What You Can Learn with a thorough Manual Evaluation (Video)

When evaluating a person to decide on a course of treatment, or someone with a complicated medical history, it is very helpful to do a complete palpatory exam.  Manual Therapy is an effective treatment in itself for a lot of conditions (for some things it is the treatment of choice), and a method of finding out information that can help create a very thorough treatment plan.

Sometimes in the course of doing this kind of evaluation, you can discover information that may not have come out during a medical history, or even information that your client may have forgotten about or does not realize is important.

Nakazono-Sensei, during my training in this form of Manual Therapy, liked to say that “In Oriental Medicine, Diagnosis and Treatment are the same - you should treat someone as if you are diagnosing, and diagnose as if you are treating them.”

When you are touching someone in a therapeutic context, you are affecting them at the same time that you are discovering things about their condition.  Sometimes you can find out some surprising things…

Please contact me if you think you or your students might like to learn more about these kinds of therapies.

For more information, please give me a call at (206) 632-5640, or email me at ed@hibikimedia.com (Click the envelope icon at the top right of this page)

Body Mechanics for Bodyworkers (Video)

As Manual Therapists, Bodyworkers, and Massage Therapists, we use our hands and bodies to work on our clients.  This can be very physically demanding work, and if we are going to do it over a long period of time (as a career), we need to know how to use our bodies to exert the necessary force, repeatedly, without hurting ourselves.

Martial artists have the same concern, and because Martial Arts (on a practical level) is largely about exerting force with one’s body, martial artists have become quite sophisticated in their approach to body mechanics.  I have developed a series of classes based on Principles of Body Mechanics drawn from a number of different martial arts. These classes are designed to train Bodyworkers in how to use their bodies to exert force in their work in ways that will keep them from being injured and insure that they can have a long, productive career doing the work that they love.  I have used these strategies throughout my 25-year career as a Manual Therapist and Acupuncturist.

This is a video montage of a class I taught in Seattle, WA, a few years ago.  This is a sample of the kinds of things I like to talk about in this context, and is excerpted from a 4-hour class that includes principles of pushing, pulling, using your hands to exert force, using balance, leverage, and other strategies to prevent injuries.  It is a fun class with lots of simple exercises to demonstrate the principles and help to build them into your muscle memory and nervous system, so that they become automatic habits.  The principles taught in this class also apply to martial arts, yoga, dance, and other athletic or work situations that might put someone at risk for injuries.

Please contact me if you think you or your students might like to learn more about these kinds of subjects.

For more information, please give me a call at (206) 632-5640, or email me at ed@hibikimedia.com (Click the envelope icon at the top right of this page)

I look forward to hearing from you.

Introduction to Teate Manual Therapy (Video)

When I first started as a student at the Kototama Institute in Santa Fe in 1982, I began a journey of training in a very unique school of Traditional Japanese Medicine.  I was fortunate to have begun my education not only in Acupuncture, but in a comprehensive medical system from a foreign culture.  I was also fortunate that the training program was not just about how to practice the therapies taught there, but how to learn about treating people for their medical and health concerns on a lot of different levels, with a variety of therapeutic modalities.

Manual Therapy, as taught at the Kototama Institute by Nakazono-Sensei and other teachers at the school, was one of the foundations of the practice.  Nakazono-Sensei called manual therapy Teate, or simply “Handwork”.  For the first year of my training, I studied Asian Medical Theory along with regular practical classes (three nights a week) where my fellow students and I treated each other exclusively with Teate treatment, under close supervision by our teachers - starting and ending with pulse and other diagnostic methods, to find out the condition before and after the treatment.  This was the foundation of the treatment therapies taught at the school - eventually we learned Moxabustion and Acupuncture, as well as other treatment modalities.

I have studied and practiced what I learned at the Kototama Institute for over 25 years now, and furthered my training with some other significant teachers along the way.

Here is a video introducing some aspects of Teate treatment and evaluation methods:

I will be posting more videos soon, about many subjects that I have explored since my time at the Kototama Institute.  I will be teaching classes in a wide variety of subjects.

Please contact me if you think you or your students might like to learn more about these kinds of therapies.

