Articles & Classes
EMOTIONAL FREEDOM TECHNIQUE WORKSHOP
MARK YOUR CALENDARS: WEDNESDAY JUNE 10TH
Ever wanted to release stress, reduce cravings and have more energy? Dr. Kim Eisen, an EFT (emotional freedom technique) specialist, will be our special guest workshop speaker. Join us and see how your life can improve easily and quickly using this powerful technique you can easily learn how to do on yourself!!! Seating is limited and this class will fill quickly so RSVP today!!! See you all there!
To RSVP call (651) 631-9488
Class from 6-7:30 p.m. at All Ways Health Center
- RSVP required
- Donation
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FENDER BENDER FALLOUT ..... KNOW THE FACTS!
Voted Best Chiropractor in Roseville 3 different years by Lillie news readers, Dr. Kathleen Higgins and her staff at All Ways Health Center are working hard to get the word out to everyone involved in even the smallest fender benders. Higgins stresses the importance of an evaluation by a Chiropractic specialist who checks the strength of at least 8 individual neck muscles and takes several pictures of the spine to determine if whiplash injury has occurred.
Dr. Higgins, Director of All Ways Health Center and a Chiropractor, Acupuncritist, and Naturopathic Doctor, Cautions: "Danger lies in 2 common misconceptions. The first is when people think 'If I don't hurt now, I must be o.k.' Because the average head weighs 15 pounds it is crucial to have all eight of the primary neck muscles working to support it or damage can show up as arthritic spurs on neck x-ray pictures leading to symptoms such as neck pain and stiffness in as early as 3 years."
The second misconception occurs when people with neck pain, following fender benders, visit an emergency room or urgent care center, are given less attention than they deserve and are told they will be fine in 4-6 weeks. Higgins says, Over 18 years in practice I have found if the eight primary neck muscles are not individually treated for strength and at least 3 side views of the neck are not taken by x-ray, one will not know for certain if there has been damage. The affected neck muscles don't get strong on their own without specific neck strengthening exercise, leaving these people at a much increased risk for further damage and pain often within just a few years. Headaches, arm tingling and pain often don't even start bothering people after an accident for 3-6 months so many people never connect their symptom onset with a previous fender bender until they are sitting in my office months or years later."
Dr. Kathleen Higgins and her staff including Elizabeth Klatt, the office coordinator, specialize in helping people who have neck stiffness, headaches, back, arm or leg pain, tingling or numbness following car accidents. If they offer multiple ways to help people get relief with gentle, effective, chiropractic, massage, acupuncture, ultrasound, muscle rehabilitation supervision and natural herbal and homeopathic pain therapy if needed.
Auto insurance covers chiropractic treatment after a fender bender for about a year. After that time they deny initial claims so it's important to get examined by a specialist who knows what to look for, how to treat it and can supervise rehabilitation for complete recovery.
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DETOXIFICATION
Dr. Kathleen Higgins has heard it so often she now uses it in advertising. People report they come to her because they are "sick and tired of being sick and tired." She likes being able to help people "before their train gets too far off the track." Higgins uses examples stating "Americans at age 65 are taking an average of 5 medications and live on the average 2 years past retirement." She believes "something is not right when our country spends more on health care than almost any other country yet only ranks 37th in the world in health care"
Higgins says "Learning about natural health and wellness is my passion and being able to transfer that knowledge into wins for my patients and health coach clients is what motivates me." She says she is "humbly honored to have been voted Best Chiropractic by the people in Roseville 3 different years," most recently in 2002.
Although Dr. Higgins has been located in Roseville for the past 13 years, she recently moved to 2585 Hamline Ave and is very proud of her beautiful new spacious workplace. She renamed her clinic All Ways Health Center to better reflect its uniqueness in the variety of services and classes offered. A lending library is available to clients and patients and Health and Wellness Classes are currently held every few weeks on an array of topics including stress, digestion, detoxification, menopause, exercise, stretches, joint pain, weight loss, etc.
"I teach people to connect the dots in a way they may not have thought about previously to gain new understanding of their symptoms", Higgins explains. "For instance, if you have eczema or psoriasis I teach people perhaps their skin is trying to get rid of some substance it hasn't digested well, due to a food or chemical sensitivity. Many people don't know the skin is one of the largest elimination organs we have. Through diagnostic testing and applied kinesiology, I help them try to figure out what they may be reacting to."
