for my NZRA acupuncture colleagues here in Christchurch

Just a reminder for NZRA acupuncturists that tonight, for the Christchurch group peer-group meeting, I will be presenting a session on case-history taking, professional standards and medical ethics.

So if you are an acupuncturist then it would be good to see you there.  We will look at this important topic, and also perhaps discuss some recent cases concerning acupuncturists and osteopaths. If you do come, then please bring your case-history form, and any information you give to new patients - as we shall discuss this.  Some of the things that new patients coming to my clinic can expect is summarised on my web-page:  http://www.christchurch-osteopathy-acupuncture.co.nz/osteopathy/firstVisit.html

If you can't get to Christchurch this evening, I'll try to summarise our discussion in a future blog in a few days time.

Sufi the Labradoodle puppy. And why the name 'Sufi . . . .'

Just to let people know, who love dogs, and come here for Osteopathy and Acupuncture, that we now have a new labradoodle pupply called 'Sufi'.  The word 'Sufi' in Arabic apparently means 'wool', which is also appropriate considering his woolly fleece-like white fur.  However, the Sufis were
mystics, perhaps one of the most famous being Rumi, well known for his poetry.  Rumi wrote many poems during his life, and there are so many to choose from, but one of my favorites is the Guest House:

This being human is a guest house
Every morning, a new arrival.

A joy, a depression, a meanness,
Some momentary awareness comes
As an unexpected visitor.

Welcome and entertain them all!
Even if they're a crowd of sorrows,
who violently sweep your house
Empty of it's furniture.
Still, treat each guest honorably.
He may be clearing you out
For some new delight.

The dark thought, the shame, the
malice
Meet them at the door laughing
And invite them in.
Be grateful for whoever comes.
Because each has been sent
As a guide from beyond.


OK, anything for some poetry.  But you can see why Rumi was such a mystic.  The 'guest' house implies impermanence, transience, change - and each 'guest' signifies a mental (emotional) state, a multiplicity of being (many guests).  Everything changes, yet honor each 'guest'.  As Rumi says: 'treat each guest honorably . . .  Be grateful for whoever comes, because each (metal-emotional state) has been sent as a guide . . .'  The nature of mind (perhaps also mind- wandering), self, and also of meditation.

Anyway, I have mentioned this poem before, and others (other Sufi poets) in a blog earlier this year:
http://mikeinmanosteopath.blogspot.co.nz/2015/02/only-heart-can-know-rightly-healing-and.html?spref=fb


Well, this is all getting away from a new puppy - but, as for his name, maybe just explaining perhaps a little of Sufism, and who the Sufis were.

Anyway, there are even more pictures and videos of this labradoodle puppy, on Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/michael.inman.796/posts/10203573545618136?pnref=story

Sufi - at home, settling in well.

And if you were thinking about booking into the clinic soon for some Acupuncture and/or Osteopathy treatment (and you'll probably also get to meet Sufi when you are here), then of course just book in the usual way: by internet:
http://www.christchurch-osteopathy-acupuncture.co.nz/default.html

or you can always phone 03 980 2425
And yes, the After-Hours clinic is still running.

Osteopathy (and Acupuncture) appointments available on Saturdays. No additional fee for After-Hours appointments

Just to let everyone know that the clinic here is open most Saturdays, so if you need any Osteopathy (or Acupuncture) and can't get in during the week (or have to travel some distance in from outside of Christchurch) then generally there are Osteopathy (and Acupuncture) appointments available on most Saturdays.  There is no additional fee for After-Hours osteopathy appointments (and this applies to evenings also).

Many people have an Osteopathy appointment which may include some Acupuncture also.  So you can decide to receive both.   There is, of course, no additional fee for this.  But if you want to have Osteopathy alone, with no Acupuncture, then this is fine.

