Feel Better Than Ever
This study demonstrates yet more evidence of the elegant complexity that underlies our mind-gut-immune system links.
If you suffer from IBS (Irritable Bowel Syndrome) and pain, then you and your healthcare providers may need to “think outside the box” of usual oral medications to treat your pain.
Our practitioners at VIBE can help with those other useful pain-relieving modalities like acupuncture, massage, osteopathy (i.e. clinical pilates and other exercise-related therapies).
Any type of pain is ….a pain! But we need to remember that pain is your body’s way of telling you something isn’t right. By listening to your body and addressing the cause as well as the symptom, you can create a plan to manage or combat lower back pain efficiently and effectively.
A Naturopathic approach to managing back pain includes a combination of herbs, nutritional and lifestyle strategies to reduce the inflammation which leads to the pain and improve the strength, structure and function of bones, muscles, nerves and ligaments.
Not only do we need to take into account the physical factors involved, but also how the condition can affect you emotionally and mentally; as well as how it affects your ability to move, work and play. One study on back pain followed 100 people over a course of four years. The study reported that participants who scored low on the psychological tests were three times more likely to experience back pain by the end of the four years.
Continue reading “Herbal medicine to reduce pain — a Naturopathic approach”
The gut and brain talk and sometimes it’s not pretty
For years Naturopaths have talked of the gut-brain connection. How the health of the gut health will influence mood and mood will influence the gut.
With the increase in research into the interplay between humans and bugs – the human microbiome – comes some really exciting findings that back this traditional concept.
Though more research is required to get all health care professionals on board, it may not surprise you that many people have made this connection for themselves. They work to set their gut and mind up to talk nicely to each other for happiness and best of health.
The balance of the bugs
It is said that our body has 10 times the number of bugs than human cells and 150 times as many genes – wow that’s a lot of bugs. Now before you start scratching and head for the shower, know that when the bugs play nicely together they support our health in a wide range of ways. It is only when the bugs are out of balance that things go array, including negatively impacting your mood.
Research has shown the link between the overgrowth of specific bugs and an increased prevalence of anxiety, an increased sensitivity to pain, memory dysfunction, autism, IBS – irritable bowel syndrome – and IBD – more serious inflammatory bowel diseases such as ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease. This list melds both conditions of the mind and of the gut and supports the gut-brain link.
Make a happy gut home to support your mood
If it’s not just about the bugs, but the balance of the bugs in the gut that’s important. Here’s what can you do to make a happy, balanced bug home.
Continue reading “How Digestion and the Gut influences your mood”
Coming up to the winter season, it is important to strengthen your immune system to become resilient to external invasion from colds and flu’s. Your lifestyle may also be contributing to a weakened immune system, including the following:
Your immune system in an amazingly complex system that has the ability to protect your body from external invaders. It is comprised of organs including the thymus, spleen and lymph nodes as well as tissues and cells (including white blood cells.) As a Naturopath, I educate my clients about the amazing foods and herbs that natures provides us with to boost our immunity and reduce our risk of getting sick. Also, if you do get sick, these tips will help you get better faster.
Helpful foods include:
Bioflavonoid rich foods – cabbage, green peppers, parsley, carrots, broccoli, turnips, parsnips, horseradish, garlic, lemon juice, grapefruit, most fruits.
Avoid the following foods:
Refined sweet foods, salty foods, excess dairy, eggs or other mucous forming foods (Pitchford 2002, p. 69-70)
Immune Boosting Foods
Using food as medicine is a powerful way to support your immunity during winter. When your immune system is functioning well it reduces the chances of developing a cold or infection as well as reducing the length and severity of time that it take you to recover.
As well as eating more of these foods it is important to remember that you give your body time to rest, this means that you have time out and reduce stress (as much as possible!) to rest and ensure that you enough sleep. And of course drink lots of room temperature/warm water. Gargle with warm salt water for sore throat.
Having easier to digest foods such as stews, casseroles and congees (or any meal where all the ingredients are cooked in the one pot) means there is less strain on the digestive system and the nutrients in the food are absorbed by the body more effectively. Plain steamed rice and boiled eggs are also useful.
Vitamin C containing foods Continue reading “Immune boosting foods”
1. Focus on your breathing during your massage
During your massage, remember to breathe. Taking slow, deep breaths deep into your ribs will help to relax you and aid your muscles to release under the firm pressure used during a remedial massage. During remedial massage, trigger points and firm pressure can be used to get tight muscles and knots to relax. People often hold their breath or contract their muscles when sore spots are found during a massage. Never tell yourself to “handle the pressure” as this can lead to you feeling anxious or in pain. Let your therapist know if the pressure is too strong so a good balance can be found to help the muscle to release, without causing pain for you. Connecting to your breath helps you release tension.
Continue reading “How to get the most out of your Remedial Massage at Vibe Natural Health in Brisbane”
These days it seems that no pleasure is complete without a side of guilt.
The biggest misconception about Relaxation Massage Therapy is that it is a luxury. How many of you only pamper yourselves to a massage on a special occasion or when you’ve hit the wall are are in acute pain?
