Is Your Posture Killing You? is the name of an interesting blog I read the other day chriopractor Dr. Mindy Pelz
A chriopractor by trade, Dr. Pelz shares 6 Dangers of Forward Head Syndrome from the book The Rejuvenation Strategy (Rene Cailliet, M.D.)
6 Dangers of Forward Head Posture
- Incorrect head positioning leads to improper spinal function.
- The head in forward posture can add up to 30 pounds of abnormal leverage on the cervical spine.
- Forward head posture results in loss of vital lung capacity. In fact, lung capacity is depleted by as much as 30 percent. Loss of lung capacity leads to heart and blood vascular problems.
- The entire gastrointestinal system is affected, particularly the large intestine. Loss of good bowel peristaltic function and evacuation is a common condition that comes with forward head posture and loss of spinal lordotic curves.
- Forward head posture causes an increase in discomfort and pain. Freedom of motion in the first four cervical vertebrae is a major source of stimuli that causes production of endorphins in production many otherwise non-painful sensations are experienced as pain.
- Forward head posture causes loss of healthy spine-body motion. The entire body becomes rigid as the range of motion lessens. Soon, one becomes hunched.
Dr. Pelz also points out that:
90% of the energy output of the brain is used in relating the physical body to gravity. Only 10% of the brain’s energy is used for thinking, metabolism, and healing. If you want to improve your body and brain’s performance start with better posture.
I AGREE! If you want to improve your body and brain's performance start with better posture. This is exactly what we correct and coach everyday at Pain Free Posture MN.
Dr. Pelz then offers her solutions for improving Forward Head Posture:
- Be aware
- Stretch your front side and strengthen your back
- Try a yoga class
- Go see your chiropractor
While I understand where Dr. Pelz is coming from, and AGREE that each of these points can and do help with symptoms of forward head position, I DISAGREE that they are viable as a permanent solutions to forward head posture.
WHY?
Attempting to correct forward head posture by simply increasing awareness, stretching, yoga and chiropractic will at most temporarily alleviate symptoms. The ROOT CAUSE of WHY the head has moved forward out of position is not being addressed.
"Bones will go where muscles tell them to"
~ Pete Egoscue
I believe the first (and best) solution should be - Posture Alignment Therapy.
I'm not against chiropractic, increasing awarness, yoga or stretching. They are all effective tools and can help.
So what makes postural theapy different?
The aim of postural therapy is to get your msucle memory which moves bones back into a better postural alignment which reflects your "blue-print" design.
This ecplains why chriopractic clients have to continue treatment on a regular basis. Soley on repositioning the bones without addressing the underlying root cause of why the bones moved in the first place keeps you in a symptom cycle.
There certainly are very gifted chiropractors out there who are able to get the adjustments done and move your bones back into better position. We love that! But...
However, the muscles attached to those bones have a motor memory pattern that continues to pull those bones back out of the correct position. Now if bones go where muscles tell them to, this is where postural therapy fills the gap.
While you may temporarily feel better for a period of time after an adjustment, yoga or stretching, the muscle memory and motor pattern has not been corrected. It's only a matter of time until you're back to square one, back in pain, out of alignment and back for the adjustments.
Because the root cause of why the bones have moved in the first place have not been retrained, the postural muscles which should hold the corrections are in conflict with the adjustments.
Posture alignment therapy addresses the ROOT CAUSE of your postural imbalances. We analyze your posture as it presents relative to "blue-print" design.
A Certified Posture Alginment Specialist will then create a corrective exercise menu designed for your unique postural needs, your will re-train your muscles and motor memory to hold the correct positions.
Your chiropractic results will improve because you'll be proactively way teach and re-training your muscles to hold your bones in the proper alignment.
So instead of just managing the symptom of forward head syndrome, you can CORRECT IT!
The RESULT?
You'll feel better, your posture will improve and you'll have less pain. That makes for a happier person and the best part is it will come from YOU taking an active role in your own healthcare. And that's a real solution worth striving for!
If you enjoyed this BLOG, please SHARE it with others!
At Pain Free Posture MN, we believe in living life to the fullest! Your life should be PAIN FREE - fun, full of energy, and uniquely about you.
If it doesn't feel that way for you, give me a call.
We offer Posture Alignment Therapy (Egoscue University Certified) based on the work of Pete Egoscue and The Egoscue Method.
Posture Alignment Therapy can help you resolve your musculoskeletal pain naturally without medication, manipulation or surgery.
If you don't know what to do, don't worry. I can help you get going again. I promise.
We're in this together, and I am here to help.
Congratulations to Bill Murray and The Egoscue Method's (Egoscue San Jose) Oscar Gonzalez for more fantastic rounds of pain free golfing at the 2012 AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am golf tournament in California.
This year actor/comedien Murray, an annual crowd favorite, once again wowed the croweds this year and was found putting backwards all while a designer Ghillie suit! (see Huffington Post Sports).
