The recent article by NPR, Flattening The 'Mummy Tummy' With 1 Exercise, 10 Minutes A Day, starts off with a sensational, grabbing title. A click bait title that we wouldn't expect from a trusted news source like NPR. But it certainly got your attention, especially if you recently had a baby and now are feeling a little weak around the core. And since this is NPR this should be safer than something random you pull off the internet, right? Well, yes and no.
With addiction, deep fractures are drawn between our mind and our body, our needs and our habits, our emotions and our actions, and in the relationships that we have to ourselves and to others. Yoga, on the other hand, is connection.
It's a great time to pay attention to how stress is affecting you. Common stressors include work, family, money, children, illness and more. Stress can impact both your body and your mind causing symptoms such as muscular pain, irritability, fatigue, and headaches. Here's how we can help...
According to CDC data, 32% of women delivering a baby did so via C-section in 2015. Some of these are elective (planned) & others unplanned or emergent. If you are one of the 32%, what can you expect following a C-section?
Do you feel like your insurance coverage gets more confusing each year? That’s probably because it does! It seems like each year there is another rule or exception to your plan but the cost keeps going up. Here at Jade, we are often asked, “how much will this cost?” The answer isn’t as easy at it seems.
We are thrilled to announce our partnership with Maine Squeeze Juice Cafe! Maine Juice Cafe, located in the heart of the Old Port offers high quality blended fruit & vegetable smoothies as well as fresh squeezed juices.
Goodbye winter, hello spring! The warmth of the sun on our skin has been long over due however transitioning into the warmer months isn't always a walk in the flower emerging park. Here are 5 yoga poses to clear out those winter blues and ready your body and mind for the warmer months in front of us!
For some time now I have been practicing Traditional Chinese Medicine. Many times I wondered what the greatest impact I could possibly make as a Licensed Acupuncturist in the State of Maine. Katie Thomas’ article in The New York Times, Patients Prescribed Narcotic Painkillers Use More of Them for Longer, Study Finds, brought that need to a crisp reality. Maine was #1 in the country for Opiate pain medication prescribing three years ago and Ms. Thomas’ article gave stunning facts of what those prescriptions make possible in the lives of Mainers. In The Times article, it is said that nearly half of the people who used their pain med prescription for thirty days are still using their meds three years later. Conversely, my fifteen years of experience with reducing pain, few see me in terms of years and acupuncture is not habit forming. Prescription med overdose is the leading accidental cause of death with 16,000 deaths nationwide in 2012. In chronic situations, one third of those prescribed pain meds had concurrent prescriptions for anti-anxiety drugs & muscle relaxants. If susceptible, addiction seems likely for those just trying to get beyond their injury or surgery. Other tools to reduce pain medicine prescriptions must be used.
America’s National Institute for Health support the use of acupuncture for the relief of pain. At Jade Integrated Health we ask doctors directly if there is a way to integrate the use of acupuncture to reduce pain and minimize the use of potentially addictive meds. Much of the time the visits are from folks in the chronic pain med use category and have additional sleep problems, anxiety or depression. All those additional symptoms are treatable with acupuncture, often times providing an opportunity to reduce or eliminate prescriptions for those additional imbalances.
Our dream here at Jade is providing Physicians a choice for their patients chronic or acute pain. We offer a well balance array of services provided by expert level clinicians. Pain will always be a part of living and currently medications are the most common solution used. When offered that solution please consider potential consequence for addiction as mentioned above. Ask your Medical Provider for non-addictive choices like Acupuncture, Yoga, Massage and Meditation.
How do you find the right doctor? Physical therapist? Acupuncturist? Most patients are finding time with their healthcare providers shrinking. The time spent with your healthcare provider is important so that all your questions and concerns are heard, not to mention thoughtful discussion about the best treatment or wellness plan for you. Here are some questions that you may want to ask a potential health care provider:
As a physical therapist, I see how healthcare time is spent, both as a patient and a provider. From my perspective, not having enough time with patients leads to sub-standard care. I feel fortunate to be a part of a model that is truly patient centered and really meets the quality standards that many espouse, but do not actually deliver. I encourage you all to look closely and make sure that you are not a “number” in your healthcare provider's office. The greatest compliments we receive at Jade, from both employees and patients, is that they feel listened to, are in a cheerful office, receive high quality care and are grateful for the TIME we spend with them.
This is how Jade answers the above questions:
We’re sure that you have questions of your own, so we look forward to spending time answering them!
Give us a call today for a 30 Minute Free Consultation! (207) 773-5778
Nancy Charlebois is a licensed physical therapist and massage therapist. She graduated in 1996 from Springfield College with her Master’s Degree in Physical Therapy. Nancy has worked in a variety of treatment settings, from a neonatal intensive care unit to nursing homes during her 14 year career. Since moving to Maine, she has developed a strong outpatient orthopedic focus working with patients experiencing pain. She also specializes in women’s health physical therapy.
