Pain Free Performance — Egoscue Certified

Posture Alignment Therapists, Certified by Egoscue University

Exercise

Moving into the New Year!

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A new year brings opportunity for new beginnings. Many of us look at January as a start date for change and for removing bad habits from our lives. What if we viewed this new decade as an opportunity to add something positive to our lives? This could be adding an Egoscue e-cise menu to your life to correct your joint position or choosing to do your Egoscue more regularly. When we add positive health choices to our life, even once a week, our body and our health change immensely.

In our culture, going to the gym the first month of the new year is a tradition for many. Many of us believe “moving more” is “exercising more”. This year, we’d like to encourage you change the way you think about movement. Moving more could be taking breaks every twenty minutes from sitting or standing at work. Take a walk around the office or out to the mailbox.  Moving more could be sitting on the floor to watch tv at night instead of collapsing into our couch or comfy chair. The more resistant surface of the floor encourages increased blood flow – seems crazy, but this is sooo good for your body! And, it’s so simple.

When we move in any which way, our bones our nourished and joints have enhanced flexibility. If your goal is to be pain free or enhance your health this new year, consider adding more movement to your life outside of the gym. Be creative. There are no rules to how you have to move just move as often as possible!

Alignment While Exercising

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Have you ever been told by a fitness instructor or a health care professional to tuck your pelvis under to protect your back?

Look in any anatomy book at the skeletal system and you will see that the lower back is designed to have a curve in it.  The curve of the lower back is there to absorb the “shock” of your body weight when you stand or move.  When you tuck the pelvis under you are decreasing the curve of your lower spine and taking away the shock absorber.  Doing this will eventually contribute to back pain. But that’s not all!

Our bodies work as a unit.  Everything is connected in one way or another.  A tucked pelvis can also create rounding in the upper back which can cause the shoulders to move forward.  A rounded upper back can cause the head to go forward.  Below the waist the tucked pelvis will change the way the leg muscles work.  The change in the work of the leg muscles due to a tucked pelvis will force a slight bend at the knees. Overtime the uneven pressure on the knees can lead to a wearing of the cartilage, inflammation and pain.

Anytime you change the design of the skeletal system it effects the system as a whole.  There are safe ways to exercise with or without weights that do not involve changing the natural alignment.  Use your Egoscue programs to align your body (get straight).  Then when you embark on a fitness activity (strengthen), allow the natural curve in your spine and keep your shoulders back while performing upper body exercises.  If you need additional guidance, we are happy to help.

Exercise and Egoscue

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We tend to think about our daily exercise as strengthening our muscles or stretching our muscles. We do it every day, we are committed and diligent to maintain our strength and flexibility. If we stopped any part of our routine, we’d lose ground and our body would suffer, right? While there is truth to this, it may not be the appropriate thing to do when you are in pain. As Egoscue therapists we are trained to look at the body using a different approach.

In my physical therapy training, I learned the origin and insertion of all of the muscles and where they connect to the bones. I was taught the particular function and range of motion of each of the individual muscles. In physical therapy, I was trained in specific techniques to treat neck pain, back pain, hip pain, knee pain, shoulder pain – you name it. I also designed personal fitness programs to get people strong. I taught stretch classes to relax tight muscles. I owned a fitness studio in the 1980’s when aerobic classes were the thing to do. I taught classes 7 days a week and had so much fun! I was in great shape but my body was a mess. Why? I never thought about the position of my joints. Even with pain, I would have been hard-pressed to give up my exercise. It was a big part of my life. My new Egoscue clients feel the same way when initially stepping back from their exercise might be necessary. They feel as though they will lose ground with their fitness.