Dr. Higgins employs a variety of natural health techniques and diagnostic testing to move people towards improved health. She regularly supervises clients doing detoxification protocols to reduce the effects of pollution from environment and unhealthy lifestyle choices. Higgins says, "We spend more time and money maintaining our cars, flushing radiators, doing tune ups and cleaning air ducts and drain pipes in our homes than we do cleaning out our own digestive pipes. We become not only what we eat, but also what we absorb and what we don’t eliminate. Things can get pretty gunked up and can affect a whole range of systems of GERD and ulcers when digestion isn’t working properly."
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Examples of All Ways Health Center Optimal Health University Class Series
We believe education is the basis for all change, empowerment and support for your health and lifestyle choices. Although our collection of classes and workshops are designed to compliment the care of our clients, they are open to the public. Current class schedules are available by telephoning our center and we encourage your participation, interest and recommendations for future classes and workshops.
We present regular classes on a variety of topics in our spacious Learning Center. To be informed of upcoming classes, please let us know you are interested in being placed on our email list for upcoming classes and information. You can call our office at 651.631.9488 or email us at khigginsdc@allwayshealthcenter.com with your information.
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LET'S ADDRESS STRESS
Living in American society brings out the "Type A" behavior in many of us. Learn how stress affects the brain, the adrenal gland, the thyroid, blood sugar and aggravates problematic symptoms of menopause.
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WEIGHT LOSS & DETOXIFICATION
Learn how you can drop extra pounds, reduce joint pain and heal your digestive tract. Safe and supervised weight loss and detoxification is our top priority. We utilize regular Bioimpedance Body Composition Testing to:
1) insure the weight loss is from fat, NOT muscle and
2) the weight loss is supervised in the healthiest way to support the liver's detox processing and elimination of toxins which are stored in our bodies fat and released back into the bloodstream during fat weight loss.
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THE MANY MASKS OF MENOPAUSE
50 is the average age of Menopause (defined as no periods for one year). PERImenopause starts 6-10 years prior to Menopause, Brain and memory lapses, mood swings, joint pain and instability, stress symptoms, weight gain, inability to lose pounds, carb cravings, erratic periods, depression, facial hair and hot flashes are just a few of the masquerading symptoms women may experience in the peri and menopausal years. Learn what you can do naturally to decrease the ill effects and improve the quality of your life through this eventful decade. Bring a friend!
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BREATHERCIZE!
Learn about Breathercize, a special breathing technique designed to help you lose inches quickly and easily around your middle while improving digestion and increasing your energy at the same. This class will be of particular benefit to those who have weight or inches to lose, particularly around their middle, have a family history of diabetes, are in menopause or perimenopause, have low energy and are tired a lot and/or have some sort of digestive or gut dysfunction.
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CHOOSING YOUR DOCTOR OF CHIROPRACTIC
By: Dr. Kathleen M. Higgins D.C.
There are many services and therapies within chiropractic, from family and general chiropractic for your health is easiest if you can get answers to a few questions about what you want and need. This worksheet will help you get answers to a few questions about what you want and need. This worksheet will help you think about your choices, help you ask questions of yourself and potential clinics and assist you in making an informed decision.
First Things First
Start by thinking about where you live and work. Do you want a chiropractic office that is convenient to your home or work? Are you looking for a chiropractor who is completely by your HMO? Ask the HMO for a list of current chiropractor. If you choose a chiropractic provider outside the HMO network, you will have a deductible, but your co-pay per visit can be less than in network providers.
Your Care Provider
Is the doctor a listener? Is there opportunity to ask all your questions regarding your health and wellness for you and your family? Do they offer free initial consults to see if the doctor is a good fit? Do you want the doctor to know you and your family or are you satisfied seeing any provider that is available? What is the philosophy regarding health and healing? Does the clinic have a mission statement? If so it might be very helpful in matching you with the healthcare provider. How long has the doctor been in practice? Experience can indicate real passion for their practice, or it might indicate boredom. Evaluate which you think is the case. For example, does the doctor attend more healthcare seminars than the minimal state required continuing education?
