Episode 16: Dr. Amanda Thompson, DC on Chiropractic Care for Pain, TMJ + Muscle Testing
Show Summary:
Dr. Thompson is a local chiropractor who helps her patients to address pain, digestive issues, injury, TMJ, migraines, and more. She learned at the young age of 14 that she wanted to be a chiropractor after personally experiencing the healing benefits of chiropractic treatment from her mentor, Dr. Julie Rosenberg. She has taken over 400 hours of seminar training in Applied Kinesiology and has taken adjustive technique courses through the ICAK, Gonstead Institute, and Motion Palpation Institute.
Dr. Thompson believes in the body’s astounding capability to heal itself of any condition, and views her job as the facilitator of this healing. Join us for a conversation today about how chiropractic care can help on your healing journey. If you suffer from conditions like pain, digestive issues, headaches, or TMJ, this conversation is for you!
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Full Episode Transcript:
SPEAKERS: Dr. Andrew Wong, Dr. Amanda Thompson
Welcome to the Capital Integrative Health podcast, a podcast dedicated to transforming the consciousness around what it means to be healthy and understanding the root causes of both disease and wellness. I am Dr. Andrew Wong, co-founder of Capital Integrative Health, an integrative practice committed to expanding access to holistic root cause medicine to the global community.
Today, we are joined by Dr. Amanda Thompson. Dr. Thompson is a local chiropractor who helps her patients to address pain, digestive issues, injury, TMJ, migraines, and much more. She learned at the young age of 14 that she wanted to be a chiropractor after personally experiencing the healing benefits of chiropractic treatment from her mentor, Dr. Julie Rosenberg. She has taken over 400 hours of seminar training in Applied Kinesiology and has taken adjustive technique courses through the ICAK Gonstead Institute and Motion Palpation Institute. Dr. Thompson believes in the body's astounding capability to heal itself of any condition and views her job as the facilitator of this healing. Join us for a conversation today about how chiropractic care can help on your healing journey. If you suffer from conditions like pain, digestive issues, headaches, or TMJ, this conversation is for you.
Dr. Wong:
Well, welcome Amanda to the podcast. Thank you so much for coming on today.
Dr. Thompson:
Thank you so much for having me. I love to talk about chiropractic so.
Dr. Wong:
Yes. Well, let's dive into that. So, what was your introduction to Integrative Health and why did you decide to become a chiropractor?
Dr. Thompson:
I think in one of the best ways possible which was a personal experience. So, when I was 12 years old, I was diagnosed with scoliosis and my mother took me to a very holistic chiropractor who did a lot of other modalities like muscle testing and that was where it all started and it's funny because she basically took me in there like I was kicking and screaming. I did not want to go to this chiropractor but it was a great experience. I immediately felt better, somewhat corrected the scoliosis, and the rest is kind of history.
Dr. Wong:
That's awesome. That was Dr. Julie Rosenberg?
Dr. Thompson:
Yeah, it's Dr. Rosenberg, yeah.
Dr. Wong:
And where does she practice? Is she practicing still or?
Dr. Thompson:
Yes. She's in Rockville as well, south Rockville, yeah.
Dr. Wong:
Nice. And what do you enjoy most about what you do as a chiropractor?
Dr. Thompson:
Oh, so many things. I love the instant relief that people experience not just the instant relief of their pain and discomfort but also just how much better they feel emotionally and just overall you know the benefit to their well-being and happiness is just instant. It's an instant gratification type of practice and I love that.
Dr. Wong:
Yes and I agree with that and I would say having had some chiropractic adjustments myself, I do notice an immediate difference as a patient.
Dr. Thompson:
Yeah, right.
Dr. Wong:
And even you know doing some acupuncture and treating patients like people get that instant gratification.
Dr. Thompson:
Yeah. Yeah, yeah, definitely.
Dr. Wong:
And for those of you who may not know, what is chiropractic care? Because I think let's just kind of start broad.
Dr. Thompson:
Yeah, definitely. So, chiropractic care is a holistic health method that assesses and restores proper spinal joint mobility and in doing that it also optimizes our nervous system function and our nerve flow and the nervous system controls so much in the body so in that way, it's very helpful.
