New E-Book Available For FREE!

I recently put out an E-Book together with another acupuncturist named Kevin Doherty.  We wrote this book to explain acupuncture and Chinese medicine in terms everyone can understand.

Acupuncture can seem so foreign and strange, so mysterious.  Well in our E-Book “How To Thrive in The Modern World: A Layman’s Guide to Chinese Medicine” we break down all those barriers.

I invite you to visit my website www.wholisticfamily.com and download your FREE copy TODAY!

Enjoy!

Deep Vein Thrombosis

This past week the Office of the Surgeon General of the United States issued a press release as a call to action regarding Deep Vein Thrombosis (DVT). I would like to spread the word about this via this medium. Deep Vein Thrombosis is the formation of a blood clot, usually in the deep and large veins of the legs. If this clot becomes dislodged and moves it can become a pulmonary embolism (a blood clot in the lungs) or it can get stuck in any of the other major organs of the body. It can be fatal.
First some facts: DVT kills more people in the United States than AIDS and breast cancer combined. According to the Surgeon General, “Deep vein thrombosis and pulmonary embolism affect an estimated 350,000 to 600,000 Americans each year and incidence is expected to increase as the U.S. population ages. Together, deep vein thrombosis and pulmonary embolism are estimated to contribute to at least 100,000 deaths each year.”
While DVT can occur without any symptoms there are definitive signs and symptoms and certain populations of people with higher risk. Know what the symptoms are and whether you are in a higher risk category.
According to the Mayo Clinic symptoms include (not an exhaustive list and check with your doctor):
Swelling in the affected leg(s), usually it occurs in one leg, but can occur in both; this can include swelling in your ankles and feet.
Pain in your legs; this can include pain in your ankles and feet. This pain often starts in your calf and can feel like cramping or a “charley horse.”
Redness and warmth over the affected area.
Pain or swelling in your arms or neck. This can occur if a blood clot forms in your arms or neck.
Deep vein thrombosis and pulmonary embolism warning signs
Sometimes the first sign of deep vein thrombosis can be the chest pain associated with a pulmonary embolism. If this is the case, seek medical help immediately. The warning signs and symptoms of a pulmonary embolism include:
Chest pain or discomfort. This pain or discomfort usually gets worse when you take a deep breath or when you cough.
Unexplained sudden onset of shortness of breath. This is the most common symptom.
Feeling lightheaded or dizzy, or fainting.
Coughing up blood.
A sense of anxiety or nervousness.
Now of course these symptoms look like a lot of things but better safe than sorry.
Listed on ehealthMD deep vein thrombosis is the result of three principal factors:
1. Reduced or stagnant blood flow in deep veins (venous stasis).
2. Injury to the blood vessel wall.
3. An increase in the activity of those substances in the blood that are part of the normal clotting mechanism, a condition called hypercoagulability (which means a more active clotting state).
A number of factors can bring about these conditions, thus increasing the possibility of developing DVT. These include:
•    Immobilization, such as lying in bed following surgery
•    Having undergone a surgical procedure
•    Having been subjected to major trauma
•    Increasing age
•    Malignancy (cancerous tumor)
•    Heart failure
•    A previous bout with deep vein thrombosis
•    Pregnancy
•    The use of oral contraceptives and hormone replacement therapy
Need To Know:
Surgical procedures that are most often associated with deep vein thrombosis are:
•    Major pelvic or abdominal surgery, especially for malignancy (cancer)
•    Orthopedic operations involving the hip and knee
•    Neurosurgical procedures
The following factors also put people at greater risk of developing a blood clot:
•    Prolonged immobilization (such as on a long car or airplane trip) - sitting for long periods (4 hours or more) reduces circulation in legs by 50 percent.
•    Diabetes (a disorder in which the body can not make use of sugars and starches in a normal way), which damages blood vessels.
•    Obesity - weight puts pressure on veins, causing them to weaken.
•    Childbirth - physical strain of childbirth puts pressure on deep veins, causing them to weaken.
•    Tobacco smoking - damages blood vessels and doubles the risk of thrombosis.
People over the age of 50 are at a higher risk, but DVT can affect anyone at any age.   And according to the Surgeon General “African-Americans and Whites are more likely than other ethnic groups to develop a DVT or a pulmonary embolism. African-Americans are estimated to be at 30 percent greater risk compared to Whites.”
DVT and pulmonary embolism can be prevented and treated.  If you have any concerns after reading this please talk to your doctor.
At my clinic located in downtown Silver Spring,  MD I offer acupuncture, massage therapy and many other holistic health modalities.  We are near Washington, DC, a few blocks from the Red Line Silver Spring station.

Did You Know the Five Surprising Benefits of Massage?

