SBPilipinas: Lesson-filled

Tuesday, August 18, 2009

Lesson-filled

Powerade Team Pilipinas finished its Fiba Asia Championship campaign with a 4-5 record and good for eighth place in the 16-team field; an improvement from the country’s ninth-place finish in 2007 but nevertheless short of the ultimate goal of a top-three placing and automatic entry into the World Championships next year.

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Scientific 'hilot' an alternative option

By Joaquin Henson (The Philippine Star)

BAIS, Negros Oriental , Philippines – Miguel del Prado isn’t a miracle healer. Neither is he an “ambularyo.” He specializes in relieving pain or discomfort that is traced to a nerve or soft tissue problem. His method is strictly by touch with a scientific basis.
At the Hacienda Florentina in this sugar heartland, Del Prado yesterday said he doesn’t compete with orthopaedic surgeons, physical therapists or chiropractors. His line of work is an alternative option, which is loosely promoted as “hilot,” a somewhat indigenous Filipino approach of treating muscle pain, in the increasingly popular field of medical tourism.
“I don’t align or fix bones,” said Del Prado whose father Nonoy manages the family-owned hacienda. “I focus on soft tissues. I don’t use instruments and I don’t employ assistants. I work with my hands on my own. I don’t advertise. People come to see me by word of mouth. My gratification is when I’m able to relieve people of their pain. It’s a career that I’ve been encouraged to develop by doctors who believe in the option of alternative medicine.”
Del Prado, 26, was born with the gift of “touch,” something the local hacienda “hilot” Fely Aguilar saw when he was just two months old. He discovered his “gift” at eight and never held back in sharing it. Del Prado earned a pre-med biology degree at La Salle in 2005 and seriously thought of taking up medicine. He toured Europe alone for three months after graduation, went into deep soul-searching and came back home ready to embark on his chosen profession.
“I call it myovaso therapy as I deal with the muscles and the vascular system,” said Del Prado, the second of five children. “For instance, I treat tendonitis which involves an accumulation of fluid. By feel, I trace the source of the problem, checking the muscles and finding the pressure points to open up the channels to drain the fluid. Once, a lady visited complaining of radiating pain from the shoulder to the hand. For three years, she couldn’t be relieved because the focus of her treatment was in the hand and arm. I traced the source of the problem to a pinched nerve in the neck and after unlocking the nerve, the pain was gone.”
Del Prado described his methodology as “Western mixed with Oriental,” explaining his treatment in scientific, medical terms. A former Secretary of Health called it “a notch higher than “hilot.”
Today, Del Prado attends to an average of 10 visitors a day and spends anywhere between five to 30 minutes for each treatment. He is exhausted by the end of the day. A popular singer and composer once said “relief is just a Del Prado away,” recalling the advertising slogan for a pain medicine. His list of clients reads like a who’s who – from a world champion bowler to an Olympic badminton player to a PBA star to squash players to triathletes to concert performers to TV talk show hosts to sportscasters to golfers to professional dancers to tennis players to government officials to socialites to foreigners.
Last week, Del Prado arrived from Soto Grande, Spain, where he was invited to treat the world’s top polo players for 23 days. He attended to the crack polo stars in the same resort last year and because of his success, was asked to come back, this time with more athletes seeking his expertise.
Del Prado’s work has been cited in “Silvia’s Book,” a directory of referrals for expatriates in the Philippines, and in “Town and Country” which featured four practitioners in an article on wellness.
Del Prado was recently invited to teach at a well-known Manila medical school but declined. “I don’t know if this is something you can teach,” he said. “I can share my knowledge and experiences with others but I don’t think myovaso therapy can be taught.”
When his reputation spread, Del Prado’s mother Wing said they had to screen callers.
“We got calls from stroke victims who, of course, Miguel doesn’t treat,” she said. “We got calls from people asking his healing hours like he was a healing priest. So we had to explain that his work has to do only with the use of his hands in treating pain or discomfort traced to soft tissues, muscles and nerves.”
Del Prado said he continues to expand his knowledge by self-study. “I read lots of books and with my pre-med background, I’m able to understand how the body works,” he continued. “I do a lot of stretching and manipulation of the soft tissues. I do retraction of the sciatic nerve. I also do ‘dorn,’ a German method of spinal adjustment through slight manipulation where I lock down the bone in the back, swing the leg or arm to slowly nudge the bone with the ligament.”
Because he’s not a doctor, Del Prado doesn’t prescribe medicine. “I do suggest food supplements and lifestyle changes,” he added. “There are practical things I can advise to avoid the recurrence of a muscle or nerve problem, like inserts in shoes or using a pillow to cushion the lower back when driving an automatic car. They’re small things that work.”
Del Prado’s work isn’t confined in this town. Beyond Bais, he attends to patients in Metro Manila, Cebu and Dumaguete. “If there’s something I can do for those who still can’t find relief for their pain after seeing doctors, therapists and chiropractors, I’m more than willing to do what I can,” he said. “I offer an alternative. My whole purpose is to be of service.”
(To contact Del Prado, phone 0915-725-6002.).