The doctor of the future will give no
medicines, but will interest his patients
in the care of the human frame, in diet,
and in the causes of disease.”
-Thomas Edison
Redefining Health
Taking Responsibility: Part 1
Every day I see patients suffering from pain and disease who want to live a healthier, happier life. I also see
them turning the responsibility for their health over to the healthcare provider. I want to encourage everyone to
commit to taking responsibility for your health. Every day you can wake up and take steps to becoming
healthier. Wouldn’t you rather be taking steps toward living a healthy, pain free and happy life? The number
one scenario I see in our culture that contributes directly to poor health is the consumption of nutritionally poor
foods. We are a nation of overweight but malnourished people. We have so many options to eat well and
when we choose not to, we directly affect our wellbeing and energy. I’m here to give you the wake up call.
Your health is in your hands. Take responsibility.
One major step in taking cotrol over our health is to simply give up consuming refined sugars. Don’t think this
will be easy. Almost every processed food has sugar added to it. Go ahead, start reading labels, see for
yourself. Studies have shown that the average person in the US consumes over 120 pounds of sugar a year!
Eating refined sugars can contribute to serious disease such as diabetes, depression, asthma, heart disease,
immune disorders, hypertension, arthritis, cancer and many more. Not to mention the highs and lows our
bodies go through trying to maintain homeostasis when we consume large amounts of sugar.
The second scenario I see is everyone wanting to take a pill and have their disease go away. It doesn’t always
work that way. Drugs treat symptoms not underlying causes. Even if the symptom goes away, the underlying
cause is still there and will return. It may return in the same form or maybe in a new form. Also, realize you
cannot rely on western or alternative medicine to replace the daily practice of healthy living. Doctors,
chiropractors, acupuncturists, massage therapists, reiki and alexander technique practitioners etc. are all just
pieces of the puzzle.
Thridly, practice stress reduction. There are many ways to do this and I do not advocate any particular one.
However, here are some basic helpful hints so YOU can start improving your health now:
· Eat a balanced diet void of refined sugars.
· Eat regularly with 3 balanced meals a day.
· Exercises to keep strength and improve flexibility (yoga and pilates are great for this).
· Put your health first.
· Practice stress reduction.
· Learn how to properly breath using your whole body.
· Read the book The Art of Effortless Living by Ingrid Bacci.
In chinese medicine, we directly influence our energy by consuming nutritous foods, taking herbal medicine,
receiving acupuncture, breathing properly and exercising in a way that promotes letting go of body holding
patterns which stagnate energy. Stagnation of energy is the #1 diagnosis in the clinic. Practicing the above
techniques will also make your acupuncture treatments more effective.
-RSD
Front Suspensory Desmitis
The suspensory ligament is divided into three separate regions that can incur injury: the proximal, body and
branches. The front limb suspensory originates from the palmar carpal ligament and the proximal aspect of the
third metacarpal bone (cannon bone). Each branch attaches to the sesamoid bones at the back of the fetlock
and then transverses the pastern to join the dorsal digital extensor tendon.
The overall function of the suspensory ligament is to prevent excessive extension of the fetlock. Injury occurs
when forces cause excessive stretch, tearing or rupture of the fibers. A pulling away of the suspensory from
the cannon bone is called an avulsion fracture. Varied lameness results with animals ranging from being only
mildly sore, to intermittent lameness, to experiencing thickening and warmth in the local area or to unfortunate
rupture of the ligament as the fetlock “sinks” toward the ground.
Diagnostics usually include a combination of lameness exam, nerve blocking, ultrasound, radiography and
nuclear scintigraphy. Treatment includes stall rest with a rehabilitation therapy consisting of progressive hand
walking along with new therapies such as shockwave, A cell, stem cell and/or a fasciotomy of the ligament
sheath.
The suspensory contains a variable amount of muscle tissue and is sometimes referred to as the middle
interosseous muscle. The hardest part of getting any suspensory lesion to heal is the lack of blood supply to
the area. All of the above therapies are centered on increasing the local circulation and helping the animal
develop healthy ligament tissue instead of scar tissue to fill in the lesion.
In TCM (Traditional Chinese Medicine), treatment is centered on strengthening the ligaments, increasing
circulation of qi and blood, nourishing Liver blood and relieving pain.
Both the summer of 2005 and 2006 Rebecca was blessed with getting to work on quite a few racehorses with
high suspensory soreness. The horses with severe lesions were sent to the farm for rest and did not receive
acupuncture. One horse whose ultrasound showed significant lesions received treatments prior to going to the
farm and it decreased his recovery time from 6 to 3 months. The remaining 8 horses received acupuncture
either 1 or 2 times per week for 3-4 weeks. Not only were they able to stay in work but they returned to full work
in 4 weeks. In addition, the horses have not had a recurrence. The horses, owners, trainers and Rebecca
were very happy with the results.
