It’s clear that we’re living in an age where modern medical miracles are happening on an almost weekly basis. Turn on the TV and there are ads for drugs and treatments that promise to help solve whatever medical issue is impairing your life.
But while these medicines and treatments may be effective in relieving worst case scenarios, it turns out that they may not be absolutely necessary in view of some of the alternative treatments that are now being offering by some of the country’s most forward thinking and advanced medical practitioners.
Take the work of ,for instance, the Cincinnati-based physician is the founder and medical director of the Blatman Health and Wellness Center. His medical career started out conventionally, but then took a turn that led him into the field of pain management and some therapies that have become a gold standard for pain relief without the need for drugs.
“When I was choosing a career I decided to go into a field when I could change courses if I needed to,” Dr. Blatman explains. “I had seen my father change careers, when he saw opportunities and decided to go in a different direction.
After undergraduate school I attended the Medical College of Pennsylvania, a small medical school in Philadelphia that had only graduated women until accepting a first class that included men in 1972. My class was 60% women, and I had a different perspective on education and life than colleagues attending other schools. My favorite experience was in orthopedic surgery. I had spent years working with my father building things out of wood. Not to feed a poor analogy, but I enjoyed the tools and the work.”
After receiving his medical degree from the Medical College of Pennsylvania in 1980, Dr. Blatman completed two years of training in orthopedic surgery. He later studied ergonomics during his residency in Occupational and Environmental Medicine at the University of Cincinnati Hospital. For several years afterward, Dr. Blatman practiced family medicine while managing a chain of urgent care facilities.
It was while working at an urgent care facility that Dr. Blatman had his initial medical epiphany. A local dentist come in to introduce himself and the first thing he asked Dr. Blatman was if he knew anything about myofascial pain and TMJ Syndrome.
“I hadn’t heard of that, or much about fascia, so that started me on the path to finding out more about something I knew nothing about,” Dr. Blatman explains. “That dentist and I became friends and he helped me out with my own myofascial issues, things that had been caused by my childhood orthodontist, a clicking in my jaw, and I learned to treat myofascial pain on my own body.”
At the same urgent care facility, Dr. Blatman had another experience with myofascial pain that was a real eye-opener. “When I moved to the next urgent care office, I had a medical director and a new professional friend who saw my interest in fascia and pain, and also gave me a 34-page monograph on the subject written by Janet Travell, MD. About once a month I would work in another physician’s office or another urgent care to supplement my income. One day a woman came in with severe pelvic pain, and instead of giving her a typical treatment of an antibiotic and sending her to the emergency room, I decided to try some of Dr. Travell’s procedures I had been studying. And I opened up the monograph to the section on pelvic pain and it showed a pattern similar to what the patient was feeling. She lay down on the examination table, and I looked at the pages while manipulating and twisting her body. It took about 5 minutes, and all of her pain and all of her tenderness were gone. Not just better, they were gone! I was leaning up against the counter and the sink adjusting my overalls and asked if I could call her in a week to see if it was still gone… and to that very day I did not believe anything I could not see, touch, feel, or measure in some way.”
I wish I had met Dr. Blatman about 25 years ago. I still lived in Denmark when I started suffering from pelvic pain to the degree that I was in and out of various hospitals either in Copenhagen or in Stockholm, Sweden. I was in constant pain. For over a year nobody knew what was wrong with me, what caused the pain, or what to even do. I was engaged to my fiancé at the time and all I remember is the constant pain when we flew around the world and have seen just about anyone who could find SOMETHING that would relieve me. Eventually they cut me open and looked at me with a microscope only to discover that it was a bacteria or virus. The pain however would not go until I decided in my mind: ‘ I just cannot take this anymore after nearly 2 years and this MUST go.’
