Very interesting and in my opinion very sad article in the Los Angeles Timescalled When Pain Becomes Chronic.
The article discusses traditional medical chronic pain managment solutions which ultimately is a maze of confusion, without the hope of a cure, just managing it pharmaceutically (photo courtesy of A Path Out of Pain)
Highlights:
- pain is usually a symptom of something else
- treating the pain is a stop gap unless the underlying problem is fixed
- with chronic pain the underlying problem is not always corrected
- chronic pain cycle begins
- body and brain stay in a heightened state of "fight or flight"
- medication pathway of treatment is the standard of care
All of that is certainly true and is exactly what makes Posture Alignment Therapy DIFFERENT!. We look at a client in mind, body and spirit.
Postural Therapy helps resolve chronic pain naturally, without medication, manipulation or surgery because we identify, correct and resolve the root cause of why your pain occurred in the first place.
I found it appalling that treating the symptom appears to be the primary standard of care, without hope of resolving it, just managing it.
Just as there's no one impetus for chronic pain, there's no one way to treat it, so pain specialists advise a multidisciplinary approach.
"We don't talk about a cure," says Marilyn Jacobs, a clinical psychologist and voluntary assistant professor in the departments of anesthesiology and psychiatry at UCLA. "But with standard-of-care pain treatment, the chances of managing it are much higher."
Such treatment includes drugs, primarily anti-inflammatories and narcotics. These painkillers take a variety of approaches to dialing down pain messages that are sent to the brain. Some interfere with messages sent from the injury site to the spinal cord, others block transmission up the spinal cord, and still others mimic natural painkillers that the brain itself makes and delivers to the injury site.
In rare cases, doctors may use a pain pump — a reservoir of drugs implanted in the abdomen, delivering medication directly to the spine in smaller doses than would be needed orally. Another possibility is a spinal cord stimulator, which sends electrical charges to the spinal area to try to block transmission of pain signals to the brain. But these options are used only in extreme cases, Jacobs says — if all else fails.
Standard-of-care treatment also includes physical and behavioral therapy. Even plain old distraction can help. "Often, pain is worst at night, because you're inactive, so pain input is unopposed," Webster says. When you use a different part of your brain on other things — listening to music, talking with friends, petting your dog — the pain input has some healthy competition. There's only so much the brain can process at once."
The fundamental problem here is that pain medications DO NOT identify, address and correct the underlying root cause of the pain. They simply attempt to manage or mask the symptoms.
No wonder there is no offer of hope for a cure. If you are taking pain meds to mask pain without correcting the underlying root-cause, how can you possibly heal?
An so the chronic-pain cycle begins and repeats itself like "Ground Hog Day". You're body will continue to go through incorrect movement patterns, further strengthening the negative stimulus-response pattern over and over again.
At Pain Free Posture MN we believe that:
- Pain is a Signal
- Your body if given just half a chance has the innate ability to heal
- Pain is real
- We are here to LISTEN to you
- The body works as a unit and must be treated as such.
Posture Alignment Specialists (Egoscue University Certified) are highly trained to
- analyze your posture relative to your anatomical "blue-print" design
- respect that you the client know more about what's going on in your body than any one else
- listen to you
- empower you with the right corrective exercises to mitigate pain, and help your body heal and restore
- answer your questions and help coach you as you change your thoughts, actions and habits
Have questions? Looking for a local provider of Posture Alignment Therapy? Please reach out. We can help.
Deb Preachuk is a pain relief, posture restoration and athletic performance enhancement pro. The founder of Pain Free Posture MN and a dynamic health and wellness coach, Deb helps real people transform real-world challenges. Deb infuses her teaching technique with an honest, down-to-earth mix of Eastern and Western training techniques, make the concepts of pain relief and body/mind transformation accessible and achievable!
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.
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.
Pain Free Posture MN is thrilled to host Cathy Johnston as our guest blogger this month.
Join Cathy as she shares her personal journey of authentically awakening in mind, body and spirit.
An Individual or A Partner???
By: Cathy M Johnston
Recently there have been a lot of messages coming to me about individuality vs. partnership. In many aspects of life, whether marriage or business partners or volunteering for a cause or working on a project with coworkers.
