Tag: healing

Healthy During the Holidays

Posted on by Whitney Board
Healthy during the holidays

By Dr. Jennifer Krieger

HEALTHY DURING THE HOLIDAYS

Hi folks, it’s Dr. Krieger here!  I wanted to give you a few of my personal favorite tips and tricks to help you stay healthy during the holidays.

GET OUTSIDE

Don’t let the crisp, winter weather keep you inside.  As Montanans, we have an appreciation of the great outdoors and the Big Sky.  We all know the benefits of exercise – weight management, elevated mood and cardiovascular health – to name just a few.  Stay active by participating in winter sports such as: cross country skiing, ice skating, hockey, downhill skiing, snowboarding, broomball, snowshoeing and winter hikes and exploring.

Take Quick Trip Somewhere Local

You can also take a day trip to the Lewis and Clark Caverns, a short ride west of Bozeman to Whitehall, and try your hand at spelunking and exploring these natural and awesome limestone caverns.  These family friendly caves are open seasonally, but offer special candlelight tours during the holidays. Call 406.287.3541 for more information and to reserve tickets. I did the candlelight cave tour a few years back and it was so magical – they have the caverns especially decorated for the holiday season!

KEEP YOUR HANDS CLEAN

Hand washing is probably the most simple thing a person can do during the winter months to stay healthy and to protect yourself from catching colds and flus.  Using soap and water is still the best practice, but alcohol-based hand sanitizers can also be used. However, you should avoid hand sanitizers that contain Triclosan. Triclosan is a common added antimicrobial agent in many hand sanitizers. This chemical has been shown in studies to lead to antibiotic resistance as well as to interfere with hormone metabolism and cause harm to the immune system.

Make sure that you properly wash your entire hands – palms, back of hands, nail beds and between and around all fingers for at least 30 seconds. Do this before preparing food and eating and after coughing, sneezing and blowing your nose. Another easy idea to help keep your hands clean is to sneeze into the crook of your elbow and avoid the use of your hands altogether.

MAKE TIME FOR YOURSELF

During the holidays, we are reminded to offer charity to those in need.  It is also equally important to make time for yourself in order to help with stress management during these busy times.  Do something for yourself that makes you happy. Such as getting a massage or a pedicure, enjoying a long bath with bath salts and candles, watching your favorite movie, a weekend getaway to the local hot springs, reading a new book or cooking a special meal for yourself.  You can also take a few moments each morning to remind yourself what you are grateful for in your life. Studies have shown that this promotes overall happiness and wellbeing.

SAUNA/COLD PLUNGE

Another way to stay healthy during the holidays is to alternate between warm and cool temperatures. Indicated for colds, flus, muscle and joint pain, sleep disturbances and weight loss. This technique assists in detoxification and supports overall wellness and immune function.  This service can be compared to a “whole body” contrast hydrotherapy treatment.  It is one of my personal favorites and I feel AMAZING afterwards.

  • Alternate time in a sauna (15 minutes) with taking a dip into a cold plunge pool (about 60℉) for 2-3 minutes as tolerated.

  • Repeat the sauna/cold plunge at least 3 times.

  • Remember to end on cold for best health benefits.

  • You won’t regret taking the time out of your schedule for this. People often report instant improvement in overall health after a single treatment!

Holiday Health Dr. Jennifer Krieger Spring Integrative Health

Why Consider Chinese Herbal Medicine?

Posted on by Whitney Board
Chinese herbal medicine

Chinese Herbal Medicine might be able to help you if you have multiple symptoms or symptoms that are vague or hard to pinpoint. It may be able to help you if you have exhausted conventional medicine options or need to counteract side effects of medications. It can also be used a preventative medicine or for conditions that defy a Western medical diagnosis because it uses a different way at looking at health and disease. 