To the people who know about massage and what it can do, this will be preaching to the choir. But to those who do not you will find an article published in Newsweek on September 4^th quite surprising to quote the article.

I recommend this article as a very good read about the benefits of massage.  Move your mouse over the title and click on it to link to the article.

Five Surprising Benefits of Massage

By Temma Ehrenfeld

Massage is available at my office located in Downtown Silver Spring, MD, close to Washington DC and just blocks from the Red Line’s Silver Spring Station.

Acupuncture and Family Stress

Stress is one of today’s most common causes of problems and disease among people today. I don’t think we even realize how much stress we are under as individuals or as families. Nor do I think we recognize what it is doing to us and our lives. Sure there was always stress, it is a basic component of our makeup. Without stress we would have died out as a species.

How can that be you are asking? Well if you are asking that question, you simply don’t understand stress and the important role it plays in our survival. Please don’t be insulted, as I mean no harm. It is just that we are so far removed from nature that we don’t know any more what is natural and what is not.

Every person has an autonomic nervous system. This autonomic nervous system is divided into two parts – the sympathetic nervous system and the para-sympathetic nervous system. The sympathetic nervous system controls those responses of our bodies that are not under our control. For example, flight or fight, pupil dilation in the dark, mouth watering when we are hungry or smell good food. The para-sympathetic nervous system controls systems while we are at rest. For example, digestion while resting, breathing while resting.

Stress and reaction to it fall under the purview of the sympathetic nervous system and is part of the fight or flight response system in our bodies. Basically it is a keep me alive warning system. What I mean by this is that we humans along with most animals have an early warning system built in, like when the hair on the back of your neck stands up or when you get the nervous feeling in the pit of your stomach when you know something is wrong. That is the natural reaction to stress. You then have to start processing that signal and decide whether you should stand and fight or run for your life (hence the term - fight or flight). Problem is we can’t always discern what is real and what is only in our heads. The body does not know whether the attack is actual or not. The body does not know if the attack is from inside our brain or if someone is physically coming at us. It just senses stress and reacts.

What are the reactions? Our breathing speeds up and becomes more shallow, heart rate speeds up, digestion stops, our eyes dilate, elimination processes stop (so long as we are not in a sudden scare). In other words all non-essential functions for maintaining life stop and those needed for maintaining life go into overdrive.

In today’s world we all live and work in very hectic and demanding times. Whether it comes from work or relationships or traffic, our reaction is the same, namely we get upset and perhaps get ready for a fight. We will protect ourselves from any perceived assaults.
One can only imagine, or perhaps you don’t need to imagine what this does to our bodies and the people around us.

In my practice I like to use a parable that goes like this: Imagine you are the president. As president you are commander-in-chief and can call out the army to defend the mother land any time you wish. Well what do you think would happen to your army if you were constantly calling it out and sending it to the front to fight, only every time the army got there was no enemy in sight. They would wear out and get very tired of this and perhaps even get angry at you, the president. Well I tell my patients, you are the both the president and the country all in one. Every time you get upset or stressed you are calling out the army. The army is your nervous system and stress is your early warning system. If you keep calling out the troops because your early warning system is constantly being activated, what do you think the result will be?

Now just think how all of this is affecting your job, your family and even your own health. Everyone of those things will suffer and deteriorate. Eventually one could start to lose these things, some never to return. It is time to start reconnecting with what is really important in life, what we should allow to affect our lives. We all have the power to change we just have to have the will. It is the responsibility of changing that we don’t seem to want. We don’t want to do anything that takes effort anymore. We are so used to instant gratification and if we don’t get it, well then….

At Wholistic Family Healthcare we are all about taking the time to heal. Healing takes time, there are no two ways about it. We can help you slow down, we can help you heal, we can help you take stress out of your life. You just have to be willing to make the changes necessary and then you can heal. We are the helpers, we are the healers, but we can’t make you do anything - that is your job. Acupuncture, Chinese herbs and massage therapy are the tools we use to help you heal.

If you are truly interested in making a change in your life and that of your families then let’s talk and see if we can help you. If you are ready to accept responsibility for yourself and your health then let’s talk and see if we can help you. If you want instant results and want to take a pill and hope you feel better in the morning…then we are not for you.

My clinic is located in Silver Spring, MD close to Washington DC.

Simeon Pollock Present at Bill Signing

Simeon Pollock was present on Thursday April 24, 2008, as Maryland Governor Martin O’Malley signed into law an act creating the Maryland State Board of Chiropractic and Massage Therapy Examiners.

Holistic Massage in Washington, DC

I’ve been performing holistic massage in the Washington, DC area for the past five years. Over that time, I’ve noticed that patients who are seeking holistic massage are usually suffering from stress.

