SCENAR and Complementarity

One of the most wonderful things about SCENAR is how it complements any other modalities that are available in the treatment of pain. There is one exception to this, which is important for those who are considering using SCENAR to know. If  narcotic pain killing pharmaceuticals are being used on a schedule of more than once a day, the receptor sites for the body’s own opiate substances (endorphins) are taken up by the synthetic narcotic drug and prevent the body from using its own internal pharmacy to address pain.

The SCENAR’s main action is to help the body regulate and heal itself. Pain relief is the most obvious of the effects, however, much more is being activated within the body to reestablish homeostasis. In my experience over the last 6 years, I have noticed that clients who are using other modalities as well as SCENAR find that they make better progress toward healing. I have worked closely with chiropractors who find that SCENAR treatments can make adjustments easier and that they hold better. SCENAR also can find subluxations in the spine easily, which can be addressed quickly by the Chiropractor.

There is an acupuncturist, Dr. Donald Snow, in Louisiana who uses SCENAR and acupuncture together and finds that his results are better with the combination than with using either modality alone.

There have been times, because of Post Polio Syndrome, when I have used Physical Therapy.  Along with the PT, I have used SCENAR to ameliorate the pain that can result from those treatments. I have also found that I recover a lot faster, since using the SCENAR in this way, than I did before I had the SCENAR to complement what I was doing in PT.

My experiences with the complementary way in which SCENAR works with massage therapy have been impressive.  If someone has a SCENAR treatment before a massage, the relaxation and pain relieving effect is enhanced. It also makes it easier for the massage therapist because it is easier to go more deeply into the muscles to effect a release.

In SCENAR literature it is often suggested that when working with someone who is taking a pharmaceutical for a chronic condition such as diabetes, that the levels of the drug be monitored. This is because as the body begins to balance itself and recover, not as much of the drug will be necessary.

Unlike the idea in conventional medicine that one cure fixes all, natural medicine recognizes the uniqueness of each individual, and that very often a mix of modalities appropriate to the individual will speed healing faster than using only one. For this reason it is good to find a natural practitioner, such as a naturopath, who understands this and can monitor your progress if you are using more than one modality.

This capacity of the SCENAR to complement other treatments is also a good reason to own one. If you are interested in discussing owning a SCENAR and which one might best suit your needs you can contact me at 828-337-6854.

Holistic Medicine and Chronic Pain

If one looks only at the philosophy of the alternative and conventional  medical approaches, holistic or alternative medicine would seemingly be the place to start if a chronic condition is the issue. American conventional medicine is the best in the world related to treating acute trauma or crisis situations. But, because its approach is toward the disease, not the patient, and  seeing the person as a collection of parts resulting in the narrowed view of specialization, the holistic well-being of the patient is often overlooked. In relationship to pain, the major intervention is drugs, which usually only mask the symptoms and can have dangerous side effects.

In the late fall, a conversation of sorts between an MD and a DC was carried out through letters to the editor of the Crossroads Chronicle, the Cashiers, North Carolina local newspaper. In a column titled, “Arthritis one of most common problems treated by physicians,” written by Dr. Richard Matthews, the only recommendation for the treatment of the pain of arthritis was the use of drug therapy. In response to this article, Dr. Jim Johnson, DC, DACBN, CCN, writing from the perspective of holistic medicine, illuminated not only the numerous alternatives available, but also the philosophy of healthcare guided by respecting the whole person and the capacity of the human body to heal itself. I was so impressed by what he wrote that I wanted to include it here in its entirety.

“I read with much interest the article on arthritis in the Crossroads Chronicle Wednesday, October 20, 2010. As someone who has worked with patients to find alternative approaches to health challenges, it strikes me that only drugs are offered as the answer to such problems. Aleve, Advil, Motrin, Mobic, Feldene, etc. are pharmaceutical drugs that offer effective pain relief; however, their long term use is not desirable due to a large number of secondary effects. NSAIDs, in particular, actually make the overall disease process of arthritis worse, by increasing ‘leaky gut’ and by depleting the very nutrients necessary for joint repair, including iron, folic acid, calcium, and zinc. COX 2 inhibitors, introduced with a media blitz touting them as a much safer drug therapy, are now known to also have serious side effects.

