Frequently Asked Questions

• What is an Integrated Health Nurse?
• Guided Imagery
• Hypnosis
• Integrated Medicine
• What are the benefits of massage?
• What is cranio-sacral therapy?
• What will my first visit be like?
• What is alternative medicine? Complementary medicine?
• How can I learn more about alternative/complementary medicine?
• What is Lymphatic Drainage?

What are the benefits of massage?

See an article describing current research: my.webmd.com/content/Article/49/40050.htm

What is cranio-sacral therapy?

Please see this article for more information.

What will my first visit be like?

Allow 90 minutes for your first session. We will first complete and review your health history and discuss your goal for this appointment. You may simply want to have a relaxation session, or you may have health challenges that you would like to talk about. You will decide what you want and need.

You will then be given the privacy to undress to the extent you wish, and position yourself on the massage table. Some remove all of their clothes for a full body massage; others do not undress at all. Cranio-Sacral Therapy (CST) is generally done with the client fully dressed. I frequently combine sessions doing a full body CST with upper body and back massage. In this case, most clients undress from the waist up. Modesty is protected at all times with a sheet for draping.

Your comfort and communications are essential for success. I rely on you to let me know if you are too warm or cold; if the music volume is not right or not to your taste; and especially if you are feeling discomfort of any kind. You may also like more pressure in a given area. We will work together in these ways.

What is alternative medicine? Complementary medicine?

In that case, using alternative approaches in addition to conventional medical care could be called complementary care. A term I feel is more descriptive, and which represents the best of both, is Integrative Medicine.

Physicians who practice integrative medicine are now often described as practicing Functional Medicine as well. In that case, prescriptions often include supplemental nutritional substances or herbs known to enhance or restore the metabolic functioning of the body. Their recommendations could also include bodywork, chiropractic and nutritional changes among others. It was this approach that allowed me to return to work following five months of disability in just three weeks following the addition of several low doses of nutrients.

What makes these approaches alternative is the lack of the gold standard of double blind studies showing effectiveness that conventional medicine relies on. Unfortunately, studies require financial investments. If there is no means of making a profit, there is no way to fund them. Many physicians are making the case for using “anecdotal evidence”, stating that trying what they are observing as useful, and generally non-toxic, is responsible medicine. The federal government recognized the need for support of other approaches and established the Office of Alternative Medicine, a department of the National Institutes for Health (NIH) in 1991. For more information, please see the link below. In reviewing the site as I write this, I am pleased to see a study on chelation therapy. My physician in Ohio has worked diligently for years to see this happen.

nccam.nih.gov

How can I learn more about alternative/complementary medicine?

Please see

• www.holisticonline.com
• www.alternativemedicine.com

What is Lymphatic Drainage?

Please refer to the Upledger Insitute's Website for detailed information. There is a wealth of information on the techniques, what it is useful for, what other‰s experiences have been, as well as articles regarding research studies.