On natural healing?

I tutored for an Open University course about perspectives on complementary medicine for many years.  I always found it interesting what polarised responses it could receive.  On the one hand, there were orthodox folk (eg Ernst in newspaper, Colquohoun) who thought it was over-embracing the positives of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM), and on the other there were more radical folk who thought it was over-critical of CAM.  I had a tutor colleague with a nursing background, who lay in the former camp, and I remember she cited some fractures as an example of where orthodox medicine worked ‘naturally’ by just putting the injured limb, for example, in a sling to heal up on its own.

Round about that time I fractured my wrist, and experienced this form of health care – I went to A&E, where I was X-rayed and given a wrist support to help give it support in healing.  At the end of the ?six weeks, I returned to the hospital to the OT section, where they told me to do some very uncomfortable exercises, bending my hand at the wrist in different directions.  These exercises somehow felt inappropriate to me so I didn’t do them.  By a happy chance, I had met and been impressed by a chiropractor at a conference on CAM, and ended up consulting him.  He reckoned that the scaphoid bone had got stuck, and over several sessions unjammed it, with the result that my hand would flex another 45 degrees to the approximately 80-90 degrees that the other one did naturally.

So, in this case, I reflect that ‘natural’ in the sense of ‘not doing anything’ was insufficient.  I also happened to chat to various people such as participants in my Japanese Yoga class who said they’d fractured a wrist in the past, and it had set in the wrong place, so they had ended up having an operation where it was re-broken and set in the right place.  I’m not sure if they lost any mobility or sensation long-term as a result of this, but no doubt it was painful going through the operation and post-operative healing again.

Recently, I broke another bone! – I did at one point have a check a few years ago for osteoporosis, since a herbalist colleague had wondered if my bones might be getting brittle with my age.  It was in fact low-ish, and perhaps I should do more to build that bit up, I don’t know.  Again, it being the clavicle I was essentially given a sling and told to go home and get better.  There was in fact talk of putting a pin in to the clavicle to ? hold it together.  Consultation at the local fracture clinic didn’t show up any further problem, though to my eyes the two ends of the broken clavicle looked ‘miles apart’.  However, I was told they would seek each other out and all would be well.  My physio told me I would regain full movement so I would be as good as pre fracture.

Imagine my concern when I returned for my discharge appointment at 10 weeks to be told no re-join had occurred.  There was talk of having the pin/plate process at this stage – which would now include a bone graft, since the bone doesn’t heal so well so long after injury.  Thankfully, I happened to consult a physio who suggested more of a wait and see approach, and in that time I re-connected with an osteopath-trained practitioner who seems to have readjusted the two ends of the clavicle back into place – still not quite sure exactly what he did, but there was a definite alarming clicky/crunch which seeme d to please him, and seemed to end up with my clavicle in a much better place, and me able to move it much better.

So, what is my point?  My concern is that orthodox medicine is missing important possibilities for facilitating healing in a more natural way with regard to fractures by supporting healers who know what to do to (? in this case, certain osteopaths? - ? traditional bonesetters? – as an aside, I think osteopathy did stem from an American bone-setting tradition) to get fractured bones into place so they can heal up most effectively.  I know my experience is over just a couple of breaks, but I was struck by the comments of people I knew who had sustained wrist fractures, and when I googled about clavicle fractures, there seems a lot of problems there too.

Anyone else any perceptions or thoughts?

 

 

References (still need a bit of working up)

 

Colquohoun, D (c2005)

 

Ernst, E (c2005)

 

Heller et al (2005) Perspectives in Complementary and Alternative Medicine.

in search of a bone-setter

Immediately following the break of my clavicle, I had a sense that a Chinese bone-setter type person would be useful to get the bones in place.  (I spent early years in south-east Asia, and my parents have stories of such).  However, I thought perhaps the orthopaedic people were the orthodox version of this, and so it was in the best place possible.  I googled a bit and found articles where traditional bone-setters had made things worse, so didn’t follow this up.

By happy chance, I reconnected with pain/injury consultant, John Perrott, last week, and he wondered if he could help.  I had my second treatment yesterday, and he managed to get my clavicle back into place – perhaps in the shoulder joint – I can’t quite visualise it – no doubt he’d express it officially – but he worked, it clicked oddly, I felt strange, and wondered if this was a good thing or not, but he seemed very pleased with the result. 

I can now feel my clavicle doesn’t seem to be trying to escape from the top of my shoulder – I hope it stays in place – I’m not quite sure if this is likely.  Buuut, it is such a relief to feel my shoulder back in the apparently correct, or at least better, place.

My general point and concern here is that there seems no general knowledge of this kind of event.  I’m not quite sure if John is just an unbelievably talented bone-setter bringing together various trainings and intuition, or whether this is generalisable to particular profession eg osteopathic training.

No-one gave me to believe that my situation was anything other than good in my recovery.  So, it was a shock to discover it was not good after all, and the long-term implications of further surgery sound serious to me – eg numbness beneath the shoulder, and possibly into thumb and first finger – particularly? serious for a shiatsu practitioner – but presumably everyone is keen on having sensitive fingers!