Does the doctor treat babies and children? Is the office kid friendly?
What areas of continuing education has the doctor studied, such as nutrition, mind-body techniques, acupuncture, wellness and longevity, physiotherapy, women’s health?
Is the doctor certified in disability and impairment rating for evaluating patients inured on the job or in a car accident? Does the clinic accept musculoskeletal injury cases resulting from accidents and sports injuries? Does the doctor emphasize a particular treatment, such as structural therapy (muscle and bones) or take a broader approach using several techniques, including structure, such as nutrition, lifestyle habits, etc?
Does the doctor diagnose using exams? What other diagnostic tools are used?
What style of adjusting would you prefer? Manual adjustments using the hands (some-times firmly) or low force techniques using SOT block, activator, Logan Basic, etc., or a combination of both? Does the doctor do one technique or is he/she adaptable to your needs/desires?
Therapy and Services
Does the clinic work with, or refer to rehab facilities to help strengthen injured areas after accidents and injuries? Is radiographic equipment on site, or will you be referred to a different provider/location if x-rays are needed? Do they test for food sensitivities using either blood testing or kinesiology? Do they evaluate metabolic associated with sugar and attaches? Do they do any nutritional testing or evaluate body composition, or tissue hydration? Do they do any nutritional testing or evaluation? Does the doctor provide weight management consultation programs for individuals or groups? Are homeopathy and herbal therapies available? Does the office offer massage therapy or make referrals as needed? Does the doctor do myofascial work? What physiotherapy modalities do they use, ultrasound, spinalator, inferential, trigger point therapy? Do they use any chiropractic clearing techniques to evaluate mind body related conditions?
Details That Can Make a Difference
What are their hours: How late are they open in the evenings? Do they have weekend’s hours? Are they available in emergencies? Is parking readily available, at what cost?
Do you want a clinic that stocks ancillary items such as cold packs, braces, supports and nutritional therapy supplements for pouches, or will you prefer to obtain such items from the store?
Do you want a clinic to offer learning tools such as audio or video tapes, healthy cookbooks, and lifestyle education books for purchase or rent? Dose the office help you evaluate your insurance coverage prior to the first visit and inform you of financial responsibilities and help you process your insurance?
What is the typical waiting time in the office before getting in for treatment?
Will the clinic accept credit cards for services or incidentals? Do they offer a discount for paying on the day of service? How much?
Does the clinic process insurance claims for you, or will it be your responsibility? If the office does, how often do they submit insurance claims for payment?
Is the staff friendly, helpful and efficient?
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A NEW PERSPECTIVE ON CHRONIC CHILDHOOD EAR INFECTIONS
By: Kathleen Higgins, DC
IT’S THE MOST DREADED curse of many parents --- waking up in the middle of the night to your baby's piercing, pain-filled screams. You know that scream. The one that insists that you take it seriously and reminds you in the space of a millisecond how helpless being a parent can feel. Unfortunately, some parents have had to deal too often with very sick children, repeatedly suffering from chronic ear infections. The fact that many families in our country fall into the "two working parents" category compounds the problem. One or both parents endure an enormous amount of sleepless nights as well as time away from work taking their kids to doctors and staying home from work and day care with them. I recently worked with Suzy (not her real name), a 28 month old girl whose parents were referred to my natural health clinic as a last ditch effort by a concerned relative and previous patient. Suzy’s parents reported she had suffered 18 ear infections over the previous 18 months. Her father said every trip to the doctor for her ears ended with at least one antibiotic prescription and sometimes more. In her short life, Suzy had already been treated with more antibiotics than her parents could count, including more recently being on multiples of three antibiotics at once. Suzy had also undergone surgery to place ear tubes and now Suzy's medical doctors were recommending a second surgery.
Countering Frustrating, Renewing Hope
During their initial visit, Suzy's mom said she was frustrated after all the previous months of stress dealing with her daughter's problem and appeared doubtful of the relief natural health car offered, so I recommended a book by Dr. Michael Schmidt titled CHILDHOOD EAR INFECTIONS. I believe Dr. Schmidt is one of the of the leading authorities in the nation regarding this condition and his book thoroughly covers causes, standard medical therapy, and multiple current alternative treatment options. She had almost finished it by our next meeting and was pleasantly surprised her daughter seemed to be improving with the chiropractic care, dietary changes, nutrients, and homeopathic remedy I had recommended.
