Botanical Medicine is the use of plants for healing. This modality dates back to the beginnings of civilization and is the foundation of modern pharmacology. Plant substances from around the world are used for healing effects and nutritional value.

Bowen Therapy provides an affordable, quick, effective resolution to chronic pain. Tom Bowen developed what is now called “The Bowen Technique” or Bowen Therapy in Geelong, Australia. Bowen is a type of vibrational healing that balances the Autonomic Nervous System ( one responsible for stress and relaxation) using a series of simple, gentle moves across muscle and connective tissue. The technique is so gentle it can be used on anyone from infants to the elderly. Sessions usually last about an hour.

Chelation Therapy is a series of intravenous injections aimed at removing toxic heavy metals such as lead, arsenic, cadmium, mercury, copper and aluminum. The chelating agents bind to these toxins and flush them out of your system through your urine.

Chelation Therapy can also benefit those with:

• Heart disease
• Hight Blood Pressure
• Diabetes

Everybody at one time or another has suffered from chronic pain; whether it be sports realted, a motor vehicle accident, chronic headaches, or some underlying disease.
The Vancouver Naturopathic Clinic uses a variety of effective pain modalities to help this problem. These include Neural Therapy, Prolotherapy, Myofascial Trigger Point Therapy, Whole Body Hyperthermia, Advanced Physical Therapy and Intravenous Therapy.
All of these methods are highly beneficial and are part of a whole body approach that might also include any of the other therapeutic services available at our clinic. The goal is to provide a long lasting pain solutions.

This examines the relationship between diet and health. Special diets may be recommended and treatment may include nutritional supplements such as vitamins, minerals, enzymes and other nutraceuticals.

Core to good medical practice and results is open communication between doctor and patient. For some, this comes easily and for others, it may take awhile to reach a certain level of comfort.

Understanding one’s beliefs, philosophies,habits, likes,dislikes, emotional health and goals often leads to a more complete understanding of one’s health state. Bad habits, addictions, repetitive mistakes, chronic stress, ignorance, inflexibility, anger, perfectionism, mood disorders and lack of vision are some examples of personal factors that can contribute to unwellness.

The mental/emotional state is considered to be as important as is the physical one. Altering one’s lifestyle, addressing long-standing issues and considering various options can help the healing process.

This is a method of allergy or immunotherapy treatment using extremely small doses of allergens to desensitize people from their allergies.
It is effective for:

• Inhalant and allergic reactions
• Chemical sensitivities
• Hormonal imbalances

Detoxification is the elimination of toxicity in the body. In addition to the problem of environmental toxins, the foods we eat have refined much of the nutritional value out of our food supply and replaced it with artificial colorings, preservatives, flavorings etc. This poor quality diet, combined with the wide use of antibiotics in medicine and agriculture, negatively impact many aspects of overall health.

Obesity is becoming more prevalent in our society. The Vancouver Naturopathic Clinic can build a specific weight loss program suitable for you. This program will address food allergies, possible sub-clinical syndromes causing weight gain, emotional cues to eating and exercise. Your progress will be monitored through regular meetings and body composition testing.

Homeopathic medicine is based on the principles of “like cures like” and developed in 1700s. Minute amounts of natural substances are used to stimulate the body’s self-healing abilities.

The use of heat in treating the body is almost as old as the history of mankind. Local heat relieves muscle spasm, dialates superficial blood and lymph vessels, increases perspiration and white blood cell activity and sedates the nervous system. Local heat is beneficial to a wide range of musculoskeletal disorders and helps diminish post injection discomfort.

Instead of getting a flu shot, why not explore natural methods to stay healthy during flu season?

Hormones are chemical messengers produced in the body that have specific effects on other cells and organs. Puberty,pregnancy, aging, and a variety of conditions and diseases effect hormone production and use. Examples of a few hormones are thyroid, estrogen, progesterone, testosterone, DHEA, pregnenolone, melatonin, and growth hormone.

Neural therapy began in Germany in 1940’s and is a gentle healing system for chronic pain and illness. It involves the injection of local anaesthetic or other natural medicines into autonomic ganglia, peripheral nerves, scars, glands, acupuncture points, trigger points and other tissues. Neural therapy is based on the theory that dysfunction of the involuntary (autonomic) nervous system can lead to circulatory, lymphatic, electrical, hormonal and biochemical changes in tissues and organs. These changes produce interference fields or “fields of disturbance” which maybe silent, act locally, or act elsewhere in the body away from the original site.

