With more and more people paying
more attention to their health, they look for alternative methods to living
healthier and longer. Modern medicine can ben costly and toxic to
a personís body. There are numerous alternative
ways to aid and heal a body and/or brain after an injury.
After a brain injury, more attention should be place on care of the brain. And that can be a life long commitment. The benefits of Myomassology, proper nutrition, enzyme therapy, and acupuncture are numerous, therapeutic and long lasting.
Myomassology (massage therapy) is a relaxing and healthy tool for the body. It increases blood flow, circulation and lymphatic drainage in the body.
"Kind of puts you in a state of euphoria," Boguski said.
Michelle Boguski, Dearborn, Michigan, has been a Myomassologist
for the past nine years. She works for a health club and spa in Dearborn
and also out of her home. Myomassology is an excellent way
to help thee brain and body to feel good and help healing. Before
starting, people should talk to a doctor or a reputable Myomassologist
and ask questions; such as
references, affiliations and background information.
If the answers arenít suitable, keep looking.
There are several types of therapy a person can receive in this field; touch for health, Cranial Sacral Therapy, deep tissue massage, and basic massage.
Touch for health is a therapist holding fingers over certain acupuncture points to free up energy in the body, to release what is stuck. When a person sees a Myomassologist they should go with no expectations of any kind. Everyone is unique; energy, spirit.
"Weíre no healers, weíre facilitators," Boguski said. "Both people work together. The whole thing with massage is to unconditionally give."
Cranial Sacral Therapy is gentle manipulation (five
grams of pressure) working directly with the bones of the face and skull
and the cranial sacral fluid to find where disharmony is in the body.
This is good for someone with a brain injury from time to timnot for all
injuries such as brain tumors or aneurysm. The therapist works the
rhythm and motion of the skull bones. There is motion and movement
to every bone. If there is no movement or rhythm, there is
pain and discomfort.
"Whenever thereís pain, thereís dysfunction," Boguski said. "Thatís what we try to do is get rid of pain and free up the energy."
Deep tissue massage deals with Rolfing. It is
done is a six week session, once a week. It is massage done on the
muscle with more than average pressure. Structural integration is worked;
posture and other things will be better. It is recommended for at
least a year after an injury, but talk to a doctor about recover time for
you body. Basic massage can be full
body or to specific areaís of the body.
Call an accredited massage school for referral for a
therapist.
Proper nutrition can augment healing. Looking
at a food pyramid according to the RDA is a good map. With that,
minerals and vitamins work well. A multi-mineral/multi-vitamin has
a combination of all the basics in one form. Herbs to consider are
Gingko Biloba, Gotokolu, St. John's Wort, and Siberian Ginseng.
Those are good for various aspects of the brain and stress in the body.
Specifically, DHA is an essential fatty acid in fish oils and is extremely
important for the brain and eyes.
Jeanne Powers, Ypsilanti, Michigan, has been a nurse for 35 years and works with the geriatric.
"That's a long time, Iím getting up there," Powers said and laughed,
Powers has a son with brain injury and has helped his
healing with nutrition and her knowledge of the brain in connection with
nutrition. When neurons are damaged due to injury, reconnection or
those neurons helps if it starts soon enough. This will also help
reconnect synapses as well. Along with essential
fatty acids that fish oils provide, breast milk is good for the brain also.
If a brain is looked at during development, a whole different set of nutrients
is available to the fetus that is provided from the mother. Breast
milk provides extra nutrients that are not available in other foods.
Antioxidants are an important part of this healing
puzzle to have. Most are in fruits and vegetables. People tend to
be low in antioxidants to begin with. Vitamin C and E are good to take.
The brain is 60% fat and 30% of that is from long chain fatty acids (DHA).
The body needs more natural oils to function at it's best. Partially
hydrogenated oils are synthetic oil
and should be avoided by a person with a brain injury,
Powers suggests. Brain synapses require long chain fatty acids to
be efficient. She waved her arm in an S motion to demonstrate the
wavy and flexibility of it. L.C.F.A. are important to the brain
and central
nervous system. The biological importance of
those acids is their role as a metabolic precursor.
Melotonin is the most powerful antioxidant. It works in the water in a cell and in lipids. The body make is in the dark. Acetylcholine is a neurotransmitter for memory. Choline helps to reconnect neurons.
"You donít totally re-grow neurons," Powers said as she drew a diagram to demonstrate. "You get what you get. You wanna save everything you have. After a brain injury, perhaps they need to supplement melotonin and more choline."
Powers is working on research in nutrition, antioxidants
and more factors in addition to it.
Every person is unique and so is his or her brain, with or without a brain injury. To help the brain in healing, each person may have to take different approaches to it. If a brain injury is looked at like a city in a hurricane, different parts of the city are destroyed. Those areas need different and specific attention and needs. One area may need water but not food, where as another area may need food but not water. Other areas need clothing, shelter and fire. The brain is very much like that after an injury. Various different areas that are damaged could require specific care and needs.
Acupuncture is an ancient, yet complete system used
to treat, help prevent disease, and aid in trauma done to the brain and
body. It points are connected to specific organs and structures in
the body. It deals with the energy tat circulates throughout the
body.
Specific types of needles are used. Like with
massage therapy, Acupuncture therapy does not treat disease, it allows
the body to work and heal itself by correcting and releasing the flow of
energy. According to Mark Rojek, Dexter, Michigan, acupuncture can stimulate
the release of endorphins (the body's own pain killer), alters levels of
neurotransmitters (such as serotonin) and regulate hormones.
Rojek is a certified Acupuncturist and works at the Optimal Health Medical Center, Ann Arbor, Michigan. Heís has formal education and training in Traditional Chinese Medicine in Chicago, Illinois and Racine, Wisconsin. Heís also had internships, certification and training in Guangzhou, China and Windsor, Canada. He also specializes in Enzyme Replacement Therapy.
"Enzyme therapy is essential," Rojek said. "Using enzymes to do the work that the body is not able to do anymore."
Every function in the body uses enzymes. It opens up the blood flow to places in the brain and body that is injured. Enzyme therapy is taken orally.
"You give the body specific nutrients and it will heal itself that much faster," Rojek said.
Editors Note: Reach Out magazine would like to welcome our newest correspondant, Sandee Rager and thank her for this wonderful article. We look forward to feature more articles by Sandee in the future. Sandee is a professional freelance journalist. Please be sure and check out her website at: http://www.sandeerager.20m.com