Here are some conditions that are commonly well treated with Chinese Herbal Medicine: 

  • Decrease cold/flu symptoms 
  • Increase your energy 
  • Improve your breathing 
  • Improve digestion
  • Improve your sleep
  • Decrease pain
  • Improve menopausal symptoms
  • Help regulate menstrual cycles (if infertility is an issue)
  • Clear up stubborn dermatological problems

Chinese herbal medicine is an important part of traditional Chinese medicine. It has been used for centuries in China, where herbal medicine is considered a primary therapy for many health issues. Like acupuncture, Chinese herbs can address unhealthy body patterns that are the root cause of a variety of symptoms and complaints. The goal is to help you regain balance in your body and to strengthen your body’s resistance to disease. Doing this will help resolve your symptoms.

How is Chinese Herbal Medicine Different?

Most forms of Western herbology and conventional medicine work in a this for that manner. If you have x condition (say a headache for example), take this medicine (aspirin, ibuprofen, or some other pain medication). While this approach can work well to get rid of the headache in the moment, it has not done anything to correct the imbalances in the body that have caused the headache.

This is the main difference between Chinese herbal and conventional medicine. It is rare that a person presents with just one symptom or complaint. More common is a variety of symptoms. If we continue with the headache example, a headache might happen along with digestive upsets, or neck pain, or around the menstrual cycle, or after an accident where the person hit their head. It might happen at a certain time of day, season, or day of the week. It likely happens on the same area of the head every time. (One of my favorite answers to where is your headache? On my head.) 

There is a reason for all of these questions when using Chinese herbal medicine. The constellation of symptoms, history, and other diagnostic tools we use (like feeling the pulse and looking at the tongue), allow us to determine the underlying pattern of disharmony in the way your body is functioning. 

This is a major difference from conventional diagnosis. Instead of honing in on one particular symptom as a standalone problem, we are looking at the body, mind, and spirit as a whole functional person where the various systems must interact and communicate properly for good health. If there is a breakdown in the interaction, symptoms or disease results.

And this is the beauty of Chinese herbal medicine. The nuanced diagnosis allows us to prescribe an herbal formula that has been researched, used, and modified for thousands of years. The formula can be modified as needed to address your individual condition.

What is a Formula is and how it can help you?

Because most of the time patients have several symptoms with their pattern of disharmony, one single herb or ingredient simply cannot do the job. 

To continue with the example of a headache sufferer, this person might be a woman who suffers from PMS symptoms, constipation around her period, neck pain, and a lot of stress. Her symptoms point to a specific pattern and the Chinese herbalist will need to use a combination of herbs to address it. Combining herbs in time tested combinations and formulas enhances their therapeutic effects and also increases the safety of use.

Thousands of years of trial and error, careful observation, and more recently pharmacological research have resulted in a reliable system of combining herbs and confirmed the efficacy and safety of using Chinese herbal formulas.

There are several ways to take Chinese herbs:

The traditional and most potent way to take Chinese herbal formulas is in a decoction, or tea. A decoction is made by cooking the raw herbs in water to pull out the active ingredients, then straining out the herbs and drinking the remaining liquid. This method is the fastest acting. It is also more expensive and some formulas don’t taste great. 

Chinese herbs can also be taken as granules or granules in capsules. These are made by concentrating and freeze drying the decoctions. They are easier and more convenient to take and are less expensive. I tend to prefer using these if possible.

These herbs can also be found in tablet form or as “teapills” (which look a little bit like pellets or BB’s). I do not prefer these forms of herbs because they are not as potent and there can be quality control issues with teapills.

Where can I get Chinese herbs?

While there are a few well known formulas that can be purchased over the counter (mostly cold formulas), the only way to experience the true benefits of Chinese herbal therapy is to consult with a skilled, licensed practitioner.  

If you are suffering from a health issue and wonder if Chinese herbal medicine can help you, please contact at Spring Integrative Health for a free 15 minute consult. 

 

Healing Naturally with Constitutional Hydrotherapy

Posted on by Whitney Board

This time of year, around the holidays, I get a lot of questions from my patients about how they can best support their immune system.  The naturopathic toolbox for immune support is vast! However, nothing is quite so fundamentally supportive of the immune system as Constitutional Hydrotherapy.

