WHAT IS THE NAME OF THIS TREATMENT?
Although similar treatments have been around for thousands of years in Chinese Medicine, I refer to it in the office as “TISSUE REMODELING“.
IS THE TREATMENT PAINFUL?
This is probably our most commonly asked question. The truth is, everyone has a different pain tolerance; and the treatment is only as uncomfortable as the clinician (that would be me) makes it. I never treat with more intensity than the patient can tolerate. However, it is imperative to go deep enough to break Scar Tissue (HERE). Many practitioners will tell you that what you really need are lots of nice, gentle treatments because these add up to provide good results. As far as treatment goes, I am either over the threshold for breaking Scar Tissue or am not (see link). Unfortunately, a whole lot of nothing (sub-threshold treatment) still equals nothing.
Those of you who truly deal with Chronic Pain generally have a very different mindset concerning this issue. Just like the people on our PATIENT TESTIMONIAL PAGE, or the WEEKLY PATIENT TREATMENT DIARY, many of you have been through more diagnostic testing and treatments than you can shake a stick at. Most of these have proven to be both incredibly painful and incredibly expensive. And let’s face it; if those things had actually worked, you wouldn’t be wasting your time reading a website on Chronic Pain at 3:00 am. Years of experience tell me that the overwhelming majority of you would be happy to let someone beat you with an axe handle if you thought it could get rid of your pain! (Don’t worry — no axe handles in my office).
After over two decades of experience with Scar Tissue Remodeling, I can authoritatively say that as long as a patient can tolerate it, small increases in treatment intensity almost always translate into fewer treatments needed. Again, you control the intensity of the treatment. If you need me to back off, simply say so. Some people can stand more than others. The thing that many people forget is that we are dealing with Fascia — one of the single most pain-sensitive tissues in the body. Throw on top of that the fact that research says that Scar Tissue can, in and of itself, be up to 1,000 times more pain-sensitive than normal tissue, and you set yourself up for CHRONIC PAIN’S PERFECT STORM.
As you already know from reading our FASCIAL ADHESIONS PAGE, there is typically some bruising associated with this treatment. Don’t panic! This is a normal part of the healing process. The bruise itself is not painful, and although there is often some residual soreness, the treatment itself does not typically cause residual pain. Because I want you to have some idea; make sure to glance at our BRUISING & PICTURES PAGE. In all honesty. For 99% of our patients, the treatment is not nearly as severe as the pictures make it look. Furthermore, it is rare to have anything more than mild residual pain or discomfort after the treatment.
HOW OFTEN DO I NEED TO BE TREATED?
Unless you are traveling a great distance to see us (we treat many out-of-state and international patients), I will not treat you more often than twice per week at the very most. Depending on the amount of tissue broken or the severity of the scarring, you may have to go a full week or more between treatments. Breaking adhesions faster than your body can remodel and heal them can be counterproductive. This is why many of the patients I see come for treatment, and then go back home immediately (HERE) as opposed to staying for a week or two. In most cases, you will know rather quickly whether or not Tissue Remodeling is going to help you. When applied correctly, it takes little treatment to know if we are on the right track. HERE is more information on this topic. How many visits for Chronic Neck Pain (HERE)? How many visits for Piriformis Syndrome (HERE)?
HOW LONG DOES THE RESULTS OF THIS TREATMENT LAST – IS IT SOMETHING THAT I WILL HAVE TO HAVE DONE FOREVER?
You can actually get a pretty good idea of the answer to this question by visiting our PATIENT TESTIMONIAL PAGE. When you see that our Tissue Remodeling is working, rarely does it take more than a handful of treatments to achieve our goals (decreased pain, increased strength / increased function / increased joint motion). You may find that at least for awhile, you will have to get treated every several months. I have patients whose problem is solved in just one treatment — and never returns. I also have the occasional patient who finds that they need treatment several times a year – at least for awhile. Everyone is different, and it is almost impossible to try and guess how each individual person will respond in advance.
WHY DID THE PAIN MOVE AFTER TREATMENT?
