Merge Medical Center Services Offered

1. Merge Medical Center Services Offered Where Modern Thinking Meets Natural Healing

2. Anti- Aging How do you know if Anti-Aging is for you? Ask yourself, ‘How do I want to live my life after the age of 50?’ The gradual wasting away of the body over the course of decades is not a necessary or normal component of aging. Modern medicine focuses on treating existing conditions. For instance, taking insulin after you get diabetes or getting bypass surgery after you have a heart attack. Wouldn’t you rather restore optimal function and prevent these diseases prior to them taking over your life? What is Involved in Regenerative Medicine? Each person’s needs are different, however, the following are the steps to regaining your energy, vitality and health: • Restore Your Cellular Balance • Balance Your Hormones • Restoring Nutrients • Detox • Balancing Mind and Body

3. Aromatherapy How To Use Essential Oils • You can access the power of essential oils many ways, but the most common practices include aromatic diffusion, topical application, and dietary consumption. These methods bring the pure essence of health-promoting botanicals to your home, family, and life. • Inspire a positive emotional state • Love the way the fragrance from a fresh orange peel brightens your day? Each essential oil’s complex, pleasant, and unique scent triggers emotions and memories, which can help in your search for a more fulfilling and balanced life. • To help you rediscover peace, balance, and joy, use these essential oils and blends for diffusion, soothing baths, massage, inhalation, or topical application.

4. Acupuncture How Does it Work? Underlying the practice of Chinese Medicine is a unique view of the world and the human body that is based on the ancient Chinese perception that everything in the universe is interconnected. What happens to one part of the body affects every other part of the body. The systems and components of the body are not viewed separately, but as parts of a unified energetic system. The qi (energy) moves through channels called meridians and is responsible for this interconnection. Unimpeded energy flow promotes and maintains health, while any stagnation of qi can lead to disease. In addition, qi has two aspects. There are Yin and Yang energies in the body that need to be in balance for there to be good health. Chinese Medicine practitioners use a variety of therapies in an effort to balance the qi, yin, and yang. The most commonly used are herbal medicine and acupuncture. Other TCM therapies include: • Herbal Medicine– medicinal use of plant’s seeds, berries, roots, leaves, bark, or flowers • Food Therapy- customized dietary plans • Electro-acupuncture- mild electric stimulation • Moxibustion– heat therapy • Cupping– suction therapy • Chinese Therapeutic Massage (Tuina and GuaSha) • GuaSha(‘Gwaa Shaw’): gentle scraping therapy • Tui Na (‘Twee Naw’): massage along meridians • Chi Nei Tsang (‘Chee Nate Song’): abdominal massage

5. Chiropractic How does Chiropractic work? • A Subluxation is a bone sliding out of place and pressing on the spinal cord and or nerves that come off the spinal cord. When this occurs, it affects the patient’s whole nervous system.  The nervous system is how the brain controls and regulates the trillions of cells that make up our body.  If we have a problem in our nervous system it could show up as any number of symptoms.  If the nerve to your arm was cut, you would immediately lose feeling and control of your arm.  If the nerve to your heart was cut, it would immediately stop beating.  But what if the nerve that went to your lungs was squeezed?  It wasn’t completely cut but it was choked so not all of the neurons could send the message from the brain to your lungs.  What do you think might happen?  Could you have difficulty breathing?  Could you have asthma like symptoms?  The answer is a resounding “yes!”  Would nerve interference or subluxation be the cause of this problem?  Yes, subluxations can cause a wide variety of symptoms.

6. Colon Hydrotherapy We at Merge Medical Center strongly believe that the body is generally capable of healing itself if the right conditions are met! Those conditions primarily include being diligent to cleanse the body regularly…in other words clean it out and keep it clean (internal cleansing as well as external). External cleansing is known almost universally, but internal cleansing which includes colonics (colonic irrigation or colon hydrotherapy) is likely even more vital to well-being. So in order to assist the body in the self-healing process, what’s the FIRST step? Get the “toxic sludge” out!!! We have found this to be true in virtually every instance as we confront the variety of health challenges that our patients face, including various intestinal and digestive problems e.g. constipation. How can we begin to fix our health problems when we  ignore the “toxic sludge” issue for so many years?!? We believe it is imperative that we FIRST address the “toxic sludge” with colon cleansing or our detox program. The Importance of Colon Hydrotherapy to Your Body Colon irrigation or colon hydrotherapy is such a simple, yet amazing process. It is putting back water into our bodies , hydrating us and most importantly it cleans out the garbage stuck to the colon!