Dr. Wong:
Let's dive into that a bit. So, spine joint mobility, why is that so important? You know we talk a lot about you know certain art clinic blood work and you know different things and gut health, etc., which you can talk about today as well but in terms of spine joint mobility, why is that so important for health?
Dr. Thompson:
So, not only is spinal mobility important locally you know. If there's a decrease in mobility, you can get pain, you can get you know the area can become vulnerable, you can get easily injured so, there's that. And actually, spinal joint mobility is one of the main like stimulants to our brain so a large portion of the brain actually receives input from our joints and the joints and the movement of the joints so if there's not proper movement in some joints, that's a lot of you know decreased stimulation to our brain so it's actually very powerful for the brain itself.
Dr. Wong:
I think there's a saying that you're only as old as your spine. Have you heard of that?
Dr. Thompson:
Yeah, I could see that. I could definitely think of that.
Dr. Wong:
It’s a yoga saying.
Dr. Thompson:
Okay.
Dr. Wong:
And certainly for nerve function, it's huge because like you said, the nerve, the nervous system, the autonomic nervous system which we can talk about probably with AK later. You know, autonomic nervous system really controls a lot of physiologic functions.
Dr. Thompson:
So much, yeah.
Dr. Wong:
So that's awesome. And what is an appointment with you like typically?
Dr. Thompson:
So, very holistic. I, of course, you know, at the base of what I do is chiropractic adjusting so head to toe, spine, extremities. I also do a lot of Applied Kinesiology muscle testing so that's not like a strength muscle test, that's a nervous system muscle test. Our muscles on and firing properly or are they turned off. Every muscle is related to a certain organ so that will often take us, me and my patient, into reflex point work. I do a little bit of mind-body techniques, food sensitivity testing, and sometimes nutritional supplements. So, typically, an appointment is including all of that.
Dr. Wong:
That sounds awesome. I need to book an appointment with you too.
Dr. Thompson:
Anytime.
Dr. Wong:
A lot of things going on, thank you. And let's talk about adjustments for a second because I know there's like HVLA and they're like different types of adjustments so you can kind of get into a little bit for the audience?
Dr. Thompson:
Sure, yeah. I would love to because I think that's important. So, you know, I think we both approach our patients very you know individually so you know I’m not into like a cookie cutter type of model. I know you definitely aren't so that means that different adjustive techniques can be appropriate for each different patient.
Dr. Wong:
Unless it's holiday cookies, then we might have not, just kidding.
Dr. Thompson:
We are at that time of year.
Dr. Wong:
We are, we are. We're taping it right around close to the holidays. Anyway.
Dr. Thompson:
But for adjustments, no. No cookie cutters.
Dr. Wong:
No cookie cutters. Okay, yeah.
Dr. Thompson:
So, for many of my patients I do high velocity low amplitude adjustments which is your traditional manual adjustment. I also have instruments for instrument assisted adjustment such as the activator, that's a little gentler. If that's appropriate for the patient, we can always do a gentler adjustive technique. I sometimes use what we call pelvic blocks for the hips which doesn't involve any cavitation, is the appropriate word for popping, just FYI. So, yeah, I think it's important to have you know a range of adjustments because one technique is not gonna work for everyone so.
Dr. Wong:
You probably don't say you're going to capitate your patients though when you're on the table there.
Dr. Thompson:
No, they would have no idea.
Dr. Wong:
Like I’m about to pop your joint and probably a little more understandable, got it. And so, there's HVLA, high velocity low amplitude, there's other types of adjustments or is that what you mean with the activator and things like that? They're like different types of adjustments there?
Dr. Thompson:
Yes, it's just a different adjustive technique.
Dr. Wong:
Okay.
Dr. Thompson:
Different means to a very similar end.
Dr. Wong:
Okay, got it. What are some of your goals when working with a client. So, suppose it depends on what their goals are too but.
