“Iatrogenic" is a term meaning an illness cause by medical treatment. It may happen with doctors being totally unaware.
A woman was in the middle of my therapy when she needed surgery on her parathyroid glands. She was peeling her onion of trauma, and then we took a break for the surgical procedure and a few weeks of healing.
When she returned, she mentioned that she had some new issues since the surgery. She had trouble breathing, wheezed, and had phlegm in her throat. On top of that, she could not sleep and felt like she had sleep apnea.
When a surgeon cuts into the fascial web and creates a scar, potential fascial strains can travel anywhere in the body, causing seemingly unrelated conditions.
The surgeon will have no idea what is happening and will probably blow it off. I can speak from experience.
During my two years of surgical residency, the fascial web was never discussed. I opened up the gum tissue, did my soft tissue and bone work, sowed it up, put a dressing over the area, and the game was over. I had no idea that I might be affecting other “unrelated” areas of the body.
She presented with a new fascial strain radiating down into her diaphragm and up into her neck and head. So the issues she was complaining about were real and not "all in her head.”
She also said that she did not feel sick. I believe that the fascia of her respiratory system became tight as a result of the surgery.
I am fine with necessary surgery, but I believe that, for the best patient care, our work needs to be done after sufficient healing time.
I spent her entire visit helping the tissues release. She reported the next day: "I definitely felt like my chest congestion and breathing improved after our session. I couldn't fall asleep until 4 a.m. but slept fine from 4 a.m. until 11 a.m.”
Gillespie Approach Training can help healthcare professionals with many patient applications.