The History of Constitutional Hydrotherapy

Healing naturally with Constitutional Hydrotherapy is a time-tested naturopathic healing therapy that involves alternating an application of hot and cold towels to the chest and back.  The inspiration for naturopathic hydrotherapy is Father Kneipp, a Bavarian herbalist and priest who lived and practiced his “water cure” in the late 1800s. The entire treatment takes about 60-75 minutes and cultivates the ultimate parasympathetic, rest-and-digest, immune-boosting relaxation.  

If I could receive this treatment once weekly, I would! But I do make a point to block out my schedule for a Constitutional Hydrotherapy treatment at least once every 2-3 months (and more often if I’m feeling unwell.)  

What Hydro Therapy Does for the Body

Constitutional Hydrotherapy is not only an opportunity for your body and mind to rest and reset, it “pumps” the blood and lymph through contraction and dilation of the blood and lymph vessels.  The contrast of hot towels and cold towels increases blood flow to the vital organs in your abdomen and chest (such as your heart, liver, lungs, and digestive tract), and stimulates movement of lymph in the body. 

Immune System and Lymphatic Tissue

Your immune system lives in your lymphatic tissue, and by promoting movement of the lymph, the immune system can, in a sense, expand its reach and recycle itself. (Other ways to move your lymph include massage, yoga and stretching, breathing exercises, walking and hot/cold plunges at a hot springs). Lymph nodes are an example of where your immune system lives. You know how your neck may get swollen with tender lymph nodes when you’re fighting a cold, sinus infection, or other illness?  Constitutional Hydrotherapy helps to move that congested lymph and reinvigorate your immune system to fight off infection. 

Treatment

In addition to hot and cold towels, we apply gentle electrical stimulation to your chest and back and low abdomen during treatment. This provides an energetic boost to the cells to encourage detoxification, elimination and movement of waste products and nutrients.  

When I feel like I’m coming down with something, or when I feel worn out from playing and working too hard, I make sure to carve out time for a Constitutional Hydrotherapy treatment. In some special circumstances, we are able to administer IV therapy at the same time as you lie swaddled in hot towels and wrapped in a warm blanket. Sounds divine, doesn’t it?  

Questions?

If you have questions regarding Constitutional Hydrotherapy please give us a call 406-586-2626 or Click Here to request a treatment online!

 

Top Three Tips to Maintain Healthy Breast Tissue

Posted on by Whitney Board

By Dr. Jennifer Krieger

Hey there, it’s Dr. Krieger here!  I am the integrative cancer provider at Spring. Did you know that October is Breast Cancer Awareness month?  I thought it would be appropriate to discuss a few quick tips to help keep your breast tissue in tip-top shape. Here are my Top Three Tips to Maintain Healthy Breast Tissue:

Healthy Breast Tissue Tip #1: Get regular exercise

Click Image for more on Cancer and Exercise info!
Exercise to prevent cancer

Healthy Breast Tissue Tip #2: Eat cruciferous vegetables

    • Cruciferous vegetables are part of the Brassica plant family.  They include the following vegetables, to name a few: broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, kale, radishes, turnips, watercress, Brussel sprouts, bok choy, arugula, collard greens and rutabaga.
    • Cruciferous vegetables contain phytochemicals (Indole-3-Carbinol, glucosinolates, sulforaphanes) that have been shown in research studies to slow cancer growth and development.  These foods may lower your risk of breast cancer by 40 percent.  So eat up, folks!
    • https://www.aicr.org/foods-that-fight-cancer/broccoli-cruciferous.html

Top Three Tips for Healthy Breast Tissue

Healthy Breast Tissue Tip #3: Stop using antiperspirant deodorant

    • I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but you’re supposed to sweat.  Especially underneath our arms. Sweating through the axillary region (armpits) is a great way to help detox the breast tissue as well as keep us cool and regulate our body temperature.  Antiperspirant deodorant contains aluminum and stops and suppresses this action. Therefore when this happens we can’t move toxins out through our skin. If you’re using an antiperspirant deodorant, try only to use this with intense exercise (if needed). Or switch to a completely natural deodorant instead.  We have a couple of great options at the clinic if you’re interested, just ask!
    • If you want to take it a step further, check out this armpit detox protocol: https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/319624.php

Click the image below for information on Natural Deodorants!
Healthy Breast Tissue

Change of Seasons

Posted on by Whitney Board
Change of Seasons Dr. Mescon

The change of seasons is an opportunity to step back and pay attention to our bodies and our minds.  As the weather fades from warm to cool to cold and the daylight shortens, our daily patterns and habits often adjust.  When the weather changes I try to be mindful of the transitions I make in my day to day life to accommodate the change.