Dr. Thompson:
Yeah, good question. So, obviously, I think you know, I want to make them more comfortable if they're coming in in some kind of pain or discomfort. I definitely want them
leaving in less discomfort. If there's more internal health issues we're addressing, same thing. I want to see improvement in those as well because chiropractic can be very supportive for other, not just musculoskeletal issues but internal issues as well. Also, I think I spend a decent amount of time with my patients. I want them to feel heard. That's something that I hear a lot you know. Patients say I've been here and there and I just don't feel like you know I'm being listened to so that's become important to me. I think really taking the time that I need with someone to properly address what they have going on.
Dr. Wong:
You need time to listen yeah time to be there with the patient.
Dr. Thompson:
Yeah.
Dr. Wong:
That's so true.
Dr. Thompson:
Right.
Dr. Wong:
And I have a question. You seem like a basketball player, do you play basketball?
Dr. Thompson:
I seem like a basketball player?
Dr. Wong:
I mean you seem very fit. Anyway.
Dr. Thompson:
Yeah, I do not play basketball.
Dr. Wong:
Good rebounding, you know, fingers.
Dr. Thompson:
Well, chiropractic is very, it's like I say it's like a professional sport. I feel like I'm a professional athlete sometimes because obviously adjusting, muscle testing, very physical job so I do work out regularly in part because of my job, for my job and I would say like I’m a fairly athletic person.
Dr. Wong:
Yeah.
Dr. Thompson:
Since I was as a kid, yeah.
Dr. Wong:
Got it. And so, I was going with an analogy with that with this like inside outside kind of combo with basketball with like you know standing at the three-pointer and standing at the two-point line etc. The point is is that, the outside of the body and we would say, the structural aspects, the musculoskeletal system, the spine, joints, the mobility that you were talking about affect the internal organs.
Dr. Thompson:
Yeah.
Dr. Wong:
And I think that's maybe a misconception with chiropractic as well as other body work. It's like yeah oh well I’m not going to go to see this bodywork doctors professional like yourself unless I have pain.
Dr. Thompson:
Right.
Dr. Wong:
Or you know what I mean, do you get that a lot from people or do they already kind of know that it can affect the internal organs as well?
Dr. Thompson:
I would say you are correct that it's a misconception. I think most people and again this is just because you know the information is not necessarily readily available so I’m glad we're setting this straight but I think yeah, many people think of chiropractors as oh if I injure myself or I have back pain or this or that, I go and and that's it. And it's really so much more than that, it's a preventative type of medicine I think is essential for proper nervous system function, total body function, organs joints, everything.
Dr. Wong:
Now, if people have a subluxation, sort of you know movement off the vertebrae, correct? Or other joint you know, dysfunction? Are people gonna always feel symptomatic you know because that's where the prevention may come in there.
Dr. Thompson:
Right. No, they're not always going to be symptomatic so you know I've been taught that the body and I know you know this, the body will will do everything it can to stay in what we call homeostasis or you know a normal pain-free high-functioning state so that means a lot of times symptoms don't show up until much later but the underlying issues are there and they'll slowly present symptoms over time or if it's like a joint that's compromised but they're not you know, the patient's not noticing it yet. That could down the road be an injury so you know if they're getting chiropractic care, that may never be an injury.
Dr. Wong:
Yeah.
Dr. Thompson:
You know?
Dr. Wong:
It makes a lot of sense. Kind of like with Internal Medicine or these kind of internal organ kind of systems, things like hypertension or heart disease or even osteoporosis. A lot of these things are not symptomatic.
Dr. Thompson:
Right.
Dr. Wong:
Until someone has a heart issue or they have a fracture or whatever.
Dr. Thompson:
Right.
Dr. Wong:
You know and I think you can kind of say that with the musculoskeletal system too.
Dr. Thompson:
Yes, absolutely.
Dr. Wong:
Yeah. Well, we can kind of talk about some main topics of you know, some of these conditions that people may come in to you for, coming to a chiropractor for. So, let's try to talk about one of the big bulls-eye targets I would say is back pain. You know, I think in 2017, the annals of internal medicine came out with the article saying that you know, opioids are no longer the first line therapy for back pain and we need to really look at other modalities like chiropractic, physical therapy, acupuncture and, other more natural treatments instead of these you know medications like NSAIDs or instead of, not that they you know don't have their place, of course they do, but you know opioids being the last resort so.
Dr. Thompson:
Right.