However, as little as two years ago, Bill was almost ready to give up his much loved sport of golf had he not corrected the root cause of his pain, his posture. An introducuction to the Egoscue Method and a dedicated menu practice helped him eliminate his pain, correct his posture and dysfunctional movement patterns, and helped improve his golf game.
You're about to see a short YouTube video of Bill Murray sharing his Egoscue Method Posture Alignment Therapy testimonial and how working with Oscar Gonzalez (Egoscue University Certified Posture Alignment Specialist and Accreditied Exercise Therapist) helped him golf pain free helping him win the 2011 National AT&T Pro Am
You don't have to be famous like Bill to reap the benefits of postural therapy! (Here's Bill in his famous designer suit with Oscar)
The Egoscue Method of Posture Alignment Therapy has been around for 40 years, and we are here to stay. And just like the main character Murray plays in Groundhog Day, perhaps it's time to stop repeating the chronic pain cycle over and over again with the same old symptomatic pain relief.
Postural therapy is different. We don't manage pain.
We IDENTIFY, ADDRESS and CORRECT the ROOT CAUSE of your pain.
Your posture as it relates to your "blue-print" design and function.
Reach out if you have questions about how you too can overcome chronic musculoskeletal pain WITHOUT the use of medication, manipulation or surgery.
If you enjoyed this BLOG, please SHARE it with others!
At Pain Free Posture MN, we believe in living life to the fullest! Your life should be PAIN FREE - fun, full of energy, and uniquely about you.
If it doesn't feel that way for you, give me a call.
We offer Posture Alignment Therapy (Egoscue University Certified) based on the work of Pete Egoscue and The Egoscue Method.
Posture Alignment Therapy can help you resolve your musculoskeletal pain naturally without medication, manipulation or surgery.
If you don't know what to do, don't worry. I can help you get going again. I promise.
We're in this together, and I am here to help.
Here we are a week past Groundhog Day, and I find myself thinking about how connected life and events become (see Deb Preachuk - Your Reputation is Growing)
If you've been reader of this BLOG, you'll know we love actor/comedian Bill Murray who played the lead role in the 1993 movie of the same title.
Not only is Bill Murray one of my alltime favorite actors, but in addition, I have an extra appreciation for him because he maintains a regular posture alignment therapy menu practice using the Egoscue Method.
Murray is a well known posture alignment therapy fan! He's spoken about it in the media and brings it with him out onto the golf course.
As we speak, Bill is at the 2012 Pebble Beach National Pro Am with my colleague Oscar Gonzalez (Egoscue San Jose Clinic) keeping his body pain free, fully functional and optimized for sports performance as possible in his attempt to once again win the tournament.
So what does all this have to do with the movie Groundhog Day?
Groundhog Day follows Phil Connors, an egotistical TV weatherman who grudginly travels to Punxsutawney, PA, to cover the annual Groundhog Day festivities with Punxsutawney Phil.
Connors gives his weather report and tries to return to Pittsburgh when a blizzard shuts down the roads. Phil and his team are forced to return to Punxsutawney and stay in town overnight. (source Wikipedia)
Phil wakes up to find that he is RELIVING February 2. The day plays out exactly as it did before, but no one else is aware of the time loop.
In essence Connors gets "stuck" having to report and repeat Groundhog Day over and over AGAIN and he's far from happy about it!
For him, Groundhog Day was already booooring and a much-hated assignment ... and now he he now finds himself having to relive it, over and over, possibly for the rest of his life.
If you haven't seen it he actually wakes up each morning at 6am, to repeat the EXACT SAME DAY - and hears the radio announcers say 'It's cooooold outside'! What a nightmare!
When it comes to chronic and unresolved musculoskeletal pain, interestingly enough the movie is exactly what some folks experience and do day in and day out.
How many times have you ridden the chronic pain merry-go-round, repeating the same traditional pain managment techniques over and over again with without a successful long term resolution?
Oops. Groundhog Day Moment!
Kind of funny when you think about it. If something isn't working, why do we keep repeating it over and over? How come we have got to a place where we no longer are able to LISTEN and TRUST our own internal Body Wisdom?
This is the fundamental difference between posture alignment therapy and other traditional approaches to pain management.
We don't manage pain.
We IDENTIFY, ADDRESS and CORRECT the ROOT CAUSE of your pain. Your posture as it related to your "blue-print" design and function.
We listen to you. We STOP Groundhog Day from repetating itself over and over again.
1. Pain is a Signal! We are here to listen to you!
2. Make sure you really ARE practicing accurately. There's no substitute for working one-on-one with a Certified Posture Alignment Specialist.
We will instruct, observe and give you the much needed visual, auditory and kinesthetic feedback you need to maximize your corrective exercise menu. There's nothing like the security of knowing you are rebuilding your postural foundation and decreasing your risk of further injury by engaging in your menu accurately.