Are some diseases, or even all diseases, the secondary manifestations of altered or abnormal states of health? Does the swamp exist first, and various pests such as mosquitoes find it to be a good habitat for their propagation; or do such pests pick a random landscape and then set about to create a swamp to support them? Read more »

Key Aspects of the SCENAR Facilitated Healing Process

• Each SCENAR session is unique because the body guides the session according to its own wisdom, its current conditions, and priorities.
• The focus is on health and not on disease.
• There will be no diagnosis (naming), but rather identification of areas of imbalance.
• Recovery is quicker and easier in a clean, active, nourished body.
• Healing often starts in the mind with recognition and positive intentions.
• Recovery is slower and may be less effective if there is no real desire to heal and change for the better.
• An improved mood is a sign that recovery is proceeding positively and that the body will follow.
• Natural body healing typically proceeds from recent conditions to older conditions, more vital organs to less vital organs, from inside to outside, and from top to bottom.
• Incomplete adaptive reactions develop in layers with each layer itself being organized differently. Typically, natural healing starts with the upper most layer which is expressing itself by a key symptom.
• Any shift or change is an important positive sign.
• Sometimes a sign of successful treatment occurs with a short aggravation of the key symptoms. A short aggravation is good and often means that the proper function has been stimulated and healing has begun.
• After one layer of healing has occurred, symptoms of an older, deeper layers of  incomplete adaptive reactions may express (the body’s unfinished business). These old symptoms are also good and indicate that the body is ready to heal an even deeper problem.
• Pharmaceutical medications (especially narcotic pain killers) may make it difficult to follow symptoms and complete adaptive reactions. However, as the body begins to heal, medication amounts required may lessen (for example with blood pressure medication, etc.), and so should be monitored closely.
• SCENAR is complementary to all natural healing treatments and modalities.
• Treatment is always more effective during a period of symptom expression.
• Rare intense reactions are a profound sign of healing.
• Absence of symptoms may not be a sign of health but instead a body blocked by incomplete actions. The SCENAR can identify these situations.
• The goal is to achieve the most while doing the least.
• The more recent the problem, the faster the recovery.
• Acute conditions need frequent, close together sessions.
• Chronic conditions need 1-3 sessions per week.
• Function may be restored before all symptoms leave.
• In chronic situations, maximum benefit may not manifest for 1-3 months after a course of treatment has been completed.

TMJ Syndrome

Another very common complaint that SCENAR has great success with is temporomandibular joint syndrome. This condition has earned the nickname of “The Great Imposter” because it produces such a wide variety of symptoms and mimics so many different diseases. It can cause facial and neck pains, difficulty opening the mouth or chewing, earaches and congestion, sinus pain (often diagnosed as infections), headaches, and shoulder pain. Often there is no pain, only dizziness, tinnitus (ear ringing), and/or hearing loss. It is now estimated to affect 20% of the population at various times and is completely overlooked in most. More often than not, the people we treat have unsuccessfully sought help with internal medicine specialists, neurologists, and ear/nose/throat specialists. They are often told there is nothing the specialist can do, or worse, that their symptoms are imaginary.

Dentists are very familiar with this condition, but alas, are seldom consulted because of the symptoms may appear to have nothing to do with the teeth.

The temporomandibular joints are located in front of the ear where the lower jaw (mandible) hinges to the skull. One or both of these joints can get out of adjustment by a blow to the head/jaw, whiplash injury to the neck, dental work, clenching teeth while sleeping, or from opening the jaw to yawn. More often poor bite dynamics cause the trouble. It may develop, for example, when a tooth is lost and adjacent teeth drift, thus moving the lower jaw out of position causing a misalignment of the joint.

Once the joint is affected, the equilibrium of muscles and ligaments that control the movement of the joint are upset. In response the muscles go into spasm with resulting pain. This pain my shoot out a considerable distance radiating from small areas of great sensitivity called “trigger areas” within the muscles. “Trigger areas” in the TMJ muscle system can produce a dull ache or a stabbing pain, not just in the teeth but anywhere in the head, neck, and shoulders.

SCENAR can locate the affected areas in the face, neck, shoulders. Treatment stimulates the release of endorphins and the relaxation effect such that the muscles can relax and the jaw return to alignment. It also reduces the inflammation in the affected tissues. In concert with the treatment process, there is much that an individual can do to relieve TMJ pain. Read about those in the Healing Tips section of the blog.

If you are experiencing these symptoms, contact Healing Innovations at 828-337-6854. SCENAR treatments can help!