Years ago, I always wanted to be a partner. Never wanted to be an individual, rather didn’t know enough about who I truly was to be an individual. I would attach myself to others to be part of a team at all costs to me. I would be consumed with partnerships so that is how I identified myself.
About 2 years ago I had my awakening. At 47 I woke up and began to realize who I was, what my purpose was, what I started to feel about the path I was on. Before I knew it I was firing up the jets and taking off . Bam, boom I was flying high and all over the place. I wanted to join this group, that group, I wanted to experience this and that, I wanted to start living! I know kinda ironic I wanted to be an individual but wanted to be part of social groups.
Lucky for me, my daughter was already in her mid 20s, out on her own, with a good job, a nice boyfriend and her cat by her side. I had spent 26 years putting her first on my list of anything and everything. Now it was my turn to put me first. I was going to be me for the first time in my life. I was going to live big, experience, try, look, feel, taste, touch, smell, do.
Wild and free in this big world, except for one problem. I had no vision, I had no idea what I really was meant to do or what really made me happy. My poor husband had no idea what happened. He knew I needed a change but holy crap- this was was an explosion into a new me.
Slowly I realized that in the past I wasn’t living an authentic life. I was doing things that went against my values and beliefs. My actions went against what I truly felt. Finding my voice to tell anyone who listened the truth, was hard. I had to learn how.
I also realized that being an individual didn’t mean I couldn’t be a partner. Partnerships don’t have to be all consuming and they shouldn’t be. In fact to be a good partner, one needs to be a whole individual first. Its when 2 whole individuals come together, a true, loving, abundant partnership arrives.
Whether marriage, business, volunteering, coworkers. Having a common set of values and goals that you work towards together is the key. But it doesn’t mean you lose your individuality, the who you are and where your path is taking you. It means being there to support and trust another individual.
When individuals can truly “be”, a sweet partnership can occur. Research tells us that individuals in trusting, loving partnerships have healthier immune systems and more balanced hormones.
So embrace your individuality and become part of a positive and trusting relationship, it is good for the body, mind and soul.
You can read more by connecting with Cathy on her blog The Awakening of Her Body Mind and Soul. Cathy loves reading, being on her road bike, being active and trying to be a whole person one day at a time. Her motto? Movement is medicine.
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.
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.
May is Posture Awareness Month! Here at Pain Free Posture MN we know that good posture is the foundational key to living a pain free life and living!
There are many research studies that confirm the fact that people with better posture are healthier and actually live longer. Poor posture is a major cause of back and neck pain for all ages, and even contributes to breathing, digestive, and cardiopulmonary problems.
In addition, your posture is a reflection of how the world sees you. Let's face it. The way you carry yourself day in and out speaks to others indirectly. How many times have you caught yourself judging a person based on his/her posture?
We might not like to admit it, but good posture exudes confidence, happiness, and a commanding presence. Correcting, improving and strengthening your posture is an intelligent exercise habit to make you look and feel better, avoid injury, and exercise effectively to stay active and pain-free.
The first step towards improving and restoring your posture is to find out where you are to begin with.
You might have never thought about your posture until today, so it's best to get a base line assessment. I always say, "you don't know what you don't know", so go get your camera! There's a saying that a picture is worth a thousand words.
It's posture photo time!
Take 4 Posture Photos:
- Ask a friend/family member to help you out and take four pictures of your current posture: one facing forward, one facing the back, and one from the right and left side.
- Stand against a neutral background that has little distractions (a blank wall with neutral paint)
- If possible, use a tripod for your camera so that you are taking a level photo. Be sure to include the whole body from the feet up.
- Be sure to wear a minimal amount of clothing. Bra top and shorts for ladies, bare chest and shorts for men. No socks please!
- Stand a few inches from a wall.
- The best gift you can give yourself when assessing your current posture is to stand the way you normally do. No "posing" or trying to correct your posture to begin with. You want to take an authentic snapshot of where you are so you can evaluate where you've been!
- Print it out and take a look. The ask yourself:
- Is one shoulder higher than the other?
- Is the hip higher on one side over than the other?
- What direction are the knees and feet pointing (straight ahead, in, out or some combination)?
- Are the shoulders and head rounded forward (side view)?
- Are the hips rolling forward or back?
- Make a note of what imbalances you see. Each of these imbalances are are deviations from the what we Posture Alignment Specialists refer to as "blue-print design"
- You may not be in pain now, but if not addressed, these poor postural positions leave us prone to injury, joint dysfunctions and imbalanced muscle groups that cause pain and mobility problems.