Dr. Blatman called the lady described above back about a week later, and the pain was still gone. “I eventually learned that what I had learned about TMJ applied to every muscle in the body. So I called my dentist friend and told him I was ready to take the next step, and I got the necessary syringes and equipment and started to use the techniques for TMJ on patients. I asked him what to buy, and the urgent care humored me and purchased Fluori-Methane, dental needles, syringes, and Carbocaine.
I started to touch the patients in a whole new way, examining a different part of their biology, and treating it with stretching and trigger point injections. One evening the lab technician came to me and asked me to do an injection in the spot of her chest pain that she said was caused by pleurisy. I dutifully reminded her that pleurisy was an inflammatory condition between the lining of the lung and the lining of the chest, and that she should take Motrin and Naprosyn and it would go away in a couple of weeks. In a voice of tolerated and subdued anger, not unlike that of PMS, she told me that it had already been two weeks and she had been taking those medicines with no help, and that ‘would I please put a needle in this particular spot?’ Needing no more convincing, I administered a trigger point injection in a muscle under her arm. Amazingly, that pain, and every case of pleurisy I have seen eversince was eliminated with the same injection.”
The interesting part on my end when talking to Dr. Blatman was that I too suffered from pleurisy after weeks of windsurfing at the River Gorge in Oregon and I literally could not lift myself up to even just get out of bed. “ We cannot do anything about that” – said my doctor in New York City at the time upon my return. ‘How fantastic, I thought, they are not even telling me what I have.’
Dr. Blatman’s patients come in for a variety of ailments and he practiced his techniques on them. And they kept coming back as he continued to relieve them of their pain. “Our office closed at 10:00 and we were sending the last patient out the door at midnight. So, I opened an office just to treat myofascial pain with holistic pain treatment solutions, and I was one of the first in the country to recognize that these specific pains originated in the fascia. That was in 1988.”
In 1990, Dr. Blatman’s wife invited a physical therapist over for dinner. And when she showed up at the house, she told Blatman that his skull bones moved. “And I told her I disagreed; told her that my skull bones had fused when I was about two years old, since that’s what I had been taught. I was incredibly resistant until I felt her head bones move in my hands. By the time she left at the end of the evening I realized that my skull bones did move and what I had been taught all along wasn’t true. This so intrigued me that I took enough craniosacral therapy classes to be a craniosacral therapist. And that was another epiphany, and I began to question everything I held to be true much more critically.”
Dr. Blatman was now looking at the human body, with, as he puts it, a different language. He eventually met with the late Dr. Janet Travell, who had championed work on myofascial pain and working with the TMJ Syndrome. “I had an opportunity to be mentored by Dr. Travell, and after that weekend I was a different person. I had thought I knew what I was doing and was pretty successful, but I was now watching the master of pain relief in a class of about thirty people, and it changed my life,” Dr. Blatman explains.
This fortuitous change of events put him on the path to a new phase of his medical career.
“I got into medicine because I wanted to help people, and also because I didn’t want to be bored,” Dr. Blatman says. “I’m currently in the fourth phase of my medical career. Phase one was in orthopedic surgery, phase two was in urgent care and occupational medicine, phase three was in pain management, relieving pain from head to toe, and I’m now entering my fourth phase of my career, which focuses on regenerative medicine, anti-aging therapies and biologic restoration.
By any measure, Dr. Hal Blatman is a forerunner when it comes to pain management. We like to think of pain as inflammation, or a pinched nerve or herniated disk , – which I myself also happened to experience, – and that back pain originates in the back, and most of those conventional diagnoses just aren’t accurate. Along the way Dr. Blatman developed what would become a standard for dealing with myofascial pain, calling it the Blatman Method of CSI for Pain, which is based on the factual findings by Dr. Blatman that pain doesn’t necessarily originate where you think it does, and some of the other misconceptions about pain and the treatment of pain. And, in my personal opinion this discovery is priceless.
“Inflammation of the fascia can be a very acute cause of pain, with about 50% of a person’s pain coming from inflammatory reaction in a person’s fascia,” Dr. Blatman explains, “which is why diet is also a critical part of reducing inflammation and the resultant pain. If my readers take away just this much from this article, I am happy because some lives will be changed!
