MENTAL HEALTH
at Absolute Health and Wellness
Mental health is an important aspect of our overall health. The mind-body connection is strong, and at Absolute Health and Wellness we place emphasis in both mental and physical health.
Common conditions associated with mental health include anxiety, depression, stress, OCD, manias, phobias and more. Whether you’ve been diagnosed or simply feel you can use some support, a holistic approach could be helpful.
It’s understood mental health is complex and requires time and deep thought to get to the bottom of things. There are so many contributing factors to mental health, and a lot of people don’t realize how one thing can affect another.
The Naturopath's Approach to Mental Health
ASSESSMENT: Your naturopath will spend time to assess your mental health. We know so many factors contribute to mental health, so our assessments are in-depth. We will discuss:
- Past Medical History: your current state of mental health is influenced by your past
- Current Medical History: sometimes talking about everything uncovers important aspects to understanding your current state
- Physical Health: mental health and physical health go and in hand. It’s clear physical pain and dysfunction can have negative impacts on mental health, and vice versa
- Gut Health: our digestive tract is closely related to the brain and mental health
- Diet: the foods we eat have direct impact on the immune system, the brain and other aspects of our health
- Inflammation: the whole body is affected by inflammation, including the brain
- Pharmaceutical Intervention: for those taking prescription drugs, naturopathic medicine can help co-manage
TREATMENT: our naturopath uses several options to help with mental health, including:
- Herbs: research shows certain herbs can be helpful for the various aspects of mental health
- Acupuncture and Dry Needling: acupuncture has been proven to be effective in various mental health conditions
- Vitamins/Minerals: certain key nutrients are helpful with brain health and neurotransmitter balance
Lifestyle Intervention: factors such as exercise, meditation, deep breathing and more are known to help with various aspects of mental health
The Phyiotherapist's Approach to Mental Health
Physical and mental health are very closely related. Feelings stressed, anxious, having low mood or depression, can affect physical wellbeing and amplify pain and severity of musculoskeletal conditions.
ASSESSMENT: Our physiotherapists will assess several factors that could be contributing to your pain by examining the following:
- Patient History: identifying causative factors
- Observation: to see how you move and changes in posture
- Gait and Functional Tests: to assess your body mechanics and determine if that is contributing to or affected by your pain
- Range of Motion: noting any joint restrictions and comparing your range of motion to normative values
- Strength: looking for weakness
- Soft Tissues: to test the integrity of the ligaments, muscles, and cartilage
- Palpation: touching around the painful area to help determine what structures may be causing your pain
TREATMENT: Our physiotherapists use a variety of treatment techniques to help you manage your pain:
- Manual Therapy: joint mobilizations, soft tissue release, and stretching to help improve range of motion
- Acupuncture and Dry Needling: acupuncture has been proven to be effective in both pain management as well as to help calm the nervous system
- Exercise: current clinical practice guidelines show exercises is beneficial for mental health and pain management. We are movement experts that can help keep you moving and doing things you love
- Education: we will discuss topics such as pain education, mindfulness, exercise, and pain management techniques for self-management
The Chiropractor's Approach to Mental Health
ASSESSMENT: Our chiropractors use thorough subjective and physical assessments to determine the best course of action:
- Head to toe assessment: chiropractors can help with back and spine related pain, but also peripheral joints too
- Health History: learning about your past helps us better understand your current state of joint health
- Movement: observing how you move tells us a lot about your joint health, muscle imbalances and posture
- Functional Testing: looking at range of motion and strength
- Strength: looking for any areas of weakness
TREATMENT: Our chiropractors use a variety of treatment techniques to help you manage your pain:
- Manual Therapy: joint manipulations and mobilizations, soft tissue release, and stretching to help improve range of motion
- Exercise: exercise plays in important role in improving mental health
The Massage Therapist's Approach to Mental Health
ASSESSMENT: Massage therapists can assess your joint pain to fully tailor your massage
Our physiotherapists will get to the root cause of your joint pain by assessing the following:
- Patient History: to determine any causative factors
- Observation: for any signs of joint irritation, inflammation, or changes in joint alignment
TREATMENT: Our physiotherapists use a variety of treatment techniques to help you manage your joint pain:
- Manual Therapy: joint mobilizations, soft tissue release, and stretching to help improve range of motion
The Counsellor's Approach to Mental Health
ASSESSMENT: Massage therapists can assess your joint pain to fully tailor your massage
Our physiotherapists will get to the root cause of your joint pain by assessing the following:
- Patient History: to determine any causative factors
- Observation: for any signs of joint irritation, inflammation, or changes in joint alignment
TREATMENT: Our physiotherapists use a variety of treatment techniques to help you manage your joint pain:
- Manual Therapy: joint mobilizations, soft tissue release, and stretching to help improve range of motion