Slowing down

Our summers here in Bozeman are so frantically busy (especially at the end as we try to pack it all in before the snow flies!), and the shift to cooler weather often makes me realize how quickly I’ve been moving through life, and how good it feels to slow down.  I try to go to a yoga class, or sit in the sauna at the gym, or pick up a book after work, rather than hit the trails running. This is a time to rest and calm before the energy of winter hits. 

Change in Appetite

I pay attention to my appetite, and I often crave warm, comfort foods and have to be mindful of incorporating enough veggies into my daily diet.  I try to listen to my body and get into bed earlier, since the sun is setting earlier anyways, and I know I need the recuperative rest after a busy end to summer.  This year, the snow came extra early it seems, and this shocked me into recognizing the transition even more than I normally do. 

Change in Mood

With this change of seasons, many of my patients come in fatigued and over-worked after powering through the end of summer, and we get to work rebuilding their energy stores and mood.  Clinically, I find it especially important to check on Vitamin D levels at this time of year, as so many of us here in Montana are low in this vital nutrient. Our bodies make vitamin D from sun exposure, and it helps to keep our energy up, our immune system at the ready, our mood balanced, and our hormones level.  With the sun now rising later and setting sooner, I like to get ahead of supplementing so we don’t let our levels get too low after a summer spent outside soaking in our mountain sunshine. 

 

 

Treating Headaches with Acupuncture

Posted on by Whitney Board
headaches and the brain treating migraines with acupuncture

Headaches are common. Most people experience some kind of headache from time to time. Tension, dehydration, fatigue, or the onset of an illness can trigger a headache. 

For some people, headaches are a frequent and unwelcome visitor. These headaches can be excruciating and seriously interfere with quality of life. 

Headaches in Western Medicine:

Western medicine recognizes five types of headache: tension, cluster, rebound, sinus, and migraine. Over the past twenty years or so, newer and better pharmaceuticals have been made available to lessen the impact of severe, chronic, and recurring headache. 

Unfortunately, most of these drugs have moderate to severe side effects.

Acupuncture and Chinese Medicine Approach

Chinese medicine is concerned more about where on the head the pain is and what other symptoms are occurring. This indicates to the practitioner what meridians or channels are involved and what pattern might be the underlying (root) cause. Based on that information, he/she will prescribe either acupuncture or an herbal formula, or both.

A newer area of medicine that I am particularly drawn to and have some training in, is functional medicine. Like Chinese medicine, functional medicine takes a whole person approach and looks for patterns to figure out how to help a person. Like Chinese medicine, the majority of treatment involves nutrition, herbs and acupuncture,  lifestyle, and supplements rather than pharmaceutical drugs.

Integrative Approaches Often Work Best

Many times for extremely stubborn or severe chronic headache, an integrated approach works the best. Here at Spring Integrative Health we offer acupuncture and Chinese herbal medicine, nutritional consulting, naturopathic medicine, therapeutic massage, and Accunect bodywork to address almost all aspects and causes of headaches.

Types of Headaches:

Tension

Tension headaches are usually felt in the forehead, at the temples , or back of the head, and will usually go away with over the counter aspirin or ibuprofen. However, If you want to try a more natural approach, try putting steady pressure in the webbing between your first and second finger. Or, you could try rubbing a little ginger or peppermint oil into the area of the head that aches. Life style changes such as stress reduction, yoga, exercise, and meditation should also help.

Cluster

Cluster headaches tend to come on suddenly and cause severe pain on one side of the head. The eye and nose may water on that side as well. Looking for a Chinese pattern would inform the acupuncture and herbal treatment. I would look for patterns in onset, diet, location,  and co-occurring events. Lab tests might identify markers that would help determine if a nutritional deficit or other imbalance was involved.

