MFR Transformations

My brother had the good fortune to marry into health. In a sense, his wife saved his life. By default of relation, she transformed mine as well. Liz is a talented MFR (myofascial release) therapist – in addition to simply being a really wonderful person. In fact, she is one of the few medically trained MFR therapists in the Orlando, FL area. For those of you who have benefited from this type of treatment I need say nothing more. You know the incredible life changing effect it can have on the quality of your life. For my brother Mark, it was his only way out of years of pain, an ever worsening condition and seeing loads of specialists with no answers. His story is worth the reading and there are many more like his that Liz and others can account for. Let me share with you why this may be your out and road back to health through my own experience.

In one of my past professional lives I was a musician. I started playing at the age of 10 and with many long hours upright, fingers flying, tongue flittering and much air circulating I practiced and played my way through 20 years of memorable ensemble and solo performances as well and an enjoyable music teaching career. All the fun never seemed to weigh heavy on me until those later years when I realized what I loved doing was beating me up, literally, from the inside out. The intensity and sometimes high level of stress in which I played for long hours in unnatural positions caused pain, tightness and lack of circulation to my body, particularly in the chest, back, shoulders, neck, and mouth. Savvy musicians today are conscientious of incorporating massage and relaxing exercises, such as the Alexander Technique, into their daily routine to avoid a long term buildup of body tensions similar to mine. I later became aware of these techniques and practiced them out of necessity, but they never completely eliminated my body constrictions, only prevented them from worsening. The long term damage was already done and I needed a different kind of care. It was never apparent what type of care until Liz.

Not long after Mark and Liz married Mark began to regularly report the incredible results he was having with MFR. He knew of my constrictions and suggested I try. I did and there is no turning back for me. My husband, and skeptic, at first joked about MFR, but now that he can physically see the changes in my body he has been very quiet and observant. MFR is a technique that releases fascia constrictions in the body. A good MFR therapist will insist they are just a facilitator in working with your body to tap into your own ability to heal self. Constrictions in the body result from any number of experiences including extreme tension, repetitive movement, stress and even a traumatic event. Body memory plays a large role in body holding patterns or constrictions resulting from these types of experiences. Even my chiropractic adjustments are not entirely effective without side-by-side MFR treatments. Chiropractic adjustments can manipulate skeletal structure into place but fascia tissue will push it back out to the old holding pattern until those constrictions are brocken down and released.

I am finally at the stage in my MFR treatments where I am physically beginning to see holding patterns and fascia tissue break down. Most apparent, my body is unwinding after years of torked posture and tension. The firsts claimed in many years: My left thigh muscles are developing evenly to my right; I can pull skin away from my neck and no longer see bunched muscles and veins pulsating from top to bottom; I can take a deep breath from the bottom of my gut; my throat opened; I speak with a strong, clear voice; my head no longer pulls to one side, the skin on my back, chest and shoulders move, my shoulder is no longer waded into a tight ball; I regained over all flexibility and movement; I stand taller, feel lighter and have better circulation. There is much more and this work only scratches the surface. While these items may not seem like a big deal to you, they are a world of difference for me and alleviating the troubles I have been suffering through for years.

Obviously, I am an advocate of this treatment but do not take my word. Try it yourself. You have nothing to loose and everything to gain, especially your health and quality of life.

Maria

Help! We Are Allergic To Los Angeles

I have lived in Los Angeles for over three years now, and I can say quite confidently that myself and my family are allergic to this city. How can you be allergic to a city? Well that's pretty easy. Shortly after our move here, my son and I started experiencing severe sinus infections. They came on quickly and never seemed to go away. After many doctors visits, repeated rounds of antibiotics (Yuck) we gave up. After all, you can't change the air quality.

This year brought a very difficult flu season and this was the beginning of an escalation of frustration with our family doctor. I had my first visit to an emergency room in a very long time with breathing problems that required breathing treatments, steroids and an antibiotic. My son was put on inhaled steroids, nasal sprays, antibiotics, and inhalation treatments. This was awful. My doctor just did not understand my belief that masking all of his symptoms with medication did not solve anything, and that isolating the cause of the problem could be a better plan. I angrily agreed that I would allow my son to be put on inhaled steroids for a longer course as long as he allowed him to see an allergist if this did not work. Who would have thought that I would have to barter with my doctor for comprehensive care.