Here is what I now understand from my training and certification utilizing the Egoscue Method for the last 13 years. Our habits and old injuries can change the position of our joints. When joints no longer line up correctly, an uneven force goes through them when they bear the weight of your body. This new uneven pattern wears down the cartilage and changes the balance of the muscles. Some muscles are doing more work than they are designed to do, causing them to get stronger and other muscles are doing less work than designed, causing them to weaken. The overall loading of the joints is now very compromised. Let me give you an example:

John Doe works at his desk all day with his back rounded and shoulders slumped over his computer. Years of this posture becomes habit and his muscles now rest in this position. Some of his muscles have shortened over time making it difficult for him to stand straight and pull his shoulders back. It feels normal to have rounded shoulders. John Doe really does not think about it. He has no pain. John Doe goes to the gym and does weight training. His shoulders and his upper back are rounded as he performs bicep curls. Yes, he is strengthening his bicep muscles but, he is also reinforcing the uneven loading of his spine and shoulders.

Fast forward a couple of years and John Doe now has lower back pain. The rounding in his upper back and shoulders changed his center of gravity. This causes the muscles of his lower back to work harder to compensate for the changed center of gravity. The body’s response is that the lower back muscles are tight, creating pressure on the nerves. Strengthening and stretching the muscles of the low back will NOT change the position of the rounded upper back and shoulders. John Doe’s back pain is caused by the position of this upper back and shoulders.

John Doe looks everywhere for relief – physical therapy, chiropractic, acupuncture. Everyone is trying very hard to help but focusing on his back. He still hurts. He finally ends up at Pain Free. In order to help him using the Egoscue Method, we focus on his body as a unit, his alignment. We might recommend temporarily changing how he works his biceps until his upper back and shoulders are in a better position. Does this mean he can never do bicep curls again with weights? Absolutely not! It just means that he may need to back off his old exercise routine a bit until his body responds to the new exercise designed to correct the upper back and shoulder position.

You can understand now that everything in the body is connected. Working on the body part that hurts will not change the way the body moves. The Egoscue Method has taught me how to look at the body as a whole, no longer thinking about strengthening or stretching muscles but alignment. When John Doe stands in front of me in pain, my focus is determining misalignment, what is necessary to correct it and getting him back to his life pain free. Maybe his focus is to be out of pain so that he can get back to his bicep curls. We both win.

Mechanotransduction….

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Have you ever heard of Mechanotransduction? You’re probably saying to yourself, “No, and why do I care?” Because, understanding the meaning gives us one more important reason to keep moving!

Mechanotransduction is the physiological process in which cells sense and respond to mechanical loads.

Again, you might be thinking “So what?”

Basically, what it means is that when you walk, bend, dance or move in any way, your cells are being squished. This bending and squishing of your cells causes the body to convert the cellular response to create structural change.

Why does this matter? In the same way it matters for us to eat healthy foods. The nutrients from foods communicate with our cells and cause them to behave in a particular way. Movement creates a cellular response that can make a weak bone become a strong bone in response to the appropriate “load” through the joints. Your cells respond to balanced movement the way they respond to a healthy diet.

“Feed” your body at the cellular level by moving to stay aligned, balanced and pain free!

THE RIGHT MOVES

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When we hear about healthy lifestyles from our healthcare professionals, three things are always stressed: eating healthy foods, getting adequate sleep and exercising regularly. As you know, we’re into healthy lifestyles at Pain Free and we talk a lot about total body alignment and movement.

Culturally, we are pretty sedentary with only bursts of movement or exercise adding up to maybe 1 or 2 hours a day. Research is now showing that doesn’t meet our body’s daily movement requirements. THERE IS A BIG DIFFERENCE BETWEEN MOVEMENT AND EXERCISE.

EXERCISE typically consists of repetitive motion in a specific area of the body for a specific amount of time. Think treadmill, for example. Our heart rate’s up, one foot in front of the other over and over. We drive to the gym, walk or run on the treadmill for an hour, then we drive back home or work. What are we doing the rest of the day?

MOVEMENT is leaving our car at home and walking to the store to buy our groceries. Our heart rate is up, we’re working our lower body and utilizing our upper body carrying groceries home. Now, that might not be feasible for all of us but it illustrates how our bodies are meant to function. Even if we can’t walk to the store, we just need to change things up a bit to add natural movement back into our lives.