Dr. Wong:
And we know about the opioid crisis you know and things like that. So, what is your general approach to to back pain? Let's just start with something pretty simple like low back pain but then there might probably other types of back pain too.
Dr. Thompson:
Sure, yeah. So, if someone comes in with low back pain you know, first of all, I am looking at it from a structural viewpoint so was there an old injury in the area, are there misalignments, injured muscles, injured ligaments, that kind of thing. Then, also, I'm looking at internal components so is there inflammation caused by you know stress or poor diet or something else and that's really contributing to the lower back pain. We can't ignore that. And speaking of stress, is it emotional stress you know, so many times, I see emotional stress being a primary driver of someone's pain so and then you know, fun fact, a lot of the muscles of the lower back are related to the intestinal system so is there something going on in the intestinal system that's you know weakening the lower back. So, you know, it's the structure and then it's so much more that can play into that.
Dr. Wong:
And a study from North Carolina a couple years ago kind of revealed that 8%8 or more people in the United States have metabolic syndrome, obesity, overweight you know, it's big belly or even if it's not obviously big, it's more like skinny fat where there's like not as much muscle but a lot of fat.
Dr. Thompson:
Sure.
Dr. Wong:
In the anterior abdomen. So, we kind of know that this also can press on anterior to posterior you know, the visceral fat's kind of affecting, right? Affecting the back?
Dr. Thompson:
Yes, absolutely. And that's why you know, it's often necessary to get into lifestyle factors and just other things going on with the patient because it's rarely just a musculoskeletal issue. Sometimes it is, sometimes they had an injury to the low back and it just needs to be corrected.
Dr. Wong:
So, I feel like you're saying, Dr. Thompson, that the body's connected, right?
Dr. Thompson:
Yes. I feel like a broken record with that phrase, “everything is connected”. Everything's connected in the body.
Dr. Wong:
Yes, back to that operation game that we might have played when we were little.
Dr. Thompson:
Oh, yeah. Definitely played that.
Dr. Wong:
Yes. So, let's actually jump around a little bit and talk about some other healing modalities you incorporate in your care with patients. Let's start with nutrition because we know that food is medicine.
Dr. Thompson:
Yes. Nutrition,very important. I, like I mentioned, I do food sensitivity testing using muscle testing with every new patient. You know, patients can always go out and get more detailed lab work for that but I do a general screen of my own because food allergens can always be playing into inflammation, pain. Also, you know, each muscle in the body I learned through Applied Kinesiology is correlated to certain nutrients. So, for example, some of the lower leg muscles are related to various B vitamins.
Dr. Wong:
Oh, wow.
Dr. Thompson:
Yeah, it's very fascinating. Again, everything is connected.
Dr. Wong:
So, if there's B vitamin deficiencies then you'll see some lower leg either dysfunction or trigger point activation or how would that work?
Dr. Thompson:
You could see certain muscles, what we call inhibited or just kind of turned off, shut off,
weakened, because there's you know not sufficient B vitamin levels.
Dr. Wong:
Okay. And you test it too, just to make sure.
Dr. Thompson:
And that's you know throughout the whole body.
Dr. Wong:
Yes. Yeah, it'd be so interesting to kind of correlate that with lab tests and kind of see because sometimes lab tests show things but sometimes they don't.
Dr. Thompson:
Right.
Dr. Wong:
Right, I mean in a way the body is really the best
Dr. Thompson:
Yeah.
Dr. Wong:
Lab test?
Dr. Thompson:
Yeah.
Dr. Wong:
Sometimes?
Dr. Thompson:
Yeah, yeah. Right. With muscle testing, we get instant feedback.
Dr. Wong:
Yeah. There's a thyroid, do you test for thyroid as well on with muscle testing or like thyroid function testing?
Dr. Thompson:
Yeah, yes. A thyroid related muscle is actually a shoulder rotator cuff.
Dr. Wong:
Okay, okay. Wow. I know a lot of people with hypothyroidism actually get frozen shoulder or other things like that.
Dr. Thompson:
Yeah. See, so that makes total sense.
Dr. Wong:
Yes.
Dr. Thompson:
Yeah.
