribe a diuretic - and what effect will that have ? you may well ask. It will encourage the body to eliminate water. Water that the body is desperately trying to hold on to because it needs water to function properly! Because if you are not putting any in, and are losing what is available through diuretics (used/dirty or otherwise), your body (particularly your kidneys) may become seriously dehydrated. And potentially that could be even more life threatening.

So when emotions have physical effects, it's easy to see why people can suffer anxiety, panic attacks, stomach ulcers, neck and back pain, digestive disorders, asthma attacks and allergies.

Sunday, 12 September 2004

© 2004 Bromley Health Management