Being a woman is NOT a medical diagnosis.
“80% of people living with autoimmune conditions are women” – Dr. Gabor Mate
“Twice as many women experience depression during their lives as men” – Dr. Nicole Perla
“The #1 cause of premature death in women in Canada is heart disease and stroke.” – Heart and Stroke Foundation
It’s no secret that women’s health is under funded and under researched. Oftentimes when women vocalize their health concerns, they are told their symptoms aren’t real and all in their head. At Integrated Bodywork, we pride ourselves in our constant pursuit to advocate for our female patients’ health. Primarily, we empower women to remain autonomous with their healing by understanding that they know their body best. Our role as health care practitioners is to work with you to;
Make connections between your symptoms, active daily living and environments.
Brainstorm strategies and develop tools to provide on-going management.
Provide manual therapy to optimize your internal self-healing mechanisms.
Some tools that make a pivotal change in your health may include:
Osteopathy
The primary principle of osteopathy is knowing your body has its own self-regulating mechanisms. Your self-healing mechanisms can be disrupted if your bones/joints are not in their optimal position, they are “stuck” and have reduced mobility, and their vitality is low or diminished. An osteopath makes gentle suggestions to the body which allows these barriers to let go. The treatment continues for several days as your body integrates the new pathways.
Somatic exercise
Emotional repression, emotional abuse, and complex trauma have a negative impact on your health. The most common places the body holds onto these tensions are in the pelvic floor, jaw, diaphragm, and psoas muscles. Through somatic exercises, you gain an internal awareness of where your body holds tension and then release through gentle repetitive movement. As a result, your body systems are liberated to work in harmony.
Craniosacral therapy
Dural tension from inside the cranium, down the spinal cord, and into your sacrum/coccyx can overstimulate your nervous system, restrict joint mobility, and decrease circulation. An osteopathic approach addresses the dura using gentle manual techniques. Consequently, a calmer nervous system is achieved, stress and anxiety eliminated, and mental wellness amplified.
Blowing the smoke on women’s health: myths that may be affecting your healthcare.
Infertility is normal. Although very common, infertility is a sign your reproductive and gastrointestinal health are compromised.
Painful periods are normal. Again, dysmenorrhea is very common AND not normal. Light cramping is expected, but painful and debilitating symptoms are signals that your pelvic bowl and organs are in misalignment.
Female hormones are unpredictable. Hormones play a vital role in sending messages to other systems in your body. Starting from puberty, female hormones fluctuate in predictable patterns throughout the menstrual cycle and lifetime. Every woman’s cycle is different. Once your individual cycle changes and symptoms occur, your body is sending you signals that there is an imbalance in hormones.
Hormonal contraceptive/ the pill is medicine. Hormonal contraceptives were never intended to be used as medicine. As the name implies, the pill was designed as a method to prevent pregnancies. Using hormonal contraceptives as treatment for medical conditions may mask underlying health conditions.
