Acupuncture and holistic, functional medicine treatments at Overland Wellness can relieve your pain and even help improve your athletic performance.

When you see Dr. Overland for medical care as well as acupuncture, you receive the most comprehensive and holistic approach to your performance and recovery. Laboratory and imaging evaluation can provide more precision insights to the underlying contributors to your pain. Things like inflammation and even high blood sugar can impair your healing and be an underlying cause of injuries that don’t recover the way they used to. At-home exercises and rehabilitation techniques help relieve your pain and build the strength and resiliency to help prevent future injuries and pain reoccurrence. 

Treatment Options to Improve Your Golf Game and Relieve Pain

As part of your new patient appointment, Dr. Overland will do a physical exam and orthopedic testing to help pinpoint the ergonomic and structural components that are causing your pain. In some cases, she may order imaging to precisely identify anatomic abnormalities or injuries. She will then develop your comprehensive and individualized treatment plan to promote your healing and successful recovery, not just temporarily mask pain.

Many patients feel significant and rapid pain relief from acupuncture treatments. Dr. Overland often uses complementary treatment modalities in addition to acupuncture, such as red and infrared light therapy to promote warmth and healing of the injured or stiff areas. Cupping and tui na are needle-free acupuncture treatment modalities used to help improve mobility and circulation of restricted tissues. Kinesiotaping (the bright athletic tape strips you see on professional athletes) helps stabilize and facilitate certain muscle groups and tissues.

Elbow Pain

Golfer’s elbow (medial epicondylitis) is a very common injury. While the inside (medial) aspect of your elbow is most commonly affected, sometimes people experience pain in either side of the elbow or down into the forearm and wrists. Golf, tennis, pickleball and even just working in the garden and shop can result in elbow and forearm injuries.

Everyday tasks such as lifting a tea kettle, stirring a pot of soup and driving can become painful when you have an elbow injury. When you’re injured, things that used to be effortless and automatic can feel like lifting a ridiculous insurmountable weight. At Overland Wellness, we prioritize treatments that promote improvements in your strength and mobility so you don’t keep experiencing the same pain.

Low back pain is a key symptom that makes people feel old, but it doesn’t have to be accepted as an inevitable part of ageing. 

Low Back Pain

Asymmetric movements can result in a higher frequency of low back pain and injury. This can be compounded by ergonomic issues and flaws in your golf swing. The torsional (twisting) movement in your upper and lower back can provide force on your spine. The muscles stabilizing your spine and connecting your back to your extremities can be pulled and strained by such movements. 

However, it’s not all bad. Many players walk a significant distance while golfing (if not using a golf cart). Walking is an excellent type of movement to help reduce back pain and preserve mobility. Not golfing isn’t an acceptable answer, either. Golf is a beloved pastime of many N. Idaho locals and tourists. At Overland Wellness, our priority is helping you stay active and perform better, not stop your athletic pursuits.

Summer temperatures, blooming Flowers, How to go out and enjoy it!

Many of the patients who have come to my office lately have been suffering from seasonal allergies. Symptoms vary from mild congestion and colorful boogers to nearly uncontrollable sneezing that disrupts meetings topped off with eye swelling and irritation. Early wildflower blooms are now being met by different tree pollens and grasses that can be pretty severe allergen culprits.

While we’re struggling with the pollen brought by our beautiful blooming greenery, we’re also starting to encounter the haze in the air from distant and sporadic local wildfires. Of course, we’d all much rather deal with wildflowers than wildfires, but spring and summer in the inland Northwest often brings us a bit of both.

With respiratory irritants such as pollen and particulate matter from fires, it is particularly important to work on reducing other irritants and protect your respiratory system. If you or a family member smoke, now is an excellent time to quit. Evaluate cleaning materials, household and personal fragrances, many of which contain harsh chemicals that are respiratory irritants. Keep your living and workspaces well-ventilated. Consider using an air filter fan (HEPA filter) to reduce the particulate and allergen content of your enclosed spaces.

While you’re working on reducing irritants found in your home and work, it is also important to work on your internal environment. Having a balanced, varied diet with adequate nutrients is an important foundation to help your body better weather external irritants such as pollution, smoke and pollen. It is generally helpful to increase the number of colorful vegetables in your diet. As it is Pride month, June is an especially perfect time to include a rainbow of vegetables on your plate. These colorful veggies contain antioxidants and other compounds that may promote stabilization of the cells that tend to respond to allergens and result in the unpleasant sniffling symptoms. This is also definitely the time to pay attention to staying adequately hydrated. A key part of maintaining hydration for most people is choosing water or herbal tea rather than processed sugary beverages and alcohol.

If your symptoms are disrupting your daily life or you’d like to talk more about things you can incorporate to improve your health over this season, please call my office. I’d be happy to set up a time for a complimentary phone consultation to discuss your concerns.  The Overland Wellness approach is to use the most effective, least harmful, naturally rooted treatments that get you feeling better and able to go outside and enjoy your active life! Specifically, my in-office treatments for allergies and respiratory health tend to include acupuncture, herbal medicine, nutrients and targeted dietary/ lifestyle changes.

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