My son continued to have problems and developed petechiae on his face several times and presented with an eosinophil count of over twenty percent. This count is a marker of an ongoing allergic response in the body. At that time my sons platelets where normal. The doctor reluctantly signed the referral to send my son to the allergist, but not without insisting that this was more for me then him. You know, the hysterical mom syndrome. I promptly left the office, and disregarded his advice to wait an additional thirty days, making an appointment on the spot.

His appointment time came and, after three days of test we have discovered that he has both environmental and food allergies. We are now in the stage of trying to remove these allergens from both his diet and environment as much as possible for thirty days to see if he has any visible improvements in his symptoms.

As a parent, anytime a doctor wishes you to give your child multiple medications, I feel like it is our job to research these meds and be as educated as possible with their use and side effects. Even if your doctor feels offended by your educated questions, remember, this is your child and in no way is it wrong to ask all the necessary questions. The allergist made the immediate decision that my son was over medicated and took him off of everything except for Asmanex. If he should have petechiae again he said to go back to our primary doctor and demand another blood test. What is the harm in ruling out all the terrible things that can include this as a symptom.

Finally, a doctor that allows me to be proactive in my child's health. And even if he is allergic to Los Angeles, in the end we can learn some good coping skills to cut down on the health problems. This is how health care should be. While he is not looking forward to weekly allergy shots he to is willing to be an advocate for his own health, rather then just continuing the cycle of illness and antibiotics indefinitely.

Chiropractic Connection

I have been going to the chiropractor on and off now for over a decade. Surprisingly, I don’t remember why I first found myself there other than I went with my mother and brother who were also being treated. After an initial consultation and nutritional evaluation it was determined that my hips were unlevel, vertebrae at the neck was in danger of becoming fused and my adrenals and thyroid were out of whack. The fix was regular adjustments, a hanging ball weight to stretch out my neck, temporary heel insert until my hips stabilized and an assortment of vitamins to get my system back into balance. The result; I regained lost movement in my body, my neck flexed again, my hips leveled off so my right pant leg was no longer shorter than my left and I experienced a renewed energy with my system balanced; an example of the chiropractic connection at work.

Time passed and with all recovery there can be a relapse without maintenance as it was for me. A number of years later in grad school I started marathon training and overtraining. My body was achy, strained, stretched to the max plus tired and undernourished. All that in addition to wearing trendy, flat, plush shoes led to a nasty bought of planter fasciitis. Who knew flat shoes for a high arched footed person added extra strain on feet fascia tissue that was already wound too tight. The pain was intense. So intense, I walked on my toes for period of time, especially up and down stairs, and could only wear high arched, hard-soled shoes. The simple act of flexing my foot flat put enormous strain on my heel. Running was out of the question and at that point I was happy with the simple prospect of being able to walk normally again. Fortunately, I had started care with a chiropractor in Illinois, Dr. Brian Crawford, who made that wish come to fruition more quickly than it would have taken without chiropractic assistance. I originally sough from him regular adjustments to level my hips which ensured an even gate and injury free legs when running high mileage. As luck would have it, he was also a closet orthopedist. He knew what my condition was on the spot. After ditching all my flat shoes, little to no running for some time, getting regular adjustments and massage to my feet, the planter fasciitis healed. The chiropractic connection was again a success.

More time passed and a couple years without adjustments led me full circle to the same ailments; uneven hips, tight neck that pulled and an unbalanced system. One of the first things I did when jumping back onto the road to recovery was re-establish regular visits to a chiropractor. The time was right. I had just moved back to Florida in a location nearly backyard of the first chiropractor I had seen over a decade ago, Dr. Claire Schill. After consultation/ nutritional evaluation and back to regular adjustments and nutritional supplements I feel better than ever.

This time I plan to seek regular chiropractic adjustments as a strategy towards preventative care and overall maintenance of my body. What is your strategy?

Maria