Dr. Wong:
Great. How do you address neck pain because I know that there's a lot of people now on zoom, they're working or they're otherwise you know at home during the pandemic but even before that, it's sort of like we have this huge bowling ball on our neck right and then what's our posture like. So, how's neck pain kind of play into this whole you know structural health piece and then what are your general approach for that condition?
Dr. Thompson:
The neck is so important in part because as you know, there's so much brain body signaling going through that area but honestly you know my approach is again checking everything like we had talked about with the lower back. I also see a lot of like sinus issues and cranium you know, the skull even being misaligned playing into neck pain. Even sleep like poor sleep being a cause of neck pain so again like in addition to just checking out the joints and checking out the muscles you know, the organs in the area and and the sinuses and all these other things that are related.
Dr. Wong:
Is it true that anything above or below a certain point of pain could be, if dysfunctional, causing that pain sort of like referred pain like you said. So, neck is here but then there's you know craniosacral issues or there's back issues affecting the neck.
Dr. Thompson:
Right. Yes, yes. I'm so happy you bring that up because sometimes it sounds funny but it's true like you can have an issue in your left foot that is causing you know neck pain and there is reasoning that makes sense behind all of that but I see that all the time, that the the area of pain is not necessarily where the primary issue is.
And can you have a left foot pain being affected by the neck?
Dr. Thompson:
Yes.
Dr. Wong:
In reverse? So?
Dr. Thompson:
It's usually a two-way street, yeah.
Dr. Wong:
Okay, okay. Alright. So like most highways are two-way, most highways are not one way right?
Dr. Thompson:
Yes, exactly. It works like that.
Dr. Wong:
Like i270 is not one way?
Dr. Thompson:
Yeah.
Dr. Wong:
Kind of interesting. Which way would you want to travel on that side. Let's talk about a couple more structural issues, so TMJ or temporomandibular joint dysfunction is very common. What is your general approach to TMJ?
Dr. Thompson:
I love to work on the jaw because now to be fair, I got a lot of my training in TMJ work through Applied Kinesiology again that you know not everything I've learned from my chiropractic training. So, I usually get in there. I usually get in the mouth and work on the jaw muscles intra-orally which so many patients say oh my gosh I've never had that done and it's so painful but it gives them great results so I'll do intraoral work and then again assessing the neck and and everything else is important for that. There's a small intestine point, acupuncture point, right over the jaw, right?
Dr. Wong:
Yes.
Dr. Thompson:
And so you know, I've always been taught to check small intestine related muscles and everything if there's a jaw issue.
Dr. Wong:
I love how all the integrated modalities are so connected like that.
Dr. Thompson:
Yeah.
Dr. Wong:
Yeah. That’s so great.
Dr. Thompson:
Yeah. I think it's you know and I think you'll agree, it's the best approach.
Dr. Wong:
Exactly, yeah. Taking a village approach. How about migraines and headaches in general? We know that a lot of people suffer from tension headaches, migraine headaches. What's your approach to that?
Dr. Thompson:
Structural. I definitely check because especially the neck and the cranium can obviously cause headaches and migraines and then of course there's so many other things that can cause it. Dehydration is one that I see a lot, thyroid issues, food sensitivities, is it correlated with something that they're eating, food additives I've seen cause that a lot. So,again, there can be so many causes or contributors and I go back to muscle testing to try to determine that.
Dr. Wong:
What is a CST or Craniosacral Therapy? I think you've mentioned that before, craniosacral therapy.
Dr. Thompson:
Sure. So, I do a bit of craniosacral therapy that again I've learned through various mentors. I have not yet taken an official course, I would like to but essentially the work that I do is balancing out the sacrum and hips pelvis while simultaneously doing a release at the base of the skull in the suboccipital area and to my understanding that gets our cerebrospinal fluid flowing better, gets lymphatics which is like our waste drainage system flowing better, really gets kind of everything flowing better, very calming to the nervous system which so many people need.
Dr. Wong:
Yeah.
Dr. Thompson:
Yeah, so.
Dr. Wong:
Great, thank you. And one other thing, we wanted to talk about I think is GI issues like constipation and reflux. What are your general approaches for some of these gastrointestinal conditions?
