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What is Homeopathy?
Homeopathy works with the innate ability that the body has to heal itself. The ability that the body has to heal itself is very great, but when this ability has become impaired, slow, or faulty in some way, the homeopathic remedy acts as a stimulus to the curative powers of the body.
It is based on the idea of like cures like. This means that a substance that is capable of producing symptoms in a healthy person can, when specially prepared in high dilution, bring relief to a person who is ill and suffers from similar symptoms.
It recognizes that all symptoms of ill health are expressions of disharmony within the whole person and that it is the person who needs treatment, not the disease. Different people react in different ways to the same illness. The correct remedy is chosen not only on the complaint, but also on other factors unique to each patient such as temperament, level of vitality and energy, likes and dislikes, mental and emotional predisposition, and genetic constitutional type.
Homeopathic remedies have an energetic rather than a pharmacologic effect, meaning that they never force the body or spirit into any action, but rather facilitate any healing activity that needs to occur. Homeopathic remedies do not interfere with other medications, and if well-chosen are safe for use even in delicate states such as pregnancy, old age, and childhood.
Why Adjusting?
Adjusting is a powerful tool for restoring proper function in the body, whether it is on the level of the joints or on the level of energy and meridian flow in the body. Adjusting has effects not only on the musculoskeletal frame, but also has acupuncture-like effects depending on the acupuncture points at the site of adjustment. The beneficial effects of adjusting go far beyond mobilization of things that may feel “stuck.” Dr. Barter uses adjusting as a tool similar to acupuncture for improving internal energy flow, which often has profound effects on improving digestion, breathing, mental clarity, energy and sense of well-being.
Does she adjust everyone?
The healing power of hands-on therapies cannot be over-emphasized.
However, adjusting may not be appropriate for everyone. For patients it is deemed inappropriate to adjust, other hands-on modalities such as cranio-sacral therapy or acupressure may be utilized.
Cranio-sacral therapy
Pioneered by Major DeJarnette in the early part of this century, cranio-sacral therapy is a gentle method of moving the bones of the cranium and the pelvis in rhythm with the breath in order to restore normal flow of cerebrospinal fluid and skull shape. Restoration of smooth flow of the fluid in which the brain, spinal cord and nerves are bathed can have profound effects not only on pain of all sorts, but also on hormonal function, blood pressure, and a whole host of other problems which may result from impaired circulation to the very delicate nervous system.
Cranio-sacral therapy is appropriate even for newborns and for the very elderly, and is utilized for most patients to some extent at every visit.
Posture & Gait analysis
Posture and the way a person walks give priceless insights into a person’s structural and internal problems for the doctor who has a thorough understanding of biomechanics, kinesiology (the way muscles move the body), and meridian theory. Dr. Barter uses observation of posture and gait with every single patient to gain insight into their case whether it is a structural complaint, heart disease, digestive distress, or something seemingly unrelated to posture or gait.
Using knowledge of applied kinesiology, observation of posture and gait help guide treatment. Many times errors of posture and gait which the patient cannot overcome by their own efforts can be corrected with appropriate treatment.
What is Applied Kinesiology?
Applied Kinesiology (AK) is a diagnostic system. It combines knowledge of how muscles move the body with classical Chinese meridian theory in an ingenious system that recognizes each muscle is related to an organ or a meridian. By using this powerful tool, an observant physician gains an astonishing amount of information just by watching a patient walk and move, and even more information by testing the muscles related to a meridian or organ in which a problem may exist. Utilizing manual muscle testing, the doctor is able to evaluate in the office the quality of function of many internal organs and systems. This does not replace the need for proper lab evaluation, but it does provide a means to evaluate structural integrity as well as internal workings to a certain extent.
It is, in effect, a tool for functional analysis of the patient. The body’s function is greatly influenced by nutrition, environmental toxins, medicines, mental/emotional factors, as well as muscle and joint function. AK is truly a holistic approach that recognizes that all these factors play a part in real well-being. Therefore, it makes sense to treat the person as a whole – everything from structural alignment to specialized nutritional suggestions to interventions for emotional distress, using the patient’s body to direct what it needs, when, where, and how.
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