Just like Bill Murray, you'll learn to "finesse" your postural therapy menu with "rich interactions" and "real empathy" (with your mind, body and spirit). Not only do we help you get out of pain, but we help you stop the chonic pain merry-go-round.
A Certified Posture Alignment Specialist will teach you how to be more:
- Mindful of setting up and performing your menu
- Observant of yourself (you can't fix what you can't feel or see)
- Tuned-in to the SENSATIONS in your body. Where IS the "active stretch"? What muscles are you engaging that you don't need to be using right now (making fists, fidgeting, wiggeling your feet - check into places you don't normally place your attention)
- Deliberate about where you place your ATTENTION.
Attention and Mindfulness make a HUGE difference to the level of benefits you gain from postural therapy - and the right attention will stop anyone from inadvertently falling into "Groundhog Day" pain management.
By practicing postural therapy you can achieve a pain free life and living and get back out to doing what you like to do! Pilates, Zumba, Patch Fitness, Crossfit, Running, Golfing, you name it, you can do it.
And like Phil Connors, you'll discover a whole new world and never suffer another "Groundhog Day" again!
If you enjoyed this BLOG, please SHARE it with others!
At Pain Free Posture MN, we believe in living life to the fullest! Your life should be PAIN FREE - fun, full of energy, and uniquely about you.
If it doesn't feel that way for you, give me a call.
We offer Posture Alignment Therapy (Egoscue University Certified) based on the work of Pete Egoscue and The Egoscue Method.
Posture Alignment Therapy can help you resolve your musculoskeletal pain naturally without medication, manipulation or surgery.
If you don't know what to do, don't worry. I can help you get going again. I promise.
We're in this together, and I am here to help.
Today I'd like to share an awesome testimonial from a client who's successfully overcome multiple surgeries on both feet and shoulders, AND completely avoided surgery for a torn meniscus in her knee through the use of Posture Alignment Therapy and Pilates.
In the last 10 years I have had multiple surgeries on my feet and both shoulders. After months of not being able to sleep because my shoulder pain had returned, I went to my doctor who prescribed yet another surgery.
Looking for alternatives, I went to my chiropractor who referred me to Deb Preachuk (Certified Posture Alignment Specialist at Pain Free Posture MN). He wasn’t sure what she did, but said she had helped several of his patients.
Deb explained that the multiple surgeries I'd endured were simply at attempt to fix symptoms that were being caused by a misalignment in other parts of my body. Until I fixed my alignment issues, the symptoms would periodically reappear. An alternative would be to eliminate the symptoms forever by correcting the underlying postural mis-alignment problems through a very specific corrective exercise program (Posture Alignment Therapy).
It sounded too good to be true, but the Egoscue Method article and book (Pain Free by Pete Egoscue) she gave me made a lot of sense, so I decided to take a leap of faith and started working with her.
Initially I attended monthly sessions with Deb where she taught me a new set of exercises, and then I did them on my own on a daily basis. Progress was slow but sure, and I was encouraged enough to start seeing her twice a month. Within 10 months my shoulder pain was totally gone!
Around Christmas (2009) I started to experience knee pain. The day after Christmas it became so severe that I called Deb to request an emergency visit. She had me come right over, identified the problem, and showed me how my posture was related to my pain.
Deb said it was “fixable” through corrective e-cises, and that if we gave the body a chance to align properly, the knee had a chance to heal. (I later had an orthopedic surgeon take an MRI and was diagnosed with a torn meniscus that needed to be surgically repaired.)
Now, after working with Deb and no surgery, my knee pain is completely gone! We worked on correcting the origins of my structural misalignment and resulting compensation movements with my feet and shoulders.
Deb has been excellent at explaining to me where my postural alignment has been abnormal according to the “blue-print” design of the human body, what that has caused my frame to do, and how that has affected my movement.
She does an excellent job of explaining why certain exercises are assigned to me, and how they will help modify and ultimately change and improve the way I move.
Because I am now PAIN FREE I've progressed to do STOTT Pilates sessions now to aid in strengthening the correct muscles and movement patterns.
Deb has always been flexible with our appointments……if I could only come once a month that was fine. She helped me become pain free, and I am now changing a lifetime of dysfunctional ankles and joint compensations. I am a huge advocate of Deb and her work …she is truly a phenomenal professional with the ability to help in a medically non-invasive way.
~ Deb. D.
Are you surprised that my client Deb had chriropractic, physical therapy and multiple surgeries and STILL had reoccuring musculoskeletal pain?
I'm not.
It happens all the time and unfortunately, I see it every day in my studio with new clients.
Deb tried to fix her pain through multiple sugeries until it was one surgery too many. She decided that perhaps there was something missing in her care and searched for a natural alternative to addressing her pain.
I didn't magically give her the ability to overcome her postural imbalances, she had it when she came through the door. She decided that:
- something had to change
- something different was required
- she was willing to take a risk
Posture Alignment Therapy with an Egoscue University Certified Posture Alignment Specialist was her answer.