Although this does not happen frequently, it occurs often enough to warrant mention HERE. After breaking scar tissue, I will sometimes hear a patient say (usually on their second visit), “Hey doc, the treatment worked great — the pain is tee-totally gone from the area that you worked on. But my pain has moved. What gives?” This phenomenon can be likened to peeling an onion. As I break the scar tissue in one area, it frees up movement in that area. This does not cause the scar tissue itself to move, but can cause people to feel pain in a different place — usually near where their scar tissue was found previously (or sometimes on the opposite side of the spine — particularly when working in the neck). This is because fascia covers such a large area, and once people have restrictions freed up, they are able to move enough to feel restrictions that were not even on their radar previously. This is not a big deal, and simply tells us that the treatment is working. At least initially, we are after change. The people that I get concerned about are the people who do not change after I work on them.
HOW LONG UNTIL I SEE RESULTS?
One of the nicest things about this treatment is how quickly you know whether or not it is working. Depending on how much scarring I find and break, I tell patients that if we are not seeing positive results within one, maybe two treatments, there is something else going on that is causing your pain.
HOW QUICKLY CAN I TRAVEL AFTER TREATMENT?
That depends on a number of factors, including things like how severe your problem is, how much treatment was done, how intense the treatment was, etc. The biggest thing is whether you choose to leave Mountain View immediately or stay or a day to recover, you will have to stretch — there is no substitute.
DOES TISSUE REMODELING GET RID OF CELLULITE?
In a word — no. But believe it or not, this is one of the most common questions that women ask me. HERE is how to get rid of cellulite. And because I get so many questions about Ashley Black’s “FASCIA BLASTER” — a device that she markets for that specific purpose — just click the link!
IS THIS A STAND-ALONE TREATMENT?
Tissue Remodeling is never a ‘stand-alone’ treatment. Once the microscopic scarring of FASCIAL ADHESION or TENDINOPATHY is broken; an intense and specific in-home STRETCHING PROTOCOL is required. The stretching is not difficult or long-term, but it is very frequent for the first week or so. If you do not follow the stretching protocol, the treatment will not work on a long term basis! For the Fascial Adhesions found around the spine, the treatment is usually followed by a chiropractic adjustment. There are numerous ways this “adjustment” can be done, including manually, with an Impulse adjusting instrument, or Thompson drop table. For more info about adjusting techniques, CLICK HERE. Sometimes I use a LOW LEVEL LASER THERAPY to boost the body’s ability to heal the “Controlled Trauma” created by my treatment. Again, I would strongly suggest that you read our COLLAGEN-BASED TISSUES page.
ARE THERE ANY NUTRITIONAL SUPPLEMENTS THAT ARE SPECIFICALLY FORMULATED FOR THE HEALING OF COLLAGEN-BASED CONNECTIVE TISSUES?
Yes there are. I will make sure you know what you need when you leave here.
CAN I GO ABOUT NORMAL ACTIVITIES AFTER BEING TREATED?
Maybe. It depends on what your idea of ‘normal’ activities is. You may be asked to curtail any intense or heavy activities for a few days or weeks, but most of the time you can go about your life as usual.
HOW MUCH DOES IT COST?
In my office, the charge tor Tissue Remodeling is $45.00. A treatment usually takes between 10 and 20 minutes — sometimes less for simple cases. For OUT OF STATE or INTERNATIONAL patients that require treatment of multiple areas or longer treatment sessions (sometimes these sessions can last a couple of hours), there will naturally be additional charges.
Our current fee schedule is: New Patient Examination ($40.00), Adjustments ($35.00), and Tissue Remodeling ($45.00). This means that (local) new patients can expect to pay between $75.00 and $120.00, with that first visit taking anywhere from 30 to 45 minutes, depending on what is needed. Long-distance patients can expect their visit to run from between $200.00 to in excess of $400.00, depending on what is done and how much time I need to spend. Bear in mind that it is almost impossible to know from the history you send me.
WHY WOULD SOMEONE WHO HAS BEEN IN CHRONIC PAIN EVEN THINK ABOUT MAKING A TRIP TO THE OZARKS TO RECEIVE TREATMENT?
Great question. I think I have answered this already, but let me reiterate the reasons.
- It’s effective: What I do works for many people struggling to cope with a life of Chronic Pain. No; it does not work on every single patient I treat. But you have already tried everything there is to try and spent a fortune. Step outside the box and try something different. What have you got to lose except your pain? Look at our testimonials.
- It’s economical: A visit to a specialist will cost you a fortune. And you’ll be lucky if they do anything other than ask you a few questions, tap a reflex, and either insinuate that you are a malingerer or drug seeker, tell you that you just aren’t as young as you used to be, or stare at you with that deer-in-the-headlights look that suggests they have utterly no idea what is really wrong with you. It is not uncommon for us to help people who have spent tens of thousands, or even six figures on other treatments. Look at our testimonials.
