A variety of therapies are available at the Head to Toe Health Centre. We can work together to find the form of therapy most appropriate to your needs.
Nutrition
Good nutrition is the foundation of good health. My years of practice thus far have proven the age-old tenant 'you are what you eat' to be true. Everyone needs a healthy balance of essential nutrients such that, if we do not provide ourselves with these nutrients we can impair our body’s normal function and cause ourselves harm. A problem common to the western diet is that we do not get the nutrients we need because often times our food is over-cooked and over-processed. In addition, many of the foods we eat also contain pesticides, additives, preservatives, and colouring agents which further burden our systems.
By restoring the delicate balance of essential nutrients in the body and helping the body to rid itself of toxins, we can create an environment where the body is able to heal itself and further illness is prevented. Nutritional counselling may include the addition or removal of certain foods from your diet, individualized dietary plans, as well as the use of nutritional supplementation.
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Supplements
Nutritional supplements are comprised of vitamins, minerals, enzymes, amino acids, antioxidants, or other substances which are naturally found in our bodies but in a more concentrated form than is available in food.
Recommended dietary allowances (RDAs) were first established in 1943 by the Food and Nutrition Board and define the amount of an individual nutrient required by an individual on a daily basis such that they do not develop signs of nutrient deficiency.
However, it is now being recognized that optimal health and wellness is most likely to be achieved if individuals consume daily amounts of nutrients that are somewhat greater than the Recommended Dietary Allowances (RDAs). In cases where an individual has developed a condition or certain symptoms have become evident, supplements are useful in providing the body with the nutrients it needs while undergoing the healing process.
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Botanicals
The use of plants to promote healing dates back to the beginning of civilization. It is also the basis of modern pharmacology. In fact, about 25% of all prescription drugs sold in North America have contained active constituents isolated from plants. Digoxin, codeine, colchine, morphine, and yohimbine are some popular examples.
In general, herbal preparations are thought to have three major advantages when compared with pharmaceutical products: lower cost, fewer side-effects, and medicinal effects which tend to normalize physiological function. When used most effectively, the mechanism of action of an herb will often correct the underlying cause of a disorder. Interestingly, research has often shown that use of the whole plant is more effective than isolated constituents.
However, it is important to note that there are many herbal products on the market which are of very poor-quality and as such, therapeutic results unlikely to be achieved. In order for herbal medicine to be effective, it is important to use high quality products of the appropriate herbs, taken in a form that can be properly absorbed by the body.
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Psychotherapy
Inherent in the philosophy of naturopathic medicine is the idea that the mind and body are not separable. Our emotional understanding of ourselves and how we function in our environment is an important aspect of health as well as a contributing factor with regard to disease.
Though the possibility of disease being of an emotional origin is an important consideration, the emotional health of an individual is an essential part of the healing process regardless of the causative agent. In healing, every bit of information, every piece of truth, may be crucial, and insight, when inspired by the quest for truth, can promote transformation.
Each of us exists with conflicts, fears, anxieties, and psychological defenses. Psychodynamic Psychotherapy will bring to light the nature of these fears and defenses such that an individual is able to redefine themselves while healing from disease.
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Homeopathy
The term ‘homeopathy’ is derived from the Greek work homoios, meaning ‘similar’ and pathos, meaning ‘disease’. It is based on the principle ‘like cures like’. In practice, this means that a medicine capable of producing certain effects when taken by a healthy individual is capable of curing any illness that displays similar effects.
Homeopathy is an energetic form of medicine which harnesses the body’s ability to heal itself. This innate healing ability is believed to be a function of the life force, or vital force, inherent in each individual.
According the homeopathy, disease is a disturbance of this vital force and the associated symptoms reflect the nature of this disturbance. Homeopathic medicine, then, aims at correcting this disturbance by using minute amounts of natural substances to enable the body to heal itself.
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Acupunture
Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) originated over five thousand years ago and involves the use of both acupuncture and eastern herbs. It is based on the theory that health is determined by a balanced flow of qi, the vital life energy present in all living things. According the TCM theory, qi circulates in the body through twelve major energy pathways, called meridians, each linked to specific internal organs and organ systems.
Acupuncture and herbs are used to stimulate or enhance the flow of qi in certain meridians and release an excess of energy in others, therefore rebalancing the flow of energy and consequently relieving pain and restoring health. What is intriguing about this philosophic approach to medicine is that each symptom is perceived in relationship with the whole body and adjustments to an individual’s overall energy pattern made accordingly.
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Massage Therapy
Massage therapy is the assessment and manipulation of soft tissues, including muscles, connective tissue, tendons, ligaments, joints, and lymphatic vessels to affect a therapeutic response. Massage can be applied to individual parts of the body or successively to the whole body, to heal injury, relieve psychological stress, manage pain, and improve circulation.
Massage therapy can benefit such conditions as muscle spasm and pain, spinal curvatures, soreness related to injury and stress, headaches, whiplash, and TMJ syndrome. Massage can also reduce swelling, help correct posture, improve body motion, and facilitate the elimination of toxins from the body. Lymphatic massage, for example, can move metabolic waste through the body to promote a rapid recovery from illness or disease. At the Head To Toe Health Centre, we use a combination of many different forms of massage therapy, including; deep tissue massage, trigger point therapy, myofascial therapy, lymphatic drainage, and craniosacral therapy, to treat our patient's individualized needs.
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Osteopathic Manual Therapist
Osteopathic Manual Therapy is a wholistic form of manual therapy, treating each person as an individual and taking the whole person into account. It embraces the philosophy that, given the right stimuli, the body has an innate ability to heal. In treating patients, osteopaths utilize various forms of physical manipulation to allow the body's innate self-healing mechanism to operate more efficiently.
An Osteopathic Manual Therapist searches for and treats the cause of pain or dysfunction in the body rather than treating symptoms. Using manual techniques, osteopaths assess and identify imbalances within and between the structures of the body. Some of the structures referred to include the muscles, bones, ligaments, organs, and fascia - a very thin layer of tissue found under the skin. Using hands-on, non-invasive techniques, an osteopath corrects the imbalances in these structures, thereby restoring and improving the harmonious working of the bodys' systems as a whole.
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