Some of the dietary bugaboos that we now find are a source of inflammation in the body include wheat flour (gluten), dairy products, hydrogenated fats, sugar, white potatoes and things like artificial sweeteners. Inflame the fascia enough and you will make your injuries more critically painful. Things like fibromyalgia, back pain are usually the result of the foods that we consume, which inflame the fascia and connecting tissue. When you wake up in the morning and you have a stiff neck or back pain and you think it’s because you slept wrong or a draft caused a stiff neck, you are wrong. The real reason for those conditions is the food you ate last night.
Six weeks after eliminating these foods from our diet you’ll notice a marked improvement in the way you feel, and a complete reduction of pain, whatever the source.” I feel this goal alone would be a driving force in anyone’s life.
As Dr. Blatman continued his unique practice of treating patients for myofascial pain, his children suggested that he should open an office in New York so that he could reach as many patients as possible, and establish a reputation for this type of treatment, which is unique and unparalled in every way. “If my work was going to get noticed, there would be a better chance of it in New York than in Cincinnati, and I now offer my services there on one Friday a month, but in general I have run a very low key operation, and have a reputation as a good guy who gets results, and once the word gets around there’s really no reason people have to suffer with chronic pain.”
I personally have never met any doctor with this approach. Knowing Dr. Blatman is a blessing and a gift in every way.
This is a real solution, a real alternative to the dangerous scourge of addictive pain killers. “I use stem cells and platelet rich plasma for pelvic pain, to regenerate joints, to regenerate kidneys, lungs, brain cells. I use it for so many different applications. I also use peptide, vitamins and nutritional aspects to help alleviate patient discomfort. We use any and all “trick of the trade,” and if a patient needs something that wasn’t available, like bioidentical hormones, I would learn about that and would use those differently and more effectively than other practitioners in the area.”
As a result of casting a wide net in terms of finding solutions to his patients’ ailments, Dr. Blatman has become renowned in the Cincinnati, Ohio area for the scope and span and range of abilities to heal, and has ranged world-wide to places like Brazil and Dubai, both teaching and learning on an international level.
“We have a better chance of figuring out pain here than anywhere else in the world. It’s a whole different paradigm,” Dr. Blatman says. His practice could also be key in relieving the pain caused in certain professions like professional athletes and musicians, where issues like carpel tunnel syndrome can create career threatening pain and discomfort.
Dr. Blatman’s orientation toward anti-aging concerns is a natural outgrowth of his involvement in reducing pain and discomfort in his patients. “Eliminating pain, to help my patients look and feel better, to improve their diets, etc…. this emphasis all work together to overcome the crippling influence of pain and creates a more complete sense of well-being,” Dr. Blatman says.
Dr. Blatman is now a nationally-recognized specialist in treating myofascial pain and TMJ syndrome. He is credentialed in Pain Management and Board Certified in Occupational and Environmental Medicine and in Integrative Holistic Medicine. It’s a credit to his natural curiosity and willingness to explore, following his intuition wherever it took him, which is just ONE unique approach in Dr. Blatman’s practice. In this case it led to remarkably effective solutions to counteract human pain. His work in pain management and other disciplines has made him one of the preeminent medical practitioners in the country, and perhaps in the world, and the man to which so many patients owe so much in terms of eliminating human misery is now a click away in our modern age.
For patients who are interested in wellness, healing, and accurately determining where their pain comes from Dr. Blatman’s practice treats many different conditions including Back Pain, Peyronie’s Disease, Carpal Tunnel Syndrome, Urinary Stress Incontinence, Lichen Sclerosis, Chronic Fatigue, Chronic Pain, Erectile Dysfunction, Fibromyalgia, Headaches & Migraines, Joint Pain, Sciatica, Scoliosis and Sexual Dysfunction, utilizing various treatments such as Stem Cells, Photonic Stimulation, Platelet Rich Plasma Injections, Prolotherapy, Regenerative Injection Therapy and Thermography and any other treatments that may provide relief to the patient as Dr. Blatman sees fit.