What Deb desperately needed but didn't have was someone supporting her who knew what to do to help AND explain it to her. In a few short months, we got it done. Deb completely avoided surgery for a torn knee meniscus, eliminated acute knee pain and chronic shoulder, knee and foot pain.
As a Certified Posture Alignment Specialists (Egoscue University), and Egoscue Method educator, I am trained to identify, address and correct these types of problems.
How?
Instead of addressing your symptom (your pain) I am trained how to address the body as a unit (your posture) as it compares to our God-given BLUE PRINT design and function.
Postural therapy fills the gap in the health care chain and bridges the lost connections between you and your healthcare team. I am here to listen to YOU. You know more about your body, and I am here to listen and make the connections.
Are you in chronic musculoskeletal pain?
Are you tired of doing the same thing over and over without lasting results?
Do you know what to do?
If not, no worries. I'll teach you!
If you enjoyed this BLOG, please SHARE it with others!
At Pain Free Posture MN, we believe in living life to the fullest! Your life should be PAIN FREE - fun, full of energy, and uniquely about you.
If it doesn't feel that way for you, give me a call.
We offer Posture Alignment Therapy (Egoscue University Certified) based on the work of Pete Egoscue and The Egoscue Method.
Posture Alignment Therapy can help you resolve your musculoskeletal pain naturally without medication, manipulation or surgery.
If you don't know what to do, don't worry. I can help you get going again. I promise.
We're in this together, and I am here to help.
Today I'd like to share a testimonial from a colleague and her 40 year journey in search of chronic pain relief.
Until she found postural therapy, Barbara Baker suffered her entire adult life with chronic pain and brokenness to overcome it all without medication, manipulation or surgery. Through postural therapy, Barbara's life changed to dramatically that she is now an Egoscue University Certified Posture Alignment Specialist herself, serving the community of McKinney, Texas.
If Barbara's story reminds you of yourself or someone you know, it's my prayer that by sharing her powerful testimonial might you will realize that IT'S NEVER TOO LATE! You too can achieve a Pain Free Life and Living, because when you Balance the Body, You Relieve the Pain! I'll let Barbara tell it in her own words.
When I tried out for yell leader during my junior year of high school, I heard a lower back crack that defied any explanation. I cannot be certain this movement caused a lumbar disk to slide forward, but it must have at least contributed to a condition called Spondylolisthesis that was diagnosed at age twenty-three. My L-5 disk had moved forward and to the right so that my lower back could not properly hold the weight of my spine.
I spent the next thirty years in a defensive posture against getting a dreaded spinal fusion. Among other practices I'm probably forgetting, I availed myself of chiropractic care, deep tissue massages, Rolfing, Heller Work, flat shoes, a firm belly (sort of!) sensible exercising, cortisone shots, many rounds of physical therapy, reflexology, acupressure, acupuncture, bee venom and Prolotherapy, (shots to strengthen ligaments).
No matter the minor successes, I faced an increasing battery of misery. During those years, I blew out two knees from snow skiing, had my teeth rebuilt due to painful TMJ, wore a night brace to prevent new damage, had a tendon become cartilage in my thumb joint, suffered minor arthritis in my fingers, and suffered increasing and constant lower head, neck and scapular pain. I felt my mid-back cave forward and thus experienced rolls of belly fat formerly unknown to me.
By age fifty-five, I would limp after a mere quarter of a mile walk. My lower back felt like cement, and I dreaded that I might face a wheelchair until questionable, expensive surgery. I watched my normally positive outlook fade into fear and sadness.
Four years later, I knew that chiropractors had done the maximum that they could do and finally gave into facing surgery with X-rays that totaled $9000. A world-class doctor announced that I had the previously known Spondylolisthesis, but that, shockingly, the faulty disk had fused naturally with the one above it. That upper disk had herniated and the one above it had ruptured. I learned that I could spend $40,000 to have an innovative band-aid surgery -- one that would probably have to be redone someday. All I was left with was my shock that I had created my own spinal fusion, a large medical bill that promised no long-term cure, an outpatient surgery to clean out my discs, and pain pills that caused nausea.
Moving from California to Texas, I had to find new doctors and figure out my next course. A procedure called Decompression was next up, costing $3200. Over three months, I went to the chiropractor for a subtle traction machine hookup, only to be told after each session that I was now "fired up." The problem was it was the nerves that continued to be fired up, and the money spent a total waste.
Having suffered chronic pain for nearly forty years, I had tried almost every traditional and alternative treatment imaginable to heal spinal and nerve pain. Then a dear friend sent a book called Pain Free by Pete Egoscue.
He advocated for an honest cure through postural correction of one's misaligned joints and imbalanced muscles. The Internet allowed me to find my closest Egoscue Clinic, a four-hour drive from home. Because my husband, John, also suffered his own version of pain, we took a leap of faith and drove the eight-hour round-trip from Dallas to Austin to explore this option.
