mtewksbury: July 23, 2020, 8:57pm
Hi All
Towards the end class a few weeks ago, there was a discussion about treating someone on one side of the body vs
treating the same points on both sides bi-laterally.
I believe that Toby said it was just fine and in fact sometimes preferable to treat a weak patient bi-laterally. I think
that Toby’s explanation was that a strong person can do a lot with a one sided treatment, whereas a weaker person
might benefit more from a bigger boost by using the same point combination on both sides of the body. Am I
remembering this correctly?
Thanks everyone!23/01/2024, 11:52One sided vs bi-lateral, weak vs strong – Sa’am Clinical Questions – Qiological Community
https://forum.qiological.com/t/one-sided-vs-bi-lateral-weak-vs-strong/1177/print2/3
KristinWisgirda: July 23, 2020, 10:42pm
Hi Marintha,
Nice to see you in class last week.
mtewksbury:
I believe that Toby said it was just fine and in fact sometimes preferable to treat a weak patient bi-laterally.
This is not my understanding. It is more often better to avoid bilateral treatments in strong patients AND more
deficient patients but for different reasons.
mtewksbury:
a strong person can do a lot with a one sided treatment,
This is correct. A case that Toby mentions involved a bilateral damp moving treatment in a robust patient. The
patient had a sudden urgent need to pee while on the table.
A unilateral treatment is enough of a strong push for a deficient patient to process. Adding another side could be
too much to integrate. By the same token, Toby cautions against using the same treatment twice in a row in
deficient patients. Even if the first treatment worked wonderfully, the repeat treatment often doesn’t benefit the
patient. The patient doesn’t have the resources to integrate the repeated push in one direction, even if the same
treatment might benefit him at a later date when you have worked on more deficient areas.
I hope that helps.
Toby will be covering bilateral treatments in the advanced class coming up in September.
Daniel: July 24, 2020, 12:24pm
I can attest to cases where first treatment was tremendously beneficial and the same treatment offered on the
subsequent visit was not only not helpful, but actually regressed the case. On reflection, what Kristin is pointing to
here was in play. The temptation to repeat what ‘worked’ is so intense. It is important to work against that
temptation and view the patient with fresh eyes on every visit. Clinic is hard!
KristinWisgirda: July 24, 2020, 2:43pm
With few exceptions, I try to change up the treatment every single time despite the great temptation to repeat what
worked last time. The excess has to be at least +7 for me to consider repeating, aka gross pathology, and if and only23/01/2024, 11:52One sided vs bi-lateral, weak vs strong – Sa’am Clinical Questions – Qiological Community
https://forum.qiological.com/t/one-sided-vs-bi-lateral-weak-vs-strong/1177/print3/3
if the patient has adequate vigor and the treatment is relevant to their chief complaint.
mtewksbury: July 24, 2020, 2:59pm
Thank you for clarifying Kristen & Daniel!
Something wasn’t sitting right with my interpretation of a bi-lateral treatment being useful for a weak patient. It is
tempting to want to double up on tonifying a very deficient aspect of a person. I too have had to fight hard not to
repeat a successful treatment.
Looking forward to the September class!