Personalised Medicine
Acupuncture, Herbal Medicine, and Lifestyle Medicine
Personalised Medicine
Acupuncture, Herbal Medicine, and Lifestyle Medicine
Jodie Gillam-pendergast
Acupuncturist, Musculoskeletal Therapist, Yoga Acharya
Historically, Acupuncture and Chinese Medicine used the patient's constitution, season of occurrence, lifestyle habits, signs and symptom presentation to formulate differential diagnoses and treatment plan.
This observational approach spans thousands of centuries and dynasties before the advent of modern diagnostic methods or an understanding of physiology and pharmacology at a molecular level. Where today we would present to the radiologist to magically see what was happening inside the body; 5000 years ago a traditional doctor would measure the "Qi" or life force of the patient to assess the severity of a disease using precise observation of the breath, pulse, tongue, temperature, skin colour, location of pain (among other indicators) as the diagnostic imaging technique.
Today we still use these same "vital signs" with more accurate instruments and machines, however the premise of life-force and life preservation is fundamentally the same today as ever. Now just as traditional medicine folklore has been dismissed it has also been enhanced and validated with the scientific method. So too, modern medicine has begun to return to the evaluation of the whole organism as opposed to a symptom control method. Modern "Functional Medicine" has it's evolution in returning to the same principles of multi-system, lifestyle/habit modification, environmental factors and patient constitution analysis that Traditional Chinese Medicine has used for thousands of years.
Jodie is a Chinese Medicine Physician holding a Masters degree in Applied Science (Acupuncture) , Bachelor of Science (Musculoskeletal Therapy) . She is also a certified Bowen Therapist and extensively trained Yoga teacher schooled in traditional methods in the Sivananda Tradition in India, Bandha Yoga method with Dr Ray Long Orthopaedic Surgeon. Jodie also founded "The Movement Prescription" offering Yoga classes, workshops and mentoring to yoga teachers.
She is an AHPRA registered practitioner, Member of the Chinese Medicine Board Australia & Massage and Myotherapy Australia. Jodie is a registered Health Fund provider to most major health funds and open to NDIS clients with musculoskeletal and neurological disability.
You can follow her @the.naturalperiod.dr
