Less than two years ago I made the decision to give my resignation. 

I did not know what my future would hold. If I would ever be able to return to physical therapy, cycling or enjoying the mountains at elevation. 

I went into visceral manipulation course hoping to learn another way for clients then having to take so many supplements and pharmaceuticals. The obvious hope of learning in my first course focusing on the abdomen was how to help the drainage pathways so patients and athletes could eliminate inflammation and inflammatory pathogens that create musculoskeletal pain. The reason most clients end up in front of me.

When it comes to health & healing, I get a lot of questions about one muscle group, a supplement, a book, or a nervous system exercise. There is likely no one thing is going to heal you (especially if the issue is chronic). Just like it is not just one part of your body that was injured. You have to heal the whole.

When you think of healing do you consider your body’s hierarchy of needs?

If we are not considering all of the systems and the body as a whole, we are not serving our clients very well. Once the body feels safe, it will begin to heal.

I always say, “the body leaves clues”.

My hope is that collectively by sharing information and my journey that we can elevate our current sick care system and make changes so that we actually support providing health care. I truly believe lives could change.

No, we are not talking about food. We are talking about how to treat an acute injury and inflammation. So, let us get back to basics…

Drainage…

How do we take something that has been made so complex and break it down to understand it?

Think of the drains in your house. The kitchen sink drains down to the basement or under the home (think lymphatic system). Gravity helps. What if something is too big or greasy for the sink to break down? The garbage disposal and soap help (just like the liver and gallbladder).

I work with feet often both as a physical therapist and as a bike fitter. If I had a dollar for every time a patent or client told me they have a hot spot on their foot or it goes numb, I’d be pretty rich. So let us simplify how to identify a root cause and remedy this situation.

Let’s think root cause approach, where is the pain or discomfort coming from?

I’ve had a few people reach out recently asking for help trying to find the best practitioner or decide if self-healing is the course they need to walk. This is an individualized journey and an individualized choice. Speaking as a medical practitioner, I should urge you to seek guidance from your medical team. Speaking as someone who has walked this chronic illness path and exceeded the expertise of my medical team at times, I understand the choice of self healing.

The feet are the foundation on which we stand. Supporting our bony and soft tissue structure should be a priority.

There are 26 bones and 33 joints in the foot and ankle that are all made to bend and move upon one another. When you stiffen one portion (because your big toe has become a bunion or you add a hard and rigid insole), another part of your body will pay the price due to compensatory strategies. Your arch was made to support your hip and knee structure and alignment. Make sure you are in the right hands with a physical therapist helps you address the whole body (holistically).

It sounds a lot like lions and tigers and bears… oh my. The parasympathetic nervous system, vagal tone and polyvagal theory are a complex topic that we will attempt to break down and simplify.

We now understand that our bodies reactions are a direct correlation triggered by our nervous system due to automatic (primitive) processes, past experiences and sensory feedback.

I am learning that there are many other people out there struggling with different health challenges as I walk this journey recovering from the effects of toxic mold. The one thing that we all have in common is the desire to help others, the necessity to self-advocate and the feeling of isolation.

Have you ever wondered why it takes you longer to heal from the common cold, skin to close from a wound, inflammation to subside, nerve pain lingers, joint pain will not go away?

‘Tis the season for foot pain… coincidence, I think not.

There are a few things you can do to help avoid plantar fasciitis (bottom of the foot pain) and achilles tendon inflammation.

The question of the week is what is the best source to use for safe, effective electrolyte & mineral replacements.

Did you know many companies use citric acid in their performance products?

Did you know citric acid is typically sourced from a fungus, Aspergillus niger?

Before I had a significant environmental exposure, I did not know any of this. Why would I have a reason to? In an effort to keep my own and other patients toxic load low, I have done a huge amount of research and reaching out to companies to ask about sourcing protocols.

What is VEGF and why is it important?

Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor improves delivery of nutrient and oxygen via capillary blood flow and stimulates the growth of new blood vessel formation (angiogenesis).

The weather began to warm and whether you hit the ground running or you were at the end of your spring sport season and wore your body down, you are most likely recovering. As you are progressing from that spring time strain, my patients have asked “to stretch or not to stretch????”

It may be a fairly simple rehabilitation plan, but when you begin chasing pain I have found (in my experience) that there is bigger root issue.

You need someone who will listen to the clues your body is leaving, look for patterns and have the knowledge and tools to help correct the dysfunction.

“So what if we didn’t slap bandaids and started paying attention to clues the body was leaving to determine the root cause?”