HERE ARE OUR TOP FIVE TIPS TO OPTIMIZE THE WAY YOU MOVE EVERY DAY:

1.) START YOUR DAY MOVING
Begin the day with your Egoscue ecises , take a walk with your coffee, stretch while you read the paper, or step on the trampoline while you watch the news. The more you move, the more your brain will encourage movement throughout the day.

2.) PARK AS FAR AWAY AS POSSIBLE
We hear a lot about 10,000 steps. Instead of stressing over a number, seek any opportunity for movement – all types of movement. Park further away, walk to your destinations, take the stairs, work-in a zumba class – whatever you love to do. The movement will add up. Lasting results begin with subtle changes in the way you move through your life!

3.) CREATE A MORE DYNAMIC WORK STATION
People ask us if standing work desks are really healthier than sitting. Absolutely! Also think about working from the floor, at a coffee table, on a pillow or in any other way you can imagine. If you can’t do this at the office, try it at home. Stand awhile, sit awhile. The take away is, this encourages your body to respond and move in the way it was intended. Your joints will be more fluid, increase your functionality and keep you moving well for a long, long time!

4.) MOVE WHILE YOU WORK
Why not encourage natural movement while taking care of business? Take a walk down the hall or up and down the stairs while you return phone calls. Your heart rate will increase, your feet will be happy, and your mind will be clear and rejuvenated from this much needed movement break. Stand a stretch every hour or so. Keep moving.

5.) SIT ON THE FLOOR
Home after a hard day, maybe you’re planning to catch up on your favorite Netflix series. Instead of plopping on the couch, try the floor. Put your back up against the couch. Cross your legs, or put them straight out in front of you, or pull your knees up to your chest. Better yet, do all of these periodically! Floor sitting allows your hips and knees to bend at angles that are lost in our culture. Using the floor, instead of chairs or the couch, stimulates your muscles to be more flexible, stronger, and more efficient.

It’s not movement OR exercise. While it’s important to know the difference, fill your life with both. As Postural Alignment Therapists at Pain Free Performance, certified by Egoscue University, we teach total body alignment to create your very best function without pain. Incorporate movement in your life the same way. More movement, of all kinds. All of your functional muscles and the resulting properly aligned joints need to be used all day every day in as many ways as possible. Total alignment, total movement, for a totally enjoyable healthy life!

SUPINE GROIN PROGRESSIVE

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If I told you there was something you could do for one hour that would help your back pain, your shoulder pain, hip pain and leg pain and all you have to do is lie on the floor, would you do it?  Well there is such a position – it’s called Supine Groin Progressive.  It’s sort of an exercise, but not really because you don’t do anything except lower your leg down through different levels every few minutes while lying there relaxing.  The benefits are amazing…let me explain.

This is the tower.  If you’ve been to Pain Free Performance, you’ve probably seen one.  If not, it looks a little weird, but it’s an amazing postural tool.  You see in the photo that one foot is in the upper level of the tower, the other is over a block.  What do you do?  You just lie there for 5 minutes each level and then do the same thing to the other leg.

What is it doing?

Several things are happening in several different muscles.  Because the floor acts as a template, this puts your head, shoulders, back, hips, legs and feet on an even plane. For most of us, this is not the norm when we are standing.   When you first lie down, you most likely will notice that there is space between your low back and the floor.    Your body will eventually conform and sink into the floor. 

Specifically, the ilio-psoas muscle at the base of the spine will relax and let your low back and pelvis settle back to the floor.  The ilio-psoas starts at the low spine, crosses over the pelvis and attaches to the inside of the upper thigh.  Because a lot of us sit so much, this muscle gets tight and since it is right in the middle of the body, it affects the whole body…especially the mid back and hips. 

How does it work? 

The body remembers this release of muscle tightness and the misalignment that comes with it.   Doing this Egoscue exercise has a cumulative effect on the body and is a great antidote for all those hours of sitting.  Over time, this muscle memory becomes the norm for your body’s posture when standing, running, sitting, or playing! 