Since she started treatment in our health center three months ago, Suzy has had two flare- ups both treated with chiropractic and homeopathy. Her parents reported one flare-up followed closely behind some dietary indiscretion during the holidays. Because of her previous history of chronic illnesses and multiple antibiotics, I believe her immune system as well as digestive tract and spinal structure are compromised and it will take some time to rebuild her constitution. Although natural health solutions may not always be the "quick fix" Americans are used to seeking when something goes wrong, the rewards are priceless. Suzy's glowing smile and attentive to behold. Her parents say they definitely notice a difference in her for the best and are grateful for their relative’s referral allowing them to explore a different path.
Ear Infections Sometimes Structural Problems
In my own practice, I find one of the main causes of ear infections is sublimation or slight misalignment of the neck vertebrae. Nerves function by sending messages to and from the brain to specific areas. The nerves that go to the ears have to thread in between the neck bones. Misalignment can affect the ears function by irritating those nerves. Sometimes a child has a rough ride down the birth canal or other incident after birth that can interfere with proper neck alignment. If it is a structural solution it will not respond to antibiotic therapy.
In addition to treating structural cause, other possible contributing factors that may need to be addressed during treatment include airborne allergies, food sensitivities, and poor dietary habits. Sugar for instance, inhibits our body's immune system by decreasing our white blood cell activity by 60 percent for a time after ingestion. Sometimes zinc, nutrients, and good bacteria are helpful to strengthen the body's immune system or essential fatty acids may be helpful to reduce the inflammatory response. IF food sensitivities are found, dietary changes may be recommended.
Every child's case is unique and needs to be evaluated by a licensed healthcare professional. Referrals are made if the problem is not structural and needs to be medically attended. If you or someone you know is at their wits end because of a child’s chronic ear problem, remember the saying "If you always do what you’ve always done, you’ll always get what you always got." There may be other ways to solve this problem. Sometimes it means thinking out side of the box.
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THE LONG AND WINDING ROAD THAT LEADS ME HERE - OR WHAT A LONG, STRANGE TRIP IT'S BEEN
By Dr. Kathleen Higgins DC, Nd, Cert. Acu
There I was, barely 18 years old, standing with arms outstretched in the middle of a particularly awe inspiring landscape near Scottsdale AZ, looking skyward as if the heavens would break open anytime and shoot an arrow wrapped with the answer to my burning question. I just wanted to know one thing. What would I DO for my life's work? In my core I always knew I'd have a career, IF never entered my mind. But WHAT was another story, I had so many interests. The answer didn't come ringing down from the heavens, but life did keep moving on and after traveling and living for a year with a nurse, I was inspired. The Vo-Tech Nursing program was education for people under 21, so I became a Nationally Certified Respiratory Therapist. From Redwood Falls Hospital to the U of M’s five hospitals and St. Johns, I learned a lot about people, medicine and myself.
I learned there were 2 groups of patients; one seemed interested in their health and bodies and wanted to be proactive and the other group didn’t want to know their diagnosis or any details. They just wanted the Doctor to make them better.
I learned that although hospitals and medicine can be excellent for trauma and emergency procedures, I saw first-hand their down side. Too many times I watched patients come in with breathing problems which would eventually resolve with drugs, but then they found themselves stuck in the hospital due to complications and different symptoms from the hospital medications and treatments. The luckier ones found themselves simply too dizzy to be able to walk to the bathroom. JAMA April 15, 1998 reported "the incidence of serious and fatal adverse drug reactions in U. S. Hospitals to be extremely high … estimated in 1994 overall 2,216,000 serious adverse drug reactions and 106,000 had fatal adverse drug reactions representing between the 4th and 6th leading cause of death." After seeing enough bloopers, my faith in the system was shaken. I remember telling my parents, "if I ever get sick, make sure you don’t take me here," referring to the hospitals I worked at.
