What did you learn through ANF that no other education or therapy has shown you?
The most significant part we have learned with ANF is how to palpate and see what nerve is involved and inflamed.
And when you know the root cause of that problem, it does not matter if it is frozen shoulder, neck pain, or shoulder pain. You have to find the root cause, and then you can treat it from there. To me, a frozen shoulder is not a diagnosis by itself. It is a result of so many other things that are involved in that injury.
What we do is we evaluate the patient, and we palpate every single inch of that patient’s shoulder, neck, chest, back, and upper back. We do that until we find that specific inflamed nerve or nerves and deal with them.
The first regimen is that I would always start with pain and inflammation and also include antioxidants, blood flow, and circulation. We go to deeper tissues until we finish treating the whole injury.
The idea is every patient is different. Some patients have acute inflammation, others have chronic inflammation, and others have edema.
ANF offers a variety of devices that helps with every single symptom you find in your patient on a specific depth and injury you are dealing with.
I am so thankful to my teachers at ANF Academy. I used to teach anatomy and physiology in the past. I have taught in the US and Saudi Arabia. I take many educational courses, but I never learnt in depth how to palpate every nerve and layer.
Palpation skill is a mastery at ANF Academy. I will recommend ANF to every practitioner, doctor, physical therapist, etc.
At ANF Academy, I have learned many skills and a new way of looking at the patient holistically. Physical therapists tend to look local, into orthopedic injuries in particular.
But sometimes, shoulder pain could radiate from your gall bladder or elsewhere, so you must trust your palpation skills and not referred pain.
Would you also treat that pain locally if you didn’t join ANF? Wouldn’t you think about involving organs?
True. Physical therapy modalities and exercises usually concentrate on a local level of injury. Yes, we evaluate the whole body but don’t look into referred pain. And if referred pain is from a gall bladder, that’s not in the scope of practice for physical therapists.
With ANF, it gives you an idea that something else needs to be looked at, and there’s a little device you can put on the liver, which helps with shoulder pain too.
ANF Academy has improved my evaluation skills to a higher level, and looking into other issues besides just the local area. From the day I joined, I loved the academy. The most significant part of what I love about the academy is the feeling of being in a family.
It’s not like a college where you get in and then out. ANF is family and friends who are, to me, going to stay my friends forever. This is the best part.
The other part is continued education. The education at ANF Academy continues after the course is finished.
It’s course after course and discussion after discussion. Consultations are open all the time. And you can talk to Dr. Mikel or Irina any time, or write to them.
Our teachers are so humble and open to suggestions and questions. Continuing education is the most significant upside you get from the academy. It is a different experience.
I have a master’s and doctorate and many other diplomas. But this is the first time I have seen this kind of experience from an educational standpoint that follows up with you.
Like now, you are talking to and interviewing me after I graduated many months ago.
That tells me we are part of the ANF family, not just a group that graduated.
For example, I graduated from one big university in the United States. After my graduation, I have yet to hear from them. I did my doctorate and research there. It was a great experience, but there was no follow-up from them. There is no family environment.
The last time I was in Marbella, they asked me if I was coming back. I said I think I have to. I enjoyed it there. ANF has wonderful people, and I cannot say enough good things about the people there. I miss every single one of them. I’m sure that we will meet again so many times.
Is there something you would like to say to those considering joining ANF Education Program?
Anybody willing to learn and improve should always choose to join ANF Academy. If somebody is busy, then they have their reasons. I treat a lot of medical doctors in my clinic, some of whom have already joined, while others will join very soon.
The detailed learning that you have in ANF is only found here. I am telling you about this after years of experience and attending many US colleges.
I never learnt so many details of evaluation and palpation in such a short time compared to the years of studying in schools as I did at ANF.
