Part II: The New Patient Examination with Susan.

When the patient and I are scheduled together, the first thing that I do is to clarify any particular points that I may have questions about after reading the entire history that was taken by my assistant. Then we get started on the exam.  Although each exam is tailored specifically to each patient, there are some general things that I normally check with everyone. I begin the examination with more traditional doctor testing, such as looking at the ears, eyes, nose, mouth, taking the temperature, examining the lymph nodes of the body, the thyroid, listening to the heart and lungs and checking the blood pressure. A particular point regarding how I check the blood pressure is that I check it on both sides at the initial exam, which most patients comment has never been done before.  This is to determine if there is a particular improper blood flow pattern to the brain that can contribute to lightheadedness and dizziness and is good to know about if present. Since it’s such an easy way to determine something so important, I do so. 

The next area of my examination has to do with observing the patient’s posture and determining which ways are best for them to be standing, sitting and lying down. A lot of patients spend hours a day on chairs that are not actually at the correct angle for them to have the best nerve supply going to all of their organs and muscles. The same is true with in which position they are sleeping. If you spend the entire time sleeping in a position that is stressful to the body, you obviously won’t have as much energy as you should when you waken. As well, you won’t have as much body rejuvenation take place through the evening as you should. 

After we’ve done the postural testing, the patient is lying on their back. At this time I examine their pulses in the lower extremities, check to see if there is any accumulation of fluid in the legs, as well as an abdominal examination.  When I do the abdominal exam I often discover that there may be some underlying situations the patient wasn’t aware of that needs follow-up.  Throughout this entire exam there are indicators I am observing in the patient in relation to specific nerve and muscle reactions. I also do  neurologic and orthopedic tests when indicated. Once this part of the exam is completed, I then proceed with a very in-depth Clinical Kinesiology exam. 

This area of expertise that I have been doing for over twenty years is a very big part of the success that I have in determining health situations and their causes, especially after many people have been to several other doctors with no success. Some of the things that I check for at this time is whether the patient is getting enough of, and properly utilizing proteins, fats, carbohydrates and water.  Frequently basic problems in these four areas can create a lot of havoc for a person. I check if there are any intestinal flora imbalances and if so, determine which areas of the body are being affected. Having a deficiency of beneficial flora or an overabundance of detrimental flora can create symptoms and organ dysfunction far away from the intestines.  I also check for any areas of trauma or non-optimal bone healing from any previous injuries the patient may have had.  At this time I also check for any heavy metal toxicities, allergies, viral, bacterial or parasite infections, as well as the person’s vitamin and mineral balance, or imbalance as the case may be. Other areas that I check for are possible exposure to external toxins such as pesticides, as well as hormone imbalances, beneficial oil deficiencies and digestive enzyme deficiencies, or excess if the person is taking supplements inappropriately.  I test to determine which organs and glands are not functioning optimally and find out which one in particular is the body’s current priority. I determine if there are any spinal or skull bone misalignments and, if appropriate for the patient’s history, I evaluate for any disc involvement, as well as muscular, nerve or ligament damage to the spine or extremities (arms and legs).  As many people have disturbances in their blood flow, such as varicose veins or strange heartbeats, these are also areas that I evaluate when applicable.

In the next part of the exam I test for specific things which might be part of the person’s health situation. I have approximately six to seven hundred individual testing vials that I can use to isolate the underlying causes of the patient’s symptoms. For example, a patient may have regular migraines and not know what’s causing them.  Combining these methods of testing, I can find out underlying organ or gland dysfunction in addition to determining which lifestyle factors or health problems are contributing to the migraines. 

Once all of these evaluations have been done using these multiple methods of testing, I am able to determine and prioritize which way we need to focus the initial treatments to get the most benefit and relief for the patient.
Either before or after my portion of the exam, my assistant checks the person’s height and weight. If the patient is able to provide a sample we do an in-house urinalysis as well.  Many imbalances can be determined very easily from the urinalysis.

After all the previous examination  is completed, if I feel that other testing is indicated, such as blood tests, x-rays, etc., I will inform the patient and arrange to have those done.  Once all steps of this examination are done we arrange to see the patient, usually within a few days, to review my findings and recommendations. We’ll go over that in the next article.
                                                                                               
Next Article:  Reports of Findings