What is Holistic Physical Therapy?
When I think of what physical therapy should be; I think of a more holistic model working WITH the whole body, the mind and spirit. That is how I practice the art of Holistic Physical Therapy.
At our office, I often hear clients say, “You are the first PT that actually listens to me and works with my body, instead of me just doing exercises.”
Most often I hear of clients who are put on machines, bikes or traction with no one looking at the whole person. They only look at muscles and joints. At our office, I look at the whole body including the fascial, cranial, and lymphatic systems.
The big difference between Traditional Physical Therapy and Holistic Physical Therapy at Inspired Body Therapy is:
We work with all the systems of the body to promote a return to optimal health.
Most people come to see us because of physical pain. There are many factors that contribute to that pain. Inflammation in your system can cause and effect pain. It may be from diet, lifestyle, or trauma. Stress and the emotions trapped within your fascial system also affect how you feel physically.
You cannot strengthen your way out of a dysfunction!
That is my belief. Ninety-nine percent of the people that come to see us are having problems due to lack of flexibility rather than lack of strength.
That is why at Inspired Body Therapy I first address dysfunctions with improving the mobility to the fascial system.
Whether I’m doing Cranio-Sacral Therapy for the dural system, Neural Mobilization techniques for the nervous system, Lymphatic Drainage techniques, Visceral Mobilization or Myofascial Release; these systems all operate in the fascial realm and follow its principles. Relieving restrictions in these systems then allows your body to function better.
Physical Therapy Treatments:
The treatments at Inspired Body Therapy are one-on-one individual sessions for 60 minutes with hands on treatments, which is different than most therapies. When an area of your body is out of alignment it can affect the entire system causing disfunction.
Our therapy will include looking at the body as an integrated whole.
Exercises:
After relieving restrictions in these systems and your body functions better, then we add the flexibility exercises. Once your flexibility improves then the strengthening exercises will be able to have a positive effect because your body is functioning and moving better with less pain.
I will teach you how to do the right exercises and self-treatment techniques so you can continue at home.
Most of the exercises I show you can be done at home with minimal equipment.
There are always tools that can make the job more effective. We will talk about those.
About Rick Raugewitz, PT:
I have been working as a Physical Therapist since 1984. I have worked in all the physical therapy settings (hospitals, outpatient, homes, industry) with nearly every diagnosis from new borne children, to the elderly in the nursing home and hospice. This broad base of experience and exposure means I’m probably very familiar with your issues and have seen more than one person with similar problems and have ideas/knowledge/experience to help. I am continually studying and learning new techniques and information.
I love learning and integrating the knowledge into ways to help my patients feel and function better. I use my physical therapy background and knowledge of the body and its functions to integrate with the more Holistic Physical Therapy techniques of bodywork and energy medicine.