Even after our fist session with the Mathes team, we experienced greater freedom of movement. I learned that my biggest problem was due to my right femoral nerve causing the limp, and that my right hip, knee and ankle were in distorted alignment. Muscle repositioning could apparently create correct muscle memories, and I could, with dedication to exercises, return to a pain free life! We had each been given an individualized plan for precise movements, called an e-cise menu, and did the movements nearly every day. We were so encouraged by our ability to stand and walk for longer periods of time that we made seven more trips to upgrade our menus for more progress.
A year later, after an hour-long mountain hike and no limp, I was so inspired by the Egoscue Method providing me an honest cure, not being just one more wasted treatment that I decided to become an Egoscue University Certified Postural Alignment Specialist. I am honored to be a vehicle to lead others out of their pain as I was led out of mine. I invite you to experience the genius in Pete Egoscue that can transform your life as it has mine.
If you enjoyed this BLOG, please SHARE it with others!
At Pain Free Posture MN, we believe in living life to the fullest! Your life should be PAIN FREE - fun, full of energy, and uniquely about you.
If it doesn't feel that way for you, give me a call.
We offer Posture Alignment Therapy (Egoscue University Certified) based on the work of Pete Egoscue and The Egoscue Method.
Posture Alignment Therapy can help you resolve your musculoskeletal pain naturally without medication, manipulation or surgery.
If you don't know what to do, don't worry. I can help you get going again. I promise.
We're in this together, and I am here to help.
Hello Pain Free Life and Living! I haven't blogged for a week and connected with you all. What's new? What did you do for fun this weekend?
This morning I was de-cluttering my in-box and ran across a lovely email I received just before Christmas. The subject line read "Your Reputation is Growing", and as soon as I re-read it I knew there was a reason why I hung onto it.
It was just ripe and ready to blog about. As you'll read, it's a connection story in the same vein of both "six degrees of separation" AND "the tipping point" fame.
I'll let you read and then expand.
Happy Holidays Deb,
On one of the busiest days of the year I was at Barnes & Noble (Mall of America) looking for the “Pain Free” book.
After a few minutes of futile searching I asked an employee where I could find the books by the author “E-gos-cue.”
Her response was immediate…” You mean Pain Free by Peter Egoscue ?”
It turned out that she not only knew the book and had read it…but had been a regular client of yours for the last 3 years.
She couldn’t stop singing your praises…congratulations.
It also turned out that Barnes & Noble had sold out of the book.
It’s time to tell Pete’s publisher to fire up the printing presses…you’re going to need a lot more books.
This trend is at the “tipping point” (read “Tipping Point” by Malcolm Gladwell)
This Christmas…when you can slow down for a minute…take a big (yoga) breath…then think of all the people who are enjoying a pain-free holiday because of you.
Enjoy…you’ve earned it !
Best wishes to you and your family in 2012
LOVE! Sheer love! What a gift to receive an email like that. It is so gratifying to know that the practice I've dedicated my life to has impacted one person in such a profound and uplifitng way.
This definitely qualifies as a less than six degrees of separation connection! If you are unfamiliar, Six Degrees of Separation refers to the idea that everyone is on average approximately six steps away, by way of introduction, from any other person on Earth, so that a chain of, "a friend of a friend" statements can be made, on average, to connect any two people in six steps or fewer (Source Wikipedia)
And if you've been a faithful reader of this blog then you definitely know that I am positive that The Egoscue Method of Posture Alignment Therapy is headed directly toward The Tipping Point ("the moment of critical mass, the threshold, the boiling point when ideas and products and messages and behaviors spread like viruses do.") (Source The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell).
One more reason why I loved the message was how it evoked the spirit of The Egoscue Method. Posture alignment therapy as a successful pain relief program has grown by word of mouth, person to person and success at a time.
While I'm not entirely sure that my own personal "reputation" so to speak is growing, I did love the connection (my group fitness student goes looking for the book Pain Free and runs into a postural therapy client turned pilates student of mine). And I definitly agree that Egoscue is about to hit The Tipping Point. In fact, I've blogged about it extensively over the past six months.
I could go on and on. Every day I'm running into people who are tired of the chronic pain cycle and looking for a natural and effective solution to their unresolved musculoskeletal pain.
Posture Alignment Therapy in The Egoscue Method successfuly treats pain without the use of medication, manipulation or surgery.
We treat the body as a unit, and look at YOU, the whole person to identify the root cause of your pain. Your posture as it currently presents itself in relationship to your birth-right, pain-free, blue-print design and function.
Please reach out with your comments, questions or concerns. We'd LOVE to hear from you!
If you enjoyed this BLOG, please SHARE it with others!
At Pain Free Posture MN, we believe in living life to the fullest! Your life should be PAIN FREE - fun, full of energy, and uniquely about you.
