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Spring News

2015

In this issue:

Staff Updates — Now Offering Acupuncture

Congratulations to Susanne and the entire Young Family for the birth of her daughter Ava!
Sarah Dogherty, BA, RMT, joins our team as locum for Susanne, while she stays home for a few months on maternity leave.
Sabrina Lundquist, RAc, is a Registered Acupuncturist who joins our team with a passion for providing her clients with deeply relaxing treatments.

Osteopathic Treatments

Retrospective: International Osteopathic Healthcare Week, April 19–25, 2015
What is Osteopathy / Osteopathic Manual Treatment?
Rate Increase for Osteopathic Treatments
Osteopathic Study: A Chance to Receive FREE Osteopathic Treatments

302-1842 Oak Bay Ave
Victoria, BC V8R 1C2
Ph: 250.370.1020

Gift Certificates Available

Updated Hours

NOW OPEN LATE SATURDAYS
Monday to Saturday
8am to 8pm
NOW OPEN SUNDAY
8am to 5:30pm

Team Updates

Sarah Dogherty, BA, RMT, is locum for Susanne, while she stays home for a few months with new baby Ava.

Sarah graduated West Coast College of Massage Therapy in April 2014. She is passionate about massage therapy and is very excited to be filling in for Susanne here at Vitality. Prior to her massage therapy education, she spent four years in New Brunswick at Mount Allison University, where she earned her Bachelor of Arts Degree with a major in Sociology and a minor in English.

What she enjoys most about massage therapy is the wide spectrum of people she gets to meet and conditions she gets to treat. She understands the importance of treating each new client as a whole person and she loves the challenge of uncovering the root of dysfunction or pain, rather than simply treating symptomatically.

In her treatments she uses a combination of fascial work, muscle energy technique, trigger point therapy and passive and active movement in order to reduce pain, increase function and increase overall well-being.

Sarah is well versed in a multitude of musculoskeletal and systemic conditions; however, she is particularly interested in treating chronic neck and low-back pain, tension headaches, stress, anxiety and TMJ dysfunction. In her spare time Sarah enjoys running, hiking, yoga and reading.

Sarah Dogherty,
BA, RMT

Congrats to Suzanne + Family
Baby Bulletin

On Tuesday, May 12th, Suzanne gave birth to her daughter Ava. She is a tall one — having to wear 3 month pants for length!

Congratulations to the entire Young Family and welcome to the world Ava!

Now Offering Acupuncture

Sabrina Lundquist, RAc, is a Registered Acupuncturist with a passion for providing her clients with deeply relaxing treatments.

While acupuncture and relaxation might seem an odd pairing, what could be more relaxing than having that nervous stomach or muscle knot unwind?

Although North Americans typically save acupuncture for chronic health concerns, acupuncture works very well for acute issues. For example, the very fine needles allow acupuncturists to directly stimulate the shoulder capsule in frozen shoulder and tiny muscles under large thick muscles near the spine. The needles can also be used near inflamed areas that would usually be too sore to manipulate.

Traditional Chinese Medicine recognizes that a health condition is rarely just one symptom. A migraine occurs in the head but also can affect blood circulation in the whole body, digestion, neurological processing of light, sound and smells. During an acupuncture treatment the health history is examined for patterns to relieve not only the main complaint but also to reduce the chance of it returning.

Acupuncture is an effective way to get drug free relief from a large range of issues including allergies, headaches, digestive issues, hormone imbalances, repetitive strain disorders and mental-emotional disorders. Call or book online if you want to try a different approach to boosting your health.

Did You Know?

To be a Registered Acupuncturist in British Columbia you must have two years of post secondary education in liberal arts or sciences and graduate from a three year Acupuncture program. This program includes Traditional Chinese Medicine (theories of nature and human health and clinic practicum) and Biomedical training (anatomy and pathophysiology).

Acupuncture is recognized by the Medical Services Plan of BC ($23/visit for up to 10 visits for lower income families) and most Extended Health Insurance plans.

Acupuncture is only one aspect of Traditional Chinese Medicine. During a visit, other traditional therapies may include cupping, gently scraping the skin, herbal ointments, heat therapy, food choice modifications and sleep/exercise suggestions. Mild electrical stimulation of the acupuncture points (similar to TENS machines at a physiotherapy office) are sometimes used to reduce muscle tension and more strongly activate points without pain.

Sabrina Lundquist, RAc

Nettles

Spring
Super Food:
NETTLES

Nettles have a long history of medicinal use, dating back to the bronze age. They are an excellent source of iron, calcium, vitamin D and vitamin A. Nettles grow wild on Vancouver Island. Many people harvest them fresh (with great care and gloves), but for ease you can get nettles dried in bulk.

From a Chinese medicine view, nettles specifically build Yin via boosting the blood, helping regulate the metabolism and nourishing connective tissues.

Retrospective: International Osteopathic Healthcare Week,
April 19–25, 2015

We are proud to celebrate International Osteopathic Healthcare Week, during which we aim to raise awareness about our profession in order to encourage more people to experience the benefits of osteopathy.

Our practitioner, Cindy Filler, RMT, DOMP helped to produce a quick video about osteopathic healthcare in Canada, which you can watch here on youtube.

This is an exciting time for osteopathic practitioners because we are part of a growing professional community across the globe. The International Osteopathic Healthcare Week is lead by the Osteopathic International Alliance (OIA), which represents more than 75 organizations from 30 countries on five continents and more than 120,000 osteopathic practitioners.

What is Osteopathy / Osteopathic Manual Treatment (OMT)?

Osteopathy is a safe and effective approach to health care which works in combination with the individuals own homeostatic mechanisms to help restore homeostasis and optimal health. It understands the relationship between structure and function within the body and that all aspects of the body must work together to maintain health.

In practice an osteopathic practitioner will assess the whole body as a unit and not just the area that is causing symptoms. For example if you may complain of knee pain, the osteopathic practitioner will assess the function of the knee but also look for any compensations within the body that are a result or a cause of any dysfunction in the knee.

Once the osteopathic practitioner has assessed the whole body they will use a combination of techniques such as joint articulation, myofascial release, visceral and cranial, as appropriate for each individual. The result is that the knee will have less stress placed upon it, allowing for healing and a decrease in pain, while also improving the functional biomechanics throughout the body which may improve that difficult digestion and decrease those headaches that seemed to have nothing to do with the knee pain.

Osteopathic Study: Chance to Receive FREE Osteopathic Treatments

Do you or any one you know have Rheumatoid Arthritis?

If you have Rheumatoid Arthritis and are over the age of 18, you might qualify to take part in a manual osteopathic research study. The study runs for 8 weeks. You would be required to come in for 3 or 5 visits and will receive up to 4 FREE Manual Osteopathic Treatments.

If you are interested in participating in the study and/or would like more information please contact:
Caroline Geofroy
phone: 250.514.6806
email: manualosteopath@gmail.com