Plastic Surgery Cures Migraines?
Do migraines cause myofascial dysfunction or does myofascial dysfunction cause migraines? Here is an article about research on facial surgery for migraines. Seems as if myofascial dysfunction causes migraines! New York Times Article Link
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Retreat In Vermont
So we have established that vacations are good for you (see posts below). I just returned from a retreat in the Northern Kingdom of Vermont that fully recharged my batteries!
The place is called Bald Mountain Retreat and it is exquisite.
What is a retreat anyway?
Retreat is temporarily removing oneself from one's usual environment and habits. A retreat can be taken for spiritual, stress, health, lifestyle, or social purposes. A retreat can either be a time of solitude or a community experience. Some retreats are held in silence, and on others there may be a great deal of conversation, depending on the practices of the host facility and the participants. Retreats are often conducted at rural or remote locations, either privately, or at a place like an ashram or monastery. Some retreats for advanced practitioners may even be undertaken in total darkness, a type of retreat practice in Tibetan Buddhism. Spiritual retreats allow time for reflection, prayer, or meditation. They are considered essential in Buddhism. Retreats are also popular in many Christian faiths.
My retreat to Bald Mountain included lots of quiet time, meditation, hiking, fasting and brilliant conversations with our kind and entertaining host, Dr Dave. Dave is a retired Naturopath/homeopath and an adept yogi. We dialoged about the nature of illness, pain and disability and wellness. Dave accompanied my partner and I on two hikes, the more arduous one to the peak of Bald Mountain.
Here is a link to a highly recommended, very rustic retreat center: Bald Mountain
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What do we communicate when we touch a client?
Below is an abstract of an study to evaluate the ability of people to convey emotions via touch:
Emotion © 2009 American Psychological Association 2009, Vol. 9, No. 4, 566–573 The Communication of Emotion via Touch Matthew J. Hertenstein, Rachel Holmes and Margaret McCullough .
The study of emotional communication has focused predominantly on the facial and vocal channels but has ignored the tactile channel. Participants in the current study were allowed to touch an unacquainted partner on the whole body to communicate distinct emotions. Of interest was how accurately the person being touched decoded the intended emotions without seeing the tactile stimulation. The data indicated that anger, fear, disgust, love, gratitude, and sympathy were decoded at greater than chance levels, as well as happiness and sadness, 2 emotions that have not been shown to be communicated by touch to date. Moreover, fine-grained coding documented specific touch behaviors associated with different emotions. The findings are discussed in terms of their contribution to the study of emotion-related communication.
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Placebo response from surgery?
Is the mind powerful enough to spend the time that it takes to harness its power? One line of evidence that the answer to this question is YES! (sorry for yelling...) is research that illuminates just how powerful the placebo response is. Two recent studies looked at the effectiveness of a procedure to treat back pain from vertebral fracture or collapse. In both studies some participants got the real procedure, others got a sham procedure. It turned out that it did not matter whether these people got the real surgery or the sham or placebo surgery. Both groups had the same chance of benefiting from the experience. This suggests that any benefit was mediated by the mind and was not a direct effect of the spinal intervention. Click on the link below to read the NY Times article:
Link to New York Times Article
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The Often, Not Discussed Pelvic Floor or…The Muscle That Slipped Between The Cracks
For the past 5 years I have been doing a variety of groups at Beth Israel Medical Center’s Karpas Health Information Center. Karpas is an amazing community center located in a storefront property at 1st Avenue at 18th street in Manhattan. Throughout the year the center offers a wide range of programs and I have lead groups on breath, pain management, fall prevention, chair yoga and Feldenkrias. In January of 2008, I approached the center about doing a program on the pelvic floor. Their first response was “why the pelvic floor” so I quickly highlighted some of the more obvious issues: incontinence and sexual function. Then I mentioned the pelvic floors influence on breathing and how a tight or lax pelvic floor could contribute to back, hip and knee pain. The center thought the topic would not generate enough interest and took a pass. A few months later, as the center was planning their spring schedule, I was approached about doing another program. I agreed to do one on breath and decided to use this as an opportunity to revisit the pelvic floor. Typically, my groups are 6 weeks so I asked if we could offer a 3-week program – to my surprise, they agreed.
The Karpas Center publishes a catalog 4 times a year listing their programs. A few days after the spring catalog was mailed, I received a call from Karpas - 25 people had registered for the program and would I be interested in doing a second group on the same day. I agreed. The next day I received a call from the center…the second group had filled up, would I be willing to do a third group? I agreed. We wound up having 4 groups of 25 people and a large waiting list. The following fall and spring we offered the pelvic floor program with the same result.
At the start of each program, I did an informal survey and asked the participants “has any health professional you use (doctor, physical/occupational therapist, midwife, etc) ever initiated a discussion of the pelvic floor?” Out of 300 people, only 4 raised their hands. Given the overwhelming response to the pelvic floor program, it seems there's a tremendous interest and need, which is not being addressed by health professionals. People want to talk about pelvic floor issues, but to date; health professionals seem hesitant to discuss this topic.
What are your thoughts/recommendations on how we can promote a dialogue between health professionals and the people they serve?
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