Dr. Hal Blatman is a Board Certified Practitioner of Integrative and Holistic Medicine, Designated A.B.I.H.M., for American Board of Integrative Holistic Medicine. He is also a Past-President of the American Holistic Medical Association.
For more information:
Blatman Health and Wellness Center
10653 Techwood Cir #101
Cincinnati, OH 45242
Home – Cincinnati Pain Relief – Blatman Health and Wellness Center
Phone: (513) 956-3200
About the Author of this article: About the Author of This Article: Adrienne Papp is a recognized journalist, economist and feature writer, who has written for many publications including Savoir; The Westside Today Publications ; such as Beverly Hills 90210; Malibu Beach; Santa Monica Sun; The Beverly Hills Times; Brentwood News; Bel-Air View ; Celebrity Society ; Celeb Staff ; It Magazine; Chic Today; LA2DAY; West Side Today among many others. She is the President and CEO of Los Angeles / New York-based publicity company, Atlantic Publicity and publishing house, Atlantic Publisher. Adrienne writes about world trends, Quantum Physics, entertainment and interviews celebrities, world leaders, inventors, philanthropists and entrepreneurs. She also owns Atlantic United Films that produces and finances true stories made for theatrical release or the silver screen. Spotlight News Magazine is owned by Atlantic Publicity that just opened a new extension to it : PublicityLosAngeles. Adrienn
About the Author of This Article: Adrienne Papp is a recognized journalist, economist and feature writer, who has written for many publications including Savoir; The Westside Today Publications ; such as Beverly Hills 90210; Malibu Beach; Santa Monica Sun; The Beverly Hills Times; Brentwood News; Bel-Air View ; Celebrity Society ; Celeb Staff ; It Magazine; Chic Today; LA2DAY; West Side Today among many others. She is the President and CEO of Los Angeles / New York-based publicity company, Atlantic Publicity and publishing house, Atlantic Publisher. Adrienne writes about world trends, Quantum Physics, entertainment and interviews celebrities, world leaders, inventors, philanthropists and entrepreneurs. She also owns Atlantic United Films that produces and finances true stories made for theatrical release or the silver screen. Spotlight News Magazine is owned by Atlantic Publicity that just opened a new extension to it : PublicityLosAngeles. Adrienne Papp is a member of the International Press Academy.She is the Founder, CEO and President of Youthful & Ageless ™, Bringing Information to Billions™, An Honorable Cause™ www.LatestAgeless.com. www.OurMediaVenuesAndCompanies.com, Atlantic Publicity Articles, Latest Ageless, Events Photo Collection, Linked In Profile, Movie Data Base Profile, Twitter, Instagram, Youthful and Ageless Google+, Atlantic Publicity Google+, Atlantic Publisher Google+, Adrienne Papp Google+, Adrienne Papp Personal Google+, Spotlight News Magazine, Atlantic Publicity Productions, Atlantic Altitude, Altitude Pacific, Atlantic Publicity Photography and Filming, About Adrienne Papp What Others Say AtlanticPublicitySEO, BrilliantMarketing365, An Honorable Cause, Academic Research, Knighthood Today, Youthful and Ageless™. She was knighted and became a Dame in 2010. Her official name is Lady Adrienne Papp and Dame Adrienne Papp. Voting Member of The International Press Academy and The Oscars: Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. She is the Managing Editorial Director of The Beverly Hills Times Magazine, and Hollywood Weekly. She has a Master of Science in Economics majoring Logistics; an MBA Degree; An International Law, Trade and Finance Postgraduate: Marketing and Advertising Postgraduate from NYU and UCLA. Guest Professor at Oxford University; Director and Producer of TV and Airline On Camera Editorials; Adrienne Papp Enterprises