If it doesn't feel that way for you, give me a call.
We offer Posture Alignment Therapy (Egoscue University Certified) based on the work of Pete Egoscue and The Egoscue Method.
Posture Alignment Therapy can help you resolve your musculoskeletal pain naturally without medication, manipulation or surgery.
If you don't know what to do, don't worry. I can help you get going again. I promise.
We're in this together, and I am here to help.
"He who treats the site of the pain is lost"~ Levitt
I LOVE sharing Egoscue® Method testimonials whenever I come across them. Riverside Kettlebells kindly gave me permission to re-post their blog called "What if My Shoulder Hurts?. The blog discusses how the simple investment in the book Pain Free by Pete Egoscue gave both the author (and his mom) much needed knee and shoulder pain relief!
When I reached out to congratulate and thank the author for writing about the power of posture alignment therapy and sharing his story, the author Michael was quick to respond. Here's an exerpt of his message to me.
Deb,
Keep up the good work! I also want everyone to know that they can help themselves with things like Egoscue. I love it.
Michael
www.riversidekettlebells.com
I couldn't agree more Michael! Thank you for sharing and message that chronic, unresolved musculoskeletal pain can easily be resolved through the power of postural therapy! EVERYONE can help themselves with Egoscue®! As a Certified Posture Alignment Specialist, my mission is to help people restore their "blue-print" humand design and function so that we can go out and live our lifes to the fullest!
If you do Kettlebell, Crossfit, Patch Fitness, Pilates, Group Fitness, Run (you get the idea), postural therapy keeps your body in balance. It's the underlying proper "structural" fitness so to speak that allows us to perform to our maximum capacity in our activities of choice.
So, it's not the activity that causes the pain as you might believe. It's the body you bring into the activity and your function in that activity that either causes pain or performance pleasure.
A body out of balance and using compensations for dysfunctional joints HURTS! A body that is balanced and functional at all the 4 major load joints can easily go out and do the movement/activity that gives you joy! And the best part? No more chronic musculosketeal pain due to postural imbalances.
To read Riverside Kettlebells testimonial of shoulder and knee pain relief using the Egoscue® Method, please click HERE.
Do you have an Egoscue® Method testimonial or write your own blog and want to share? We'd love to post your story, or give you the opportunity to guest blog here at Pain Free Life and Living.
Remember, when it comes to chronic unresolved musculoskeletal pain, "the site of the pain is rarely the site of the problem" [Pete Egoscue - Pain Free]. Like Riverside Kettlebells wrote "Almost all pain is a movement problem. And the right movement correction can fix things -- often quickly."
If you have questions about Posture Alignment Therapy, please reach out by filling in the contact form to your left or visit the many resources on our website. We have education, resources and sample postural therapy e-cises you can download for free and do from the comfort of your home to help answer your questions and concerns.
If you enjoyed this BLOG, please SHARE it with others!
At Pain Free Posture MN, we believe in living life to the fullest! Your life should be PAIN FREE - fun, full of energy, and uniquely about you.
If it doesn't feel that way for you, give me a call.
We offer Posture Alignment Therapy (Egoscue University Certified) based on the work of Pete Egoscue and The Egoscue Method.
Posture Alignment Therapy can help you resolve your musculoskeletal pain naturally without medication, manipulation or surgery.
If you don't know what to do, don't worry. I can help you get going again. I promise.
We're in this together, and I am here to help.
Do you DO Posture Alignment Therapy? Currently doing an Egoscue® clinic menu or working out of one of Pete Egoscue's books?
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- Footpad adapter
These Blocks and Pillows are the original sized products which are used daily here at Pain Free Posture MN. A new feature is that the Foam Block, Pillows, and Positioning Rolls all come with removable, washable nylon covers now offered in 3 colors Blue, Silver or Tan.
Railyard gives shoppers the option of selecting 2 Foam Rolls instead of 2 Inflatable Rolls in your package for only an additioonal $20.00. In my opinion and experience, the inflatable rolls are the better option as they give the most adaptability for different types of menus, and can be manipulated for different support by inflating/deflating as necessary.
Recently Railyard Fitness introcuded a Value line of foam blocks and pillows. This line is slightly smaller in size but offers all the function required in any postural program at a smaller price. While I love the price option, be careful here. If you are over 65 inches in height (5' 5") the foam block it's been my experience that it's likely to be to small for you to truly get to 90 degrees of flexion at the hip for exercises such as the Static Back.
The other piece of equipment that is a MUST HAVE for doing your Egoscue menus is the Multi Position Slant Board. Not only will it maximize your performance in e-cises such as Gravity Drop and Wall Drop, the slant board has multiple uses. It can withstand over 400 pounds and adjusts to 4 different levels (10, 15, 20 and 30 degrees) and can be stored flat. The extra-wide, textured surface of the composite plastic Adjustable Multi Slant Board is the ideal platform to increase extension in the lower and upper back, to stretch the fascia on the bottom of your feet to relieve the pain of plantar fasciitis, and for calf stretches. You select the incline perfect for you, and gradually increase the incline as you progress. If your Certified Posture Alignment Specialist or chiropractor suggests the use of an incline board, the Multi-Slant and Calf Stretcher Board is the best value in its class.
