Focusing on Fascia - Here's Why My Practice Is Changing

It is not because the fascia is MORE important than the muscles, tendons, organs, nerves, etc.

It is not because I in any way dislike family practice or pediatrics (my prior focuses). I love kids and family practice!

It is not because I am abandoning traditional naturopathic medicine.

It IS because I believe that offering Fascial Manipulation® and accompanying therapies is the best way that I, in my unique life and professional experience, can be of service to my community. It is no secret that we need better solutions for pain relief and internal dysfunctions.

When I take a step back and ask myself "of all of the tools that I have, how can I best serve Longmont and the surrounding Front Range?", the answer is to get extremely good at Fascial Manipulation® - the Stecco® Method. After all, at this point in time, I am the only Certified Fascial Manipulation® Specialist on the Front Range - and, people really need this type of medicine!

I was deeply interested in fascia before starting naturopathic medical school, as I intuitively understood that what connects us together must be important. I remember studying fascia in histology and was mesmerized by the pink and purple disorganized but organized wavy lines (from the stain). I remember being so frustrated with cadaver lab when we just tore through the fascia to get to the muscles and organs without learning more about the properties and function of the fascia. Although, we did get a first hand experience of understanding how encompassing the fascia really is in our bodies.

I recall in my 3rd year of school receiving an email that this incredible method of treating the fascia, coupled with a fascia-specific movement method, would be taught as an extracurricular option. I knew I had to be a part of this, even though I was knee-deep in medical school studies already. It was in the first Fascial Manipulation® course that I understood this wasn't going to just be something to dabble in. First you had to commit all of the points to memory. Then, you had to be able to apply the logic properly. You also had to have the right touch. And then there were more and more courses and the complexity continued to increase!

I was enthralled by the method; however, I had to survive medical school. I had the opportunity to dabble in FM in the student clinic, but had lackluster results. I had made a commitment to first, be a doctor. I had to file the method away in my brain with very special place holder that said "Important!!! Learn this when you are ready!!!"

I felt that in order to be a great doctor, I needed to do general practice first. I wanted to see several ailments and work with lots of different types of people. This was needed to give me a good general perspective and to start carving the image of how I really wanted to practice. After a couple years, I started to see ailments that I believed would benefit immensely from Fascial Manipulation®. I knew it was time to pull that place holder out of my brain and dust my books off - so, I did just that, and ordered several new books, and began immersing myself in FM again. Once I started applying it to my patients and seeing astonishing results, I knew that I needed to commit. Two trips to Italy later and countless hours of studying and working on patients, this has truly become the cornerstone of my practice.

To become a great bread baker, you need to first be taught the process of baking bread. You need to know how to select the best ingredients. You need to understand the process of mixing the ingredients and kneading the bread. You need to learn the intricacies of the whole progress that can't always be explained in a recipe book. It is the same with Fascial Manipulation®. It takes time, and mentorship, and practice to become a great practitioner.

I had to make the decision to start narrowing my practice to truly be great at this method so that I could offer this needed system of medicine to Colorado. I am still a Naturopathic Doctor - I am just choosing Physical Medicine as my primary modality. So, when you are on the table being treated with FM or after your RevInMo™ movement session, I am still offering my knowledge and assessment and other modalities (herbal medicine, homeopathy, nutrition, etc.) as part of your treatment. My hope is that all of these tools will come together to offer you more value and more results!

So, if you are starting to notice some changes in my website, blogs, and communications - now you know why!