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Chiropractic - Body Alignment [top]
The human body is a complex biological machine in which coordination and control reside in the brain, spinal cord and their associated nerves.  All the functions of the body are governed, in one way or another, by the activities of the brain, which receives information and transmits instructions via the spinal cord.

Proper alignment of the spinal column is critical to good health because the spine houses and protects the spinal cord.  The spinal cord is the “switchboard” of the nervous system and master controller of every other system in the body – glandular, reproductive, digestive, eliminative, respiratory and circulatory.  If the vertebrae of the spine are out of alignment and muscular tension exists, there will probably be interference with the activity of the nerves.  This interference disrupts normal functioning throughout the entire body.

 

If the diagnostic process at Turtle Island reveals that the primary cause of your condition is muscle/skeletal, the treatment may be manipulation of the misaligned spinal area and/or heat, cold and massage therapy to the involved muscles.

 

We will work with the structural alignment of your spine and muscles until the nerves, which emit from the openings in the vertebrae, are no longer impinged upon.   When structural alignment is achieved, nature will be able to restore affected organs and body parts to normal function.  Pain, numbness, tingling and fatigue are usually reduced or completely eliminated through these methods over the course of several months of treatment.  Range of motion of restricted joints is improved.  Concentration and vitality are greatly enhanced.  You gain more energy.  You move, look and feel better. 

 

Acupuncture - Restoring Natural Healing Energy [top]
Acupuncture has been the basis for the medical care of a quarter of the world’s population since the beginning of history.  As a system of medicine, acupuncture sees the body as a dynamic whole with a network of interacting energies.  The even distribution and flow of these energies, sometimes called our life-force or Qi (chi), maintains health.  Any interruption, depletion or stagnation of these energies leads to disease.

Our life-force runs through an interlacing network of channels or meridians.  These meridians are the basis for classical and traditional acupuncture.  Along these meridians lie acupuncture points.  When acupuncture needles, electrical stimulation or acupressure are used at acupuncture points, our life-force is realigned or redirected.

 

You know from your own experience when your energies are flowing freely because you are full of life and well-being.  When you are ill, your life-force feels depleted, causing fatigue and depression; or it may be disturbed, causing irritability and over-reaction.

 

At Turtle Island, the purpose of acupuncture is to restore the proper flow of your energies of life-force.

 

If symptoms indicate certain imbalances or blockages, these are corrected by treatment of specific acupuncture points on relevant channels or meridians. 

 

Acupuncture, then, stimulates the body’s own self-healing powers, balance is restored and the symptoms of disease disappear.

 

Nutrition - Eating for Health [top]
What we eat and drink every day of our lives is what we are giving our bodies to allow them to be strong and healthy,  or to maintain weakness and illness.  Our mental, emotional, and spiritual states are also directly related to our bodies’ chemistries and their acceptance or rejection of what we eat and drink.

This is a serious statement because the functions of our bodies–immunity, repair and energy production–relate to the quality of our diets.  Americans have great reason for concern.  Too many of the foods we eat are overly-processed products and have been initially robbed of their life-giving nutrients through their growing/development processes.

 

Although the effects of eating an empty-calorie diet are not immediately evident, the long-term consequences of poor nutrition are significant.  The aging process is accelerated, our immunity suffers, we become more susceptible to infectious disease, our body’s ability to repair itself after a trauma is reduced, and we may lose the energy which vitalizes the brain and controls our moods and emotions.

 

Does that mean that if we eat better, we can expect to be healthier?  The answer is yes.  We have the capacity to make nutritional and dietary choices which are key factors in recovering our health.  Nutrition-rich foods and a balanced diet help us defend ourselves from disease, and heal from acute or chronic illness.

 

Dietary Program

Incorporating a dietary program to change dietary habits not only means selecting new and different foods, it also means altering lifestyle patterns related to food and eating.  Readiness is a key element in determining how successful you will be in implementing dietary changes.

 

At Turtle Island, we support you in making the dietary changes necessary to regain good health.  Our support begins with a dietary plan which you use while adjusting your current lifestyle to accommodate new choices.  We continue to work with you until you are comfortable maintaining those changes.

