Alexandra Zjalic is a physiotherapist from Austria who joined ANF Education two years ago.
When did you join ANF, and why?
I joined ANF in 2021, in April.
Why? Because I have so many chronic pain patients and I have tried everything. Exercise, manual therapy, but I didn’t get the results that I wanted. So, I thought there must be something in the world to help these chronic pain patients. There must be something.
And I googled. I found my colleague from Sweden, Marcus Benitez, an ANF practitioner. I contacted Marcus, and I took a course.
What kind of expectations did you have? Did the education meet your needs?
I didn’t know what to expect. At first, I wanted to check how it would go and maybe do one or two courses, but I was mind-blown.
And then, I joined the ANF family. We learn something new, every time. It’s fascinating. And yes, we can help people better than before. I can help people better than before.
If you have one word, how would you describe ANF education?
I have two words – mind-blowing! Because you learn so many new things. The most important thing is how you can help people. I have a tool to help people, and that’s wonderful.
How do your patients usually react to ANF Devices? And what was your reaction when you tried the Devices for the first time?
Whenever I do ANF, and I try ANF Devices, I’m just… “Wow!” For example, when there’s swelling, and you put ANF Devices, it is gone.
I have completed AP4 (level 4), and I’m in AP5, to be precise. I get more complicated patients with lymphatic problems and organ problems.
I can help these people. They return to me and ask questions like, “What is this? How can I walk or exercise now? How is it that I’m better now? Or how can I breathe now? I can do whatever I want now.”
Does that mean you can help reduce their pain within the first session?
Yes, I can. My goal is to get at least a 50% reduction every time. Sometimes, I get more. Sometimes it’s 80%, and sometimes 90% pain reduction. I can reduce swelling, and people are just “Wow.” They don’t know what to expect. I can help patients a lot with ANF.
What would your practice look like without ANF in your toolbox?
I can’t give you an answer to that question because If I even start imagining how it would be, I don’t like it. I love the knowledge I gained and the results I can get with ANF.
What do you want to say to those considering joining ANF education?
Just do it. The amount of information and what you can do with your hands – We are doing everything with our hands and eyes because we need to see and feel. We are not magicians, but it’s magic.
You can feel what happens under the skin when you gain these advanced palpation skills. You can feel the muscle, and you can feel the organ.
When a patient says to you, “I have a headache. I have pain in my throat. I have a pain in my gut or something,” – you always think of lymphatic or vagus nerve. You know, you can answer whenever they ask you something.
So for me, that’s wonderful.
Support is significant when you need help. Mikel is there. Sanne is there. Colleagues are there. So, we are not family by blood, but we are family. We are changing people’s lives.
When you get these first results, you will realize that you will make excellent results with ANF.