For more information, please give me a call at (206) 632-5640, or email me at ed@hibikimedia.com (Click the envelope icon at the top right of this page)

Martial Arts and Medicine - the Sinew Channels (Video)

Usually, in the US, when you hear about the relationship between Martial arts and Asian Medicine, you hear about Taiqichuan or Qigong.  That is because most Acupuncture practitioners in the US come from Chinese traditions.  There is a rich history of martial arts medicine from other cultures, too.  My first teacher of Japanese Medicine, Masahilo Nakazono, was an Aikido teacher - you can watch some video of him here:

I also spent many years training in a Korean martial art, and it helped me to expand my understanding of what I had learned from Nakazono-Sensei.

Nakazono-Sensei always said that “Martial arts and medicine are the same.” I have been curious about that ever since, and my study of that has taken me to a lot of different places.  Here is a video that addresses one of the things that I learned from my explorations…

I will be creating several educational products and teaching classes about the sinew channels, and how that relates to the treatment of injury with Oriental Medicine.  Acupuncturists, massage therapists and other bodyworkers, and people from other fields of therapy could benefit from a deeper understanding of this aspect of Asian medical theory, I think.

For more information, please give me a call at (206) 632-5640, or email me at ed@hibikimedia.com (Click the envelope icon at the top right of this page)

Special Needling Techniques

Acupuncture Needles are very versatile tools. Different traditions use them in different ways.

Acupuncture has been passed down by Word-of-Mouth from teacher to student for a long time, and by many venerated Classics of Medical Theory - there are many ways of practicing.

Here is a discussion of one kind of needling technique… I learned this from a friend - Matt Callison.

This kind of Acupuncture technique is not that widely practiced yet, but is a very effective treatment strategy to incorporate into a plan for injury treatment.

For more information, please give me a call at (206) 632-5640, or email me at ed@hibikimedia.com (Click the envelope icon at the top right of this page)

Shoulder Injury - Before and After Video

This is example of an intake interview with MJ, a Yoga teacher suffering from shoulder pain from an injury.  Questioning, listening, and touching evaluation are part of the intake process.  If you have been injured, it matters how it happened, what the consequences have been, and the details of what you are experiencing.  It is helpful if your provider lets you tell your story and explain your situation.  A physical injury usually has consequences in a lot of areas of your life.  Your goals in treatment should be a priority in your treatment.

Here is a follow-up interview after five treatments over a period of about 1 month: this is an interview with MJ after about 5 treatments, with her talking about her recovery process.

These videos are representative of what treatment for many kinds of joint and muscle injuries might be like - MJ’s injury was to her shoulder, but similar intake and results could be expected with injuries to other parts of your body.

These videos will give you some flavor of what an Acupuncture intake and evaluation looks like, and the results of a short series of treatments.

Longer and  more detailed videos of this series of treatments will be coming soon to the Professional Education section of this site - check back for more…

For more information, please give me a call at (206) 632-5640, or email me at ed@hibikimedia.com (Click the envelope icon at the top right of this page)

Acupuncture, Injury Treatment, and Martial Arts

Martial Traditions of Asian Medicine

Asian Medicine, historically, has many branches that have been passed down through many different lineages.  Many of the martial arts systems throughout Asia encompass medical traditions that cover all or most of the branches of modern sports medicine.  I believe that these traditions have much to offer us as Oriental medical practitioners, and through us to our clients.

Sports medicine is a multi-disciplinary branch of medicine. According to the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM), it includes the “physiological, biomechanical, psychological, and pathological phenomena associated with exercise and sports”.

Sports medicine covers many different areas of exercise and sports science that relate both to performance and care of injury.  Sports medicine specialties include clinical medicine, orthopedics, exercise physiology, biomechanics, physical therapy, athletic training, massage therapy, sports nutrition, and sports psychology.

Many martial arts systems in Asia address most of these fields within their teachings.  Certain schools of Taiqichuan, Bagua, Xingyichuan, Jujutsu, Judo, etc., include partial or complete systems of medicine, which while well within the mainstream of Oriental Medicine (OM), are seldom taught in our American schools of OM.  As exercise systems, they include a large body of knowledge relevant to athletic training.  As medical systems, they offer a unique application of traditional medical principles to medical aspects of athletic training, general medicine, and traumatology.

Generally, one thing that these traditions have in common is that there is a lot of overlap between the martial and healing aspects of the systems.  The theories, philosophies, and practices taught within these schools derive from many years of study of the human body, and offer unique insight into OM theory.  Usually they are solidly based on a philosophical system derived from the Classics, and both the martial and healing aspects are applications of the same fundamental understandings.