7. Detoxification Toxic Health Effects The daily amount of varying toxins, pesticides and hormones that our bodies take in is innumerable. Once inside the body, these toxins reside in the bowel, liver and fat tissues and affect multiple body systems. For instance, pesticides are linked to hormone imbalances, cancer, neurological and autoimmune diseases. They are often associated with weight gain, foggy memory, fatigue, decreased sex drive, fertility disorders, depression and anxiety. Toxins attack our bodies in and outside of our homes- and shockingly, the toxins we find in our homes are more dangerous than what lurks outside. Common household toxins include most cleansers, body lotions, paint, adhesives, air fresheners, carpet deodorizers, stain removers, bleach, mothballs, oven cleaners, lawn and garden care, and many pesticides! • Toxins don’t always come from obvious chemical exposures, They can produced internally as a result of food allergies or overgrowth of opportunistic organisms. Additional health issues related to toxins Include: • Bowel toxins- Candida/ yeast and pathogenic bacteria impair the absorption of nutrients. • Acidity- A decrease in pH can slow chemical reactions in the body. It is caused by shallow breathing, lack of vegetables and inflammation. • Electromagnetic Radiation- We are exposed from cell phones, computer, WiFi zones can affect fertility and brain function. • Liver Toxins- Found in Tylenol, prescription drugs, alcohol, gas and fumes, they impair metabolism of hormones. • Viruses, Fungi, Parasites- They are present everywhere and can build up in the body. • Heavy Metals- Found in food, medications, amalgam tooth fillings, fertilizers, paint, and batteries, they diminish neurological function. Most common ones are: Arsenic, mercury, iron, lead, aluminum, copper, fluoride, and cadmium. What can Detoxification do for You? Detoxification is a vital way to help your body eliminate toxins as well as to give your system a fresh start. There are several excretory pathways and organs that aid the body in detoxification on a daily basis. The four main excretory pathways include urine, sweat, respiration and stool, while the main detox organs are the liver, intestines, kidneys and skin. Optimally functioning detoxification systems are vital to overall well-being. If any of these pathways are clogged or are unable to function properly, the body usually becomes toxic. Utilizing a seasonal bowel cleanse with vegetables and supplements containing probiotics, enzymes and fiber is a great way of increasing bowel absorption. Below is a chart describing some of the common toxins that are addressed during detoxification.

8. Holistic Medicine What Is Holistic Medicine? According to the American Holistic Medical Association (AHMA), “Holistic medicine is the art and science of healing that addresses the whole person – body, mind, and spirit. The practice of holistic medicine, integrates conventional and alternative therapies to prevent and treat disease, and most importantly, to promote optimal health. It includes analysis of physical, nutritional, environmental, emotional, spiritual and lifestyle elements. Holistic medicine focuses upon patient education and participation in the healing process.” Holistic medicine, also known as functional medicine or integrative medicine, is about the integration of healing systems – the merging of conventional with complementary or alternative therapies. The following are Complementary Alternative Medicine (CAM) therapies often included in holistic medicine that Merge Medical Center offers in the Charleston area: • Acupuncture • Natural Hormone Therapy • Herbal Medicine • Digestive Health • Nutritional Consultation • Chinese Therapeutic Massage • Homeopathy • Prolotherapy • Naturopathic Medicine • Osteopathy • Aromatherapy • Nutraceuticals

9. Hormone Pellets What is Hormone Pellet Therapy? Pellet therapy uses hormones derived from natural plant sources to replicate the body’s normal hormonal levels. Patients have found that bio-identical hormone replacement therapy with pellet implants is extremely effective. Implants, placed under the skin, consistently release small, physiologic doses of hormones that provide optimal therapy. One of the reported advantages of hormone pellets over typical oral and transdermal creams or patch forms of therapy — which produce “roller coaster” hormone levels, resulting in mood and energy fluctuations for the patient — Hormone Pellet Therapy is the only method of hormone therapy that provides sustained hormone levels throughout the day for up to 3 to 6 months without any “roller coaster” effect.  The pellets have a physiologic pulsatile dosing effect that parallels the patients’ needs based on cardiac output and demands.  For instance, during exercise, there is a greater release of the hormone from the pellet which is very similar to what a person’s body would have done naturally from ovaries, adrenals, and testicles. Because the hormones used are completely natural, pellet therapy is ideal for patients who want the benefits of a natural hormone without the drawbacks of a synthetic hormone.

10. References: • https://mergemedicalcenter.com/ • https://mergemedicalcenter.com/services/ • https://mergemedicalcenter.com/services/anti-aging/ • https://mergemedicalcenter.com/services/aromatherapy/ • https://mergemedicalcenter.com/services/acupuncture/ • https://mergemedicalcenter.com/services/chiropractic/ • https://mergemedicalcenter.com/services/colon-hydrotherapy/ • https://mergemedicalcenter.com/services/detoxification/ • https://mergemedicalcenter.com/services/holistic-medicine/ • https://mergemedicalcenter.com/services/hormone-pellets/