As a Licensed Massage Therapist and Acupuncturist practicing in Edmonton, Alberta, I am a firm believer in approaching healthcare in a holistic sense.
What does that mean?
Understanding health and wellness holistically means caring for all the parts of us that make us human. That includes our mental health, physical wellbeing, spiritual wellness, social needs, and beyond.
Holistic health practitioners understand when one aspect of these is unwell, it can affect all the other components of our wellbeing. It also means when we offer healing solutions, they may include alternative medicine treatments.
Holistic Healthcare Focuses on Prevention
Holistic healers believe in combining complementary therapies to treat health issues. They also believe in focusing on the causes of illness and working to prevent it rather than simply reacting to symptoms and treating disease.
When a holistic care provider sits down with you, they ask you a variety of questions that go beyond just symptoms. They want to know about all the aspects of your life that may be playing a role in the presentation of your physical symptoms.
When they recommend treatment, it usually encompasses several methods of treatment and can include everything from medication to dietary changes, exercise routines, trauma work, and therapy. They can also recommend more alternative forms of healing like acupuncture and massage.
Massage Therapy As a Holistic Health Tool
Massage therapy has gained major notoriety as a beneficial tool for preventing and healing a variety of health issues. The Fraser Institute recently published a study called Complementary and Alternative Medicine: Use and Public Attitudes 1997, 2006, and 2016, which found that in 2016, massage was the most common type of alternative therapy that Canadians used over their lifetime with 44 percent having tried it.
Furthermore, the same study found that most of the respondents that were using complementary and alternative therapies continued the treatments as a means to prevent future sickness or maintain their current health levels. Additionally, insurance providers are increasingly receptive to massage therapy as a covered health cost, with 69 percent of applicants in a 2017 study having a significant proportion of their costs covered.
What About Acupuncture?
Acupuncture is rooted in traditional Chinese medicine. The principles behind the ancient practice center around the 2,000 acupuncture points in the body that are connected by pathways or meridians. These pathways create an energy flow (Qi) in the body that directly affects our health and well being. Disruption of this energy can create illness and disease. By applying small, thin acupuncture needles to particular points, it's thought to improve the flow of Qi thus improving health.
While acupuncture has not gained widespread popularity as quickly as massage therapy has, Canadians are starting to embrace the alternative approach more in recent years.
In that same Fraser Institute study, 22% of Canadians were exploring acupuncture as a type of treatment option. While Acupuncture is not regulated nationwide across Canada, Alberta, Quebec, and Newfoundland and Labrador regulate Acupuncturists, and British Columbia and Ontario regulate both TCM Practitioners and Acupuncturists.
How Can Acupuncture and Massage Help Me?
Massage therapy is an incredible tool that has dozens of health benefits. In addition to reducing stress and promoting relaxation, massage can improve circulation, energy, and alertness as well as improve immune function. Studies have also shown massage therapy lowers your heart rate and blood pressure. Most often, people seek out massage to treat back pain, muscle soreness, and tension.
Recent studies have gone even further and looked at the positive relationship massage therapy has with the reduction in symptoms across a variety of health issues. There is increasing proof that massage therapy can help with things like temporomandibular joint pain, anxiety, digestive disorders, myofascial pain syndrome, and even insomnia, among other disorders.
Acupuncture also offers relief for a wide range of health issues including nausea associated with chemotherapy, dental pain, chronic headaches, osteoarthritis, menstrual cramps, and respiratory disorders, such as allergic rhinitis. Acupuncture is growing more common in Edmonton as a complementary treatment to western medicine.
Is There A Massage and Acupuncture Clinic Near Me?
Francesco Holistic in West Edmonton is my personal clinic where I offer both massage therapy and acupuncture treatment for a wide range of illnesses. As a believer in holistic healthcare, I am devoted to understanding my patients holistically so I can most effectively treat their needs.
My massage therapy clinic is centered around your wellbeing. I get to know you, your immediate needs and concerns and then together we develop a treatment plan that maximizes the benefits of massage therapy, acupuncture, or both in your life. I also offer direct billing to most major healthcare insurance companies including Alberta Blue Cross, Great West Life, Sun Life, and more.
Never had a massage treatment before? Unsure how acupuncture works? Visit my list of Frequently Asked Questions or send me a direct message on Instagram or Facebook. I am always happy to answer any questions, no matter how basic. Want to know a bit more about me? Read my bio! At the end of the day, my goal through massage and acupuncture is to help my patients live fuller, stronger, and happier lives.