So, do post any thoughts or comments here, and any ideas on how this kind of positive outcome can be spread so others may receive better support when injured like this.

old chestnut - private cf public; options

Feel a bit silly writing this blog, but I guess it logs my thoughts for myself – though the reason I make it publicly available is I hope it will help others in various areas of health learn something – other people with broken clavicles, or more general principles on health; and health practitioners who may forget or not know about the service user/ client/ patient experience.

1.  private cf public medicine.

so, a first thing I asked the consultant when he told me my clavicle had not joined up after 10 weeks was whether it would be any advantage to go privately – absolutely none, he said.

However, now a few weeks on I don’t think I agree with him.  Potential advantages of ‘going private’ I realise include:

1.  choosing a specialist for ones problem – in my case, a ‘shoulder guy’ rather than a ‘hand guy’.  In the NHS, my issue comes under general surgery, so I may have lucky if you like to get someone in the right general physical area!

2.  if surgery is indicated, a more choicey process – seemingly more choice of date, a private room, staying overnight afterwards; from my point of view, not feeling useless if I don’t have someone immediately obvious to look after me in the initial post-surgery time.

and, of course, on the down side:

1.  considerable amounts of money...

2.  possibly time spent trying to figure out the process, and who to visit.

 

2.  options:

Last week I found myself moving toward immediate surgery (that is to say a plate – meaning eek my shoulder opened up, and bone graft meaning taking something out of my pelvis – very scary – and presumably painful).  I felt very uncomfortable with this – and although it sounded like the most sensible option, I was really stressed at the thought of having to be ready for surgery any of the next four Wednesdays to include rearranging commitment on and after that day, and managing the painful process of surgery and post-surgery.

now, having visited another practitioner, I find myself more drawn to a slower approach.  He didn’t seem to think that if I had the surgery in a few months time that would make that much difference.  There seems a possibility that actually finding a way to live with a broken clavicle may be the better option for me, and this gives time to explore that.  It also means I can explore some private options so if I have the surgery I can feel I have the person with the best experience for the job, and to allow myself the most comfortable experience (private room, overnight stay post-op) – if I feel I can afford it – which I may feel able to, and to prioritise this.

allfornow – any thoughts yourself, anyone out there?

c

Seamless... to CT

so, I was regretfully shocked recently when I discovered at my ‘discharge’ appointment that my clavicle had NOT JOINED UP AT ALL, and the consultant recommending surgery (which arguably should have been done right at the start of the injury).  Internet searching (which the consultant criticised me for doing) suggests that pinning is more likely to take if done at the start with the initial wound, rather than creating a new/artificial one, which is what is needed when the pinning is done at a later stage.

I have been for a CT scan as a next stage in this process.  I thought I would just note a bit about it, since I realised I was unclear what it was, and a friend of mine asked.  A CT scan seems to be a lot of X rays done to give a 3D picture of a body situation – eg in my case, where the two ends of the clavicle now are, and whether they are joined in any place at all.  The hospital said it was considered potentially damaging to a foetus, since it was a ‘high dose of radiation’ [alarming].  The machine is like a giant polo mint, and you lie down with the particular area to be scanned in the middle of a bed.  The [polo mint] machine then (with others outside the room) moves to and fro [around the body - clavicle/shoulders in my case]; I was asked a few times to breathe in and hold my breath for a few seconds, presumably to be still.  I wasn’t clear when the rays were doing their thing – throughout? just when I was breathing in?  The whole process took maximum 15 minutes.  I would have found more explanation helpful, though the process was conveniently timed for me in the evening, and the hospital was not busy at all, and having arrived early I was out before my actual appointment time.

Moving on to my point about ‘seamlessness’, what has shocked me is how there has been (from my point of view) no acknowledgement of my transition from a break due to have healed up within 10 weeks, and no hint that it might not, to the situation of it having joined up at all.  I have also missed out on an understanding of why this has happened – very unusual? to be expected for this kind of break? – [when shown the Xray in my fracture clinic appointment 2 weeks after the break, I couldn’t believe it could join up by itself, but was assured both by orthodox and complementary practitioners that it would, and the new bone cells would seek out the other half so to speak.]

At the same time, I have been marking essays for my Open University teaching on health and social care, where for example, a model of transition is mentioned where the sequence of change may include initial anger, ultimately with being reconciled and adapting to the situation.  This also reminds me of the Kubler Ross model of bereavement.  I haven’t felt any knowledge of this kind of process really from any health professional that I have come in contact with, except a physio who observed that my confidence had been shaken.  Too right.                       

acupuncture and stroke at Westminster University: East medicine summer school

acupuncture and stroke at Westminster University:  East medicine summer school

This day was part of the Westminster University summer school on Chinese medicine – I noticed they had a day about a particular interest of mine – treating stroke, so I went along.