Here is a Holistic Health Minute I recorded about the benefits of holistic massage:

Holistic massage is an integral part of Chinese medicine. Human beings have suffered from stress since they were tossed out of the Garden of Eden and holistic massage has been there for thousands of years, helping to relieve the stress and provide health benefits.

If you’re in the Washington, DC area, Wholistic Family Healthcare is located in downtown Silver Spring, steps from the Metro’s Red Line. Call for an appointment 301-495-0303

Investing in your health – your #1 Asset!

Lately I have been reading a book entitled RICH DAD POOR DAD by Robert T Kiyosaki, and in his book he stresses the importance of investing in assets – things that produce income. I thought to myself what is a person’s #1 asset? Well of course the answer is oneself and one’s health. Without these two “things” one cannot produce anything let alone an income.

I speak to groups all the time about protecting their health, being proactive in maintaining their wellbeing – mind, body and spirit. The one example I use is that of one’s car. Who does not make sure to change the oil and other vital fluids in their vehicle to make sure it runs well. Ask any mechanic what the #1 maintenance item is for any vehicle and they will tell you – “change the oil every three thousand miles or every three months whichever comes first” – right?

Let me ask you a question – why don’t we do the same for ourselves? Now I don’t mean we should change our oil, but we should be taking care of our bodies, minds and spirits.
Massage is a great way to enhance your health. A massage can loosen and invigorate tired muscles. It can also relax the body and calm the mind and thereby relax the spirit. This can lower blood pressure, increase range of motion, calm, lower stress, reduce pain and so much more.

Acupuncture is another great way to enhance your health. An acupuncture treatment
can also relax the body , calm the mind and relax the spirit. Acupuncture can reduce pain, improve digestion, help with conception, reduce reaction to seasonal allergies, reduce or eliminate PMS or menopausal hot flashes and sweats. Acupuncture can also make changes in the qi the body’s energy, which if functioning properly maintains your health.
Combining these two modalities along with others that I know can have Powerful benefits for you mind, body and spirit. These benefits are dividends that your body will pay. Some of these dividends are – clearer and sharper thinking, being more productive, having a better attitude and disposition with friends and loved ones, a calmer home and office, more or increased flexibility, decreased sickness, decreased lost work days and the list can go on.

So get to it, invest in yourself! Pick up the phone and call me right now to schedule your appointments to get started on the road to riches!  My clinic is located in Silver Spring, MD which is close to Washington DC.

Stress in Your Workplace?

In an article published in the Business section of the Washington Post on February 19, 2008, author Vickie Elmer discussed the effects of stress in the workplace.

In her article, Ms. Elmer that if you are “angry and overloaded because your hours keep growing as the staff gradually shrinks, don’t expect much help from management.” [Read more]

Top Ten List to Avoid Low Back Injury While Shoveling!

Every Winter the snow falls and most people don’t think twice about grabbing that shovel and heading out the door to shovel the walk, driveway or dig the car(s) out. Every winter I get people coming in to see me for relief from their aching back. Most of the time it is their lower back that has seized up, or as I like to say - went into spasm.

These injuries are preventable for the most part. [Read more]

Maryland Governor Wants to Tax Massage

Dear Reader:

Today begins a special session of the Maryland legislature in which the legislature will begin to debate Governor O’Malley’s proposals to close the State’s budget gap. One of the ways in which Gov. O’Malley wants to do this is to impose sales tax on massage therapy. This would make massage the only health care modality in Maryland to have such a tax applied to it.

I urge you to contact the governor and your state legislators and voice your opposition to this proposal.

Here is my letter to the Governor, which you may fell free to copy and use.

 

Dear Governor O’Malley:

 

I am writing you in opposition to your initiative to apply sales tax to
Massage Therapy.

 

This would forever change the rules of the game as it were, on what sales
tax could be collected for. Your proposal, would for the first time in
Maryland’s history apply sales tax to a health care modality.

This would unfairly penalize massage therapists & their patients/clients.
It would open the opportunity for physical therapists to practice massage
without such a sales tax giving them an unfair advantage and thereby
discriminating against massage therapists. It would effectively raise the
cost of massage because it is generally not covered by health insurance.

 

I do not understand how you can justify the taxation of a health care
modality. I can under stand the need to fund the States’s budget, but not
at the expense of my health care and of those I serve.

 

I look forward to hearing from you on this issue.

 

Sincerely,

 

Simeon Pollock

Here is important contact info.

Governor O’Malley: State House, 100 State Circle, Annapolis, MD 21401-1925

governor@gov.state.md.us

For your State Senator the email address is (adding in your state senator’s name): firstname.lastname@senate.state.md.us

For your Delegate the email address is (adding in your delegate’s name):

firstname.lastname@house.state.md.us

Please do this Today!

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