Ideally, our bodies should adhere to "blue-print" design or Good Posture.
From the front view, the two halves of your body should be the same (symmetrical). This means your shoulders, hips, knees and ankles are all equal to one another and the same distance from the body.
Poor Posture from the front view will show the two halves of your body to be different at all the major load joints (asymmetrical). The photo may show that your head or torso is off to one side, or one hand is lower than the other.
The same holds true from the side view. Good Posture in a side view will show a straight line that dissects the the fold connecting the ear, shoulder, hip, and ankle. The spine will show normal curves.
Poor Posture from the side view might show all sorts of deviations such as the head being significantly forward of the plumb line, rounded shoulders, excessive tilt of the pelvis, and imbalances from the ankle to knee.
Being aware of your posture and creating a positive change through the use of posture photos is a fundamental component of success with Posture Alignment Therapy. Along with a posture and gait analysis and the proper application of a corrective exercise menu, restoring good posture is key to achieving and maintaining a pain free life and living.
Talk to us today to schedule your own posture assessment and corrective exercise menu. We have in-studio and an on-line option available!
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.
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.
The following article written by Pete Egoscue first appeared in The New York Times Sports Pages Back Talk section on December 11th, 1994.
The athletes names are dated, but the information remains as powerful and timeless as ever.
I hope you take Pete's words to heart, and give us a call if you would like to experience the pain reliving, posture restoring and athletic performance enhancing benefits of posture alignment therapy for yourself!
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The Body's Notion for Motion is Missing a Proper Method
by Pete Egoscue
Today’s professional athletes are stronger, faster, more agile and skilled than previous generations.
Right?
Wrong.
The men and women who run, jump, throw, tackle, dunk, skate, swing a racquet, hit golf balls and in general play games for a living have better hand-eye coordination than before – much better – and better stamina and cardiovascular profiles because of long hours of training.
But in my mind, they are accidents waiting to happen.
For example, when Pete Sampras tried to defend his United States Open tennis title last August, he was suffering from posterior tibial tendinitis. In other words, his left ankle was stiff and sore. By the fourth round, he was out of condition and was upset by Jaime Yzaga.
Most fans probably chalked up his loss to a case of bad luck or a result of playing too much tennis. But to me, Sampras was feeling the symptoms of physical dysfunctions that had been accumulating for years despite his enormous success on the court.
As an anatomical functionalist – a therapeutic practitioner who concentrates on musculoskeletal function – I’ve noticed that Sampras has structural problems with his body that are causing his frequent injuries.
The next time he plays, check out his feet. They splay to the right and left; he walks like a duck.
This condition has its origin in the hips. When Sampras strokes the ball, he has to transfer his weight from right hip to lift hip, right foot to left foot. When the feet are splayed, as his are, that transfer is disrupted. For on thing, the arches of the feet are not able to participate in the transfer since the energy is moving obliquely across the bone structure rather than from heel to toe.
Whenever, he swings the racquet, Sampras must compensate, and the human body is tremendously ingenious this way: the knees, the hips, the lower back, the elbow and the rotator cuff get involved with a function they were not designed to perform. In Sampras’ case, his knees are under tremendous lateral pressure and he is rolling onto the edges of his feet to make the transfer. This past summer, the tendons in his heel were saying, “Stop doing that, right now!”
What happened to Sampras happens to millions of other Americans. Bodies – male and female, young and old — are saying through pain, the only language they speak, “Stop moving that way, right now!”
I see hundreds of casualties from what is called "compensatory motion" every week. Thirty-five million Americans suffer from some sort of back or joint pain, and the United States Labor Department's Occupational Health and Safety Administration estimates that upward of 100 million people have varying degrees of repetitive stress injury.
More than two decades ago, I made an observation that is now the cornerstone of what I call the Egoscue Method: the human body - bones, muscles, every system and subsystem - is designed to maintain itself through motion.
The body is designed on the basis of parallel vertical and horizontal lines forming 90-degree angles. The verticals run down the right and left sides of the body through the shoulders, hips, knees, ankles and feet. The horizontals go right to left through the pairs of shoulder, hip knee and ankle joints. It's a grid. When the 90-degree angles are violated, the structural integrity of the body is compromised.