Whiplash and Its Wide Ranging Effects

Neck and shoulder pain are common issues that respond well to SCENAR treatment. Over the last five years I’ve noticed a specific pattern of asymmetries that are associated with whiplash injury. I call it the “whiplash necklace” because the asymmetries appear at the base of the back of the neck in the area where a necklace typically lays. In 100% of the cases where this pattern appears, when I have asked if the client has ever experienced an injury to the neck (such as a car wreck, falling off a horse, or taking an unexpected fall), they share some event where whiplash likely occurred. More often than not, it was never specifically treated.

Most people don’t realize that a whiplash injury can affect more than just the neck and the effects can be long lasting. In the last six months, I have worked with several people who had temporomandibular joint disorder (commonly called TMJ), headaches, as well as tinnitus. I typically found the “whiplash necklace” pattern of asymmetries, and when asked, the clients all had some variety of injury to their necks, many happening as far back as 20 years previously.

It is now been shown that whiplash, TMJ, and tinnitus are linked. Two studies in Sweden in 2004 and 2008 have shown that trauma to the neck affects temporomandibular  function (Swed Dent J 2004;28:29 and Swed Dent J 2008;32:171). Chiropractic adjustment coupled with SCENAR can relieve the symptoms of TMJ and tinnitus.

If you have jaw pain and or ringing in the ears, call us (828-337-6854) and schedule an appointment today!

Pain Awareness Month

Here we are at September again (where did the summer go?) and National Pain Awareness Month. Those of us who have chronic pain are always aware, but this designation gives organizations devoted to helping those struggling with pain an opportunity to provide information, meetings, and conferences in a focused way.

In the last few months, I have had another flurry of a specific complaint in those who have sought natural pain relief from SCENAR: low back pain. Treatments with SCENAR have been largely successful in reducing or eliminating this complaint, and part of the treatment is to advise clients on things they can do to help themselves heal and prevent further episodes. In researching low back pain (the internet is full of resources) there is one site I would like to recommend: The National Pain Foundation. They have an online manual about back pain, what causes it, how it can be managed, and common myths about it. Of all the web resources I’ve seen, this is most concise and comprehensive.

In 1983, I injured my back while working as the circulation manager of a local newspaper. I went through physical therapy and attended a “Back School” held by that office. From that experience I took away three tidbits of information that helped me enormously in managing my weakened back as it healed and grew stronger over the next several years. I have not found these techniques anywhere on the web, so wanted to add them to the awareness of things you can do to help yourself, should you have an injury or suffer with recurring back pain episodes.

1) Think about and change the way you get into and out of a car. My physical therapist was convinced that how we get into and out of a car is the number one behavior that predisposes us to back pain. Most of us get into a car by putting our right foot in first and then in a somewhat controlled fall, land ourselves in the seat. Then we bring in the left leg. That landing of our bodies in the car’s seat produces powerful sideways distorting forces on the vertebrae of the low back. We don’t notice it generally, but it happens nonetheless, and can set us up for later back issues. The best way to get into a car is to sit in the car’s seat first and then bring our legs into the car one at a time as we turn our bodies to face forward. Those who have “bad backs” are usually aware of this, as throwing oneself into a car when the back is sore can produce pain. But, the rest of us go our merry way, without awareness, until our backs begin to complain about the abuse.

Read more »

SCENAR and Post Polio Syndrome

In 1950 at age 2, I contracted polio and was hospitalized for six weeks. I was left with paralysis of my left foot. At age 37, I was diagnosed with probable Post Polio Syndrome with symptoms of extreme muscle pain, fatigue, and muscle weakness. I was told by the orthopedic doctor that I would likely wind up in a wheelchair. Having small children at the time, I denied the diagnosis and went on with my life. After spraining my left ankle five times in 1999, I was forced to go back into a brace. By then I was having difficulty managing my symptoms while working full time. I had pneumonia twice, and often had to take off time because I was too fatigued to work. In 2004, my doctor took me out of work for severe tendinitis in my right shoulder, elbow, and wrist. Over the next three months my doctor tried everything to treat my symptoms. Nothing worked. Then a friend suggested I let her daughter treat me with her “weird Russian Voodoo device.” Her daughter had experienced an amazing recovery from carpal tunnel syndrome through an acupuncturist who was using a little known device developed in the Russian space program called the SCENAR.

I had an amazing response to my first treatment. For the first time in 15 years, I had no pain anywhere. Stunned by my improvement, I bought a SCENAR, received training, and began working on myself. Word spread about what I was doing, and I began providing treatment for others. The recoveries of those I worked on for various pain related issues was surprising to me as well as those I worked with.

