Health

How Medical Spas are Incorporating Cryotherapy

Cryotherapy is a cold therapy that has been used for decades to treat injuries and inflammation. It involves exposing the body to extremely cold temperatures, typically between -110°C and -160°C, for a short period of time.

While cryotherapy was originally used for medical purposes, it has recently gained popularity in the beauty and wellness industries. Medical spas are now incorporating cryotherapy into their treatments to provide their clients with a unique and beneficial experience.

What is Cryotherapy?

Cryotherapy is a type of cold therapy that involves exposing the body to extremely cold temperatures for a short period of time. The therapy is typically performed in a cryotherapy chamber, which uses liquid nitrogen to create a cold environment.

The therapy works by constricting the blood vessels, which reduces inflammation and swelling. The cold temperature also causes the body to release endorphins, which can help reduce pain and improve mood.

Benefits of Cryotherapy

Cryotherapy has a number of potential benefits, including:

• Reducing inflammation and swelling
• Relieving pain and soreness
• Improving mood and reducing stress
• Increasing energy and alertness
• Boosting the immune system
• Improving circulation
• Reducing the appearance of cellulite and varicose veins

These benefits make cryotherapy a valuable addition to medical spa treatments. By incorporating cryotherapy, medical spas can provide their clients with a unique and effective way to improve their health and wellness.

How Medical Spas are Incorporating Cryotherapy

Medical spas are incorporating cryotherapy into a variety of treatments, including:

• Facials: Cryotherapy facials involve exposing the face to cold temperatures to reduce inflammation and improve circulation. The therapy can also help reduce the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles.
• Body Treatments: Cryotherapy body treatments involve exposing the body to cold temperatures to reduce inflammation, improve circulation, and help with weight loss. The therapy can also help reduce the appearance of cellulite and varicose veins.
• Recovery Treatments:

Cryotherapy can also be used as a recovery treatment for athletes and those recovering from injuries. Medical spas can use cryotherapy to help reduce inflammation and promote healing after a workout or injury.

Some medical spas are also offering whole-body cryotherapy, which involves exposing the entire body to cold temperatures in a cryotherapy chamber. This treatment can provide all of the benefits of cryotherapy in a more comprehensive way.

Is Cryotherapy Safe?

Cryotherapy is generally considered safe when performed by a trained professional. However, there are some potential risks associated with the therapy, including:

• Frostbite or skin burns if the skin is exposed to the liquid nitrogen
• Dizziness or fainting due to the cold temperatures
• Increased risk of cold-related injuries in people with certain medical conditions
• Increased risk of infection if the cryotherapy chamber is not properly sanitized

It is important to consult with a healthcare professional before undergoing cryotherapy to ensure that it is safe for you.

Cryotherapy is a unique and effective way to improve your health and wellness. By incorporating cryotherapy into their treatments, medical spas can provide their clients with a valuable and beneficial experience. However, it is important to ensure that cryotherapy is performed by a trained professional and that it is safe for you to undergo the therapy.

The History and Significance of Pemmican in Indigenous Cultures

Pemmican is a traditional food that has played a significant role in the diets and cultures of Indigenous peoples in North America for centuries. Here’s a closer look at the history and significance of pemmican in Indigenous cultures.

History:

The word “pemmican” comes from the Cree word “pimîhkân,” which means “manufactured grease.” Pemmican was created as a way to preserve meat for long periods, making it a valuable food source for Indigenous peoples who relied on hunting for their survival.

The creation of pemmican involved pounding and drying meat, usually bison, elk, or deer, and then mixing it with melted fat, usually from the same animal, and dried berries or nuts for added flavor and nutrition. The resulting mixture was formed into cakes or balls and then stored in animal hides or other containers for later use.

Pemmican was a staple food for Indigenous peoples, especially during the winter months when hunting was difficult. It was also used as a trading commodity and was highly valued by European explorers and traders.

Significance:

Pemmican has significant cultural and spiritual significance for Indigenous peoples. It represents their connection to the land, their traditions, and their ancestors. It is also a symbol of resilience, resourcefulness, and survival.

In Indigenous cultures, the preparation and sharing of pemmican were often accompanied by ceremonies, prayers, and songs. It was an essential part of feasts, celebrations, and gatherings.

Pemmican is also a highly nutritious food, rich in protein, fat, and other essential nutrients. It provided Indigenous peoples with the energy and sustenance they needed to survive in challenging environments and helped them to maintain their health and well-being.

Today, pemmican remains an important part of Indigenous cultures and traditions. It is still prepared and consumed by Indigenous peoples, and there are efforts to preserve and promote its use as a healthy and sustainable food source.

Does Acupuncture Therapy Really Heal?

In the past six months, I have been to see an acupuncture therapist who I must say has been able to help me alleviate pain that years of seeing an OBGYN had not been able to help.