Modern living does not provide enough motion and - most important - enough of the proper motion to keep the body fully fit, totally functional and pain free. The body is so efficient that when a muscle is not being used, it is literally shut down, put on hold.
All of us have experienced this. Catch a cold or get busy at work, lay off the exercise routine for a couple of days, and what happens? It's tough to get started again. We're stiff and easily winded.
On a much larger scale, muscles that were designed for vital function like walking, bending over at the waist, twisting to the right or left and lifting heavy objects have shut down from disuse. Even so, we still have to move around and that's where compensatory motion sets in. Without these major muscle groups, other muscles that weren't designed for the function are called into action. They're not up to the job over the long haul.
The result is pain or diminished physical capacity and performance. It may take years of compensatory motion to arrive at the final destination - our bodies are tough - but breakdown is inevitable.
Remember it's not just motion, its proper motion. I've worked with talented offensive and defensive football linemen who were unable to transfer their weight when the ball was snapped without first bobbing upward at the knee and shifting their feet. Wham! That nanosecond left them vulnerable to being taken out.
Despite all the hours of practice and weight training, high school and college ball and endless drills, these athletes are still products of their own culture, and that means they've been running a motion deficit since infancy. The great thieves of bodily function are cars, desks and television sets. Technology is robbing us of a precious legacy. We are losing our life-support system.
In many respects, quarterback Joe Montana, now suffering form a foot injury, is like Sampras. The femur, the large bone of the thigh, is internally rotated, his feet are externally rotated and his hips are tilted forward. He has lost the curvature of his spine, and his shoulders are rounded forward, which has also pulled the head forward.
All of these conditions have nothing to do with football and every thing to do with proper motion. Montana has been playing with a dysfunctional body since the day he first put on shoulder pads. It has been getting worse by the day.
Everyone knows Montana doesn't throw deep anymore. It's not that he's 38 years old. His body will not allow him to transfer his weight into the throwing motion. Montana compensates by throwing with his arm and not with his entire body.
Joe is like us. His posture is identical to that of millions of other Americans, from cab drivers to schoolteachers. Look in a full-length mirror: Is one shoulder higher than the other is? How about the hips? Are they dead level? Do the knees and feet point straight ahead? Stand sideways. Are the shoulders and head rounded forward? Are the hips rolling forward or back?
Our body grids are a mess and we rationalize it as old age, family traits or just the way things are. But we've become a sedentary society. It is easier not to move. There's no penalty for remaining relatively stationary in one place hour after hour. In fact there are handsome rewards in terms of money and prestige. Sadly, when we decide to finally "get in shape," we end up further stressing out the muscles involved in compensatory motion and continuing to bypass those that need to be re-engaged.
What we need to do is give our major muscle groups a wake-up call. What we need to recognize is that the body isn't fragile. It isn't broken. But without enough motion - proper motion - we are all slowly dying in place.
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.
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.
If you are a fan of Posture Alignment Therapy, The Egoscue Method or Pete Egoscue, then you well know how important the Supine Groin Progressive Stretch is in maintaining a pain free life and living.
At Egoscue University, we like to call this corrective exercise The Silver Bullet!
It's been my personal experience that doing the Supine Groin Progressive Stretch works best when done in The Tower.
The Tower was designed to truly help you maximize and achieve the best results from this powerful pain relieving, and posture correcting exercise.
Watch this video to learn why your Certified Posture Alignment Specialist has given you this e-cise along with is a detailed explanation of the benefits and how to use the Multi-position Tower.
Hopefully this video has been a new insight for you in helping you come to a deeper understanding of how The Power of the Tower can help you eliminate your chronic low back and other related pain.
If you'd like more information, want to schedule your own Postural Therapy appointment, or have questions, please reach out! That's what we're here 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.
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.
May 5th 2012 marks Pilates Day®.
Pilates Day® is a registered trademark of the Pilates Method Alliance, and was created as a way to raise the profile of the Pilates method.
In honor of Joseph Hubertus Pilates, founder and creator of what we today know as around the world simply as Pilates, our sister studio Pilates Integration Mind. Body. Spirit. would like to express gratitude to the man who was so visionary in the mind/body field.
