Category Archives: Uncategorized

Trusted Professionals

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Here’s a short list of professionals I recommend. Please let me know if you use one of these referrals – I’d love to hear how it goes for you!

GYN:

Natalie Mohler, WHNP

Evergreen Women’s Health, PC.
1207 Washington St., Suite #145
Vancouver, WA 98660
Phone: 360-964-3060

Bariatric Medicine:

Miranda McCormack, MD DABOM

(503) 616-2224

5040 SW Griffith Dr, Beaverton, OR 97005

Trauma-Informed Therapists:

Willamette Wellness Center for Washington and Oregon

Chinese Herbal Medicine:
Root and Branch
7642 SW Capitol Hwy
Portland, Oregon 97219
(971) 288-5939

Physical Therapy:
These folks go beyond the usual “MORE STRENGTH!” approach to address neurological function, fascia, etc.
IPA Physio
(503) 616-0313
7412 SW Beaverton Hillsdale Hwy #110
Portland, OR 97225

Podiatrist:
Dr. Ray McClanahan
Northwest Foot & Ankle
2701 NW Vaughn Street, Suite 424
Portland, OR 97209
(503) 243-2699

Personal Trainer:
 Brandie Sylfae  (SE Portland)
(503) 422-0402

Rolfers:
Jenny Rock
(503) 345-7660
Body Balance Rolfing & Massage
8505 SW Creekside Pl Suite 210, Beaverton, OR 97008

Karin Edwards-Wagner
 2732 SE 18th Ave, Portland, OR 97202
(503) 230-0087

Crainiosacral Therapy: 

Ruth Will

Be Well Holistic Health

503-217-4457

JOYN videos on YouTube: Exercises for larger / physically challenged / recovering bodies.

Caregiver Help Desk 1-855-227-3640. You can also chat with them on caregiveraction.org 

Valentine’s Day is coming!

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red roses grouped to form a heart shape

How about a private massage class for two? Learn how to ease each other’s pain and feel great! No experience or anatomy knowledge required. I’ll customize the session for your needs. ScrolI down to the bottom of the booking page to choose your time slot.

I also have pretty gift certificates to give to your sweetie… or hint to your love that’s what you’d want… Available in any denomination or for any service – the perfect Valentine’s gift!

To make it extra easy, I can take Zelle, PayPal, and Venmo. I can also email you an invoice that’s secure and payable by credit card, or you can swing by the office.

Japanese Massage

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A beautiful gold-covered temple next to reflective water.
The Golden Pavilion in Kyoto

Robert and I traveled to Japan in September. As a frequent world traveler, I strongly recommend it! The people were wonderful, the architecture fascinating, and of course the food sublime.

Click below to read the rest!

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Thai Massage

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I just spent 11 days in Thailand, exploring the culinary and architectural wonders, and of course absorbing everything I could about medical massage. I booked 5 bodywork sessions, and would have done a 6th, but I got a head cold at the end and wanted to self-quarantine as much as possible.

Here’s a quick summary of my thoughts – if you’re interested in more detailed descriptions and analysis of each session, that will follow below.

I was expecting the type of Thai massage where the practitioner moves and stretches you, turning you into a pretzel with the goal of increased range of motion. I did experience a bit of that, but mostly the focus seemed to be on very aggressive blasting of muscle and fascia. The first session, at the national center of Thai massage education at Wat Pho in Bangkok, was particularly brutal. My legs were covered in bruises afterwards. I don’t know if it was that she was a student, or that’s what they are teaching, but my travel buddies had similar experiences and bruising. Over the course of the hour-long foot and leg massage, she didn’t seem to have any awareness of what was happening in my body or the underlying anatomical structures. She worked away, performing her set order of techniques at full power, ignoring my flinching as if I were an inanimate object. Later sessions with more experienced professionals gave me a sense of better sensitivity (what my doctor ex-husband and I used to call “good hands”), but everyone used the same set of techniques in the same order.

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Chronic Pain – So much more than just physical pain receptors!

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Acupuncture license renewed! This year the Oregon Medical Board required everyone to take an online course on “Changing the Conversation on Pain,” which was as cheesy and awkward as you’d expect a state government-produced video to be, but contained excellent information on how mood, nutrition, movement, social contact, and cultural factors (stress / bad care from racism, etc) can impact chronic perception of pain. They even covered neuroplasticity (how the brain changes) and becomes “better” at creating pain. By understanding the how and why of this, we can stop the ramping up and quiet the alarm bells. This both reduces the amount of pain you perceive in the moment, and allows the movement you need to heal. This is all stuff I’ve learned before, but I’m super excited the OMB is forcing ALL practitioners to hear it, because based on what my patients tell me, most docs are still just pushing drugs and PT.

I’ve lived this personally – you feel lousy, so you quit moving, eat garbage, and watch TV. Then you feel worse and the cycle continues.

Instead, making small incremental changes (some stretches, an apple instead of chips, shifting your internal monologue) can literally reduce how much pain you experience… which frees you up to move a little more, cook something, see a friend… and you feel slightly better! Gradually, you start the cycle towards improvement. I’m NOT saying smile and ignore it – pain is real! But making these adjustments will retrain your brain. Every little bit helps.

There’s a website with tools for both practitioners and for patients, in English y español.

Check it out!

Your body is not a traitor.

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Someone posts this meme on my Facebook wall every time it comes around and it makes me sad.

Look, I HAVE BEEN THERE. I was in severe chronic pain (9/10 on the pain scale) for years after my car accident. I was supposedly “crippled for life” and I UNDERSTAND the frustration and dark humor that arises from being in that situation. And I am the last person to try to tell you how to feel.

