Pain Free Performance — Egoscue Certified

Posture Alignment Therapists, Certified by Egoscue University

Back Pain

Winter Wonderland

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With our recent winter storm gifting us with 12 to 16 inches of beautiful snow a lot of us have been talking about it.  How deep it was, where it was and how much there was to move!!!

So, probably like you, my workout the last couple of days has been the old fashioned kind – shoveling snow!!! And, there’s nothing like a lot of wet heavy snow on a 120 foot driveway to have me eating some humble pie regarding my strength and endurance.  However, I lived through the three hour workout without issue and I have my Egoscue menus to thank for it!  How did you do?  Hopefully you won’t have to use these until next season, but I wanted to share some pointers:

As a warm-up before I started shoveling, I did my menu of Egoscue e-cises which got me ready in two ways:  1) it lined me up and got me equal on both sides.  Both left and right sides of me were working and made sure my legs and hips were ready to work and not my back!  2) it warms up the big and little shoulder, leg and hip muscles that will be doing the major work!

If you don’t have an Egoscue menu yet, then try these simple things – swing your arms around in all kinds of ways especially imitating what you’ll be doing with your snow shovel.  After that, try an “airbench” for a minute or two – you may know it as a “wall sit”. (Your back – low back especially– is against the wall, legs bent as if you were sitting in an imaginary chair, knees over your heels, equal weight in both heels) Go back and forth between those two things a couple of times before you begin shoveling.

While shoveling, keep your back as flat and straight as you can, which will make you bend your knees and use your legs and arms to toss the snow, not your back.  Make sure you move your feet up close to the shovel or the shovel back to you before lifting to toss.  Take lots of little mini breaks – this is hard work so be nice to yourself and stop and lean on your shovel to admire how far you’ve come!!

When you are done for the day, do another airbench then spend about 15 minutes in “static back” (which is lying on your back on the floor with your lower legs over the seat of a chair with your butt right up to the legs of the chair and your arms out to your sides, palms up).  Relax.  You’ll feel great afterwards! 

Give yourself some kudos for a job well done!

BELIEVE IN YOUR BODY!

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In case you think that we posture people never injure ourselves or have pain, I have a story for you…

I was cutting firewood last week-end, moving logs so I could cut them with my trusty hand saw.  Some of you might even be happy to know that while moving a particularly large log, I felt my low back strain, and being a guy, I had to finish my task so I just kept going the rest of the afternoon.  By the end of the day my left low back was screaming at me and I could hardly straighten up!

Now, here is where doing what I do gives me an advantage.  Unlike most people, I did not reach for the Advil or think that I had herniated a disk nor think I should just take it easy and go to bed.  I got down on the floor and did my menu – 10 Egoscue e-cises and my back felt 75% better!  I did supine groin stretch, had dinner and then went to bed.

Next morning, I was still stiff and it was difficult to bend over.  I poured my coffee, had some breakfast and did my menu again.  Again, I felt much better and went on to work.  Throughout the day I felt some twinges in that same spot and when I could, I did a few simple e-cises.  When I got home, I did a couple of e-cises, did the tower and then off to bed. 

Upon waking on day two, my back was stiff again but less than before.  I did my menu and the pain was gone!  Throughout the next day, I moved around as usual, bending, twisting – no pain.  One and a half days after straining my back and its back to normal!

That’s how resilient the body is when you give it half a chance!  We all like to do different things and in doing those things, stuff may happen.  If you are doing your menu fairly regularly, you have the tools to handle most any kind of problem that can occur. 

Believe in your body!  It has an amazing inherent strength and ability to heal.  Trust your intuition about what you can do to help yourself – as you listen to your body, you will begin to know.  If something like this happens to you and you’re not quite sure what to do, give us a call and we’ll direct you. This is where we can help.  That’s what we do – give you the tools to re-connect with your physical self, get yourself out of pain and believe in your body.

 

 

AWARENESS = HEALTH

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AWARENESS = HEALTH

The human body is a miraculous system.  It has an innate ability to heal itself if we just pay attention to the messages it sends us.  Some messages are easier than others …when we are hot, we sweat; when we are cold, we shiver but when we feel pain, it might be hard to figure out why.

What is the best way to pay attention to the messages that our body is sending us?  Be aware.  It may take a little practice because we are busy, we are overworked and overstressed, we are stoic and we brush aside feelings, experiences, pain, as well as the good stuff because we have things to do.  Well, until we can’t do them anymore.  Because we didn’t heed the signs of things to come, we didn’t experience the pleasures or the pain…we were unaware.   

Pay attention to your pain.  Is it sharp or dull? Is it constant or brought on by certain movements?  What time of day is it?  Be aware. At Pain Free we are posture people.  We understand that joint pain is the body’s message that muscles are out of balance and are pulling the skeletal system out of alignment.  When we are out of alignment, then some muscles get too tight and painful, some atrophy and joints no longer line up properly causing them to wear down compressing the nerves.  Ouch!

If we automatically take pain medication, then we lose important information that our body is sending us.  We are no longer aware of movements that change or decrease the pain which makes it impossible to correct the underlying cause. The Egoscue method provides awareness techniques that enable you determine what is going on in your body and help us create a program to get you back to optimal alignment and out of pain. These are techniques you will keep for the rest of your life!