Joseph Pilates was truly a pioneer in the mind/body world, to whom millions of people have experienced the many wonderful benefits of this art form. I am just one who has been touched and changed profoundly by his work.
Last year, on Saturday May 7th, 2011 hundreds of Pilates professionals, and thousand of students and enthusiasts world-wide came together to practice pilates and continue to foster awareness of this great method of fitness through events organized by The Pilates Method Alliance.
Lolita San Miguel is recognized around the world in the Pilates community as a First-generation Pilates teacher. She is one of only a handful of practitioners to receive an official teaching certificate from Joseph Pilates himself.
In 2009, Lolita San Miguel discovered that Joseph Pilates was virtually unknown in his hometown and she made it her mission to establish a memorial in his honor. This May, after two years of persistence and hard work from local community members, a memorial dedicated to Joseph Pilates will mark his birthplace, Monchengladbach, Germany. Mayor Norbert Bude gave final approval for the placement of a memorial plaque on the site where Pilates' former home and birthplace stood.
The Plaque will honor Joseph Pilates, the genius who has revolutionized and influenced the entire world through his Pilates Method of Body Conditioning.
"Through these two years," Lolita said, "I have had the steadfast support and encouragement of my disciples and many others, among them the Pilates Method Alliance, Body Control U.K. and Balanced Body. It has not been an easy journey, especially for a person who does not speak German, but I learned long ago from Joseph Pilates that everything worthwhile doing requires patience, perseverance and persistence to accomplish. I want to give special thanks to my German disciple Claudia Holtsmann, who has helped me so much with the bureaucracy in Monchengladbach, making countless trips to their government offices and to Renata Sabongui, who has contributed enormously both of her time and money to this project. Without the help of these two people, my dream could not have become a reality."
On May 7th, 2011 Lolita San Miguel saw her dream to completion.
I'm sure the emotions are overwhelming, and I would like to thank San Miguel for her efforts. To read more about this long journey you can read more at Lolita San Miguel's website.
To all of you who practice the wonderful method of Pilates, carry-on the good work. And to those who now are more curious than ever and would like to give it a try, please give me a call.
"[A] body freed from nervous tension and over-fatigue is the ideal shelter provided by nature for housing a well-balanced mind that is always fully capable of successfully meeting all of the complex problems of modern living."
~ Joseph H. Pilates, A Return to Life
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.
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.
May is National Posture Awareness Month. As part of our month long celebration, I thought you'd all enjoy the following animation short circa 1947.
Clipped from the film "Modern Guide to Health", this short film was produced by the British Government was created to advise the public on a range of health topics, one of which included the benefits of good posture.
Interestingly in 1947, the Posture Committee of the American Academy of Orthapaedic Surgeons stated the following about Posture:
"Posture is defined as the relative arrangement of the parts of the body.
Good posture is that state of muscular and skeletal balance which protects the supporting structures of the body against injury or progressive deformity irrespective of the attitude (erect, lying, squatting, stooping) in which these structures are working or resting. Under such conditions the muscles will function most efficiently and the optimum positions are afforded for the thoracic and abdominal organs.
Poor posture is a faulty relationship of the various parts of the body, which produces increased strain on the supporting structures and in which there is less efficient balance of the body over its base of support. Postural faults can give rise to discomfort, pain or disability. The range of effect from discomfort to incapacitating disability is related to the severity and persistence of the faults."
Highlights from the Modern Guide to Health film clip:
- Bad posture can make you ill
- Slumping over can cause headache, backache and fatigue
- Good posture practices like sitting up and standing straight and tall makes one feel better
- The skeleteon is a framwork of bones that protects the vital organs of the body. It is strong, gives support and is jointed to allow for movement.
- Bad posture puts strain on bone and muscle, and constricts breathing and digestion
- Good posture gives the body a chance to do it's normal function without strain, allows the lungs to take in the maximum amount of air, and the digestive organs to do their work properly
Sure sounds like the 8 Laws of Physical Health that we Posture Alignment Specialists (Egoscue University Certified) teach and implement back into our client's lives to relieve pain, improve posture and enhance athletic performance.
It's now 65 years after that film was first produced. It's interesting to see that somehow we've not learned this vital lesson. The first rule of health is Good Posture!
How's your posture?
We'd love to hear your thoughts on this film clip, and any questions/concerns your might have about the benefits of Posture Alignment Therapy.
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.
