Treatment Options
Our doctors work with each patient on an individual basis to develop a unique treatment plan. After careful assessment of your health status, Jennifer will utilize any combination of therapeutics based on your health concerns. The type of therapies they practice include:
- Acupuncture and Traditional Chinese Medicine
- Nutritional Counselling
- Homeopathic Medicine
- Lifestyle Counselling
- Botanical and Herbal Medicine
- Intravenous Therapy (IV)
- Physical Medicine
- Special Health Programs
TRADITIONAL CHINESE MEDICINE
Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) is an ancient system of medicine based on balancing the flow of energy throughout the body using oriental herbs and acupuncture.
What is acupuncture?
Acupuncture is one of the oldest, most commonly used medical procedures in the world. Originating in China more than 2,000 years ago. Acupuncture involves penetrating the skin with thin, solid, metallic needles that are manipulated by the hands or by electrical stimulation. The needles are inserted into specific points that correspond with different organs in the body.
What does acupuncture feel like?
Acupuncture needles are metallic, solid, and hair-thin. People experience acupuncture differently, but most feel no or minimal pain as the needles are inserted. Some people are energized by treatment, while others feel relaxed. When the needle is inserted in the correct location you will feel a dull ache known as “de qi”.
Is acupuncture safe?
Relatively few complications from the use of acupuncture have been reported to the FDA in light of the millions of people treated each year and the number of acupuncture needles used. Still, complications have resulted from inadequate sterilization of needles and from improper delivery of treatments. Your practitioner should use a new set of disposable needles taken from a sealed package for each patient and should swab treatment sites with alcohol or another disinfectant before inserting needles.
Does acupuncture work?
There have been many studies on acupuncture's usefulness, showing efficacy, for example, in adult postoperative and chemotherapy nausea and vomiting and in postoperative dental pain. There are other situations--such as addiction, stroke rehabilitation, headache, menstrual cramps, tennis elbow, fibromyalgia, myofascial pain, osteoarthritis, low-back pain, carpal tunnel syndrome, and asthma--in which acupuncture may be useful as an adjunct treatment or an acceptable alternative. An NCCAM-funded study recently showed that acupuncture provides pain relief, improves function for people with osteoarthritis of the knee, and serves as an effective complement to standard care.
How does acupuncture work?
Acupuncture is one of the key components of the system of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM). In the TCM system of medicine, the body is seen as a delicate balance of two opposing and inseparable forces: yin and yang. Yin represents the cold, slow, or passive principle, while yang represents the hot, excited, or active principle. Health is achieved by maintaining the body in a "balanced state" and disease is due to an imbalance of yin and yang. This imbalance leads to blockage in the flow of qi (energy) along pathways known as meridians. There are 12 main meridians and 8 secondary meridians and more than 2,000 acupuncture points on the human body that connect with them.
Acupuncture produces its effects through regulating the nervous system, aiding the activity of pain-killing biochemicals such as endorphins and immune system cells at specific sites in the body. In addition, studies have shown that acupuncture may alter brain chemistry by changing the release of neurotransmitters and neurohormones and, thus, affecting the parts of the central nervous system related to sensation and involuntary body functions, such as immune reactions and processes that regulate a person's blood pressure, blood flow, and body temperature.
NUTRITIONAL COUNSELLING
Dr. Jennifer Luck provides nutrition education and develops eating plans based on your individual needs, food preferences, culture and health conditions. Jennifer will perform a full assessment of your current eating habits and works with you to develop a unique diet that allows your body to heal and be healthy. Progress is monitored at follow-up appointments until your personal goals have been reached. Dr. Luck offers ongoing support to help you adopt healthier eating habits through recipes, tips for shopping, cooking and eating in restaurants.
Frequently discussed topics
- How to achieve and maintain a healthy weight?
- How to be a healthy vegetarian?
- How do I know if I have food sensitivities?
- What to eat when you are pregnant?
- What supplements should I be taking?
- Do any of my supplements interact with my medications?
Do I need to take supplements?
Dr. Luck may recommend certain supplements as part of your treatment plan. Feel free to discuss any concerns you may have whether for cultural, religious or other reasons. Oftentimes improvement of your diet will be sufficient to correct any nutritional deficiencies. However, in some cases, vitamin and mineral supplementation is required to return the body to a state of balance. Nutrient deficiencies can be responsible for many health concerns and can be easily corrected through supplementation and correction of your diet.
How do I know that the supplements I am taking contain pure and safe ingredients?
Dr. Luck carries a dispensary of products that are only available to health care practitioners, including Thorne, Metagenics, Seroyal, and Douglas Labs. These companies work exclusively with health care practitioners to ensure that their products are prescribed safely by trained professionals. Each of these companies requires their products undergo third party testing to ensure that you are getting pure and safe ingredients at therapeutic doses. Every effort has been made to ensure that all products are of the highest quality and of reasonable cost, but you are welcome to purchase your supplements elsewhere.
