Dr. Warren Bruhl, Executive Director of Northbrook-based Dreamweaver International, has a mission to help people around the world heal pain with a new massage device he developed, the BuffEnuff® Power Massager. Dr. Bruhl, a Northbrook resident, has been traveling to Kenya, East Africa, and other under resourced areas since 2011, hoping to end some of the pain and suffering many people endure. Bruhl comments, “most of the people in the world have hard lives, they work long hours performing strenuous activities. Some carry water for miles or other materials they may be selling in a market. Many are farming with no motor driven equipment or animals to plow. They feel exhausted and often have extreme pain but have no options for rest or treatment.”
Statistically, lower back pain is among the most disabling problems people suffer with globally. It is estimated that over 100 million people have low back pain and adding the plethora of other potential musculoskeletal problems possible, it’s clear there is a need to offer effective solutions. However, in many countries, there are limited healthcare options and the few that may be on the ground usually offer only pain medicine with no rehabilitation or therapy. This was troubling to Dr. Bruhl, since his back ground in chiropractic helped him understand it is important to offer natural healing methods as first options because medications can have strong side effects, especially for people who are compromised physically. Thus Bruhl, began looking for a way he could teach people how to take care of themselves and also give them tools that would reduce reliance on potentially harmful medical treatments.
Bruhl’s desire to help people led him to develop a percussion massager called the BuffEnuff Power Massager. Percussion massage uses the oscillating motion of a device that looks somewhat like a car polisher but it has been adapted with specialized technique to use on the body. Because the massager has a high rate of motion, is handheld, easy to use, and cordless, it makes it a perfect tool to help people in areas where power supplies may be limited. Bruhl adds, “frequently in the places we take healthcare teams, there is limited electricity but it doesn’t extend to every home or village. So if we have a cordless massager that’s easy to charge up batteries for use and then recharge as needed, people can have access to the massager more often and just about anywhere.”
On this recent trip, Dr. Bruhl was able to bring a mother daughter team from Northbrook, Mrs. Karen Fusco and her daughter, Nicole. The Fusco’s have had a passion for service work abroad and Nicole wanted to learn more about Kenya as she hopes to join the Peace Corps and maybe be stationed in an African nation. As well, Nicole is a certified massage therapist, and she wanted to offer her care along with the BuffEnuff to alleviate pain. During the two week visit to Kenya, the Fusco’s, Dr. Bruhl, and another mother-daughter team from Australia, went to the Mathare slums in Nairobi, villages around the school Bruhl is a director for, in the Rift Valley, and also worked at the Kimana School of Leadership, Bruhl directs.
The team provided education services at the Kimana School, teaching students how to use I pads that were previously donated last year. As well, ongoing chiropractic and massage care was given to students, teachers, and members of the community, and sustainability projects were monitored and worked on that Dreamweaver is engaged in on the ground level. Dr. Bruhl plans is now planning a trip in June and next January, welcoming local volunteers and notes there is a special need for high school and college athletes, especially those with knowledge of baseball and softball. Further, Bruhl would like to bring more educators and business people there to serve, furthering the progress Dreamweaver is already achieving. For more information about Dreamweaver visit www.dreamweaver911.org.