Ep 547 – Hypothyroidism: “I Have a Client Who . . .” Pathology Conversations with Ruth Werner

Ruth is learning, writing, and teaching about thyroid disease in lots of different places, so IHACW is coming along for the ride.

Hypothyroidism: the thyroid gland doesn’t produce enough of the right hormones to stimulate healthy metabolism—a person has a hard time turning fuel (that’s oxygen and food) into energy. The result: lethargy, weight gain, sluggish digestion, and lots, lots more. Does this describe any of your clients?

But treating endocrine diseases is a tricky business. In this episode Ruth interviews a friend who had some success, but it is an ongoing battle.

Resources:

Allen, E. and Fingeret, A. (2025) “Anatomy, Head and Neck, Thyroid,” in StatPearls. Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing. Available at: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK470452/ (Accessed: January 1, 2026).

Elshimy, G. et al. (2025) “Myxedema Coma,” in StatPearls. Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing. Available at: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK545193/ (Accessed: January 8, 2026).

Lu, M. et al. (2025) “Therapeutic benefits of acupoint massage at Yuji (LU10) and Zhaohai (KI6) for postoperative hoarseness in thyroid surgery patients,” BMC surgery, 25(1), p. 148. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1186/s12893-025-02889-7.

Rosen, J.E. et al. (2013) “Complementary and alternative medicine use among patients with thyroid cancer,” Thyroid: Official Journal of the American Thyroid Association, 23(10), pp. 1238–1246. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1089/thy.2012.0495.

Tachi, J., Amino, N. and Miyai, K. (1990) “Massage therapy on neck: a contributing factor for destructive thyrotoxicosis?,” Thyroidology, 2(1), pp. 25–27.

Thyroid Nodules: Causes, Symptoms & Treatment (no date) Cleveland Clinic. Available at: https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/13121-thyroid-nodule (Accessed: January 8, 2026).

Thyroid: What It Is, Function & Problems (no date). Available at: https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/body/23188-thyroid (Accessed: January 1, 2026).

Wyne, K.L. et al. (2023) “Hypothyroidism Prevalence in the United States: A Retrospective Study Combining National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey and Claims Data, 2009–2019,” Journal of the Endocrine Society, 7(1), p. bvac172. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1210/jendso/bvac172.

Sponsors:

Anatomy Trains is a global leader in online anatomy education and also provides in-classroom certification programs for structural integration in the US, Canada, Australia, Europe, Japan, and China, as well as fresh-tissue cadaver dissection labs and weekend courses. The work of Anatomy Trains originated with founder Tom Myers, who mapped the human body into 13 myofascial meridians in his original book, currently in its fourth edition and translated into 12 languages. The principles of Anatomy Trains are used by osteopaths, physical therapists, bodyworkers, massage therapists, personal trainers, yoga, Pilates, Gyrotonics, and other body-minded manual therapists and movement professionals. Anatomy Trains inspires these practitioners to work with holistic anatomy in treating system-wide patterns to provide improved client outcomes in terms of structure and function.    

                

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