Interference fields are often traumatized, chronically infected or disturbed tissues like scars, bad teeth, problematic sinuses, toxic liver/kidneys, pelvic organs and the thyroid gland to name a few, but can be any organ in the body.

A correctly applied neural therapy injection can often instantly and lastingly remove chronic long-standing illness and pain by “resetting” the tissue and eliminated the interference field. Many conditions benefit form neural therapy, such as headaches, tinnitus, sinusitis, whiplash, liver and galbladder disease, joint and nerve pain, asthma, gynecological illness and thyroid disease.

Parenteral or IV therapy is the administration of specific vitamins and minerals intravenously. It has been shown that this intravenous therapy can raise the nutrient levels in the blood higher than regular oral vitamin therapy. IV therapy can be used to help promote weight loss, increase athletic performance and boost the immune system. This therapy has also been shown to be beneficial in treating:

• Fatigue
• Allergies
• Depression
• Migraine headaches
• Heart disease
• Asthma
• Fibromyalgia
• Hyperthyroidism
• Bronchitis
• Muscle spasms
• Drug addiction

Prolotherapy is a technique for treating laxity and chronic pain around the joints, tendons, bursae and ligaments of the neck, back or extremities. It involves the injection of a concentrated sugar (dextrose) and local anaesthetic mixture into ligaments or tendons. The injected solution creates a controlled inflammatory response. This inflammatory response stimulates an increase in the number of fibroblasts, which are cells that build new connective tissue. The fibroblasts lay down new collagen tissue, which in animal and human studies have been shown to shorten, thicken and strengthen the injected ligaments. This causes a decrease in painful signals arising from the many nerves in lax ligaments and ultimately a decrease in pain.

The body produces a scar as part of the healing cascade. Scars can be produced by trauma, surgery, chronic inflamation and by blood and nerve flow impairments. Scars maybe visible, onthe surface of the skin, or invisible, deep in the body’s organs and cavities. Some are obviously painful and restrict functions and others, though cosmetically noticeable, appear harmless.

It is known that scars can act like “fields of disturbance” and may produce not only local problems, but problems distant from their site. Scars create abnormal electrical forces that can effect the involuntary nervous system. Connective tissue (fascia) beneath scars can be restricted in movement and can cause pain. Scar tissue obstracts the normal network of blood, lymph, and nerve supply, thus causing alteration in the micro-architecture of the area.

Although difficult for many people to understand, scar tissue is a significant cause of chronic illness and if treated correctly, often yields “a lot of mileage” towards health recovery.

Myofascial trigger points are tender areas within a taut band of muscles, which can cause local and referred pain to other areas of the body. These muscle “knots” can respond to heat, stretching, massage therapy and acupuncture, however the most effective treatment is to inject them. Using a combination of local anaesthetic,mineral, plant or homeopathic medicines, the trigger point can be injected and released to provide quick pain relief and a break in the spasm cycle. In many cases only one-two treatments is all that is needed however, patients with multiple trigger points may require more therapy.

Fibromyalgia, chronic headaches, TMJ syndrome, sciatica, and back pain are a few conditions that often respond well to this therapy.

Obesity is becoming epidemic in North America. Excess weight can be very detrimental to one’s health and is linked to diseases like osteoarthritis, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, gallstones and many more. Treatment involves diet and nutritional management, exercise and metabolic stimulation. Patients are educated in how to achieve these principles. Safe, effective and time proven approaches are individualized for each patient.

In general, women are more proactive about their own health and the health of the etire family as compared to men. Women most often take the lead role when it comes to providing health care for their children. As a result, women are the ones most likely to explore a variety of healthcare disciplines in order to find the desired solutions.

A woman’s unique anatomy and physiology predisposes her to a variety of different health concerns than that of a man. From puberty to menopause, contraception to childbirth, menstrula and hormonal concerns, sexual health, osteoporosis, female cancers, lifestyle and mental and emotional well-being, a woman requires specialized attention and treatment.

The Vancouver Naturopathic Clinic offers a group of diagnostic and therapeutic services specially to meet the needs of our female patients. These services, depending on the specific concern, can be utilized in conjunction with standard gynecological approaches or as stand alone treatments.