Naturopathic Medicine

Physical Medicine visits offer many ways to improve your well-being, recover from your injuries and strengthen your immune system. You may be referred to physical medicine for certain health concerns, such as muscle strains, arthritic and other types of pain, as well as detoxification and immune support.

Treatments offered include:

Physiotherapy

• Therapeutic ultrasound: Ultrasonic therapy to promote recovery, especially in musculotendinous injuries
• Interferential: Low-frequency electrical stimulation that can be very helpful for pain management
• Additional therapies: Cold laser therapy, therapeutic/functional exercise

Manual Therapy

• Naturopathic manipulation: A safe and effective technique to realign the body’s skeletal system
• Muscle energy stretching: This stretching technique helps retrain hypertonic muscles
• Kinesio taping: Therapeutic elastic taping can help retrain and support the body while allowing the body to continue to move freely (whereas conventional athletic taping is rigid and restrictive)
• Additional modalities: Soft and deep tissue manipulation, craniosacral thearapy, visceral manipulation, reciprocal inhibition technique

Hydrotherapy

• Colon hydrotherapy: Frequently prescribed in a detoxification regimen
• Constitutional hydrotherapy: An older method of stimulating the body’s vital force and immune system.
• Additional therapies: Hyperthermia and peat baths, contrast hydrotherapy, far infrared sauna.

Initial physical medicine appointments last one hour, and follow-up office calls range from 15 minutes to one hour.

Keep in mind that you may feel very relaxed after your appointment. You may want to consider whether you have other obligations, such as returning to a job, when scheduling an appointment. Your hair may be wet or there may be massage oil or cream on your body. You also might want to bring a change of clothes for certain treatments. Call us at (206) 834-4100 beforehand to find out what to expect with your scheduled treatment.

Homeopathy is a natural, nontoxic therapeutic system of healing that assists in the inherent ability of the body to heal itself. Homeopathic medicines or "remedies" use very small amounts of plant, mineral, or animal substances to stimulate a person's innate healing ability and to strengthen the entire system.

Homeopathic remedies are particularly effective for depression, anxiety, allergies, infections, gynecological concerns, skin conditions, digestive problems, and a variety of chronic and acute conditions including colds and flu. Initial appointments in homeopathic team care are 1¾ hours and follow-up appointments are one hour. You might be referred to homeopathy by your naturopathic care team, but you can also request it yourself.

Naturopathic doctors use medicinal plants to treat diseases.  Herbs and supplements may be prescribed to assist with many conditions, such as anxiety, hypertension, insomnia, and fatigue. After your appointment, you can pick up your prescription at the Natural Medicine Shop. 

As part of your care plan, it may be suggested you consider IV therapy.  Intravenous Therapy is a procedure that uses an intravenous drip to infuse essential vitamins, minerals, and amino acids directly into the body. This allows higher levels of nutrients to be introduced into the body than is possible via oral vitamins or supplements. It can be used to treat acute conditions such as colds, flu, dehydration, or shingles, or to help with fatigue and overall immune support.

IV therapies can be customized to your health needs but also include these standard offerings: 

• B-12
• Glutathione
• High Dose Vitamin C
• Myer’s Cocktail

To learn more about our IV therapy services and pricing, please contact a patient services representative at (858) 246-9730.

Mind-body medicine is a collaborative process between you and your clinician. Together we help you identify your concrete treatment goals, your assessment strategies and home practices to move you toward those goals.

Because the first step of mind-body medicine involves self-awareness, you will be invited to monitor your physical sensations, moods and emotions, thought patterns and habitual behaviors. You will also be asked to engage in home practices that mirror the training you practice in session.

Consistent use of mind-body techniques that can help produce a health-promoting state include:

• Biofeedback This technique helps you learn how to use your own bodily signals to improve your health and well-being. By monitoring bodily signals, you can gain control over physiological reactions that are usually considered unconscious or automatic.
• Meditation and mindfulness training
• Autogenic training and self-hypnosis
• Guided imagery
• Breathwork
• Journaling
• Relaxation techniques
• Physical and postural exercises

Research has shown that the more you practice outside of sessions, the more effective your training will be.

Naturopathic doctors utilize food, enzymes, vitamins, and minerals to optimize the body’s healing process.