Massage Therapy may seem a little self-indulgent; after all you are serenading yourself into the warm healing touch of your therapist and drifting far away from daily stresses into pure relaxation and harmony. But Massage Therapy is not only a blissful experience; it is just an added bonus. Massage has been proven to have many health benefits and should be an absolute priority in achieving optimal health and well being for the body, mind and spirit.
There’s a great article on CNN’s health.com which explains this very well. Many of us with our busy lives today fulfil obligations to everyone else except our selves. We have so much to do for work, for family, for friends, often ourselves come a distant last. For long term physical and mental wellbeing, time out or “me time” is more important than ever. For some this is turning off the mobile phone, getting away from the computer or having a massage. Me time has many benefits, and should be scheduled into a busy lifestyle to balance out the noise and stress. Continue reading “Massage Therapy — why me time is a necessity, not just a luxury.”
At Vibe Natural Health we offer pregnancy massage to women all over Brisbane. Our therapists are all fully qualified massage therapists, with current first aid, professional association accreditation and are registered with private health funds. Our massage therapists are trained to offer safe and professional pregnancy massage.
We use specially designed memory foam pregnancy massage tables which allow you to lie face down while your belly and breasts are fully supported. If you are uncomfortable lying this way we can massage you lying on your side supported by pillows or seated on a massage chair. About one third of our total massage clientele consists of pregnant women and all our therapists are experienced pregnancy massage therapists who have a special interest in natal massage care.
We thought we’d write a blog about the benefits of pregnancy massage and the questions we get asked by our clients before they book.
Benefits of Pregnancy Massage: Continue reading “Pregnancy Massage Brisbane at Vibe Natural Health”
Massage has become such a popular therapy in Brisbane. At Vibe Natural Health we are passionate about tailoring your massage to suit your needs, rather than a template style “one size fits all massage.” Our massage therapists combine remedial massage techniques with relaxation elements, giving you the best of both worlds to release tight muscles causing pain and discomfort, whilst also releasing emotional tension and stress.
As I studied to become a Naturopath, I started out working in natural medicine clinics doing massage in Brisbane. Over 8 years I worked around the country in many clinics and had the privilege of working with Physiotherapists & Osteopaths and mentored by experienced massage therapists. I would swap a massage most weeks with some of the best therapists I could find in order to develop my massage skills. Massage is something that can be studied by anyone, but I find that a good therapist either has the touch, the “healing in their hands” or doesn’t. It’s something you can’t learn – it comes from a passion for helping people. You can often tell within the first 5 minutes of receiving a massage if the therapist has “the right touch.”
With all the massage therapists we have as part of our Vibe team, we look for people who have the right touch. We have a diverse mix of massage therapists, some are extremely technical, with an incredible wealth of knowledge for rehabilitating injuries and tips for reducing ongoing problems. For example, Davin Vanstone is studying a Masters in Physiotherapy. Some of our therapists, such as Aline Ambauen are very intuitive, it’s baffling the way they just seem to know where all the sore/ tight/ in need of attention spots are, and they gravitate to those spots like a magnet! Continue reading “Massage in Brisbane — Vibe Natural Health ph 3366 7970”
Remedial Massage has become a very popular treatment over the past few years. Our clients of our Brisbane based clinic, Vibe Natural Health, often ask us about the ways massage can benefit their health.
The difference between Remedial Massage and Relaxation Massage is that Remedial Massage is aimed at reducing pain, improving range of motion of the muscles and joints and aiding and preventing injuries. It’s a much firmer massage style, using a combination of deep techniques that release the muscles and tendons.
Remedial Massage helps to re-educate and re-align the body. After a massage you find you are much more aware of your body and your posture. We walk around, drive around and sit for long periods of time, often without giving much thought to our posture. We may slump – putting pressure on the lower back, stick our neck out like a turkey while driving – causing neck, chest and shoulder pain or carry a heavy bag – changing the dynamics of the hips and shoulders when we walk which can lead to lower back pain. Continue reading “Benefits of Remedial Massage — Vibe Natural Health in Brisbane”
A question I frequently get asked in clinic is, “how can I become more flexible?” Often this question comes from patients and people like myself who have never been flexible and who find it difficult to stretch or gain any range from stretching.
Luckily there some advanced stretching techniques widely practiced amongst Occupational Therapists, Physios and Musculoskeletal Therapists, which I’ll share with you today. These techniques make stretching easier because it ‘tricks’ the sensors in our muscles allowing them to relax and stretch further.
This stretching technique is called Proprioceptive Neuromuscular Facilitation (PNF.) Now the word is a mouthful, but when you know a key few steps, the technique is relatively simple and easy to apply.
PNF involves passively stretching a muscle group, then contracting the muscle against resistance while in the stretched position, then passively stretching again which increases the range of motion and helps you to stretch further, increasing flexibility.
How to practice PNF techniques:
Taking the target muscle to a comfortable stretch, holding for 20-30 seconds, contracting that muscle for 15 seconds, and then relax and bring the muscle further to the next comfortable stretch. Usually 3-5 times or until you hit end range.
Here is an example applied to hamstrings:
Continue reading “How to get flexible fast — improve your flexibility and performance”