You can easily book your own Osteopathy appointment online from the website:
www.christchurch-osteopathy-acupuncture.co.nz

Or you can phone:  03 980 2425

If you want to know more about the clinic and Osteopathy, you might want to look at:
http://www.christchurch-osteopathy-acupuncture.co.nz/osteopathy/firstVisit.html

And, if you want to know a little more about Acupuncture, please look at
http://www.christchurch-osteopathy-acupuncture.co.nz/acupuncture/firstVisit.html

after hours Osteopathy and Acupuncture appointments also available - www.christchurch-osteopathy-acupuncture.co.nz

Just a reminder that there are after hours Osteopathy and Acupuncture appointments also available this week.  (It is always a good idea to book your Osteopathy a few days ahead however, to get the time that suits you best.)

The best way to book is from the website:  www.christchurch-osteopathy-acupuncture.co.nz.
You can, of course, still phone on 03 980 2425 for your appointment.

It is very common to feel more aches and pains during the cold weather.  And this is mid-winter.  The good news is that the days get longer from now onwards.

If you want to know more about Osteopathy and what to expect,  please see:
http://www.christchurch-osteopathy-acupuncture.co.nz/osteopathy/firstVisit.html

And for Acupuncture,  please visit:
http://www.christchurch-osteopathy-acupuncture.co.nz/acupuncture/firstVisit.html

The ability to see the 'bigger picture', the 'whole' person, seems to be the strength of both Osteopathy and Acupuncture.

How perverse the compartmentalization and analytic western scientific (reductionist) paradigm seems, when it comes to healthcare.  As the old saying goes 'the whole is always greater than the sum of it's parts.'  But to truly understand this, in the patient standing before you, and still, in addition to this right-brain overview, have a rigorous left-brain logic, and in depth knowledge of anatomy, physiology and pathology and clear clinical reasoning process.

Yes, of course, there has to be specialism and expertise in a limited field.  Medicine and Healthcare is to vast an arena not to do this.  However, for practical benefits, we must not loose sight of the 'whole' person standing before us, body, mind and spirit.  The ability to see the 'bigger picture' in this way, the 'whole' person, seems to be the strength of traditional medicine, and here I am thinking of both Osteopathy and Acupuncture.  This is borne out by research, as patients identify Osteopathy and/or Acupuncture as helpful in improving quality of life issues, chronic pain, chronic fatigue, and so on.  For more on this please see:

http://www.christchurch-osteopathy-acupuncture.co.nz/osteopathy/osteopathy.html
http://www.christchurch-osteopathy-acupuncture.co.nz/acupuncture/acupuncture.html

We are after all practicing clinicians, not magicians (even though some patients hope that we might be, and these two professions may have blurred at times historically).  Words like shamanism are probably best avoided, as it may be counterproductive, and go against the kind of integration and skill in the practice of healthcare that I am advocating, and may not endear us 'marginal' professionals (osteopaths, acupuncturists, naturopaths, herbalists, homeopaths, etc) to the medical mainstream.

However, I have always thought that true genius is an integrated approach, a person capable of right-brain intuition and left-brain analysis. True genius, e.g. Carl Jung (who originally trained as a medical doctor, before training with Freud) certainly exhibits this.  Something to aspire to perhaps.  (I have mentioned other names in earlier blogs).  How lucky we are that our kind of medicine and healthcare (osteopathy and acupuncture) is limitless in it's depth and application, and lifelong learning.

When John Littlejohn, was asked the question:  What are the limits of Osteopathy?  He replied 'nobody knows.' Probably the mark of a genius, yet a modest and humble one.

http://www.christchurch-osteopathy-acupuncture.co.nz/osteopathy/visceralOsteopathy.html

overview of global bio-mechanics - yet with a precise muscluo-skeletal diagnosis and tissues causing symptoms

A precise diagnosis, in musculo-skeletal terms, of the tissues causing symptoms is essential in good Osteopathy and good physical therapy, and musculo-skeletal medicine.

Further to my last blog, and emphasis on the importance of whole-body bio-mechanics (which is essential for good Osteopathy), and an understanding of the whole of the person, body mind and spirit, as Andrew Still, the founder of Osteopathy put it  -  I should also like to point out, that we also need a good musculo-skeletal diagnosis, good anatomical knowledge, logical clinical reasoning skills, and a precise diagnosis, in terms of the tissues causing symptoms.