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.
As a Posture Alignment Specialist one of the main functions of my job is helping people overcome chronic musculoskeletal pain, improve their posture and enhance their athletic performance.
When it comes to pain, I truly believe that our words and thoughts directly impact our ability to heal and be well.
I read a great article posted on WebMD called, Words Really Do Hurt.
The article discusses recent research which supports the theory that words alone may activate a pain response in the brain.
The Power of the Spoken Word is not to be taken lightly. Researchers found that people with chronic pain disorders who tend to speak a lot about their painful experiences with their health care providers may intensify the activity of the pain matrix in the brain and intensify the pain experience.
Don't I know it!
As a practicing Christian this is a fundamental belief I believe (Out of the heart the mouth speaks - Luke 6:45) but the power of the spoken word on our behavior also transcends psychology (looking glass self) and sociology (self-fulfilling prophecy) as well.
Long story short, words really do hurt! (photo source Ability Magazine)
For years, I have worked with clients to help them identify the power of words, and how their thoughts and words affect their pain and ability to heal.
The body is a store house for our words, memories and emotions. My job as a Posture Alignment Specialist is to:
- Listen to you the client without judgment or placing a word value on your ability to heal and get well. You know more about what's going on than any health expert in any field. I'm here to LISTEN!
- Identify the root cause of your pain (your position (posture) vs. your condition)
- Address the compensations and dysfunctions at the major load joints
- Design a corrective exercise program and develop smart goals
- Teach the client how to re-align and restore their body back towards its blue-print design.
GREAT! But....
If the client continues on with negative or destructive thought patterns like:
- "I can't do that it will hurt"
- "My body doesn't tolerate bending, lifting, squatting, running...... because it hurts my knees, my back, my shoulders......"
- "I was just born this way"....
- "I have my mother's (insert body part/pain)"
- "I will just have to learn to live with pain, it's the card I've been dealt"...
Hmm.., I wonder why we still hurt and can't really ever get better.
When we constantly meditate and speak on our perceived abilities, and what our support structure (family, friends and loved ones) also speak over us, how are you supposed to overcome your pain problem?
One of the first things I have to address with clients (besides bringing balance to the body) is the power of words, and what the client and his/her support community speaks out loud.
We are more than our bodies. We are mind and spirit, and what we think, believe, meditate upon, and speak over ourselves have a direct impact on our health!
Pete Egoscue (founder of the Egoscue Method) states "Pain is not a disease, not an injury, not even an effect of aging. Pain is a [treatable] symptom".
As we work to restore the body, we also work to restore the mind and the spirit!
In addition to the five steps listed above, postural therapy is highly successful because we help our clients change their
- Thoughts
- Actions
- Habits
So we start by restoring the body, and bringing balance to one area, which when combined with an active effort of changing our thoughts on healing can affect the other two. Ultimately however, it comes down to the individual CHOOSING to think clean, think health, think restoration and then put it into practice.
A fantastic resource I recommend is Dr. Caroline Leaf's book called "Who Switched off my Brain"?
Dr. Leaf discuss how 87% to 95% of the illness that people deal with today are a direct result of thought life. What we think about (dwell upon) affects us physically and emotionally. It's all connected.
The book not only discusses the why, but provides a tool kit for change, or better said "how to bring thoughts into captivity".
- Understand that thoughts are real and have an actual anatomy
- Increase conscious awareness of your thoughts and how you are feeling
- Doing something once you have analyzed the thought
- Building new memories over the old
It's a thrill for me to see that science is now validating what what I personally know to be true. Words are connected to the pain experience. I'd love to hear what you think, so post a comment or send me a direct message.
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.
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.
Yikes! I just have to share this with you all today. If you're not aware, there is a growing trend of selecting plastic surgery for fashion.
Back in December of 2010, I was in the midst of teaching an Egoscue University Posture Alignment Specialist Certification Seminar, and happened to sit down to watch the ABC program Nightline before heading off to bed.
Shocked and horrified, here was a case of "crazy town" mocking me in the face.
The newest trend in selective plastic surgery, had arrived. Cutting up your feet, and willingly taking multiple health, posture and pain related risks for shoe fashion. Yes, it's true, toe-shortening and fat pad injections are just two of the newest plastic surgery trends focused on getting feet to fit fashion. Not only is it damaging enough to force your foot into ill-fitting shoes, now women (and I'm sure men) are resorting to more extreme measures to ensure their feet are high-heel friendly.