- It works quickly: People in Chronic Pain make easy targets for unscrupulous practitioners. I routinely see patients that have been told that if they just stick with long, drawn-out treatment plans (whatever the treatment may be), they will eventually get better. Forget about that with my Tissue Remodeling. As long as your problem is not disc-related, you will know after just one treatment whether or not what I do is going to help. This does not mean that you will be “cured” after a single treatment. But if our Tissue Remodeling is going to help you, you’ll know it within a short amount of time. I know of no one else telling their patients this. Look at our testimonials.
- We are easy to get to; and worth the trip: I suppose it would make things easier for some of you if I practiced in a large city. My town is less than 3,000 people, and you have to go 25 miles to get to a town of just over 10,000 people. To get to a town bigger than that requires a drive of 100 miles. But as far out in the boonies as we are here, we are only a few hours from several large airports and centrally located in the U.S. I routinely travel anywhere from 3 – 6 hours to get to conferences, seminars, and continuing education classes. Simply stated, travel is a small price to pay for doing something important that could potentially change your life. While you are here, you could make a vacation of it. For more information about things to do while you are visiting the heart of the Ozarks, THIS POST has it.
- I will treat you like I would treat my own parents: Other than the fact that my parents would never pay me for my services, I don’t treat my patients differently than I would treat my mom and dad. Rest assured that I will do everything in my power to help you get better. And if I cannot help you, I will try to get you to someone who can. No games. No bait-and-switch. No up-selling. My goal is to do whatever I can do to help provide you an EXIT STRATEGY.
WHY DOESN’T THE MEDICAL COMMUNITY EMBRACE THIS MOST CURRENT AND MORE SCIENTIFICALLY ACCURATE MODEL OF TISSUE DAMAGE AND HEALING?
Good question, and one that I have pondered at length for the past three decades. There is no profession on the planet with a wider gap between the researchers and the practitioners than the medical field. Practically every single blog post I write is a reiteration of this fact. Contrary to popular belief, EVIDENCE BASED MEDICINE is not going to save you. If you spend any time at all on my website, it will take you about three minutes to realize what this question boils down to —– Money. Unfortunately, the practice of medicine has become corporate and impersonal, often run by bean-counters who care little about anything but the bottom line.
Want to understand what’s happening in politics, banking, modern medicine, (or just about everything else for that matter)? Just follow the money. If doctors understood simple concepts simple concepts like NUTRITION, MICROSCOPIC SCAR TISSUE, and THE IMPORTANCE OF SOUND BIOMECHANICS, and started really promoting WELLNESS, EXERCISE, and the value of eating WHOLE FOODS to their patients; their patients would get better in droves, and would not desire nearly as many drugs. And we all know that ultimately, it is the drug companies that control the practice of Medicine.
Who do you think shells out the money to build America’s Medical Schools and Medical Research Facilities? And PSEUDO-SCIENTIFIC GUIDELINES? For those who still think that the practice of ‘Medicine’ is not whatever the corporation with the deepest pockets says it is, you seriously need to read what the Journal Bioethics reported in their March 29, 2011 online edition. Medical Guidelines are for Sale —- to the highest bidder (HERE and HERE are two examples of this common phenomenon). “Science” and “Truth” are not synonymous concepts. Truth is true under any and all circumstances — it’s absolute. “Science” is frequently bought and paid for, and unfortunately is usually whatever the guy with the most money says it is!
WHAT DO I HAVE TO DO TO MAKE AN APPOINTMENT?
That’s easy. Simply call Cheryl at (417) 934-6337 and reserve your spot today. For those thinking about traveling to get here, I require a history first (tell me about your problem, including what makes it better and what makes it worse). If I think I can help you I will tell you. Don’t be surprised if I tell you I can’t, as I get histories from NUMEROUS DESPERATE PEOPLE that I know up front I cannot do anything for, at least with Tissue Remodeling.
First time patients coming for special early-morning Tuesday or Thursday appointments (out-of-state and international patients — here is simply not enough time for me to see my regular patient schedule and spend the time I need with long-distance patients during regular business hours) will need to pay a $100 non-refundable deposit. This is applied to your visit. However, once the appointment is made, rescheduling, cancelling, or failing to show, will result in a loss of your deposit. For information about our CANCELLATION POLICY, simply follow the link.