In my last post I raised the issue of fear as a meaning invested in the body and its symptoms. The correlation of the body part with the fearful memory deeply connects and acknowledges the fear. Making explicit the mind-body connection helps release the traumatic element stored in the tissues of the body, enhancing healing.

An excellent example of this is a motor vehicle accident patient. Those who use pain medication to alleviate their symptoms are likely to end up in the chronic pain cycle, as the symptom of “pain” is the only part of the problem being addressed. They are disempowered. The pain meds cover-up the issues in the tissues requiring address for a full recovery.

If the trauma has not left their body, those who take the route of physiotherapy and attempt to rehabilitate their muscles will typically get 20% to 30% improvement without ever feeling free from the accident.

The motor vehicle accident patients I treat typically improve quickly for several reasons. First, the treatment involves the body’s relaxation response. Additionally, specific procedures address the shock stored in the body, with the patient cognizant of this information. For example, when the accident “took their breath away” or they were “aghast” or “winded,” restoring proper breathing patterns and full use of their lungs and proper tension of their diaphragm is paramount prior to addressing their whiplash.

Addressing the trauma first results in just a few treatments needed to address the whiplash. In contrast, merely treating the neck without treating the person who experienced the whiplash could take years and may never produce satisfactory results. The treatment I use restores the fascia, decreases inflammatory responses, and increases circulation, lymphatic flow and overall vitality to the patient.