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the Santa Cruz Alzheimer's Association on a successful 2021 Walk to End Alzheimer's. We are proud to be a Gold Sponsor of the Santa Cruz Walk to End Alzheimer's and a leading fundraiser in support of the Alzheimer's Association mission. www.LifespanCare.com – (831) 469-4900 HCO# 444700020 Care Management Care management promotes peace of mind through professional, person-centered assessment, coordination of personal care, medical, and social needs. Well-Being Program Enhancing life and finding joy through activities that increase engagement, fulfillment, and a sense of connection. Home Care Personalized care up to 24 hours a day by experienced and registered home care aides. Best of Senior Home Care Lifespan congratulates Microcurrent for Pain Management at Trilogy Medical By Dr. Jeff Lester, D.O. Pain is the most common reason that people go to the doctor. When you are in pain, it is hard to focus on almost anything else. It is estimated that about 20% of adults experience chronic pain, and this number goes up with age. So if you're hurting, you're not alone. Western Medicine has two primary answers to chronic pain: drugs and surgery. Medications can be helpful for numbing the pain, but ultimately don't fix the underlying problem. If there is a pro- found structural problem, surgery can be useful, but in many cases surgery is not appropriate or has a low chance of success. Surgery can also be risky, expensive, and lead to tak- ing weeks off from activi- ties you enjoy. At Trilogy Medical, Dr. Jeff Lester, D.O. and Amber Weiss, PA-C, LAc offer several unique options for helping our patients man- age pain. In fact, integra- tive pain management is one of our specialties. We offer a multi-pronged ap- proach that is customized to your situation. One of our newest tools for helping to reduce pain and speed heal- ing is microcurrent thera- py. Microcurrent therapy sessions are quick, pain- less, and affordable, often providing both immediate and cumulative reduction in pain. Microcurrent therapy uses extremely small amounts of electrical current (mil- lionths of an amp) to help relieve pain and help heal soft tissues of the body. When you have an injury, normal electrical activity in that area gets disrupt- ed. Our microcurrent device produces electrical signals like those natu- rally occurring when the body is repairing dam- aged tissues. By applying similar electrical currents, the healing process is enhanced. The electrical current used in microcurrent therapy is so small that it is rarely felt. However, the water-moistened elec- trodes used to conduct the current may seem cool when first applied. The treatment usually takes about 15 minutes to com- plete. We are able to see a reading on the computer screen that shows us how blocked or disrupted the energy is in your injured area. As the treatment is applied, those numbers generally show significant improvement. By approximating the natural electrical currents of the body, microcurrent therapy benefits include helping: ● Speed the healing process ● Reduce swelling and inflammation ● Mask acute and chronic pain ● Release muscle trigger points ● Improve soft tissue regeneration We've seen great success with knee pain, shoulder injuries, neck pain, low back discomfort and inju- ries to the wrists or ankles. We recently had a case where a man had pain in his foot that was so severe he could hardly stand. It improved so much that he could walk without much pain after just 3 sessions. Most people require 4-6 weekly sessions to see clear results. If the pain is severe and requires our multi- pronged approach, then we can utilize our other unique skills including biologic injections with natural cellular material, homeopathy, anti-in- flammatory herbs and acupuncture. There is a saying in Chinese Medicine: "Bu Tong Zi Tong. Tong Zi Bu Tong." It means, "When there is blockage, there is pain. When there is no blockage, there is no pain." All of the tools we use seek to minimize or eliminate that blockage. Microcurrent therapy can offer a quick jumpstart on that journey. If you are interested in trying a session of micro- current therapy with us, we are offering a special for the month of October. While microcurrent is not currently covered by Medicare, we do strive to make it affordable. Your microcurrent ses- sions are just $95 each, or $75 each if you pur- chase a package of 6. If you would like to meet first to discuss which approach is right for you, please call our office to set up an ap- pointment with Amber Weiss, our physician assistant and licensed acupuncturist. In a 20 minute appointment that is covered by Medi- care, she can guide you through the best steps for how we can help you get out of pain, sometime permanently. For more information or to book your session, email Amber Weiss at amber@trilogymedical. net or call our front desk at 831-600-8117. Find us at: www.trilogymedical.net 4105 Soquel Dr. #A, Soquel, CA 