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Acacia Integrative Health Clinic Newsletter - TC 10K Edition!
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The Acacia Integrative Health Clinic
is a team of talented health care professionals
who provide individualized, complementary and alternative health care in a team setting.
The clinic is located in Victoria, BC.
WE ARE:
Dr. Pamela Hutchison, Naturopathic Physician
Clinic Director
Dr. Amy Gilchrist, Naturopathic Physician
Director of The Family Medicine Clinic
Graham Robertson, Registered Massage Therapist
Dr. Jaime de Melo, Naturopathic Physician
Christine Selder,
Registered Clinical Counsellor
Sarah Corrin,
Registered Clinical Counsellor
Victoria Spaurel
Registered Acupuncturist
Laura Warmington
Registered Nurse
IV therapy provider
Shandria Slade
Registered Massage Therapist
Allison Heath Registered Massage Therapist
Joanne Pady
Athletic Therapist and Osteopathic Manual Pracitioner (Student)
Will Bratt
Certified Canadian Counsellor
Staff
Melissa Coles
Kalee Geurts
Regan Copeland
WE OFFER:
Naturopathic Medicine,
Massage Therapy,
Acupuncture,
Osteopathic Techniques,
Counselling,
Athletic Therapy,
Allergy and Sensitivity testing,
Salivary Hormone testing,
Pap smears,
HPV testing,
Hair Mineral Analysis and Heavy Metal Analysis,
Detoxification,
Botanical Medicine,
Vitamin B12 injections
B Vitamin Complex injections,
Homeopathic injections,
Screening Physical Exams,
Sublingual Immunotherapy
IV Therapy
Infrared Sauna
And more...
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Spring is Here and so are Seasonal Allergies!
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We offer scratch testing to assess for seasonal allergies as well as various ways to treat hay fever! Allergy drops are a great alternative to allergy shots, and will fully desensitize 75% of people when used consistently for 1-3 years! Acupuncture, nutritional and herbal medicine, and hydrotherapy are other ways to improve immune system function and reduce your symptoms. To find out more, click on the links below: Allergy DropsTesting is 70 dollars, and will screen for all common causes of allergic rhinitis. Call us today to book your testing visit! 250-475-1522 |
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Money doesn't grow on trees!
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Did you know that most of our health care services are covered by extended health benefits?
Your employer knows that it saves them money for you to be healthy. Check your benefit booklet to see if you can be doing more, while paying less, for your health
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28-Day Intensive Medically Supervised Detox
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This detoxification program is tailored to you and monitored by your naturopathic physician. Unlike over-the-counter detoxification products, our intensive detox includes sauna therapy and hydrotherapy over 4 weeks, designed to pull out deeply rooted toxins. Physician-guided detoxification plans allow people with general health conditions like diabetes or cardiovascular diseases to detox safely. To find out more: CLICK HERETo book a 15 minute free consult to see if this is right for you call us at 250-475-1522.
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Greetings!
Are you running the TC 10K? We have full team here at Acacia running or walking it (with babies and kids too boot!). We are all excited and ready for fun and for a challenge.
How do you get ready in the last week before the run? We thought we would offer tips from our resident experts on how to prepare your body and mind.
Clinic News:
Sarah Corrin (Registered Clinical Counsellor) is returning to practice here at Acacia on May1st. She will start with Wednesday afternoon hours and build up from there.
Allison Heath (RMT) will be on a brief vacation for the next 3 weeks and Meaghan Mounce (RMT) - who worked here last year - will be her locum.
All of our Naturopathic Doctors, and our Registered Nurse have finished their certification or re-certification in Advanced Cardiac Life Support. This ensures that all of the people involved in providing IV therapy, Nebulizer therapy, and Allergy testing have extra skills to assess and treat life-threatening emergencies.
An interview with Dr Pam was the topic of the Blog for The Boucher Institute of Naturopathic Medicine. They discussed her presentation at the Naturopathic Neurology Symposium, and why she is passionate about neurology and mental health. Read it HERE.
We hope all of you running the TC 10K have a great race!
Take good care of yourselves and your loved ones.
Yours in Health,
Dr. E.Pamela Hutchison ND
Clinic Director
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Injury prevention training tips
Graham Robertson, Registered Massage Therapist
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It's running season, and with the 10K and other races just around the corner, we're all turning up the intensity on our training, which is turning up the stress on our bodies. Here are some great tips for injury prevention.
1. Slow and steady! By increasing distance of your training runs too quickly, you can cause an unnecessary strain to your tendons and muscles and lead to repetitive strain injuries such as tendonitis and plantar fasciitis. Gradually lengthen your runs. Most running stores in Victoria have well-detailed training schedules included in their clinics.
2. Keep it limber! Without sounding like a broken record, stretch, stretch.... stretch. I'm not saying you need to be able to put your feet behind your head, but with the volume of training you're putting your body through, you're goal is more flexibility. Remember, keep long stretches for the end of your runs.
3. Replenish your tanks! A lack of water and proper electrolytes is the leading cause of muscle cramps and spasms during exercise. Make sure you're taking in the right fuel and hydration before, during and after your run. There is nothing worse than dropping out of the race because of something simple and easy like drinking a sports drink.
4. Nip it in the bud! If you're already experiencing some aches and pains in your training, make sure you take care of it sooner rather than later. The longer you ignore an injury hoping it will relieve itself, the longer it will take to recover and possibly progress to something more than just a twinge. One visit with your massage therapist can be effective to ward off a run-related injury if dealt with soon enough.
Graham will be running the TC10K with the Acacia Team. You can read more about him HERE.
Graham is also the founder of The Cycle of Life Tour - a yearly event where one person cycles a very long distance (this year, across Canada) to raise funds and awareness of Victoria Hospice. Find out about this year's ride HERE
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Training for the 10K - An experience in Solidarity
Will Bratt, Certified Canadian Counsellor
|  Greetings friends and community members!