If you have questions, call us at Pain Free Performance and schedule a posture evaluation.  The tower is just one exercise that would be a part of a postural exercise prescription.  Each person is given an individualized program based on their postural issues.  We can show you how improving your posture gives you pain relief, restores function and makes a world of difference in how your body feels and how you feel about almost everything.  This is why we do what we do!!!   

               

 

The Best of Both Worlds

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We humans are social creatures, so we love doing things in groups.  We learn better in groups so any kind of class is a wonderful idea to most of us!  That is especially true for exercise classes. Having people around is stimulating, encouraging and helps us go beyond what we think our limitations are.  This is also true for our classes using the Egoscue Method for postural alignment.

Some of you know about Egoscue from coming to Pain Free Performance because you were in pain and could not find a way out.  Back pain, neck pain, ankle pain, shoulder pain, knee pain – we’ve seen it all!  That is the essence of Egoscue – total body alignment that restores function and relieves pain! 

Egoscue class is a great way to connect with other folks who are enjoying the benefits of a pain free aligned body.  Keep in mind class cannot be specific to each participant’s particular issues.  Most classes meet a couple of times a week and your body needs more training to re-adapt to proper muscular balance for posture.  You guys that have your Egoscue exercise menus know that a body needs the daily reminder of what those muscles are designed to do!

For those of you who haven’t visited us, this postural alignment work is individualized and specific to you, your body, your pain and dysfunction.  Exercises are prescribed (called menus) that have a sequence of muscular activation and/or deactivation best suited to your body.  There are no two bodies alike and there are rarely identical menus.  Class should not be viewed as a “one size fits all” approach to body alignment and pain relief – it should be another fun activity that you participate in because you’re feeling great after doing your menu!

Doing your individual menu gives you a wonderful opportunity to tune into your own body and inner self.  Listening to your body while performing your Egoscue menu is a perfect meditation time or just simply quiet alone time.   If you’re going to class but you don’t have a menu…let me encourage you to get one.  It will change your life and it will make all of the other stuff possible.  

Going to class is great!!!!  Keep at it!  Class, hiking, biking, running, swimming, tennis – move and enjoy what you love to do — your body will like the extra movement and extra attention.  And, do your menu also.  You can have the best of both worlds!  

 

PAIN FREE — IT’S YOUR BIRTHRIGHT!

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Pain Free Performance – It’s the name of our posture clinic in Charlottesville, Virginia and it is also every person’s birthright.  We should be able to do whatever we want free of any kind of chronic musculo-skeletal pain.  For most of us, that is not the case.  We live with pain every day, but the good news is, we don’t have to!

In its truest form, pain is the body’s alarm system.  It is telling us that something is wrong and urging us to do something about it.  When we listen to that alarm, a whole new world awakens!  First, we need to determine what our body is trying to tell us and then take responsibility and be pro-active to regain our health.  That’s where our expertise at Pain Free Performance comes in!

In listening to your pain, is there a position that helps it feel better or decrease?  Is that position associated with an activity?  What happens when you do that activity with perhaps more mindfulness?  Does the pain/symptom increase, decrease or not change? 

The body thrives on movement and it must move to maintain health.  Load bearing joints need to line up in vertical and horizontal lines to allow the body to move without limitation or pain.  So, if you’re in pain, you need some help with alignment to get your body back to its original perfect design.   After all, for thousands of years we have walked, run, danced, crawled, dug, thrown, climbed, swung, jumped and played.  By doing these things, we thrived! There’s no reason we shouldn’t be doing these things all of our lives.  Our technology-oriented society has taken us away from our life of movement and well-being  (hunched over desks in front of computers rather than moving) but we can reclaim our active lifestyles!

So, I ask you, is your back pain, shoulder pain, hip pain, neck pain or knee pain keeping you from doing something that brings you joy or makes you feel good about life?  Are you willing to take some action to change that?  People may be suggesting medication, injections, even surgery but there is another way.  You have to do it, but we’re here to show you how.  It’s your move and your body!