Dr. Seraphina Freund poses in front of her equipment at Intrinsic Health in Damariscotta. Freund offers a comprehensive approach utilizing the Gornstead method of chiropractics as well as regenerative therapy devices. (Photo courtesy Peter Logue)
As a lifelong dancer with a skill for gentle touch and a passion for puzzle solving, the practice of chiropractic comes naturally to Dr. Seraphina Freund.
Her clinic, Intrinsic Health, opened in January at 75 Elm St. in downtown Damariscotta. The clinic offers comprehensive chiropractic and regenerative care, as well as X-ray services.
Freund said she wanted potential patients to know that her practice is personalized to their needs.
“My practice is scheduled in such a way that I have time to really listen to people and be attentive … I don’t do just general one-size-fits-all treatment plans,” she said.
Freund said her clinic addresses the need for what she termed “spinal hygiene,” with attentive, regularly scheduled spinal assessments.
“I think people often don’t realize… how important the spinal structure is, and that taking care of your spine proactively can actually prevent spinal degradation over time,” Freund said.
The treatment the clinic offers is not just preventative, she said.
“Even though I wish people understood better that they could take care of their spines … I also want people who haven’t, and that are struggling, to understand that even when there has been this degenerative process and change occurring, that there’s still so much that we can do for it,” Freund said.
Her clinic aims to make corrective, long-term changes for people.
“(It’s) a lot more than the traditional cracking of someone’s back,” she said.
Freund explained that she practices the Gonstead method of chiropractic care, a biomechanical evidence-based approach developed.
“I use a lot of analysis and objective based measures to determine a course of correction for people,” she said.
Freund said she chose the Gonstead method while studying to become a chiropractor because she appreciated the clarity and analytical approach it offers.
“I loved feeling like I had a reason for what I was adjusting and why, and that it could be very specific, and that I would have a way to determine after the fact whether what I did was beneficial, apart from just the person’s felt experience,” she said. “I can use my instrumentation to make sure that things look different, I can feel to make sure that things feel different in the way that they move.”
Using the Gonstead method, Freund’s analysis utilizes visualization, palpation, motioning and instrumentation, as well as X-rays if necessary, to assess the spine before making any adjustments.
The precise analysis allows for more accurate care, Freund said.
“The kind of care that I provide is very advanced, and so I can handle those really tricky cases, which nothing has helped, potentially,” she said.
The clinic also offers state-of-the-art Swiss technology with two types of regenerative therapy, shock wave therapy and extracorporeal magneto transduction therapy.
Intrinsic Health, at 75 Elm St. in downtown Damariscotta. The clinic offers comprehensive chiropractic and regenerative care as well as X-ray services. (Claire Taylor photo)
Freund said shock wave therapy sends a shock wave into the body, which initiates the body’s healing response and can create a stem cell response in the body to create and regenerate tissue.
“It can also break down disorganized hurt tissue so that new tissue fibers can be laid down, and in turn, it increases vasculature to an area,” she said.
The clinic’s other regenerative therapy, known as EMTT, bathes the body in magnetic energy.
“That magnetic energy changes the electrical field of your cell walls, and that allows for increased cellular turnover and increased healing,” Freund said.
The unique treatment brings down both inflammation and pain, Freund said, which makes it one of the only treatments besides medication which can help with arthritis pain.
The clinic’s comprehensive approach allows Freund to address a wide variety of issues.
“Between those regenerative technologies and the structural chiropractic work that I do, I can basically help most musculoskeletal challenges, as well as things that people often think of as like, nerve pain,” she said.
The broad capacity makes her clinic a great fit for patients who may not fully understand what is causing their pain or numbness, according to Freund.
All the services offered at the Damariscotta clinic aim to facilitate the body’s natural healing process, Freund said. The clinic’s name, Intrinsic Health, is rooted in her belief that the body is “primarily capable of healing itself.”
“I do believe that the health comes from your body, and really all I try to do is remove barriers to that process, which is what I do chiropractically,” she said. “And then with the regenerative therapy, I help to kick-start that … innate process in the body where maybe it has gotten sluggish.”
Freund said as she believes the best care for people is a collaborative approach. She is excited to continue building relationships with other medical professionals in the region. She has worked with several midwifes in the area to offer pre- and postnatal care using the Webster technique, a chiropractic analysis that focuses on pelvic alignment to reduce uterine tension.
Freund said her own journey to chiropractics began when her midwife recommended chiropractic treatment to address discomfort in her pregnancy.
She explained that losing her mother to cancer at a young age had sparked an early interest in holistic health, but the chiropractic care she received fascinated her anew.
“It just seemed like such an amazing thing that without taking any drugs, right, no medication, I could feel so much better. So it’s like, wow, my body actually is capable of feeling good. It just needed a little help. And I really loved that,” Freund said.
A chair sits beside the Extracorporeal Magneto Transduction Therapy machine at Intrinisc Health in Damariscotta. The state-of-the-art Swiss machine is one of two regenerative therapies offered at the chiropractic clinic. (Photo courtesy Peter Logue)
After over a decade working in computer science, Freund finally decided to pursue a career in chiropractic care. Going back to school at age 39 as a single mother was daunting, she said, but she knew it was a worthwhile pursuit.
“Ultimately, I decided that that’s exactly what I wanted to do. It’s like, I wanted to own my own business. I wanted to be able to define my own hours so I could take care of my daughter. I wanted to be able to do something that was helpful to people,” Freund said.
Freund ran a thriving practice in northern California before moving to Maine to be with her now husband, Matt Page. She said she fell in love with the area while falling for him, so when she got the opportunity, she was thrilled to move her practice into the newly renovated historic home in Damariscotta.
“I thought about opening in a bigger, like a more populated location, like Brunswick, or something like that. But ultimately, I just decided that I loved this town. I wanted to serve these people here. I wanted this town to have all of the technology and capacities that I can bring to the area,” Freund explained.
The choice has served her well, she said.
“Everybody’s been so warm and kind, and I just cannot get enough of the close-knit community,” Freund said.
For more information about Intrinsic Health, go to intrinsic-health.co, call 331-5173, or email info@intrinsic-health.co.