Sinus

Sinus headaches often accompany sinus infections and other conditions that feature blocked sinuses. These headaches usually occur in the forehead area, but the pain and pressure can radiate outward from there. Sometimes a change in weather will trigger them. One of the key features of this type of headache is the pressure that goes with the pain. 

Integrated Approach to healing a Sinus Headache:

Acupuncture is very useful in relieving the pressure in the sinuses, while an antibiotic or possibly a naturopathic remedy might be used to treat the actual bacterial infection. In addition a Chinese herbal formula could be used to strengthen the immune system and clear any lingering pathogens, as well as address the underlying disharmony that is weakening the immune system.

Rebound

A rebound headache is caused by medication. Or overuse/dependence on certain kinds of medication. Ibuprofen, aspirin, acetaminophen, and prescription headache drugs can all cause a rebound headache. If you notice that your headaches are increasing even on the medication, chances are you are getting rebound headaches. The fix for this is using none or less of the offending drug. Acupuncture can be used to manage the headaches while the body readjusts itself.

Migraines

Migraines are often the most debilitating of headache types. Severe pain lasting 4-72 hours, throbbing, nausea and/or vomiting, and sound or light sensitivity are all part of the migraine experience. Sometimes there is a clear trigger for migraine such as wine, or chocolate (sorry to say), certain types of cheese. Avoiding these substances can really help. 

Some women suffer from menstrual migraines caused by hormonal imbalance and the hormonal swings that take place just prior to the onset of their cycle.

Migraine Triggers

Often a trigger is difficult to identify. Because Chinese medicine looks at patterns of disharmony, we examine such factors as: the location of the headache on the head, known triggers, sleep patterns, hormone balance, gut health, food sensitivities, and nutritional status. By looking at these factors I can search for clues to why the headaches are occurring. 

Treatment often involves both an herbal formula and acupuncture as well as some lifestyle and dietary modifications with prescription pharmaceuticals waiting in the wings if needed. Most of the time this approach to treatment results in fewer and milder headaches that continue to diminish in both frequency and severity with treatment.

Never Experienced Headaches Before?

It is a good idea to see your doctor to rule out more serious medical conditions before starting treatment for headaches. If you are experiencing “the worst headache of my life,” particularly if you don’t typically get severe headaches, head to the emergency room to rule out life threatening conditions.

Let’s get Healing!

Headaches are a problem that are near and dear to my heart. After all, if I hadn’t suffered debilitating headaches all those years ago, would I have ever tried and used acupuncture? So, those awful headaches turned out to be a good thing!

 

Skin-Brain Connection?

Posted on by Whitney Board

Eastern medicine has always considered skin conditions to be external indicators of internal conditions, and recognized the importance of the gut in all aspects of health. All Chinese herbal formulas for skin problems are based on resolving the internal disharmony that is behind the outbreak.

The long and very successful history of Chinese herbal medicine for dermatological issues speaks to the efficacy of this approach. Like all problems in Chinese medicine, the signs and symptoms and details of the whole person are taken into account to determine a particular pattern that is at the root of the problem. Treatment is designed to address the problem at both the level of the root and the symptom. Typically, this is done with both internal (herbal formula) and external (topical medicine and/or acupuncture) treatment.

Western medicine has traditionally looked to resolve skin issues with topical medications or steroids, and not looked for internal reasons for conditions such as acne.

But, it wasn’t always this way.

Seventy years ago, two dermatologists, John Stokes and Donald Pillsbury, proposed a gastro-intestinal mechanism for overlapping anxiety, depression, and skin conditions such as acne. Stokes and Pillsbury hypothesized that emotional states might alter the normal intestinal microflora, increase intestinal permeability and contribute to systemic inflammation. They experimented with probiotics to correct the microbiome.

For whatever reasons, Stokes and Pillsbury’s work fell by the wayside.

Until recently.

The microbiome (mostly gut flora-the good and not-so-good bugs that live in our intestines) and all its possible influences are currently amongst the most researched areas in medicine. As part of  that research, the gut-brain-skin connection is again being studied. There have been a number of studies in Europe that indicate probiotics can be effective in the treatment of acne. Studies done in Russia and Italy found that giving the probiotic bacteria L. acidophilus and B. bifidum to acne sufferers improved outcomes and accelerated the time needed for standard therapies to work.