These traditions largely center around the branches of OM dealing with traumatology. The practitioners from these traditions are specialists of palpatory diagnosis, manual therapy, and the use of external compresses and poultices as well as acupuncture, moxabustion and herbs to treat traumatic injury.  As martial arts traditions, they also include sophisticated insight into anatomy, body mechanics, training methods, and performance enhancement.

These traditions really encompass a wide range of knowledge and technique that is particularly valuable to modern acupuncturists wishing to specialize in sports medicine.

One thing that these traditions have in common is the centrality of touch as a method of both diagnosis and treatment.  Having evolved long before the modern diagnostic methods of x-rays, MRIs, and CAT scans, these practitioners needed to have the palpatory skills to diagnose soft tissue injuries through touch alone, and affect these conditions manually based on their palpatory diagnosis.  In order to do this, they had to be thoroughly skilled in the subtlety of diagnosing through touch, and working with all of the body tissues.  The skills needed to acquire this subtlety are the same skills that are trained through martial arts practices such as push hands, chin na, aikido, etc.  This is why, across cultures, martial arts and medical traditions are so frequently intertwined.

A Zheng Gu Fa (Martial arts trauma medical specialist) practitioner in the Northwest, from Shanghai, told me that “Tuina (Chinese medical massage), Medical Qigong (direct energetic treatment), and Zheng Gu Fa are basically the same practice, but for Zheng Gu Fa, your Kung Fu has to be better.”   Masahiro Nakazono, a long-time teacher of Aikido and Japanese medicine, frequently commented that “Martial arts and medicine are the same”.  I once had a discussion with a massage practitioner from India, about Ayurvedic medicine.  In response to my question about traditional trauma therapy practitioners, he said “Oh yes – we have those in India.  They are mostly wrestlers.”

In my experience, practitioners of these systems have a lot in common, regardless of the culture they came from.  Japanese and Chinese acupuncturists who come from their respective martial traditions of medicine both have said that their acupuncture is an extension, or refinement, of the manual therapy they practice.  They tend to diagnose, locate points, and even use needling techniques similarly.  Manual therapy and acupuncture are applied in treatment as two methods arising out of one diagnosis and treatment plan.

I believe that these martial traditions of medicine contain very sophisticated knowledge that we can bring to our patients.  As practitioners of sports medicine acupuncture, we can all benefit from increasing our palpatory diagnostic skills and manual therapy skills.  Martial arts practice, especially the traditions which include partner practices such as those mentioned above, can be invaluable in this, while also increasing understanding of body mechanics, training philosophies, and other aspects of sports medicine.

For more information, please give me a call at (206) 632-5640, or email me at ed@hibikimedia.com (Click the envelope icon at the top right of this page)

What is Acupressure?

“Acupressure” is a term sometimes used to describe Asian Therapeutic treatments where a practitioner will use his or her hands or fingers, or even elbows or other body tools to influence the flow of energy along the acupuncture channels of the body and treat injuries or other health issues.

“Acupressure” is a term that was often used in English some years ago, before it became more widely known that Asian bodywork therapies actually are very diverse, and that there are many different styles or practices that have very deep lineages.  In some of the oldest written records of Asian Medicine, manual therapy was considered to be a unique branch of medicine, equal to Acupuncture, Herbal medicine, Moxabustion therapy, and some other forms of medicine.  Often, manual therapy was associated with schools of martial arts and injury treatment.

In China, manual therapy is often referred to as “Tuina” - and in fact, specialists of Tuina therapy are trained and respected as practitioners of Traditional Chinese Medicine in their own right.  Manual therapy or Tuina departments are common in Chinese hospitals.

In Japan, “Shiatsu” is a generic name for a type of manual therapy that is sometimes known in the US as “Acupressure”.  There are many other names for Japanese manual therapy schools - Amma, Sotai, Reiki, Judo-Seifuku, etc.

My original teacher of Japanese manual therapy called what he taught “Teate”, or simply “Handwork” or “Hand Treatment”.  At the Kototama Institute, where I first trained, Teate therapy was a very big part of my training.  My fellow students and I spent over a year being carefully trained in Teate as a foundation for the other therapeutic practices taught at the Kototama Institute.  I have been studying and practicing this kind of treatment for over 25 years now.