95073 Why Dance? To Make Life Perfect By Peggy Pollard, www.peggydance.weebly.com I realized why I NEED to dance yesterday morn- ing. Walking along West Cliff Drive, in a magnificent moment viewing a golden sunrise, it came to me. My weekend, packed with an overload of responsibilities, required heavy communication tasks. As usual, I had prepped all summer for this annual re-launch week of our campus program at the start of the university school year. But this time, not only was I also (reluctantly) elected President of a network of 24 campus groups, an urgent family responsibility popped up this month, requiring a blitz of advertising and interviewing, and other tasks. All this was in addition to our long-scheduled Waltz & Swing Dance Workshop Series this past week. (pssst . . . our Grand Finale Dance workshop is TODAY , so JUMP ON IN!) But, whooowheee baby … that old dread feeling of doom started growing in me. However could I handle all this? So naturally, just as I felt most on the tippy-top verge of overwhelm, my precious little workhorse, my powerhouse, custom- ized-to-perfection cell phone, suddenly started blinking, ever-so-slowly, a greyed-out Apple logo sign. It's logic-board had com- pletely failed. Kaput. Dead. My heart sank. I stared at the pulsing screen in the palm of my hand. It was the most desperate and alone moment I've felt in years. My beloved device, with its silky electronic fingertip re- sponsiveness, was frozen. Its tap-sensitive doorways into my vital chat group communities were now slammed closed in an instant. In that instant, my oh- so-deft handling of this week's work was freeze- framed in mid-air. My slate of impending victories started slipping, sliding into embarrassing failures. (why, oh, why did I ever agree to all this?) The weight of overwhelm descended upon me. And this is why I NEED to dance. Does your life in our ultra-connected fast lane ever feel that it's teetering between your great op- portunities and abysmal failures? Have you been working hard to take care of your family, your friends and your commu- nity to make their world a better place? But still have moments of discour- agement and despair? So when is your moment that your life slips into perfect balance? When do you feel your deep peace, telling you, "This is what I'm meant to do, and it's all working out perfectly." You and I certainly need those moments, those hard-won, glorious mo- ments, along the way for our mental health. We all need them too. That is why my dancers dance. "Dance, with some prac- tice, brings synchronic- ity. Dance helps me feel unified and happy. Once I feel that in my dance, it flows to the rest of my life," says "Joaquin." Some discovered it early in life. "As a kid, every time I heard music with rhythm I would jump around. At age 11 I started learning dance steps and have been dancing ever since. When- ever I'm feeling low, I put on music and dance. Also, when I am very happy I dance," says Kristin. "Every time I dance, I turn into a better version of me." says Mike. "Danc- ing is not only a state of mind, but it helps with memory, physical fitness, and is also good for my heart. Besides it is fun." Partner dancing in particular has a special goodness that's hard to find anywhere else. "Several years ago I lost my wife of nearly a half century," says Clive, returning to dance after a few decades away. "I tried yoga, but dance gives me the opportunity to put my arms around a woman again (and in- crease my heart rate!)" After our summer of grey foggy days, my golden sunrise walk on West Cliff, surrounded by the infinite calm of the Pacific Ocean, happy joggers and Dawn Patrol surfers, felt like just such a moment. A few other such mo- ments give my life that kiss of bliss too: when I see my work is accom- plished well, when I see other people's lives are better because of my efforts. Supremely satisfy- ing, that is. Now, some may call me crazy for trying to add an extra gig of teaching dance to my other respon- sibilities. Yes, this week I definitely wondered that myself. But as I strolled in the golden sunrise yesterday, it struck me. The reason I am launching this social dance commu- nity is . . . because dancing together makes all the other parts of my life become perfect. To share our dance moments in a positive presence of happy people, in a dance room, holding hands with a partner, moving synchronized to beautiful music, and to each other, as we revolve around the room, as we bounce and sway. However awkwardly or skillfully, we express our inner artistry to the music, arms and legs bouncing, swaying, whirling. Suddenly it all comes together. Suddenly the myriad of disjointed pieces of our daily experience all feels unified into one beautiful whole. Suddenly, I realized, my life feels perfect. And yours will too. Join us today for our final day of Waltz Tribe Dance Community launch. View info www.peggy- dance.weebly.com Big Stock Photo

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