The word naprapathy means “to correct suffering.” Naprapathy specializes in treating connective tissue. Naprapaths use their hands to ascertain tension findings then gently release and adjust these specific points of tension to gain alignment. This process frees nerve conduction pathways and increases blood supply, thereby promoting the body’s innate natural healing abilities.
As a Naprapath I treat a wide variety of muscular skeletal complaints. Some of the most common are neck, back, shoulder and hip pain. Treatments are also effective in the treatment of muscle spasms, tendonitis, bursitis and degenerative arthritis. I specialize in treating pain and focus specifically on a patient’s pain in a way that I believe is unique as a practitioner. I patiently hold a patient’s pain point with a slight pressure until it dissipates.
I am often lucky enough to help a patient in pain who had not been helped by other practitioners. For example, I successfully treated a patient who suffered shoulder pain for over a year. This patient had MRI findings of a slight tear in a shoulder tendon. Visual examination of the patient’s posture, combined with knowledge of the patient’s occupation as a school teacher, and palpation of pain point tenderness, lead me to decide it was also important to treat the patient’s neck. All prior treatments had been directed toward the slightly torn tendon and the shoulder. I find it is sometimes an error practitioners make to consider imaging findings alone when trying to decipher the cause of a patient’s pain.
I first worked on the patient’s affected shoulder, treating pain points around the shoulder and upper arm. I then loosened the affected shoulder joint girdle in all ranges of motion. I loosened the unaffected shoulder joint girdle as well for the sake of balance. I then began to work on specific muscle contractures in the neck by holding pain points in the muscles affected. I then stretched the neck to increase all range of motion of the cervical spine. This technique generally feels very good to the patient. Finally, I gently manipulated the neck to achieve a better alignment of the cervical spine. I ended the treatment using a topical Arnica cream on the affected painful areas.
I sent the patient home with self care instructions on how to stretch the neck and shoulders and where to apply ice to reduce inflammation. Ice is the best natural anti-inflammatory medicine we have!
After two treatments this patient had no report of pain in the shoulder.