I began working with people who had Post Polio Syndrome in order to see if their response was similar to mine. I have worked now on several polio survivors. In all but one situation, their recovery was just as stunning as my own. One of those clients slowly walked into our office with a cane for his first session. After the treatment, he walked out of the treatment room with his cane held in front of him exclaiming, “I feel 20 years younger!!”

I have often pondered what the SCENAR’s action could be that would cause that kind of dramatic improvement. Scientists believe that in the initial polio infection more than half of the motor neurons that control the voluntary muscles are killed outright, and the remaining surviving ones reach out to paralyzed muscles, innervating them. This is thought to be why so many who had polio were able to recover so much function in the years immediately after the infection. However, this meant that the surviving motor neurons were carrying 8 to 10 times the number of connections to muscles than what they were designed to carry. After about 35 years, those overworked neurons begin to lose their muscle connections or die from the overuse, thus bringing on new muscle weakness, pain, and fatigue.

In thinking about the action of the SCENAR and how that might impact PPS, I wonder if the cascading release of neuropeptides that results from the treatment provides nourishment to the failing motor neurons. I haven’t had a PPS flare in over a year. My functioning is improving. I don’t have the fatigue of the past, nor the debilitating pain. I have not had pneumonia again, even though I have had colds. Although, self care has been an important part of managing my life so as to not bring on a exacerbation of symptoms, I believe it is the SCENAR that has improved my functioning and allowed me to live a much less disabled life.

If you have PPS or know someone who has it and would like to see if SCENAR can help, call me at 828-337-6854, or email me at penny@BioHealingWeb.com.

The Magic of SCENAR

The SCENAR never ceases to amaze me, or perhaps I should say, the human body never ceases to amaze me. This began back in 2005 when we provided SCENAR treatments for individuals who were “bone on bone” and scheduled for knee replacement surgery, and they were able to avoid the surgery. Or when a woman was facing amputation of her foot because of poor blood supply, and as a result of SCENAR treatments, her foot was saved. I could go on and on. A new one has happened: a woman with no disc between her cervical three and four vertebrae decided to try SCENAR. Her doctors told her the only option was to surgically implant spacers between her cervical vertebrae. She had difficulty moving her head, her neck and shoulders were painful, and her hands constantly tingled or were numb. After 3 sessions, the pain stopped and her range of motion normalized. After 5 sessions there was only a bit of numbness left at the end of her index finger and thumb of her left hand. One has to ponder what can be happening that would create this kind of recovery in a situation described as structural degeneration.

The Russians believe that the body can heal anything if it has what it needs to do so. I would assume that would include adequate nutrition, hydration, and oxygen. But, the missing link may be energy. The SCENAR actually energizes the tissue, re-balancing the charges of the cells, but it also interacts with the energy fields of the body. Perhaps that is where the mystery lies.

Regardless, I am forever amazed by the recoveries of those I work on. It is demonstrated over and over to me that the healing capacity of the body/mind is far greater than most of us have any idea about. Call us at 337-6854 and see how your body can heal with a little help from SCENAR!

Things You Can Do For Foot Pain

I have run into another flurry of a certain type of painful situation and it is foot pain. I have written about foot pain previously, but wanted to provide readily available information about things that anyone can do to prevent and relieve foot pain.

Stretching is the single most important thing you can do for foot pain. Tight hamstrings can communicate issues all the way from the sitzbones to the Achilles Tendons. Keeping them stretched and flexible is an important way to maintain the health of the foot. Two easy stretches we have found helpful are:

The Runner’s Stretch – Place your hands about two feet away from each other on a wall while standing about two feet away and leaning into the wall. Step forward with one foot, while leaving the other with the heel on the ground behind you. You are looking for a gentle sensation of stretch, not discomfort in that leg. Krista Kelley at Mission Rehab Services told us that a stretch any shorter than 45 seconds is not worth doing, so count slowly to 45 and then switch the positions of the feet and stretch the other leg. Doing this in the morning and evening will help the hamstrings to not get so tight. Muscles get tight from normal use so slowly that we may fail to recognize the sensation. Doing this exercise will help you become more familiar with the feeling of muscle tension so that you can monitor the status of your hamstrings more accurately and stretch them more effectively, thus preventing issues from arising.

