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.

Why Consumers Turn to Alternative Medicine

In June of 2009, the Journal of Consumer Research published a study  that asks in layman’s terms why consumers choose to use alternative medicine. Based on surveys done in the US, China, and India, the authors found that consumers prefer alternative medicine when they are uncertain about the cause of an illness because holistic medicine tolerates uncertainty better than western medicine. Most alternative modalities favor a holistic approach, view the mind and body as a whole system, and rely on inductive tools and methods for treatment. The study also found that survey respondents preferred holistic approaches because they tend to focus on underlying sources of the problems rather than symptom alleviation, which is the focus of western medicine.

In another study reported in the June 2008 Journal of General Internal Medicine, primary care physicians who see the bulk of patients with chronic pain are frustrated by the limited options of western medicine (opioid drugs, physical therapy, or surgery), and the overwhelming numbers of alternative therapies which are only now being researched more empirically. This makes it difficult for them to know what treatment will work for a given patient. The researchers also say that these physicians have not been well trained in pain management.

Reading these studies brought to mind a client we have worked with who had surgery to treat a dangerous narrowing of his cervical vertebrae that could have impinged on his spinal cord causing paralysis. He had been in constant pain for nearly a year since the surgery. In working with him with the SCENAR, it was pretty clear that the muscles of his upper back were in severe spasm, likely from trying to adjust to relating in a new way to the four fused vertebrae in his neck. He related that he had developed significant pain in his mid back as well that radiated around to the sides. When he talked to his neurologist about it, he was told that it was his heart and he was sent to a cardiologist who after running numerous tests said that his heart was fine. The neurologist had nothing further to offer about the intractible pain the client was suffering. It was after that experience that he decided to try something alternative. The SCENAR identified the area in distress and the treatment greatly reduced his pain there as well as in his upper back. The SCENAR  assists the body to gently relax spasming muscles so they can return to their normal positions, thus relieving pain. The experience of this client exemplifies why consumers turn to alternative medicine.

Acute Injury + SCENAR = Amazing Results

Since September 3, I’ve been visiting my son, daughter-in-law, and grandchildren in New Jersey. On my first night there, not being used to climbing over baby gates (my granddaughter is 14 months old), I caught my left braced foot on the top of the gate I was attempting to get over, and down that gate and I went.  I landed on my right knee (my good one) with my full weight and momentum. Falls at my age with Post Polio Syndrome are scary. All kinds of less than wonderful scenarios passed through my mind about what kind of effect the fall might have on my visit, as I went down. I hobbled over to the couch to assess the damage. I had nearly drawn blood from the carpet burn, but not quite. The area was dark red, and beginning to swell. I reached for the SCENAR and began treating the knee with the protocols for acute injury. After 20 minutes the pain was gone. I put ice on it for another 15 minutes, and when I stood up after that, it felt ok. The next morning, I hadn’t even thought about my knee, with all the excitement of an awakening family, until my son asked me about it. I looked at it. No redness, no swelling, no bruising, and the abrasion looked like a patch of dry skin. I’ve not had any further issues with it at all.

It is always fun when a client comes in to Healing Innovations with pain that is the result of a recent injury. The results, although not as dramatic as if treatment could have been given moments after the injury, are generally dramatic and exciting. The SCENAR is good to use post surgery for the same reason, and those we’ve worked on have recovered faster and with less pain than anticipated.

We have also worked with athletes in training and they found that their training progressed with much less discomfort and with increased stamina and energy.

In Russia the SCENAR is called the “ambulance in a box.” Its applications with acute injury deserve that description.

If you are an athlete in training or if you have had a recent acute injury or surgery, call Healing Innovations for a 30% discount on a treatment. Just mention that you read about it on the blog to get the discount.

Call us at 828-337-6854 and we will schedule an appointment for you.

Benefits and Applications of SCENAR

So, what does SCENAR do that is different from what traditional medicine offers for pain relief? The biggest benefit is that it alleviates pain rapidly without drugs or  invasive procedures. Using the body’s own adaptive capacity, the SCENAR wakes up the brain and central nervous system to the areas of pain that need attention, and often accelerates the body’s process of doing what it is designed to do: HEAL ITSELF. Although drugs can provide pain relief, they often interfere with the body’s self-healing ability and create negative “side effects”. What we are trying to do is relieve our pain, but we may end up constipated or woozy or addicted.

SCENAR causes the release of regulatory chemicals called neuropeptides, including endorphins, which naturally alleviate pain. By using frequencies native to the body, SCENAR supports the body in doing the healing work that is its natural capacity. So, not only does the SCENAR alleviate pain, but it supports the body in healing the issue that is creating the pain. Because it speaks to the body in the body’s own language, it can speed up the healing ability so that positive results occur more rapidly than could be accomplished without it.

Under what circumstances and conditions is getting a SCENAR treatment helpful? Although pain is always a good indicator that a treatment would be helpful, the SCENAR, in its support of the body healing itself, can affect other dynamics besides  pain. For instance, the SCENAR has an anti-inflammatory effect, anti-venom effect,  it lowers fever, reduces swelling and edema in general, promotes tissue regeneration, and helps the body in its effort to restore homeostasis. So, it can have a wide ranging effect from fast recovery of  insect stings to muscle strains and sprains, and  from chronic pain syndromes to post operative recovery. In Russia, the SCENAR accompanies the ambulance responders and is also used in hospitals to promote a quicker recovery from surgical procedures without having to use as many pain medications.

So, in essence, the SCENAR can be helpful anytime there is a need to recover the body’s natural balance, whether an imbalance occurs from injury, pain, surgery, infection or anything else. We carry our SCENAR everywhere with us, just in case. On many occassions, we have been glad we did.