Check it out for yourself:
Seriously? I was blown away! Well today, Stylist Magazine reports that the trend continues on. The article states:
This year's warning: heels are getting so high (and so prevalent) that more women than ever are resorting to cosmetic feet surgery to fit into them. Such procedures include getting fillers injected into the balls of your feet and even "toe jobs." To which we say: ouch.
Of course, women have been wearing high heels for centuries. But in recent years those spikey heels have gotten higher and higher (thanks, Christian Louboutin). In 2008 journalists noted that five-inch heels and towering platforms were becoming commonplace. So naturally in 2009, doctors went on record to declare heels a health hazard. The same happened in 2010, and again in 2011 and 2012. Turns out, no matter when you ask experts, they'll tell you that cramming your tootsies into vertiginous death traps is not a good idea.
But we really can't win, because modifying our feet to fit into said traps is dangerous, too. It was reported in 2009 that women were getting plastic surgery on their feet to strap on those sky-high shoes -- even though the risks of such plastic surgery "including infections, pain, scarring and nerve damage -- are much greater than the benefits," doctors say. The same was reported in 2010.
And despite the health warnings, we're are still at it. The Daily Mail noted yesterday that requests for filler injections into women's toe pads, balls of the feet and heels have jumped 21%, doubling last year's rates. It looks like cosmetic foot surgery isn't going anywhere.
With summer approaching and those gorgeous stilettos calling your name, would you go to the doctor's office for some high heel surgery?
As I've commented in the past, as long as we are sacrificing the body, I'll always be guaranteed work!
Our feet and ankles have a proper design and function. I'm not against gorgeous high heels, and when worn occassionally, the impact can be neutralizied with a comprehensive posture alignment therapy program. I have such a hard time wrapping my head around undergoing selective plastic surgery to purposely wear these things day in and out!
If left alone, and worse, altered by surgical manipulation, the ramifications on posture, pain and performance are potentially life changing for the worse! What's the good news in this story? Well, if you haven't undergone plastic surgery to change the shape of your feet or toes and are experiencing posture related pain, we can help! Posture alignment therapy is a natural and highly successful pain relief program designed to help you body return to it's proper blue-print design WITHOUT medication, manipulation or surgery.
We'd love to hear your thoughts on the subject. Would you undergo selective surgery for fashion?
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.
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.
Did you know that May is National Posture Awareness Month?
Here at Pain Free Posture MN, we are planning to celebrate it in style!
Your posture is how the world sees you. The Cleavland Clinic defines posture as the position "in which you hold your body upright against gravity while standing, sitting or lying down."
So based on that definition, your posture could be anywhere from good to bad, to just plain ugly!
Here at Pain Free Posture MN, we practice Posture Alignment Therapy. Postural therapy is a highly successful and non-invasive corrective exercise program that eliminates chronic pain naturally (without medication, manipulation or surgery), improves posture and enhances athletic performance by helping you take control and restore your body back toward our "blue-print" design.
Blue-print design by definition is good posture. A body that adheres closely to blue-print design is able to stand, walk, sit and lie in positions where the least strain is placed on supporting muscles and ligaments during movement or weight-bearing activities by functioning optimally at all the four major load joints.
We believe that correcting and strengthening your posture is an intelligent mind/body practice that:
- Keeps bones and joints in the correct alignment so that muscles are being used properly
- Helps decrease the abnormal wearing of joint surfaces that could result in arthritis
- Decreases the stress on the ligaments holding the joints of the spine together
- Prevents the spine from becoming fixed in abnormal positions
- Prevents fatigue because muscles are being used more efficiently, allowing the body to use less energy
- Prevents strain or overuse problems
- Prevents backache and muscular pain
- Contributes to a good appearance
- Enhances greater concentration and mental ability
- Promotes more respect-producing, confident, competent, vigorous, youthful appearance
- Leads to an active and pain-free life and living
So in preparation of Posture Awareness Month, we thought it would be fun to gather up your success stories of how Posture Alignment Therapy, or other forms of corrective exercise have improved your life.
If postural therapy has helped you improve your life, we'd love for you to share your story here.
Please write your comments in the form provided below.
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.
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.