First let me explain how I came to find this acupuncture therapist. I have been on a whole health food, natural living kick for about a year now. One day, while visiting my chiropractor’s office, the massage therapist told me about a Natural Living Expo that would be in town that weekend. Out of pure interest in a new way of living, I decided to attend. The expo, as expected, was filled with booths featuring local businesses and individuals selling natural products and services.

As I walked along the different booths, I felt drawn to one man who looked very peaceful and unobtrusive. He seemed to be the type who only wanted to help those who wanted his help – he would not impose himself on anyone. I walked to his booth and saw that he was an acupuncture therapist. Always having been curious about acupuncture, I asked him about what acupuncture was and if it was really helpful. In so many words, he explained that acupuncture is therapy that works to release energy blocks in our bodies. Having only a slight idea of what he was talking about, I went to my second question: healing. He explained that acupuncture basically helps the body heal itself more effectively since the body was made to heal any ailment that was brought upon it.

Convinced that I wanted to know more, I took his card and asked if he took insurance, which he did. He also explained that he takes appointments regularly just to check over the body at no expense. Hook, line and sinker! I was game. So I called the office the following Monday to set up a FREE appointment to be “looked over.”

His office was small and cozy, very friendly. I already felt very comfortable there. After about 10 minutes of waiting, he called me in. Not knowing what to expect, I went into the examination room and sat, waiting for him to “do whatever he does.” The first thing he did was to have me explain what issues I was trying to have worked out, if you will. I told him I was interested in basic good health, however I did have an issue that followed me throughout my adolescence and adult years: irregular and painful menstruation. He told me that he should be able to “fix” that with no problem. A little skeptical, I took a mental note to make sure to see if he would be able to follow through on something no OBGYN had been able to help me with.

Wanting a more detailed explanation of what he told me about acupuncture at the expo, I asked him to go into more detail about the concept. He almost seemed excited that I’d asked. He explained about the concept of energy. He said that our bodies are made up of energy that vibrates at different frequencies. The faster the vibration the less solid something is. For example, a table is energy, like electricity is energy, but a table vibrates at a much slower frequency than electricity, which is why it appears to be solid. But when you look at it under a microscope, it has the same atoms and molecules as electricity, or human beings, or rocks, trees – anything else on this earth. Since we are all made up of the same energy, just vibrating at different frequencies, our bodies are heavily affected by our environment – it’s like we’re all related to everything because everything is God’s energy (he didn’t say God, but that’s where he was going with it). That’s why someone else’s bad mood can affect your mood. But he went deeper to say that our body picks up everything, even the upset that trees go through when they get cut down. Our bodies feel it because we are all connected.

And just as we are all connected with other things, our body is connected with itself, meaning that things we do physically affect our emotions and vice versa. So the things we think, eat, touch and do all affect how we think and feel (physically and emotionally). So if I eat a lot of junk, it affects my body. Or if I think a lot of negative thoughts, or live a stressful life, it can cause disease (which is really “dis-ease” – being uneasy about something to the point of it affecting you physically).

He explained that God has provided everything on this earth that our bodies need to be emotionally and physically “right” from herbs, minerals, fruits, vegetables, etc. But most of what God gave us is right in our bodies. That’s why we were given an immune system. However, we don’t treat our immune system properly so it doesn’t keep us as healthy as it should. It’s like forgetting to get an oil change or tune-up, yet expecting a car to run efficiently. He said that the energy that our bodies are made up of flows constantly like blood, and as it flows it keeps our immune system strong, but as life gets in our way (stress, eating junk, not exercising, thinking negative thoughts, being around negative people and energy), our energy gets blocked.

Acupuncture helps in that when you stick very small needles in the energy spots that are clogged up or blocked, this frees up and allows the energy to flow correctly and then allows the immune system to work correctly and heal itself. He said that when we take a lot of different drugs, they might fight off a virus for us but weaken our immune system at the same time. This is because our immune system is set up to fight off foreign substances, meaning it would fight off the drugs before they could work. So drugs are made to weaken the immune system so that they can override it and fight the disease instead. While he said that about 50% of the time, drugs are necessary if the immune system cannot battle the strength of the disease in your body, most times the immune system is strong enough on its own, but we override it every time with drugs. And the more drugs we take that weaken the system, the less likely it will be able to fight off even simple things like a Cold. So it is important to know what things the body can fight off by itself or may simply need a boost from vitamins and herbs, and what may need the help of drugs.

Feeling that he knew what he was talking about (or maybe just wanting to believe him) I allowed him to check me over then listened to his suggestions. To spare sharing ALL of my personal information, I will say that he found what he thought was the cause of my irregular and painful menstruation. He explained that I had abnormally high levels of estrogen and needed to balance my levels of progesterone (whatever that meant). He prescribed an herbal supplement and treated a few key areas on my body that he explained pertained to my menstrual cycle, then asked me to come back in two weeks so that he could repeat the process. Now keep in mind that I’d been irregular since I started my period 17 prior. Now six months after my first visit, I have been VERY regular and only in mild discomfort (on the first day only) for five of those months. I see this as a miracle because no OBGYN could tell me in 17 years what he was able to tell me, and essentially “cure,” in two visits.