Dr. Thompson:
I do a lot of actual checking of the GI organs to see if they themselves need some actual manual manipulation.
Dr. Wong:
You do ileocecal valve release?
Dr. Thompson:
Yes, yes.
Dr. Wong:
Nice.
Dr. Thompson:
I do. I check the ileocecal valve if it's too loose, too tight, correct that. I do a lot of hiatal hernia checking like if the stomach has slid up to where it should not be, up through the rib cage and sometimes actually adjust the stomach itself so there's a lot to that that can be worked on there.
Dr. Wong:
Is it possible to adjust the hiatal hernia down so that it doesn't stick up past the sphincter?
Dr. Thompson:
Yeah it is, it is. And now, of course, it depends on the severity of it but I've had some really good results with that. I'd actually say that's one of the most common issues I've somehow gotten into this niche like people with hiatal hernias come in to see me but a lot of times it's the only place where they can get an actual manual you know treatment for that.
Dr. Wong:
Right because otherwise a lot of people get stuck on proton pump inhibitors.
Dr. Thompson:
Right.
Dr. Wong:
And everything so that's great to know that you do that, thank you so much. We are approaching winter time now here in the Washington DC area so this is a great question about the immune system. How does chiropractic care benefit the immune system?
Dr. Thompson:
Chiropractic care is wonderful. There's been numerous studies that have proven the positive correlation between chiropractic adjustments and immune system function. There was one actually done at my chiropractic school that showed that within 15 minutes of receiving a chiropractic adjustment, you've got an increase in immune system cells in the area of adjustment and I've seen other studies that have shown that you get a a double you know increase in white blood cells in the body after an adjustment so very important.
Dr. Wong:
It's just a really basic question but when you do a treatment and have a certain block of time with the patient, do you do like a whole body adjustment or do you focus on a specific area?
Dr. Thompson:
I do a bit of both. I'm always checking the patient head to toe because again everything's connected so I will do a head to toe check and work on other things besides maybe the area of complaint and then I'll typically zero in on the area of complaint.
Dr. Wong:
Got it. Okay, great. And besides nutrition, what other healing modalities you incorporate in your in your care?
Dr. Thompson:
We talked about Applied Kinesiology which is based in muscle testing. It's like a diagnosis and treatment system based in muscle testing.
Dr. Wong:
Let's talk about what that is actually. What is muscle testing? And I don't know if everyone knows what AK is so let's kind of go into that if you don't mind.
Dr. Thompson:
Sure, yeah. So, Applied Kinesiology is a system of diagnosis and treatment that is based in neurological muscle testing so again it's not like the strength in the muscle itself, it's not a strength test.
Dr. Wong:
Because there are some people, practitioners that do strength muscle testing, is that correct?
Dr. Thompson:
Yes, exactly. So, this is a more subtle test that we're detecting. Is the muscle firing like it should.
Dr. Wong:
And how do you determine whether it's firing or not based on observation or their reflexes?
Dr. Thompson:
It's a feel, it's a feel. So, it's a manual test so I'm feeling if they can meet a certain amount of my pressure you know.
Dr. Wong:
Okay.
Dr. Thompson:
If they can resist.
Dr. Wong:
Yes. I've done some training with that. Do you know Dr. Carolyn McMakin? She's a doctor of chiropractic. She does frequency specific microcurrents so..
Dr. Thompson:
Oh.
Dr. Wong:
Yeah.
Dr. Thompson:
I’m not familiar with her.
Dr. Wong:
Yeah, yeah. You could check that out, it's really, FSM. She taught a little bit of that in there so that's kind of how I know about it.
Dr. Thompson:
Okay.
Dr. Wong:
Yeah.
Dr. Thompson:
Great.
Dr. Wong:
Yeah, she uses microcurrent for things like chronic pain but also there's protocols for internal organ dysfunction and stuff like that.
Dr. Thompson:
I've heard very good things about frequency specific microcurrent, yeah.
Dr. Wong:
Yeah, exactly. How do you use AK in your own practice? Do you you know use it on every patient, do you kind of decide who you should use it on?
Dr. Thompson:
Everyone gets AK.