 

Dietary approaches may include a transitional diet for patients needing only moderate changes.  Elimination and detoxification diets are prescribed for patients requiring more comprehensive approaches.  Food sensitivity and food allergy testing approaches are utilized to discover how foods are reacting within our systems to cause us great harm on a daily basis.  Those reactions may be the source for both acute and chronic pain, and illness.

 

Metabolic Therapy

The metabolic inventory system evaluates your blood chemistry to determine whether all your body values are normal.  Other laboratory studies may include an analysis of hair, vitamins, minerals and amino acids.  Food and chemical allergy testing may also be suggested.  This data provides Turtle Island health professionals with the information we need to design a comprehensive wellness plan.

 

Supplements and Herbs

Supplements, including herbs, vitamins/minerals and homeopathy are provided in order to give a concentrated boost to each of your body’s systems which have become either depleted or imbalanced.  They are also used to stimulate processes of elimination, detoxification and regeneration.  In initial phases of treatment, supplements are used to support dietary changes.  After a level of well-being has been achieved, they are generally used only in the event of brief illness, during periods of high stress, or if nutritional choices have become questionable again. 

Massage & Therapeutic Exercise - Suporting the Healing Process [top]
The human body is a miraculous organism housing an innate, life-sustaining force.  When a body is functioning properly, it has a great resistance to the external environment.  Our body not only has the capability to recuperate from catastrophic illness, but when it is in a state of homeostasis, or dynamic balance with the environment, longevity of life processes and mechanical integrity of the tissue cells can be increased.

Massage

As the body is progressing through the healing process, massage therapy helps you to physically and emotionally feel better through the changes.  Massage therapy includes full-body massage, breathing, posture, relaxation strategies, working on pain and tension areas, trigger points and energy levels.  Bodywork increases physical and mental awareness.  It increases your energy level, reduces stress and supports well-being.  And, best of all—it feels wonderful!

 

Therapeutic Exercise

When there is a weakness in the musculature and ligamentous structure of the spine, this weakness inhibits the normal functions of your tissues.  The ligaments, discs and muscles—which constitute the supportive structure for the bony spinal column—must be strengthened before the vertebrae will stay in normal alignment.  Joints also become stiffer over time from work, over-use and lack of regular exercise.

 

At Turtle Island, we locate and correct your subluxations of the spinal cord through chiropractic adjustments.  At the same time, we create a therapeutic exercise program specifically for you to strengthen the structure that supports your spine.  This program—designed for you to do at home—supports your body in its healing process and increases the permanence of your adjustments.

Qi Gong - Exercies & Healing [top]
QiGong is an ancient health improvement andhealing system developed by the Chinese thousands of years ago.  Based on energy they observed flowing through the body, the Chinese formulated an understanding, nomenclature, cosmology and self-healing system that is still practiced today by the general public and utilized in hospitals and clinics throughout China.  QiGong uses special methods of breathing, posture and mental concentration to gather, balance and strengthen the energy systems found within the body which are connected to sources of universal energy found existing in our natural environment.  These practices can be used for self-improvement, self-healing and spiritual development.  As a healing method, practitioners are trained to emit a special healing energy call Qi into the bodies and energy systems of their patients.

Wellness - Living Healthier in Today's World [top]
Most Turtle Island patients acknowledge that they have more mental and emotional stresses in their lives than they really desire.  Modern life brings us changing roles.  Relationship challenges.  Financial worries.  Career frustrations.  Even physical stress resulting from a polluted environment.

In Eastern medicine, the dis-ease of organ systems is correlated with mental and emotional blockages.  These blockages may be found in the energy centers (charkas) throughout the body.  Identifying where mental and emotional tension reside allows more complete healing to take place.

 

Here, we know that your well-being is directly related to your ability to creatively cope with the accelerated pressures of life in this decade.  And we can help you learn how to release some of your stress and transform the way you live into a healthier, more spiritual lifestyle.

 

The first step is the Integrated Wellness Analysis.  This simple-to-take questionnaire allows you and a Turtle Islandprofessional to explore your lifestyle and your mental and psychological expression.

 

Together, we also look at your attitudes and beliefs about your illness and how it affects your life and your emotional patterns of response.  Then we help you design a plan to improve the quality of your life.  This may include: lifestyle counseling, nutritional support, an exercise program, techniques for tension release, bodywork and therapeutic massage, audio and visual tapes to produce states of relaxation, meditative techniques, and educational classes.

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