HOMEOPATHIC MEDICINE
Homeopathy is a gentle, holistic system of healing, suitable for everyone, young and old. Homeopathy focuses on you as an individual, concentrating on treating your specific physical and emotional symptoms, to give long lasting benefits. Homeopathy is based on the principle of “like cures like” and usesminute amounts of natural substances to stimulate the self-healing abilities of the body.
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Are homeopathic remedies safe?
Homeopathic remedies are prepared from animal, vegetable and mineral substances. They are diluted to such a degree that not one molecule of the original substance can be detected. They work by gently boosting the natural energy of the body, and are very safe, even for pregnant and sensitive patients. There is no danger of addiction or toxicity.
If they are so dilute, how can they work?
After each dilution the mixture is vigorously agitated in a machine that delivers a calibrated amount of shaking. This is called succussion. It is thought that this process imprints the healing energy of the medicinal substance throughout the body of water (the diluent) as if a message is passed on. The message contains the healing energy. Even in ultra-molecular dilutions, information specific to the original dissolved substance remains and can be detected.
What can homeopathy treat?
Homeopathy has a wide application, from acute fevers, sore throats and toothache, to chronic illnesses such as arthritis, eczema, asthma, anxiety, mild depression and chronic fatigue syndrome. There has been some very good research evidence to support this (see Research section).
What happens when you see a homeopath or a naturopathic doctor?
Your physician understands that establishing good health involves treating both mind and body, so time is taken to listen to your emotional and physical symptoms. To stimulate your body's own healing process, a remedy closest to your individual symptom picture is prescribed. Healing begins from within your body, strengthening your health and immune system, without any danger of damaging side effects.
LIFESTYLE COUNSELLING
As part of your initial assessment, your naturopathic doctor will evaluate various aspects of your lifestyle that may be inhibiting you from achieving optimal health. These include environmental health risks, your mental/emotional health, your stress coping mechanisms, and your activity levels. Taking into consideration where you are in your health journey and what you wish to achieve, Dr. Luck will help you make positive choices which will enhance your well-being and reduce your level of stress.
BOTANICAL/HERBAL MEDICINE
Botanical medicines are made from plants and taken for medicinal purposes. Botanical medicine (herbal medicine) has been used for thousands of years. Today, 80% of the world's population uses plants to treat illness. Many conventional drugs used today were originally derived from medicinal plants. Plants are used medicinally because they do not have high toxicity, accumulate in the body, or cause habituation or withdrawal symptoms.
Herbs are used to enhance immune function; improve digestion; normalize bodily functions; destroy bacteria, viruses, and fungi; soothe irritated tissues; calm nerves; and relax muscles. Even though scientific studies are validating the use of many herbs, herbal practitioners still prescribe herbs based on empirical evidence and tradition.
Herbs can be taken in many forms:
- Herbal Tea
- Compress (fomentation)
- Poultice
- Tincture
- Syrup
- Gargle
- Douche
- Bath
- Salve
- Suppositories
INTRAVENOUS THERAPY (IV)
The intravenous delivery of nutrients is a very safe and effective way to provide the body with therapeutic and nutritional agents. The advantage of IV therapy over taking oral doses is that the vitamins or nutrients bypass the digestive system and get delivered directly into the bloodstream and to the cells in the body.
In conditions where there is a poor absorption of nutrients orally, IV therapy can become a powerful tool. IV therapy also allows for the patient to receive much higher doses than would ever be achieved orally allowing for greater pharmacologic action to be achieved. Each IV therapy is also tailored to meet the specific needs of the patient.
IV therapy is commonly used for the following (although is not limited to these conditions)
- increasing energy
- balancing the immune system
- chronic fatigue and fibromyalgia
- cancer
- asthma
- acute infections
- allergies
- migraines
- recovery enhancement for athletes
- Inflammatory Bowel Disease (Crohn’s and Colitis) or IBS
- Neurological diseases (MS, Parkinson’s, Neuralgia, shingles, etc)
IV vitamin therapy is a specialized treatment that can provide effective results that may not be found in other therapies. Dr. Lock, ND is licensed and board certified to practice IV therapy in Ontario.
PHYSICAL MEDICINE
Naturopathic doctors are trained in hydrotherapy, massage and spinal manipulation. Hydrotherapy is the use of hot and cold water to stimulate the circulatory and immune systems. Spinal manipulation is used to correct problems of alignment within the spinal column.
SPECIAL HEALTH PROGRAMS
For more information regarding any of the programs below, please contact Dr. Jennifer Luck to discuss details and pricing.
- Doula/Birth Coaching
- Weight Management
- Smoking Cessation
- Fertility Program
- Detoxification