Another study found that giving a lactobacillus-fermented dairy drink improved acne over the course of 12 weeks. While all this research is wonderful and confirms what we have known in both Chinese medicine for some time, the problem is that it will be years until this knowledge will be put into use in standard conventional medicine. We have the ability, today, to use  time-tested Chinse Medicine Dermatolgy to treat skin problems at the root for lasting results.

If you are suffering from acne, or other skin conditions such as rosacea, eczema, or unexplained rashes and want to deal with it at the root cause level, give the office a call or send me a message today!

Dr. Holly Thompson

 

 

A Glowing Testimonial from a Spring Integrative Health Patient

Posted on by kincade

We had a patient write us a letter that was so good, we had to share it!

I can’t give enough praise to the team at Spring Integrative Health. I was lucky enough to be introduced to Dr. Bonville through another staff member. I had a prior unpleasant experience with a naturopathic physician and I was hesitant to encounter another. I had run out of options with every doctor pointing at the other when I thought I’d try again because I had nothing to lose.

During my first appointment Dr. Bonville listened to my health history and ordered a set of tests. My results were the intolerance of several types of food. She instructed me that my body would be going through a “detox” upon omitting these foods from my diet and if I had any questions she would be readily available to assist me. I took her up on that and emailed her several times a day with questions regarding what I was experiencing or if certain foods were ok. Not ONCE did I feel like a burden. Not ONCE was I made to feel like my questions were silly even though I had already asked. And not ONCE was I ignored. My body through scary and alarming processes for a few weeks. Dr. Bonville was able to help guide me through with support and information, and still continues to guide me as I progress forward in health.

Dr. Bonville changed my life in one office visit where countless other physicians failed over the span of 18 years. I am finally able to pursue a life of health instead of the continual struggle of roadblocks I had been running into.

I can only tell you the staff here are committed to their patients. Besides the resources they have on hand, and the resources they will guide you to, they are starting up a support group for those of us who have food intolerances. I do not know of any other practitioners that would go to these lengths to see that we are being taken care of. If you’re tired of not having answers or a lack of direction, Spring Integrative Health may be your answer.

We feel very lucky that we were able to make such a significant difference in this patient’s life.

Can we help you?

Home Hydrotherapy Techniques and Benefits

Posted on by kincade

Here are a couple of our favorite home hydrotherapy techniques! As always, please contact your doctor before doing any home therapies.

WARMING SOCKS:

Warming socks are a form of hydrotherapy.  Using this treatment will help stimulate the immune system and relieve congestions from the head.  As such, warming socks are often recommended for use during colds, flus, sore throats, ear infections, headaches, nasal congestion, coughs, bronchitis, and sinus infections.  The warming socks treatment is best if repeated for at least three nights in a row–unless otherwise instructed.

Please do NOT do warming socks if you have fever-induced seizures or open wounds on your feet.

Home Hydrotherapy Procedure

1. It is imperative before you begin this treatment that you warm your feet first.  This is very important as the treatment will not be as effective and could be harmful.  Soaking the feet in warm water for 5-10 minutes or taking a warm bath or shower should be sufficient.

2. Next, take a pair of cotton socks and wet with cold water from the tap.  Be sure to wring the socks out thoroughly.

3. Place the cold wet socks on your feet. Cover with thick wool socks.  Go to bed.  Avoid getting chilled.

You will find that the wet cotton socks will be dry in the morning.  Many patients report that they sleep much better during the treatment.

 

WARMING THROAT COMPRESS

Much like the warming socks, the warming throat compress helps relieve pain and congestion, specifically in the throat and neck lymph nodes.  This treatment increases circulation and increases white blood cell activity to help sore throats and chest colds.

1. Warm the throat with a warm washcloth or hot shower.

2. Dry the skin thoroughly and apply a wash cloth that has been soaked in cold water and wrung out so that it is not dripping wet.

3. Wrap a wool scarf over the washcloth.

4. Go to bed this way.  By morning the washcloth will be dry.

 

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