The Hamstring Stretch – While laying in the bed, before arising, use a towel or strap and loop it under the ball of the foot. Holding an end of the towel in each hand, gently raise the leg while using the towel to keep the foot at a 90 degree ankle to the leg. Raise the leg until you feel a gentle stretch, not pain. Hold for 45 seconds, bring the leg gently down to the bed, and do the stretch on the other leg. Over time you will be able to raise the leg higher and higher as the hamstring is re-educated to be relaxed rather than tight. This will prevent the discomfort and possible micro damage to the tendons that can occur when getting out of bed when hamstrings have tightened up during sleep.

Things you can do to improve the health of your feet:

Massage - In the evening, while relaxing, deeply rub and massage your feet in a conscious way from the tips of the toes to the backs of the heels. Let it be your intention to touch every single inch of skin on the bottom of your foot. When you find areas that are tender, press into them and hold. In just a few minutes the tenderness will dissipate and the area will relax. This can also be a good way to improve your overall health through Reflexology.

Strengthen the Muscles of the Foot - The muscles in the feet need exercise and strengthening, just like any other muscle in the body. However, shoes are not conducive to exercising foot muscles. Take off your shoes and socks and while sitting in a comfortable position, imagine (or use real ones if you’d like) that you are picking up marbles with your toes. This strengthens the muscles in the arch which tend to flatten as our foot muscles weaken with age and wearing shoes.

Strengthen the Muscles of the Ankle and Top of Foot – How many of us have sat on the beach and almost unconsciously (because it feels so good), moved our feet back and forth from side to side in the sand, digging a little trough. This motion strengthens the muscles in the ankles and top of the foot to provide better stability for walking. You don’t need sand to do this. Sit in a comfortable position and imagine doing this little activity as if you were at the beach, moving your feet against the floor back and forth from side to side. If you vividly imagine you are at the beach digging the comforting little trenches with your feet, your body will not know that you are not, and other benefits such as shoulder and neck relaxation can be experienced as well.

Our feet are probably the most ignored area of the body. They carry our weight and do whatever we ask for most of our lives without complaint. As we age, our inattention to caring for our feet can take its toll. Notice your feet. Appreciate how hard they work for you. Do kinds things for them like massage or hot soaks. Become friends with your feet. They will love you for it!

What a SCENAR Session is Like

The first session is where many important things happen. First, I have you fill out some paper work so I know what is going on and start to formulate an idea of where to begin. Once we have talked about what issues you bring to the table, I can create an initial treatment plan. I discuss the plan I think will work with you and show you the SCENAR and how it works.

Let’s suppose you have pain in your neck and shoulders (many, many people do). I place the device on an area proximal to where we will work and bring up the sensation level until you feel a buzzing or tingling. The SCENAR will work regardless of whether or not you feel it, but feeling it helps you track not only where I am working, but also other places in your body where the sensation may travel. This tells me other areas to work that may have a healing impact.

Then I begin to stroke your neck and shoulders with the instrument. I am looking for places where the skin turns red and/or the device “drags” over an area. These are called “sticky” places and they indicate  what are called “asymmetries,” which is the way your body tells me where to work. There is a difference in the skin impedance between an area that is unhealthy and an area that is healthy, and the SCENAR picks that up.

When I determine where the asymmetries are, I focus on them and narrow down, through stroking, to what is called the “smallest asymmetry” in an area. Once found, I hold the device there until it gives me a signal that the healing chemicals (neuropeptides) have arrived at the spot. When they do, they immediately begin the process of healing, and the skin impedance changes. The device is looking for this and when it happens, there is a series of bells that tell us that the first “dose” of neuropeptides has arrived at the spot. The body’s healing attention is refocused on the area.

From there I look for other areas and treat them in the same way. There are typically several areas involved in neck and shoulder pain in the neck, upper back, shoulder, clavicle area in the front of the neck, and the muscles involved there.  I continue to treat any area that shows distress (asymmetries).

Usually, when I have treated all that I have found, you will feel substantial release from pain, more freedom of movement, and a sense of well being overall. Often this is most noticeable the next morning after the treatment.

Generally, after a SCENAR treatment, you will leave with a sense of relief from pain and an over all sense of well being in your body. The parasympathetic system is activated, so you will likely also feel a sense of relaxation.

It is important to drink water after a session because as the body heals it releases toxins from the tissues and you will want to wash them out of your system as efficiently as possible.

Chronic conditions may require 5 to 10 treatments.  Acute situations require fewer sessions which must done more frequently.

SCENAR is effective with any kind of injury, post surgery, and chronic conditions. If you have pain, call us at 828-337-6854. Mention this post for a 20% discount on the first session.