Dr. Wong:
Everyone gets AK. Why not? It's a great modality, right? Why not?
Dr. Thompson:
I wouldn't practice without it and in fact, I highly recommend. I, you know, love chiropractic as a field in general. I personally would recommend that people find a chiropractor that does muscle testing. Not that other chiropractors aren't you know, don't have anything to offer but I think that's really what sets me apart and…
Dr. Wong:
So, it's like chiropractic care with the neurologic focus in a way with AK? Is that?
Dr. Thompson:
Yeah. I think the AK gives us more of a window into the body and what's going on, not just so you know again on a physical level but an internal you know as well.
Dr. Wong:
And is that part of standard chiropractic you know, education acceptance like where is AK and all that?
Dr. Thompson:
It is not a part of the chiropractic school curriculum so I had to do all you know post-graduate seminars to get certified in that.
Dr. Wong:
Well sometimes, the things that are not accepted from the beginning, right? Those are like the most innovative things that we should actually focus on.
Dr. Thompson:
Right.
Dr. Wong:
Like Functional Medicine, right?
Dr. Thompson:
Yeah, yes. Exactly, exactly.
Dr. Wong:
Awesome. So, you use it in your practice on every patient. Is it kind of done at the beginning of a treatment to kind of see what's going on or is it kind of done throughout to see how people are responding in real time?
Dr. Thompson:
Throughout.
Dr. Wong:
Throughout.
Dr. Thompson:
Definitely, throughout.
Dr. Wong:
Great and we'll definitely want to check that out and how do you see chiropractic care integrating with the healthcare system as a whole?
Dr. Thompson:
I would love to see chiropractic care become more integrated into mainstream Medicine and just you know Medicine as a whole. And I'd love to see it become a bit more accepted, some of those misconceptions set straight. And I think you know to be positive, we are on our way there.I know like in the last couple years, chiropractic has been integrated into more military hospitals and facilities. There's a lot of good lobbying going on for chiropractic care so I think you know, I think we're getting there.
Dr. Wong:
Yes. I used to work at a non-profit that had two chiropractors there, one or two. So, definitely, it can be integrated into a you know kind of integrative system but certainly also from a ideally integrated into like a mainstream health care system as well would be great.
Dr. Thompson:
Yeah, definitely.
Dr. Wong:
I'm glad the military is kind of jumping in there too.
Dr. Thompson:
Yeah.
Dr. Wong:
They're also doing a lot of things with acupuncture too, I think all these modalities. How does some chiropractic interplay with other forms of say bodywork or structural modalities? So, I have here listed but there's others but let's just say acupuncture, physical therapy, and even orthopedic care.
Dr. Thompson:
Yeah. I think very synergistically, I think that you know whatever modalities, holistic modalities like we're talking about are combined is just they're all going to enhance each other for the best outcome.
Dr. Wong:
Great. So, take home points, muscle testing is not bodybuilding. That's one thing.
Dr. Thompson:
Yes.
Dr. Wong:
It's actually very subtle, yeah.
Dr. Thompson:
It's very subtle.
Dr. Wong:
Great. And I think, anything else you want to say about chiropractic for the listener that may either have been to chiropractor before or even those who haven't yet?
Dr. Thompson:
I would say just a couple things. One that comes to mind, a lot of people have some fear
especially if it's a first time or a new chiropractor or seeing a chiropractor which I understand but there is definitely no need to be afraid. It is like one of those things that you're like oh my gosh why was I ever afraid of this. Chiropractic hasn't exactly been portrayed well in TV shows and media and on the internet. If it is a well-trained good knowledgeable chiropractor, you'll be in very good hands and it's really nothing to be scared of so that's the first thing. Second thing is, go see a chiropractor no matter what. If you feel like you're in great health, if you feel like you're in failing health, it’s, in my opinion, an essential part of healthcare.
Dr. Wong:
An ounce of prevention's worth the pound of cure. Is that right?
Dr. Thompson:
Precisely.
Dr. Wong:
And I think the thing with the spin, the thing you said earlier about the spine joint mobility is so important because you know as people, either you know as we all get older let's say, you know spine may not be as flexible and you know this may affect things like circulation, lymph flow, detoxification ability. So, the spine is such an important part of health and I think it's in a way of overlooked part for a lot of people.