I learned most about myself. I found I had a preference for working with proactive people, treating, educating and comforting them to help improve their various conditions. I was told I was very good at ICU/CCu work but inside I felt my intestines twisting and tying up my stomach into a huge knot every time I heard the Code Blue announcement signaling either a cardiac or respiratory arrest, which meant I would need to think, move, and act, both very accurately and fast, since the hospital had cut the night shift staff to only one Respiratory Therapist for the entire hospital. It never made much sense (though it probably made cents), when I thought about the statistic that most arrests occur about 5 a.m. After four years I had learned enough about myself to know it was time to move on and after talking to a couple of people who had been greatly helped by Chiropractic, decided I would head back to school.
Having had no previous chiropractic experience, I was unaware of it’s underdog status in some parts of the medical community until I started happily announcing to nurses (supportive in general) of my plans and an MD happened to hear the word Chiropractic and went on a verbal tirade about my prospective field. In that moment my eyes were opened quickly to a possible conflict between the two professions. That was in 1982 and one would’ve thought by now the chasm of misunderstanding would be significantly reduced in this era of New Millennium World Wide Web and information access society we live in.
Fast forward to my living room TV the evening of Wed. June 5th on TPT, "the educational station", as I stopped at a show called Frontiers. Host Alan Alda watched various Chiropractors explaining and doing procedures immediately followed by a MD telling Alda why each technique and associated explanation by the Chiropractor was tricky, fraudulent lies, placebo at best and traumatizing and dangerous at worst. Each time, Alda summarized by reiterating what the MD said as if it were from the Bible. Finally they played the "trump card" which medical public relations people have inaccurately but effectively used for years to scare the living daylights out of our prospective and current chiropractic patients. With all the high drama they could muster they said "Chiropractors cause strokes". My response is, of course almost ANYTHING is possible, but the truth is strokes related to chiropractic are extremely rare because we are highly trained in what to look for and what tests to do which determine if the patient is a candidate for safe, gentle, chiropractic adjustments. The person who would have a stoke in our office would be the same one who'd have one in the process of putting their head back while changing a light bulb, painting a ceiling or lying back in a hairstylist chair to get washed. To find the truth, one need only compare the skyrocketing medical malpractice insurance rates to chiropractic malpractice insurance rates. Thankfully, malpractice insurance underwriters use actual statistics, not baseless rhetoric to determine these things.
Despite the untruths and blatant posturing of the medical community's marketing, including that which was seen on "Frontiers" (which also assailed other alternative healing methods, including energy healing and even summarized acupuncture as a "placebo effect most of the time"), is that the fallout from shows of this nature do a lot of harm and are the reason Chiropractors won the Wilks vs. AMA lawsuit several years ago. On Friday morning alone, my first day seeing patients since the show aired, nearly 50% of my patients told me unsolicited they had seen the Frontiers show. Most said they were appalled that a show like that was on the air in this day and age and especially upset it ran on a TV station with a reputation for education. Patient here she probably wouldn’t have ever come in after seeing Frontier.
In June of 2000, the World Health Organization reported to the Assoc. Press that "despite spending more on healthcare than any other country in the world, the United States ranks only 37th in the world healthcare". Clearly the wheels of beaurocratic change are moving slow. This appears to make no sense (but it does make cents) when one understands the AMA has one of the top funded Lobbying Organizations in Washington, DC.
Enough of the frustrations that can accompany those who choose a road less traveled. I have been blessed to have found my career which is to be a perennial student of life, love, science, natural health, nutrition and healing. I have learned there is not one right way to health and healing. In continuing to learn and teach what is possible, I honor those who choose holistic practitioners and natural health care in their quest for optimal health despite the obstacles of having to pay out of pocket and be subjected to negative comments by mostly well-meaning family and friends who judge because there's an underlying feeling that it can't be good if they haven't done it themselves. I heard once "People are down on what they are not up on." I have a Bachelors Degree in Human Biology, a Chiropractic Degree, am a Board Certified Naturopathic Physician, Cert. Acupuncturist and am currently completing my requirements to be a Master Practitioner/Teacher of Chinese Energetic Medicine.
That girl in the field who just wanted to know what she would DO when she grew up, now stands yearly at the shores of the awe-inspiring green-blue ocean in Mexico, her arms spread wide-open to welcome the upcoming sun, quietly singing and sending forth prayers of gratefulness for everything that is and all the steps and life experiences that led her to where she is today that keeps her passion for learning, teaching, and life alive.
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