BUT… I also know as a professional healthcare provider, with 20 years of experience treating that chronic severe pain that you will heal better – and handle it better emotionally if it CANNOT be healed – if you are able to think of your body as a sick or injured friend instead of an enemy. Your traps and paraspinal muscles do not hate you. They are struggling.

Imagine you had plans with your friend, and they cancelled because they had strep throat. You wouldn’t be mad at them and call them terrible names. You would wish them speedy healing, and maybe bring them soup, right?

Your muscles have been damaged by injury, repetitive stress, or poor ergonomics. They are doing the best they can. What if they are screaming because they are under duress, and need your help?

LISTEN TO THEM.

Fix your posture (Lift the head and relax everything else – don’t do the forced-back rigid thing). Get some light, frequent movement. Start as small and briefly as you need, even if it’s making snow angels in bed, and gradually increase your level of exercise as you can. Weed out ergonomic problems at your desk. You want to challenge the body part instead of stressing it, which also means avoiding retraumatizing it with violent chiropractic or overly aggressive massage. Find a skilled acupuncturist and / or therapeutic medical massage specialist who can retrain your neurological and fascial systems. If you’re storing stress in your body, try to find ways to release it. Reduce inflammation, via meds if necessary, but also via your nutritional choices (sugar increases your pain). Learn to consciously relax your muscles – it’s difficult at first, but incredibly powerful when
you practice, and will change your life. Please talk to me if I can help you learn about these self-care ideas or give you hands-on care.

WHAT IF YOU BROUGHT YOUR MUSCLES SOME SOUP?

Let’s try this again…

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Telehealth appointments

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IIf coming to the office isn’t possible for you, we can do a telehealth session over a HIPAA-compliant secure videochat. We’ll focus on immediate relief plus long term strategies. I can also teach your loved ones how to work on you. This will be a full hour (half hours for very simple or followup appts) of customized information and instruction for you, including:

  •  discussion of possible causes of your issue(s) and identify lifestyle changes you can make to reduce your pain, stress, etc.
  •  acupressure, both self-applied treatment and lessons so you can use it in the future
  • medical massage lessons, so you can treat yourself and your loved ones
  • teaching your partner / housemate how to do acupressure or medical massage for you
  • nutrition counseling to reduce pain and speed up healing
  • movement instruction – including rehab exercises, to build strength and mobility, and stretches (did you know I used to be an ACE-certified personal trainer and bodybuilder?)
  • anxiety and trauma self-care solutions
  • explanations of what’s happening in your body and brain, in easy-to-understand language
  • help with assessing / adjusting ergonomic setups (work space, sleep, etc)
  • help with reframing your internal monologue

This list is bound to grow, as I discover new ways to help you!
Some patients like to take notes, but I will send you an email afterwards with links to information we talked about, acupressure points, etc. so you don’t have to worry about remembering everything.

Schedule online here, or call me at 503-964-3422.

I invite you to check out my reviews on Yelp and Google. Here are a few recent ones:

JG: 5 stars

Sharon treated me in a virtual appointment for autoimmune issues (I am not strictly isolating and I respect her safety measures). Not only did she help with acupressure and nutrition advice (which has improved my issues tremendously), she was very considerate of my autism-related communication needs. Thank you so much for the valuable help!

RS: 5 stars

Sharon is a wonderful practitioner, compassionate and dedicated. Even during the time of coronavirus she was able to help me with a virtual session deal with some pulled muscles and give me feedback on stretches, diet changes and other things that would help me move better. It was so great to have access to that and to be able to consult with her. Highly recommend.

AK: 5 stars

I set up a virtual appointment with Sharon for pain in my feet that my other doctors haven’t even talked to me about. Since we are in quarantine Sharon showed me self massage and pressure points that I could do to manage my pain. After only one appointment my feet feel SO much better!

DG: 5 stars

Sharon is the most wonderful, caring, and knowledgeable therapist I have ever seen. She’s the best of both Acupuncture and Manual Therapy all wrapped into the perfect package. I have seen a large handful of other medical therapists and she is the only one who has been able to help with my chronic pain. My only wish is I lived in the same town so I could see her more regularly. I saw her last weekend and when I got home my Physical Therapist exclaimed “who is this woman and where can I find her?!? You look great!”

UPDATE: I ended up taking a week off of work to stay in Portland and get treatment (I live in Spokane, Wa), and a few follow up sessions over the next couple months. After three years struggling to find anyone to help, she finally helped me be pain free in a matter of months!! Anytime I do anything stupid to reinjure myself, I know where to go. There are no words to express my eternal gratefulness for this kind hearted healer. 💕

Don’t hesitate to reach out if you have any questions. I’m here for you!

Sharon

Dazed and confused…

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Purely coincidentally, I’ve had two patients in the past two days with the exact same complaint: Lightheadedness / confusion / disassociation from the body. One had gone to get an MRI and X- rays, but everything came back fine. One had severe neck pain, one didn’t.

Both had had dental work recently. Imagine lying back at an awkward angle for a long time, while tense…. Sure enough, both had upper cervical (neck) vertebrae out of place. The bones were cutting off the blood supply to the brain!


I treated both with acupuncture and medical massage, relaxing the muscles and gently easing the vertebrae back into place. Both patients reported instant improvement. Please remember this next time you have a headache / confusion following dental work, or any other stress on your neck.


Note: Chiropractic would have jammed the bone back in place, but not treated the cause of the problem – the tight muscle pulling on that bone – so the misalignment would be likely to return. I prefer to work upstream, on the neurological and muscular system. My method also avoids that whole risk-of-stroke thing (!).