Key points that came out of the day for me were:

1.  I had thought it was ‘normal’ for Claudia Citkovitz to use acupuncture in her treatment of stroke at a hospital in New York.  However, I picked up that it was special and hard won – so even in the States which sometimes seems more liberal she still needs to tread carefully.  I was struck by Westminster physio / acupuncturist, Jane Wilson, saying how Claudia had achieved what Jane had wanted to achieve – giving acupuncture to people post stroke.

I was interested by the mention of not being able to use moxa in the preliminary information – this wasn’t developed really in the afternoon; but I did ask a question about it, and was told that it was just not an option – the constellation of reasons seemed to be around safety (no smoking, oxygen tanks around) and evidence (lack of it? (as usual...)).

2.  Acupuncture (and tuina) are appropriate once patient stabilised a bit, say from 2 days after the stroke.  I was interested that it isn’t used immediately, and not sure if that is a protection given that apparently some strokes continue on through the first week, having more strokes occurring.  There is something around it being helpful to keep the blood flow (and pressure) up initially – so perhaps that’s part of it.  I’m realising this is a big subject with already others working here, even if in a restricted way.

3.  I was interested that 2 shiatsu practitioners attended – the one I spoke to seemed very experienced at working with people post stroke, and has found these clients by recommendation from other clients, but has only worked privately with them, as opposed to within orthodox medicine.

any other key thoughts from the day?

I was interested in how focussed it was, and the use of particular points at various stages.  I was touched by Jane (and Claudia)’s consideration of the real absence of hope for some people, especially if without support from family and friends .... and money.  But of course on the other side, it is very exciting what it sounds like acupuncture may do, and presumably this is what Claudia’s doctorate is about.

somehow, the day didn’t really touch what I had been drawn to with thinking of shiatsu treatment for people post-stroke – though thinking about it, perhaps there were things – Jane saying how these treatments could fill the gap – Stroke people apparently feel their emotional needs are really not met; and also Jane commented that touch is really important – though done slowly and carefully since everything can feel quite overwhelming to people post stroke – almost like seeing things for the first time.

what about you – do you have any knowledge, experience, views on this kind of work?

all for now,

Catherine.

on tissue damage and transitions

I’m writing this really in case it’s of interest to others specifically with breaks (including clavicle), as well as to think how health care can better support people get better.

from bone break to tissue damage:

when I discovered I’d broken my clavicle, the impression I had was that it would get better, and within a period of time – initially I thought 3 weeks from my googling, and then 10 weeks after I’d visited the fracture clinic where I talked with a medical doctor, and discussion with my privately organised physio.

After a couple of weeks I did notice a different slant to my shoulders, but another very experienced complementary practitioner thought if anything the new position was better.  However, a recent consultation with a new physio revealed the opinion that my shoulder has ‘dropped’, as I understand it since the bone has re-joined in a slightly different position – this impacts on where I can put my arm – so, wriggling movements feel damaging, as well as something close to the tennis overarm serve (which I would like to get back to doing).

and so I am now considering the more real possibility of long-term/permanent damage, and it was an unpleasant shock. 

what really strikes me is the kind of seamless transition from ‘going to get better soon’ to ‘well, probably not’ – there feels to be no attention or space given to the, I guess, psychological effect of this on me. – apart from from me, and I realised I was going through a kind of Kubler Ross bereavement process, feeling anger and grief, as a start.

A physio kindly sent me an article about clavicle / shoulder breaks, and this indicates that generally a bigger problem than the break is the damaged tissue – I hadn’t quite absorbed this before, and it gives me a new view – which feels relevant to other conditions of clients and friends/ relatives that I have observed.

present medical practice seems to virtually ignore this – and this may be a place where shiatsu and other forms of body work may be strong.

food for thought – do add any you have to this blog – I’d be interested.

regards, Catherine.

Diet – what to eat?

Last Sunday I joined some old mates for a regular strawberry barbecue fiesta – and met up with some friends who have got very committed to the ‘Palaeo’ diet, which is popular with many at the moment.  The idea is to remove farmed carbohydrates from our diet, since we evolved as hunter/ gatherers, and they argue that farming grain is where we went astray diet-wise – so, they seem to eat meat/ protein, and nuts and berries, and vege, I guess. 

Talking with a dietician I met at the very delicious dinner accompanying the recent Camstrand meeting located at University of Westminster this year, I asked her about this, and she said it was fine for short times to lose weight – much like the Atkins diet, but that when people went back to eating normally they tended to put the weight back on.  She reckoned that doing it long-term would damage someone’s liver.

Talking with a personal trainer recently, she said that many personal trainers are keen on the Palaeo diet, but she just favoured ‘eating normally but well’.  We also discussed the popular restrict yourself for 2 days, and eat what you want for 5, where she thought not enough attention is given to the ‘5 days off’.

So, what to do?  - not sure – I started off life eating normally with my parents; shocked my poor Mum when I became vegetarian at age 16 due to concern about killing chickens, for example.  Since then I have adopted other diets – vegan, macrobiotic, Chinese medicine; and heard of the food separation, and raw food diet.  Presently, my focus is on wholefood, organic, qi-filled food – but probably eat more of some things than I should (chocolate, wine...).

mmm, any thoughts on diet yourself?