So to answer my original question: Does Acupuncture Therapy Really Heal? Hey, I’m not professional in the acupuncture game. But if someone were to approach me today and ask my thoughts on acupuncture, after my menstruation miracle (sorry fellas … lol) in addition to other “problems” he was able to “fix,” I am an avid believer that acupuncture is not mythical concept – it really works! Now you be the judge. Find an acupuncture therapist in your area and try it for yourself.

Family of Origin – Premarital Counseling

When couples get married, they are marrying more than just an individual. They are marrying a family. Individual identity is rooted with the family of origin. The self is a reflection of the family and developed in response to the family. Those responses can be inline with or conform to the family roles and beliefs or they can be in direct opposition. Nonetheless, they are in response to the family of origin. The family of origin may come in the form of the traditional nuclear family, single parent home, extended family, foster family or even a gang. The content of the family of origin is not the focus rather it is the system of how the family influences the individual. Cultural and ethnic identities are derived from the family of origin.

The family of origin is the model and template each person brings into a relationship. Every family has a certain pattern of interacting or behaving. Some families are closer than others are. Some are more involved and controlling than others. Not all patterns are beneficial. Some are abusive and problematic. Premarital counseling helps to shed light on these shameful family secrets.

New relationships attempt to meld different family patterns into one new family. Even though individuals are not locked into family pattern, it does provide a clue how individual might respond. Premarital counseling helps the new couple recognize family patterns and tradition in orders to combine and create new ones. The new family becomes the family of choice.

Premarital counseling helps to join the couple into a new relationship. Each can identify problematic family issues that range from emotional cut-off to over involvement. The counseling should provide an assessment to the couple regarding their degree of distance and closeness from their birth family. Gone unnoticed, that degree of distance and closeness can have an adverse effect upon the family of choice.

A technique to assist the couple within premarital counseling is to invite the parents into the family of origin session. The parents can share their pearls of wisdom and pass on their legacy to the young couple. Then the couple must be free to make their own mistakes and grow. This type of counseling can assist the older generation with closure and aid them in letting go of their children.

The use of a genogram is a great tool to help couple visualize past patterns and interactions. The genogram can also show gaps of information and emotional cut-offs. It can highlight family secrets and shameful events. Couples are free to tell their story, as they are the experts of their life. Premarital counseling highlights the family of origin and helps each partner understand whom he or she is choosing to marry. It’s an excellent tool for making an informed decision.

Low Back Pain and Acupuncture

Low back pain means pain in the lower lumbar, lumbosacral, or sacroiliac regions possibly accompanied by pain radiating down one or both buttocks and legs. Low back pain is one of the most common complaints. It is present in at least 50% of all persons 60 years of age or older. It accounts for millions of hours lost from work and more millions of dollars spent on treatment and medication. Low back pain may be either acute or chronic. It can be simply annoying or irritating or it can produce unbearable physical and emotional suffering. In Western medicine, acute low back pain is treated with rest, local heat, massage, oral analgesics, and muscle relaxants. Chronic low back pain is treated by weight loss, exercise, orally administered and intramuscularly injected analgesics, and surgery. However, long-term narcotic use has its own problems, and surgery is not always effective. On the other hand, Chinese have been treating lower back pain with acupuncture and Chinese medicine for more than 2,000 years, and, in the last 50 years, a large body of research has been developed proving that Chinese medicine can be an effective alternative to Western drugs and surgery.

Acute lumbar sprain

Shu Hong-wen, in Shang Hai Zhen Jiu Za Zhi ( Shanghai Journal of Acupuncture & Moxibution), #3, 1994, reported on the treatment of 129 cases of acute lumbar sprain by needling a single point (Du 26). The age of these patients ranged from 19-82 years of age, with 43 years of age being the average. They had suffered from two hours to fifteen days, with three days being the average duration of pain. The cases which received acupuncture treatment for their low back sprain were compared to a control group made of roughly the same ages, males and females, and duration of pain. The members of this control group were treated with another acupuncture protocol using several points. In the single point group, there were 114 cures for a cure rate of 88%. The other 15 cases all showed marked improvement. Of those cured with this one point protocol, 73 were cured in one treatment, 33 in two treatments, and eight in three treatments. Among those receiving the alternative acupuncture treatment, 18 or 60% were cured, five cases or 17% showed marked improvement, and seven cases or 23% showed fair improvement. In other words, all patients in both groups were either cured or improved after receiving acupuncture.

Source: Acupuncture Arlington