A patient’s health improved by incorporating structural, mental, and chemical methods of treatment

I was less than 1 year out of school when the toughest patient of my career walked through the door. This was a perfect test of everything that I had studied and was the best opportunity to apply my skills of differential diagnosis.

Presentation
A 54-year-old female with multiple symptoms had been to numerous health care professionals, both traditional and alternative. She said, “You are my last hope.” She did not look good at all and appeared very toxic and sick

The patient had her thyroid removed, succumbed to multiple attempts at medical hormone balancing, and had extreme pressure and unsteadiness in her head. She wore dark glasses, had dark circles under her eyes, and was very thin. She had a pallor complexion and she had dry, brittle hair and nails. Her skin was scaly and rough. She got chills often and could not sleep without frequent disturbances. She was extremely constipated and did not have much of an appetite.

Her heart was causing her pressure and discomfort in her chest, and her blood pressure was elevated. She experienced diffuse muscle- and joint-related pain and discomfort. She also had areas of paresthesia in her extremities. She had almost constant migraines, and could not walk without the assistance of her husband. Her husband accompanied her on her visits and was her primary caregiver.

Diagnosis
I knew there was a strong possibility that I might have to refer her out at any moment, and I almost did not accept her as a patient. But I knew that I should at least check her. Structurally, I found numerous subluxations, but I also knew that she had been to other chiropractors and she was still not doing well. In fact, she said she felt worse. By using kinesiology, I determined that she had other very important issues that needed to be addressed concurrently with her chiropractic care.

At this point, I knew that I would have to consider the triad of health. D.D. Palmer, who is credited with performing the first recorded chiropractic adjustment in 1895, had described health as having three basic factors: structural, chemical (nutritional), and mental (emotional). Kinesiologists look to these three factors in their clinical assessments of patients. When a person experiences poor health, usually one of the three factors is involved. But, with severe health problems, all three may be contributing in some way to the condition. The patient was experiencing all three factors.

Treatment
Using kinesiology, I determined that the emotional stress that she had been through was the No. 1 priority in her treatment. So, I began releasing some of the emotional stressors that were harboring in her body. At the time, I was incorporating the work of James Durlacher BA, DC, DIBAK, who performed acupressure release at various meridians.¹ This seemed to work well with her, and I proceeded to locate and release the various emotional restrictions that were being harbored by her toxic body.  

In his book, Durlacher shows the meridians that are associated with the various organs and systems of the body. By accessing the points of these meridians (in particular the beginning and end points), you can help to release the different emotional components in these meridians.  Scott Walker, DC, also refers to these meridians with the neuroemotional technique (NET) work. Through these pioneers, it has been proven that emotions do indeed become physical entities within our bodies and as such can then be a breeding ground for toxins and disease. For example, the liver meridian is known to harbor feelings of anger or resentment. It then follows that a person who is consciously or subconsciously angry about something could in fact have impaired liver function to some degree. Specific emotional components have been proven to go to specific organs and organ systems of our body.

I also incorporated various other techniques that I had learned regarding emotional release. These included but were not limited to color therapy, sound therapy (hypersonic repatterning technique), shock-release technique (Robert Fulford, DO), and various ocular-release techniques. Roger Callaghan, PhD, was also one of the pioneers in the field of body-release work. I used his psychological reversal techniques to include self-sabotage and negative life belief removal. After I calmed down the emotional stressors, it was evident that her body was toxic and we needed to employ various nutritional support and detox procedures. During the initial consultation, it was noted that she had not had a normal bowel movement in more than 6 months. She was extremely constipated. The previous chiropractor that she had seen had not considered this as a part of the equation, and as a result, she became more and more toxic. I knew that bowel elimination had to be a priority, and therefore I began a colon detox program with various supplements.

In addition, I supported her adrenals, as she was obviously approaching adrenal shutdown. I then looked to the liver and gallbladder for clearing and detox, followed by other endocrine balancing. Treatment included specific and targeted nutritional support and detoxification procedures.

The Structural Connection
Most of you are probably asking, “What about adjusting her?” Well, as I alluded to in the beginning, she had plenty of subluxations—which I corrected on every visit—but they were not holding. I knew that they would not hold until all of the other stressors were taken off of the body.

As the detox began, and the emotional release continued, she was able to hold her adjustments longer. She needed various spinal as well as extraspinal corrections throughout her care. The adjustments were performed at the end of the sessions to ensure optimal hold time. I used hand adjusting, instrument adjusting, and sacro occipital technique.

I also did cranial-release work from time to time and monitored her extremities. The bottom line is that I did not leave any stone uncovered, and the best tool that I had in my box right out of school was applied kinesiology. I was glad that I took the 100-hour applied kinesiology course as a student. In this patient’s case, it was the only answer.

It is now more than 3½ years later, and nobody recognizes her. Yes, she still comes in to see me on a regular basis, but the visits are now “fine-tuning” instead of major overhauls. About a year ago, she was able to drive for the first time in many years. I knew that to bring her back into balance that I needed to visit the triad of health.

Carl Amodio, BA, DC, is founder and director of Whole Body Health Inc, an Atlanta-based clinic specializing in total health techniques. He is a chiropractic kinesiologist currently studying for his diplomate in kinesiology from the International Board of Applied Kinesiology. Contact him at www.wholebodyhealth.org

Reference
1. Durlacher JV. Freedom from Fear Forever. 1st ed.Tempe, Ariz: Van Ness Publishing; 1977.