JUSTIN
Client Feedback
Rebecca,
I wanted to take a moment to thank you for helping my horse, Justin. He sustained an acute injury to his left
hind limb following a sliding stop into a gate while in the paddock on January 6th. He was diagnosed by New
Bolton Center via an ultrasound and full body nuclear scintigraphy with a pulled semimembranosus and
semitendinosus (hamstring muscles) and an avulsion fracture of the ventral aspect of the left tuber ischii.
Justin was treated by New Bolton for 8-1/2 months to monitor the hematoma and avulsion fracture as they
healed. He continued to experience fluid around his biceps femoris muscles and remained tender and weak in
his hind end. As I was instructed to increase his flat work it seemed as though he became weaker and weaker.
I was also unable to maintain his weight and he had developed a scruff type skin rash along the
semimembranosus and semintendinosus muscles on his left hind. At this point I realized that he had other
injuries and areas of his hind end that needed attention.
Once Justin was released from New Bolton Center, I had him evaluated by Dr. Roger Scullin. He diagnosed the
scruff type skin rash to be caused by a pinched nerve. Dr. Scullin was also concerned that so much fluid
remained along the biceps femoris area as well as Justin’s drop in weight and muscle tone with the increased
work. At the time of Dr. Scullin's initial evaluation, Justin was lame in 3 out of 4 limbs. It was at Dr. Scullin’s
recommendation that I call Rebecca Douglass for acupuncture treatments.
I noticed a remarkable difference after the first treatment. It was obvious that he was in much less pain. Once
the nerve was released, the fluid and swelling began to dissipate, he began gaining a few pounds and the
scruff type skin rash began to clear up on its own. The weekly treatments that followed also proved to relieve
Justin’s pain and discomfort. He became sounder and sounder with each treatment.
Ten months later Justin is well on his way to being completely healed. I am currently flatting Justin in full work
as well as jumping 2’6” cross rails to continue to stretch out the muscles that he held so tight for 8-1/2 months.
I truly appreciate the time and care that you gave him during his treatments. It was obvious that your main
concern was helping Justin feel as good as he can, as quickly as he can.
Thank you,
Sherry Cash
Tying Up
Exertional rhabdomyolysis or tying up is a common muscle disorder affecting almost all breeds and seriously
affecting performance. Tying up is a complex problem with numerous causes including but not limited to
nutritional imbalances, recurring respiratory disorders, and inappropriate training. It is most commonly seen in
nervous fillies and has an inherited stress induced component causing a defect in muscle contraction.
Signs include losing strength and speed during exercise, stiffness of gait, excessive sweating, increased
respiratory rate, inability to walk forward, symmetrical painful muscle contractions and of course elevation of
serum muscle enzymes.
Treatment by your veterinarian must be provided. However, prevention is the best treatment especially in
chronic cases. A daily routine, minimizing stress, regular turnout, daily exercise with a long slow warm-up,
balanced diet with good quality hay, low carbohydrate diet and a regimen of acupuncture all help decrease the
number of episodes of tying up.
In Chinese Medicine tying up is Bi syndrome in the muscles and includes pathogenic factors of Wind, Cold and
Damp. These pathogenic factors in turn cause blood and qi stagnation. Rebecca has also seen evidence of
horses tying up from Liver excess with heat and stagnation causing pain in the muscles. Treatment includes
acupuncturing points that relax the muscles, move Liver qi, activate blood, warm the channels and dispel wind
cold damp Bi. Rebecca has also had success with using the Qi Gong machine to quickly relieve the muscles
and give the horse comfort. Rebecca recommends the horse having acupuncture along with their western
medications for the best effect. The combination quickly pulls them out of an episode and prevents recurrence.
Future Equine Topics:
· EPSSM
· Headshaking Syndrome
· Redefining Health: Part 2
Glossary of Terms
TCM: Traditional Chinese Medicine.
Qi: Term used to describe the energy which flows through the body.
Qi stagnation: When energy becomes stuck and either slows in movement or ceases movement.
Bi syndrome: A painful obstruction syndrome indicating pain, soreness, numbness of muscles, tendons and
joints.
Meridians/Channels: Pathways in which the qi flows throughout the body connecting organs and tissues into a
whole.
Pathogenic Factors: External pathogens which invade the body and cause disease. In TCM these consist of
Wind, Cold, Damp, Dryness, Fire, Summer Heat.
5 Zang organs: Heart, Liver, Lungs, Spleen and Kidneys. In TCM, each organ has functions, senses, and
emotions that are much broader in range than in western medicine.