Practice awareness in all aspects of your life.   Focus on some simple things – as you are walking outdoors, feel the wind in your face, feel your leg muscles tighten, feel the rhythm of your arms swinging; when you are getting ready for your day, really feel the hot shower water hit your body, take a deep breath and let your muscles relax in the steam;  at the end of your day relish each bite of food at dinner and if you are sharing dinner with someone, listen, engage in conversation, enjoy the company.

Instead of rushing through everything to get to the next thing, slow down and experience, enjoy, listen, and feel this amazing life – including the pain.  Awareness is the first step to becoming pain free, reclaiming health and living your life to the fullest.

 

HERNIATED DISC

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HERNIATED DISC

 Just the other day, one of my favorite clients called me to cancel her appointment.  She told me she bent over to pick up her purse, got a little twinge of pain in her back and then could not stand back up!  All she could do was lay flat on her back.  Her husband took her to the emergency room where she was diagnosed with a herniated disc.  She was sent home with muscle relaxers and after seeing her physician the next day she was advised to rest with no exercise.  Sounds scary, doesn’t it?

 What is a herniated disk anyway?  Our spine is designed so that each vertebra is stacked one on top of the other.  There is a fibrous disc that acts much like a washer in between each vertebra that helps cushion the space between the bones as we move, bend, twist and stretch.  If the spine is pulled out of alignment, then the pressure will cause the disc to squish out to one side pressing on the nerve – the herniated disc.

 My client is fit, has been exercising all her life with few exceptions and had never had this happen before – what could have caused it?  After we talked awhile, she explained that she had been in the car for two days prior coming home from a fabulous vacation.  She hadn’t been doing her e-cises on vacation and was feeling the effects – a little sore and tight everywhere!  The fact that she had not been keeping her body in alignment with her menu of e-cises and had been stuck in that misalignment for two days in the car, caused her muscles to really tighten up.  When she bent over to pick up her purse, the tight muscles pulled her vertebra to one side, causing the disc to protrude and press on her nerve.  Ouch!

 The doctor’s prescription for a muscle relaxer really helped my client out of her initial spasm.  We certainly understand the “rest and no exercise” advice too, however, Egoscue e-cises are not the same typical back stretches or strengthening done other places.  That’s what is so great about Egoscue!  There are many resting positions in the e-cise repertoire that can help facilitate getting the spine back into optimal alignment without stress or strain involved with normal “exercise”.  These e-cises dovetail well the doctor’s advice and can actually speed up the process of getting back to normal.  My client came on in for her appointment and we gave her some very simple resting positions including the following that I want to share with all of you.

Click below on the Static Back link to watch the video.  It’s  a simple resting position that uses gravity to gently encourage the spine to re-align by easing the muscles out of spasm!

Static Back

 

 

Why do so many suffer from back pain???

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Here is an article from Egoscue.com on how our backs work, and how we can ease our bodies into a more natural (and less painful) posture while still being productive:

Lower Back Pain Relief
The symptoms of back pain can vary from low grade aches to full blown back spasms.  The urgency to solve the back pain consumes your life and drastic treatment procedures are pursued without a second thought.  Anyone who has suffered through a severe back spasm knows how excruciating it really is.  These spasms are so intense it seems this kind of pain is in a class of its own.
This type of pain is so unbearable that it has been known to prevent people from being able to think straight.  One of the best ways to treat back pain is to stop it before it happens and when it does happen, find a way to break the spasm before it accelerates to full blown.  The best way to prevent back pain without drugs, surgery or manipulation is knowing the correct way to exercise and function in every day life. 
When you know what the cause of your pain is, only then will you have the ability to know how to prevent it.  Keeping your body healthy and flexible is key, it’s all about knowing how to take care of yourself.  Proper nutrition helps in the flexibility of muscles and allows them to heal faster should they get pulled or torn.  Also, certain stretching techniques and having proper posture while exercising is essential to preventing back spasms and residual pain.
For those who suffer from degenerative disc disease, spondylolisthesis, spinal fusions or scoliosis embody the symptoms of a chronic condition.  Sufferers can help their conditions by focusing attention on the muscles involved in stabilizing the body’s skeleton.  These very important muscles should be kept strong, flexible and balanced in all movements.
The spinal column is composed of 33 individual vertebrae, stacked one on top of one another, and threaded with the spinal cord.  The spine can be looked at as the drive shaft as its unique shape allows the body to pull off extraordinary balancing acts on a daily basis.  However, the muscles are also essential, not only to retain the spine’s shape but to hold it erect.  Conversely, inactive, atrophied, and compensating muscles alter the lumbar, thoracic, and cervical spinal curves.  Over time in the body’s improper movement and malnourished lifestyles, the magical S-Curve diminishes, taking with it the spine’s flexibility, load-bearing strength and shock-absorbing capacity.
Abandoned by the muscles, and losing the integrity of its curves, the spine is at the mercy of gravity.  Rigidity sets in and the body does what it does best and protects itself by throwing the muscles into contraction.  Eventually, the spine reaches its limits and it begins to stiffen the posture in a compromised flexion position.  The result is chronic back pain; the cure is proper nutrition and knowing your body’s limits. 
Don’t push yourself; if something’s too heavy than don’t lift it; if you feel yourself experiencing pain while sitting at your desk everyday, adjust your surroundings.  Make sure your chair is properly positioned so your elbows are at a 90 degree angle on the desk and your eyes are parallel with the computer screen.  These small gestures can go a long way in preventing future chronic back lower back pain.  

this article is from http://www.egoscue.com/about/articles.php