I promise you, I'm always looking for the best value and the lowest price for my personal clients. I have yet to find a multi-position slant board that provides the adaptability or the affordability at a price like this.
If you've been faithful to your Egoscue® menus as either an at home practitioner following any of Pete's books, or have worked with a Certified Posture Alignment Specialist, do yourself a favor and maximize your experience by investing in your health. Consider taking your e-cise menus to the next level by incorporating posture, alignment and rehab products designed to help you achieve a pain free life and living. I promise you, you'll not only feel the difference, but you'll never go back to fussing with "making things work" with stuff around the house.
Questions? Need your own customized Postural Therapy Menu? Please reach out. At Pain Free Posture we offer both IN-STUDIO and ONLINE postural therapy. We'd love to hear from you.
If you enjoyed this BLOG, please SHARE it with others!
At Pain Free Posture MN, we believe in living life to the fullest! Your life should be PAIN FREE - fun, full of energy, and uniquely about you.
If it doesn't feel that way for you, give me a call.
We offer Posture Alignment Therapy (Egoscue University Certified) based on the work of Pete Egoscue and The Egoscue Method.
Posture Alignment Therapy can help you resolve your musculoskeletal pain naturally without medication, manipulation or surgery.
If you don't know what to do, don't worry. I can help you get going again. I promise.
We're in this together, and I am here to help.
SCIATICA Pain Relief
In my last BLOG post Sciatica Pain Sucks! Egoscue® Can Help, I discussed the some of the common symptoms and causes of sciatic pain.
Sciatica Treatment Options
If you do a web search on the topic looking for treatment options for sciatica pain relief, the following list comes up frequently:
- Self care: best rest, cold packs and hot packs, stretching, exercise, and use of over-the-counter (OTC) medications
- Prescribed medications to relieve pain and inflammation (including oral and injectable cortisone) and relax muscles
- Physical therapy (low back conditioning and stretching exercises)
- Epidural steroid injections
- Surgical procedures (discectomy and microdisectomy)
After reviewing many different websites and lists I found it interesting that frequently treatment from a whole body apporach was lacking or often completely MISSING! Unless you were looking for a natural alternative to a western approach, rarely is postural therapy included. Weird! The most common action plan is western medicine oriented and pain (symptom) focused.
While rest, medication and physical therapy can and certainly do provide pain relief, without taking a "treating the body as a unit" approach to addressing sciatica pain, you can be sure the pain will return. You cannot reasonably resolve a disruption to the hips, pelvis and spine without addressing the reason why they have moved out of their proper position in the first place.
Think about it. Rest for a bit, get a massage or spinal adjustment. Great! But if you do not correct the motor patterns resulting in faulty biomechanics, the embers are still glowing.
It's only a matter of time.
If you do not address the underlying root cause of the pain, the postural imbalances which caused the joints, pelvis and spine to move out of place, you can rest, ice, manipulate and even cut. The pain will come back and the chronic pain cycle begins yet again.
How do I know this? Unfortunately I see it every day when clients walk into Pain Free Posture MN looking for something different.
Perhaps you've tried some (or all of these options) with limited to no lasting success. If you've been looking for a natural, medication, manipulation and surgery free option for pain releif from sciatica, Postural Therapy may be the solution you've been looking for.
Instead of addressing your symptom (your sciatica pain), Posture Alignment Therapy in The Egoscue® Method will address your body as unit. We will analyze your posture to identify the root cause of your issue, and through the application of corrective exercise help your body return back to it's "blue-print" design. A PAIN FREE life and living is your birthright!
Maybe your pain has more to do with your posture than your symptom.
I'd like to give you some FREE Egoscue® Method Corrective Exercises for Sciatica Pain Relief which are designed to correct the imbalances in your posture, resulting in tight hips, a tilted pelvis, and best of all bring you relief from your sciatica pain. You can download them by clicking on the button below.
Be sure to stay connected and reach out if you have questions/concerns. We'd love to hear back from you and hear how you are progressing. Remember, a PAIN FREE Life and LIVING is your birth right.
If you enjoyed this BLOG, please SHARE it with others!
At Pain Free Posture MN, we believe in living life to the fullest! Your life should be PAIN FREE - fun, full of energy, and uniquely about you.
If it doesn't feel that way for you, give me a call.
We offer Posture Alignment Therapy (Egoscue University Certified) based on the work of Pete Egoscue and The Egoscue Method.
Posture Alignment Therapy can help you resolve your musculoskeletal pain naturally without medication, manipulation or surgery.