Dr. Thompson:
Yes, yes. I think so and again, I think chiropractic has somewhat been backed into this corner where oh the back doctor, the neck doctor and hopefully we've set that straight a bit here because that is not the case.
Dr. Wong:
Great. Thank you so much, Amanda. And we have a few fun closing questions for all of our guests so..
Dr. Thompson:
Okay.
Dr. Wong:
First of all, do you have a morning routine and if so, if you mind sharing that?
Dr. Thompson:
Oh my gosh. I thrive off my morning routine. So, for me, it's well we just got a dog so now it includes the dog so first, it's let the dog out then it is cup of coffee with a book and no phone, no nothing, just book, cup of coffee on the couch for like a good hour.
Dr. Wong:
That sounds great, sounds like adding some jazz and a fireplace to that would be nice.
Dr. Thompson:
Oh, I have that on as well on Youtube.
Dr. Wong:
There you go, okay.
Dr. Thompson:
You know the Youtube fireplace.
Dr. Wong:
The cool jazz or the fireplace, right. Great. When is the best time to do exercise? When you do exercise, when do you recommend patients do exercise?
Dr. Thompson:
I think it can actually vary from person to person when might be best for them to exercise. For me, I prefer earlier in the day. I know sometimes when people exercise towards the evening, that can kind of wind them up a bit you know. That's when we want to calm the nervous system so exercise might not be the best in the evening but I'll still sometimes, if that's when I can get it in, I'll do it.
Dr. Wong:
I know we're on closing questions but I have to have a tangent question on that. So, what are your best ways to stimulate the vagus nerve and to kind of balance that nervous system out?
Dr. Thompson:
Oh, yeah. Meditation and breathing you know especially breath breathwork meditations because breathing in the vagus nerve, music, singing. I actually tell my patients to try to sing sometimes or hum, it's also good for the diaphragm muscle and yeah.
Dr. Wong:
Yeah, great. What book or podcast are you enjoying the most right now and what is it about and why are you enjoying it?
Dr. Thompson:
Speaking of breathing, I'm reading breath by James Nestor.
Dr. Wong:
I just finished that, it's amazing.
Dr. Thompson:
Okay, yeah. So, it's you know, basically I've taken away like oh my gosh the breath, our breathing is so important and I've actually started checking like all the breathing related muscles on my patients because I've been reading this book and I realize how important it is that we’re able to fully fill our lungs and breathe well.
Dr. Wong:
That should be the sixth vital sign, how our breath muscles, diaphragm, etc.
Dr. Thompson:
I agree.
Dr. Wong:
Yeah, not just pulse ox and things like that. Great and what do you do every day to cultivate joy besides be with your dog, roll up with a cup of coffee and book, everything.
Dr. Thompson:
That definitely cultivates joy. I would say well, honestly, I cultivate a lot of joy in my job which is so awesome. My other happy place would be nature. I think again, nature is very very very good for our health.
Dr. Wong:
Nature's the best healer and even in cold weather, there's a lot of research on how getting out in the cold actually stimulates some of these immune responses that are really healthy.
Dr. Thompson:
Oh, great. Yeah, just fresh air and yeah I love nature.
Dr. Wong:
Just make sure to put a jacket on, right?
Dr. Thompson:
Yeah, just dress appropriately.
Dr. Wong:
Just properly for the weather. Thank you so much, Amanda. Thank you so much Dr. Thompson for coming on today.
Dr. Thompson:
Thank you.
Dr. Wong:
And how can listeners learn more about you and work with you?
Dr. Thompson:
I have a website. Synergy Chiropractic is my practice name so if you google that, it's synergychiros.com. I've got a facebook page and an instagram page so synerg, s-y-n-e-r-g-y-c-h-i-r-o-s dot com.
Dr. Wong:
Okay and you're located in Rockville, correct?
Dr. Thompson:
Yes, North Rockville.
Dr. Wong:
Got it. Okay, great. Well, thank you so much Amanda for coming on and hope to see you again.
Dr. Thompson:
Thank you. Thank you so much.
Dr. Wong:
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