Frequently Asked Questions – Natural Health

Hi folks. Today I am going to do my best to answer some frequently asked questions about the therapies I practice. This is in the interests of dispelling some misconceptions and helping you better understand how natural therapies can help you. The ten FAQ’s below tend to relate to general massage and naturopathy, if you are after the main questions asked about  the Nutri-energetics System – N.E.S., then you can read them here. Enjoy.

1. I’ve just pulled a muscle in my back, can I book a massage to fix it? – Massage should never be performed upon a freshly injured muscle of connective tissue. Ice should be applied for the first 12-72 hours to reduce as much swelling and bruising as possible. The injury should always be assessed by a professional, either a doctor or physiotherapist. Massage can be applied after this time gradually to help with the healing and remobilization processes. massaging an injury immediately can cause a worsening of the injury and increase inflammation making it very painful.

2 . I have a cold and thought a masage would take away the aches. – I personally will not massage anyone who has a cold, flu or viral infection. Apart from the obvious cross infection risks to myself or patients, massage will worsen symptoms as it stimulates the lymphatic system. if you have bodily aches, more likely you have a flu anyway. Once the infection has passed, massage can aid recovery nicely.

3. I feel sluggish, will detoxifocation programmes help me?? – It really depends upon why you are sluggish. Some testing or scanning is always recommended by me to find the underlying causes of problems, treating symptoms alone is rarely, if ever, successful long term. Detoxification is always taking place in the body on a daily basis, without it you would die pretty quick! Detoxification programmes being sold out there at present are a bit of a sham. I will recommend a detox if you need it to get the liver function moving or the digestive process is stagnent. In these cases we are merely aiding the body to focus more energy on a process already occurring. The NES system I use will iniate a detox if it is needed and the body will do the rest. If you are eating plenty of fresh foods and staying away from junk, you will be keeping toxins at bay and your system at optimum.

4. Is herbal medicine safe for pregnant women? – On the whole yes, very safe when in the hands of a good Naturopath or herbalist. There are some herbs that are contraindicated for pregnancy and breastfeeding and your naturopath or herbalist will be up to date on those.

5. I am undergoing menopause, are there any safe natural remedies for this? – Believe it or not I still get asked this a lot! The simple answer is yes. There are many helpful ways to assist this process naturally. Synthetic and somewhat dangerous hormone replacement therapy is NOT the only way. Most naturopaths can help you with this.

6. Is there a safe natural way to lose weight? - Yes I still get asked this too! Yes of course there is. There are very few “programmes” out there that I would recommend but a visit to me will see you understanding why you are retaining weight and then how to lose it more realistically and permanently. Any good naturopath will help you with this. The NES system is very good at aiding this particular problem.

7. Is there a fast way to put muscle on using natural methods? – No! Eating a well balanced diet with lots of antioxidants and nutrients is essential as is a little extra protein, don’t go nuts on it though. The other ingredient, hard work and rest, more rest than hard work. You don’t grow whilst you are lifting weights, you grow when you rest. Be aware many trainers are all about making money and will tell you all sorts of junk to keep you in the gym….you don’t need to go to “failure” all the time… They will also try to sell you all sorts of supplements to help…all are crap!

8. I have a drug test in a week, can I have something to help flush out cannabis use? – NO! Don’t ask your naturopath this. It is unethical for them to do this, some will, but on the whole it is unethical. Your best bet is to get a clue and stay off the crap.

9. Can acupuncture/acupressure help me? – I know this is a broad question but it is usually attached to a “…with joint pain, lung trouble “etc, etc. The simple answer is yes. These therapies are very helpful for many and varied conditions and often provide relief from symptoms as well as aiding in long term removal of the problem where conventional medical treatments fail. They are also largely safe to use in conjunction with other therapies like herbs, pharmaceuticals if you must, nutrition, massage etc. See your licensed practitioner.

10. Why are supplements and herbs, remedies etc so expensive? – This is a very good question! One I would like to have an answer to myself! This is one of the main reasons I use the NES system. It is cheaper than most supplements and testing procedures as well as more acurate and provides more in depth information. I use supplements as an adjunct personally.

These are the main questions I am aksed all the time, if you have any you would like answered just add a comment to this post and ask away, I am only too happy to help out.

Best of health to you all.

Craig Hitchens. B.HSc.(Natural Health Care) Dip. Massage, Dip. Reflexology, NESCP, ATFTCP.

Natural Health Care – More Access?

Greeting to everyone.

Today’s post is a little different. You see I have been having discussions with some colleagues about the accessability of naturopathic and natural health/healing services in my area as well as in other areas of Australia. By this I mean due to the impending economic issues facing us all and the fact this will further impact the pricing of our services as practitioners of natural health modalities, should health funds and Medicare get of it’s arse and finally give us the recognition we deserve without all the B*LLSH*T so that people can have better access via more affordable fee rebates?

I personally feel that the prices I charge are reasonable and what I deserve to make, so do many other natural therapy practitioners. We feel that you, our clientelle, deserve a better deal from your health funds and medicare when it comes to rebates and help with affording the costs involved. We as natural health/healing practitioners must jump through ridiculous hoops ( and expensive ones! ) to get provider numbers to be able to offer rebates for starters only to find the amount actually rebated is a pittance! We feel you are being duped and forced to choose other than natural health/healing because of this. It is the same old story…vested interests of all involved in the conventional fields…no offence to doctors here…they are very over worked. This is a point also, we could take some of the pressure off them when it comes to simpler, more easily treated conditions.

I’d like you to have your say either as a practitioner or as a client of natural health services, or as a concerned individual. I want to hear your thoughts and comments please, so feel free to add them here. I will respond to all and I think it needs to be talked about by you, the people coming to us for treatment as ultimately it affects not only our practices and businesses, but you as well and neither will exist without the other so to speak!

Have a great day!

Craig Hitchens. B.HSc.