Category: Medicine
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On The Bleeding Edge of Science
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Twenty years ago, a friend of mine stopped being able to walk. It happened intermittently. She’d be fine for a few weeks or months, then collapse. She had intense pelvic pain that doctors couldn’t find a reason for. Some thought she was faking it and sent her to the psych ward, or gave her…
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The Five Stages of Healing (Bodyworker Edition)
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Like a lot of other practitioners, I tend to suffer from bodyworker machismo. I spend my days treating other people’s pain, and ignoring my own. Which is exactly what I advise my clients not to do. Recently, I hurt my foot. The technical description of what I did was tearing the plantar fascia on my…
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The Myth of the Chemical Imbalance
by Sujatha Ramakrishna, M.D. It’s been over a decade now since the pharmaceutical industry started exposing the American public to advertisements such as this one: In that time I’ve encountered many patients who simply state, “I have a chemical imbalance,” when I ask them what brings them into the office. They don’t want to discuss their…
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Big Healthcare and Cheesecake
I always get a little giddy when a new article by Atul Gawande appears. The latest, in which he compares the quality control and cost efficiency at the Cheesecake Factory with that of Big Healthcare, does not disappoint: The neurologist, after giving her a two-minute exam, suggested tests that had already been done and wrote a prescription that…
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So How The Hell Do We Do That???
As some of my wise friends point out, changing the face of healthcare is a quixotic proposition. It’s all very well to saythat your doctor should be prescribing more massage than painkillers, that insurance should cover it, and that everyone should be insured. But as we all know, our broken healthcare system makes far more money by selling…
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After the Fall
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Recently a new client, Susie M., booked a four-session package sight unseen. “When I read about your ankle, I knew you were the one for me,” she said. Susie sprained, and possibly broke, her right ankle four years ago. There was some confusion as to whether there was a bone chip floating around in there or…
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The Body Remembers
I am so thankful for the treatment that I received!!! I walked in the office a horrific mess, and Stephanie showed her concern and learned what the issue was that I was having and in four short weeks, my body responded to the gentle, yet firm work that she was putting into it. My recovery…
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Physician Heal Thyself
Image via Wikipedia –guest post by Sujatha Ramakrishna, M.D. Having a family full of doctors can be such a mixed blessing. Most physicians are aware of the pitfalls of being related to someone who knows way too much about every little ache or cough. When I was a fourth-year medical student interviewing for residency positions in…
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When to See a Doctor
Know your anatomy!You wouldn’t think people would ever get their massage therapist confused with their M.D., would you? You’d be surprised.It’s touching and flattering, how often I am asked for my input on potentially serious medical conditions. Possibly this is due to the fact that 1) I see a lot of people in varying degrees…
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Why Practical?
So why did I decide to name my massage therapy practice ‘Practical Bodywork’? For entirely pragmatic reasons, of course. On the West Coast, where I got my training, everybody names their businesses things like ‘Soul Harmony,’ and gets away with it. On the East Coast, this is openly mocked. I wanted a name that I…