With the Times Colonist 10k run nearly upon us, I thought I might offer some ideas that have been on my mind relative to my practice of therapy and my training as a participant in the TC 10k.
A couple of years ago I was introduced to the writings and ideas of a Vancouver based therapist and activist Vikki Reynolds (see http://www.vikkireynolds.ca/). Among her many inspirational ideas is her notion of solidarity.
Writing mainly for an audience of front-line workers in the helping professions, Vikki emphasizes solidarity - "the interconnections of our collective movements towards social justice, and in resisting oppression" - as paramount for surviving the disheartening experiences that often accompany working to address problems that promote people's suffering. In a workshop I attended last November, her words resonated deeply with me as she challenged the myth that "self-care" is sufficient in and of itself with respect to front-line workers maintaining sustainability in their work. She made it clear that if we are to survive disheartening circumstances, we need to engage in practices of solidarity - to hold each other up, because one person's suffering is inextricably linked to the suffering of all people.
Through conversations I've had with people in therapy, I've come to recognize the applicability of these ideas to all people in society - not just therapists and other helping professionals. Unfortunately, I've found that ideas that promote solidarity often take a back seat to ideas that serve to divide and isolate people. We're told that we need to "be strong", and that being "strong" means that we "stand on our own two feet" no matter the adversity we are subjected to, and that we ourselves are solely responsible for our own "successes" and "failures". In addition to that, we are told that we will "burden" others if we ask for help. I've learned from the people I seek to help that these ideas are most discouraging of seeking solidarity when support is needed.
It seems apparent that these commonly held notions of "strength" and "burdening" do more harm than good, as people buckle under the tremendous weight of their struggles for fear of infecting others with their problems or appearing "weak" if they risk asking for a supportive hand or shoulder to lean on. For this reason, I absolutely encourage all people - in the therapy room or elsewhere - to hold their communities of support close and to resist those commonly held ideas that sustain isolation.
As a TC 10k trainee, I've come to appreciate the practice of solidarity in a new light. Having little experience in the area of long-distance running, I suspected that training to run 10k on my own might be a challenging endeavor. For this reason I sought out a like-minded running partner - a person who shared my recognition of the importance of support in taking on challenges. Together we have motivated one another to continue our training on those days we might rather sit on the couch. We've been there for each other to offer words of encouragement, high-fives, and pats on the back when we've reached new goals. Without a doubt, engaging in practices of solidarity while training for the TC 10k has enriched my experience by bringing in someone to share in our collective triumphs and hold me up on days I've felt less inclined to run. Now, as I approach my first ever 10k run, I'm eagerly excited to experience how we - the thousands of participants - hold each other up on April 29th.
Will Bratt, MA, CCC
If you are interested in seeing Will, he offers free 30-minute sessions for you to meet him and talk about what you would like to work on. Call the office at 250-475-1522 to book a complimentary session.
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How to "Carbo-Load" - The Basics
Dr Pamela Hutchison Naturopathic Physician
|  Are you like many of us, about to run your first TC10K? Or are you a seasoned runner, and 10K is more like a light Sunday morning jog? Either way, one thing everyone should be doing in the day or two before the race is loading up their muscles with fuel. "Carbo-loading" increases the amount of glycogen stored in the muscles and can improve endurance on race day.
Reduce your exercise load: A key element to carbohydrate loading is not over extending yourself while training. You should be keeping your workouts lighter to help your muscles build stores. Avoid long runs in the week before the event, and do only light activity for 48 hours before the run. Use Carbohydrates: It may sound silly, but sometimes people just eat more calories when carbo-loading - but you truly need to load on carbohydrates. These are foods like rice, quinoa, bread, pasta, fruits and starchy vegetables like sweet potatoes, squash, zucchini, turnips, carrots, and potatoes. Start 2 days before the event: Starting early gives your digestion a chance to accommodate to the change. You may want to end your loading at lunch the day before, and eat normally for the rest of the time until the race. This is a good tactic if you get nervous before race day. Hydration is part of carbo-loading!: Your muscles will be storing water with the glycogen - so drink up! It is not unusual to gain a few pounds of water weight when you load. You should be having 1-2 liters per day - so that you are urinating 4-6 times a day with light yellow urine. Target 3-5 grams of carbohydrates per pound of body weight per day!: Divide up the total into three meals to get your target per meal. You can go to www.carbohydrate-counter.org/ for a quick reference of the amount of carbs per serving of the most common high carb foods. Have a great race - we hope to see many of you out there! Dr. Pamela Hutchison ND |
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Events and Special Offers
| Upcoming Events
Healthy Brain Aging: Natural Approaches to Prevention of Cognitive Impairment
Dr. Pamela Hutchison B.Sc., ND
Date: Monday May 28, 2012
Join Dr. Pamela Hutchison, Naturopathic Physician, for an informative discussion on how to reduce the risk of developing dementia or mild cognitive impairment as you age. Natural approaches to prevention through diet, exercise, herbs and supplements, as well as ways to determine if you are at risk or in early decline, will be discussed.
Suggested $10 donation to VWCA to support child and youth programming.
The Cycle of Life Tour fundraising is underway!
Come to this year's major fundraising event at the Bard and Banker, June 3rd - for great music, silent auction items, and more! Last year Graham raised more than 13,000 dollars for Victoria Hospice. Let's help Graham and this year's cyclist Sean Jacklin raise even more!
Date: Sunday June 3rd
Where: The Bard and Banker
When: 5-8 pm
Did you know? We are on Twitter and Facebook!
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Acacia Integrative Health Clinic
101-391 Tyee Road
Victoria, BC V9A 0A9
250-475-1522
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