If you don't know what to do, don't worry. I can help you get going again. I promise.
We're in this together, and I am here to help.
Sciatica Pain Sucks!
Anyone who's ever experienced the pain of sciatica can attest to how severe and debilitating it can be.
You can't sit long, stand long or find a position to rest in comfortably without wiggling around or wincing at the thought of it.
If that describes you or someone you know, please keep reading. If you've been looking for a natural, drug free and surgery free option for pain releif from sciatica, Postural Therapy may be the solution you've been looking for.
SCIATICA PAIN can include some or all of the following:
- Radiating pain down your back, buttocks and leg
- Burning or numbness, traveling part way down the back of the leg and sometimes all the way to the foot
- Pain in the lower back, buttock, and/or various parts of the leg and foot
- Muscular weakness, pins and needles or tingling and difficulty in moving or controlling the leg
- Pain on one side of the buttock or in one leg that is worse when sitting
- Typically, the symptoms are only felt on one side of the body
MedicineNet defines Sciatica as "Pain resulting from irritation of the sciatic nerve, typically felt from the low back to behind the thigh and radiating down below the knee."
Sciatica can be the result of:
- a herniated disc pressing one or all of the 5 lumbar nerve chains
- inflammation or irritation of a nerve at the spine, sacrum or hip
- irritation of the nerve from adjacent bone, muscle, or tumor(s)
- internal bleeding, infections, injury,
- pregnancy
If you've been trying with limited to no success to resolve sciatica pain, perhaps it's time to re-think the problem. Maybe your pain has more to do with your posture than your symptom.
At Pain Free Posture MN, my job as a Certified Posture Alginment Specialist is to ask the bigger question.
WHY did the sciatica happen in the first place?
WHAT is the root cause of your symptomatic pain?
Perhaps the symtpoms of fire, burning, numbness and/or tingling you feel in you leg has more to do with your overall posture and how your joints are positioned than it does with the nerve irritation and/or impingment.
I guarantee you that if you've been treating chronic sciatica pain with limited to no success, the big picture has been completely missed.
If you do not successfuly resolve WHY the herniation or inflammation OCCURRED IN THE FIRST PLACE, then you are at best, temporarily taming the fire. Without addressing the postural imbalances at the load joints causing the herniation or disparity at the lumbar spine, the coals still burn deep underneath. It only takes the slightest spark to cause the flames to rage once again.
Remember, the definition of sciatica is pain resulting from disc herniation, nerve impingement or irritation of a nerve. It is not uncommon in cases of sciatica, to see a postural deviation in the hips. In The Egoscue® Method we reference the hips from the line of the pelvis. When clients come in with sciatica pain, we often assess a dysparity at the hips among other postural imbalances.
As you can see in the posture photo, this woman has an elevated hip. When the hip and back muscles are imbalanced, the body is susceptible to a variety of pain/injuries (such as knee strains, fallen arches of the feet, neck or low back pain), of which sciatica is one of the worse. And while rest, medication or generalized stretching may provide short-term relief, the long-term solution involves correcting the imbalance at the root of the problem.
If you or someone you know has sciatica, and is looking for a NATURAL PAIN RELIEF ALTERNATIVE why not try something new.
Take a look at your overall posture and hip position.
Is one side sitting higher than another?
Does one hip pointer sit more forward or back of the other?
Sciatica pain may certainly be coming from your backside.When you see imbalances at the joints is easy to see how a nerve can become impinged or irritated.
However, the underlying ROOT CAUSE of your pain is stemming from the lack of symmetrical function between the hips. As founder of the Egoscue Method, Pete Egoscue likes to say, "The body works as a unit and must be treated as such".
This explains why sciatica sufferers are often caught in the chronic-pain cycle.
You may temporarity resolve the pain through massage, chiropractic, cortisone and NSAIDS for a time. If you symptomatically treat the pain but do not address the postural imbalances, the pain will unfortunately come back again.
The best approach is to use a corrective exercise program like Posture Alginment Therapy. Posture Alginment Therapy as taught at The Egoscue® University works on the whole body to eliminate the postural imbalances.
At Pain Free Posture MN we will analyzye your posture and evaluate your movements to find the best corrective exercises to eliminate your sciatica pain stemming from postural imbalances. What have you got to lose except a big pain in the butt?
If you enjoyed this BLOG, please SHARE it with others!
At Pain Free Posture MN, we believe in living life to the fullest! Your life should be PAIN FREE - fun, full of energy, and uniquely about you.
If it doesn't feel that way for you, give me a call.
We offer Posture Alignment Therapy (Egoscue University Certified) based on the work of Pete Egoscue and The Egoscue Method.
Posture Alignment Therapy can help you resolve your musculoskeletal pain naturally without medication, manipulation or surgery.
If you don't know what to do, don't worry. I can help you get going again. I promise.
We're in this together, and I am here to help.