These tissues causing the symptoms may not be only local (as physiotherapists often seem to think) but may sometimes (especially in a chronic case) also be (part of) a complex pattern of altered global bio-mechanics.  If this is the case, then in good Osteopathic treatment, we must address the entire pattern of the altered bio-mechanics, i.e. Osteopathic treatment of the whole body, not just perhaps the part that hurts.

Of course, this is not always so, and sometimes things are relatively straightforward, e.g. in a younger person perhaps, or a simple sports injury (but even here, sometime the entire body pattern, and the way a person uses their body has a significant influence).

For example, sometimes a medial collateral ligament strain of the knee, is just that - a medial collateral ligament strain.  Of course, there may be also other factors:  e.g. any muscle imbalance of the legs or pelvis, and/ or pelvic, sacral, or spinal torsion, as these factors can certainly influence the mechanical loading to the knee.

An understanding of, and a treatment plan aimed at also addressing the 'big picture', i.e. these global bio-mechanical influences, if present, can certainly lead to better treatment outcomes and faster recovery time from injury.  They may also even predict an area that might predispose to injury, and in treating this broader imbalance in global bio-mechanics help prevent injury.

For more on this, you might want to see:
http://www.christchurch-osteopathy-acupuncture.co.nz/osteopathy/principles.html

http://www.christchurch-osteopathy-acupuncture.co.nz/osteopathy/howManyTreatments.html


And as for Acupuncture, sure an understanding of the whole person is important, and we can give a constitutional treatment, and this can give better results, and promote general health and faster tissue healing.  Yet, even with acupuncture, it is also important sometimes to give specific treatment.  If there is knee pain, for example, then needling around the knee, perhaps both above and below also, is probably important.  Ans if it is, for example, a medial collateral ligament strain, then needling over the medial collateral ligament directly can help promote tissue healing, and collagen regeneration.

For more on this, you might want to see:

http://www.christchurch-osteopathy-acupuncture.co.nz/acupuncture/scientificBasis.html

http://www.christchurch-osteopathy-acupuncture.co.nz/acupuncture/acupuncture.html

modern osteopathy, acupuncture and integrated healthcare: towards an global understanding of health, not just a analytical reductionist understanding of dis-ease.

There is a Traditional Chinese Medicine and Acupuncture pattern of disharmony described as 'deficiency below and excess above', and any experienced clinician or acupuncturist may recognize this in many chronic diseases (e.g. chronic fatigue, hypertension, diabetes, heart-disease, etc) and in the older person.

There is the concept 'zang-fu' of paired organs in Traditional Chinese Medicine and Acupuncture, and after all, in physiology, this also makes perfect sense: e.g. the relationship of the heart and kidneys in haemodynamics, and regulating blood pressure (as well as rate and force of the heart's contractions and suction) through the kidney's control of water and electrolyte balance.  

The traditional acupuncture concept of the heart-kidney shao-yin axis does of course go way beyond the mechanical and haemodynamic action of these organs, and suggests neuroendocrine effects, altering mood, emotion, and mental states.  For in the traditional acupuncture paradigm, emotions are 'visceral' and organic, and have a physiological basis.  None would argue with this perhaps. 

Even modern osteopathy (e.g. John Pierre Barral) sees the visceral component as highly significant, and the 'tissue memory' (as John Upledger put it) storing 'emotional charge' locked away in the body.  Or as John Littlejohn (who studied with Andew Still, the founder of Osteopathy) said: 'The body is the graveyard of emotion'.  Any experienced clinician has an intuitive grasp of these truths, I would hope.  The early Chinese acupuncturists wrote of this in pre-Christian times, when Aristotle and Hippocrates were leaving some the early written European records.  In traditional acupuncture the specific emotions relating to each organ system were identified, in their integrated body-mind continuum world view. 

For more on this, see:

http://www.christchurch-osteopathy-acupuncture.co.nz/acupuncture/acupuncture.html

http://www.christchurch-osteopathy-acupuncture.co.nz/osteopathy/visceralOsteopathy.html


http://www.christchurch-osteopathy-acupuncture.co.nz/osteopathy/principles.html