One thing that is unique about the practice of Teate is that it includes extensive treatment of the abdomen, to harmonize the internal organs and make sure that your belly is in working order, with everything moving through as it should, organs in the places where they belong, and able to function at their best.  This is often a new experience for people, and most people find the benefits of this treatment to be very powerful.

Treatment of the myofascial system and its integration with the bones of the skeletal system is also a big part of Teate treatment, and this can be very beneficial if you have experienced any sort of injury, even one long ago that might still be affecting you.

Overall, the goal of Teate treatment is to help to harmonize and re-integrate your whole system, and to restore optimal function of your many circulatory pathways - energetic flows through the acupuncture channels, blood and lymph circulation, other fluid movements in your body, and musculo-skeletal integration.  Manual treatment will be a big part of your experience in receiving treatment at Hibiki Natural Therapeutics.

Techniques used during a Teate session include direct pressure, indirect pressure, vibration, rhythmic pressure, stretching, twisting, and other movements, and techniques comparable to medical qigong.  The range of pressure used varies greatly from very light pressure to relatively strong techniques.

In addition to my early training and long practice of Teate therapy, I have been trained in Tuina as part of my Chinese medicine training, and have also studied under teachers of manual therapies from other cultures and specialties.  I draw from a wide variety of influences in the manual therapy that I use in my practice.

For more information, please give me a call at (206) 632-5640, or email me at ed@hibikimedia.com (Click the envelope icon at the top right of this page)

Ed Antkowiak, L.Ac. - Seattle Acupuncture and Professional Education

What is Acupuncture?

By now, most Americans have heard of acupuncture.  You probably know that acupuncture is a kind of therapeutic treatment from China that is done by inserting small “Acupuncture Needles” into certain points on your body, called “Acupuncture Points”, and that somehow that is supposed to help with medical problems.

To a lot of people, that seems mysterious, possibly scary, and kind of weird.  How could that work?  It might seem unbelievable, but you might have heard from friends or the media that a lot of people have been helped by acupuncture.  What is going on here?

Here is a brief overview.

Acupuncture did begin in China, somewhere over two thousand years ago.  By 200 BC, there were Chinese medical texts that describe the use of acupuncture in great detail, indicating that it had already been widely practiced by that time.  Acupuncture as a therapeutic practice spread through much of Asia, and was adopted into many cultures, in many places being taken into the culture of an area and being practiced in a particular way in that culture.

In that way, China, Korea, Japan, Vietnam, and other places became cultures where acupuncture was accepted as a very useful medical treatment.  Because of the length of time it has been practiced, and the variety of cultures and schools that have evolved over the years, The practice of acupuncture has become very diverse, and is used in a lot of ways for a lot of things.

This is possible because acupuncture is a manifestation of a very comprehensive medical paradigm, and acupuncture needles are very versatile tools.

In general, Asian medicine looks at each person as a unique presence, and in terms of their  physical bodies, as existing and functioning as an intertwining complex of circulatory systems that circulate both energies and substances both inside and in relation with their environment.

Optimal health is present when all of the circulatory systems are unobstructed, flowing freely, and have enough of what they need.

Traditional evaluation methods are used to determine where and in what body systems circulation might be obstructed or deficient, and where to apply stimulation with an acupuncture needle to correct such an imbalance.

Acupuncture needles are used to affect the flow of energies and substances in the circulatory systems.  They can be used to influence blood flow, the movement of heat or body fluids, local areas of muscle tightness or weakness, nervous system function, hormonal balance, etc.

The acupuncture that I practice is primarily rooted in the Japanese tradition that I learned at the Kototama Institute, but has been influenced by Chinese acupuncture methods and other traditions.

For more information, please give me a call at (206) 632-5640, or email me at ed@hibikimedia.com (Click the envelope icon at the top right of this page)

Ed Antkowiak, L.Ac. - Seattle Acupuncture and Professional Education

Also look around this site - I will be posting more articles as time goes on…

Education - for Clients and Professionals

Watch this space - I will be offering classes for Clients, Acupuncturists, Massage Therapists, and other Professionals, and posting general informational articles here.  Check Back!

For more information, please give me a call at (206) 632-5640, or email me at ed@hibikimedia.com (Click the envelope icon at the top right of this page)

Ed Antkowiak, L.Ac. - Seattle Acupuncture and Professional Education

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