Pain Free Performance — Posture Alignment Therapy

Live Pain Free!

Joint Pain

Back Pain

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Last week a wonderful woman came to see me who has been struggling with extreme lower back pain for years. She has stenosis in her spine and has endured several injuries throughout her life. The pain in her back had gotten so bad that she couldn’t even walk without the back pain intensifying.

After evaluating her back pain, in order to see the response of the prescribed Egoscue program in her body, I asked her to walk after completing each stretch or position (E-cises). Watching her gait allowed me to see exactly how her body was responding and as importantly allowed her to feel the changes in her body.  Within ten minutes she had completed four Egoscue E-cises that encouraged the spine, shoulders, and pelvis to be in a better position. As she began to walk, she was overwhelmed with emotion. She couldn’t believe that her lower back didn’t hurt anymore!  This was the first time in years she did not have back pain.

Analyzing her gait, I could see that her shoulders were not as forward, she had increased range of motion in her hips, and she appeared lighter on her feet. As an Egoscue therapist, it is so exciting to see instant changes! While it doesn’t always happen this dramatically, when the E-cises are introduced the body changes.  Back pain is relieved.

In order to keep progressing toward a pain free body, these E-cises must become a way of life. You have to challenge the body as it evolves with new stimuli. You have to be dedicated. Doing the E-cises daily, even for as little as ten minutes, will benefit your body! Your back pain can be relieved.

For some people, the relief of back pain, shoulder pain, hip pain or knee pain might not happen in the first ten minutes, but over time the changes do add up and the pain retreats. The time and energy you’ve invested while doing your Egoscue program will decrease your pain and allow your body to function in the way that you desire! Walking, running, hiking, standing and sleeping without pain are within your reach! This result is emotional for our clients and for us.  Finally being pain free is life changing.  It’s what we do at Pain Free – we are here to help you realize the possibility of life without pain once and for all.

 

Cart before the Horse

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The Cart before the Horse….

The other day I got a call from a client who was in such excruciating back pain that she couldn’t make her appointment. She travels from quite a distance and she said she could not get comfortable enough to sit in the car that long. I spoke with her on the phone and gave her some e-cises to do. She called back about an hour later and her pain was significantly better.

When I asked her what she’d been doing before her pain began, I got an earful! She had been shaking out rugs, digging in the garden, mowing, cleaning her house for an upcoming event including a lot of up and down the stairs. When we talked about her Egoscue menu, she said she’d been doing well with it. I learned later that she had not done her Eogscue program before she started her busy and very physical day. Aha, therein lies the problem.

She should have done her Egoscue program BEFORE beginning her activities. Let me tell you why….

The sole purpose of performing an Egoscue program is to change the alignment of the body, creating a pain free body. When muscles aren’t working properly, after an injury or surgery for example, they become imbalanced. They either work too hard and become overly tight or don’t work at all and become loose. Muscles are responsible for keeping our bones in place so both scenarios cause the muscles to pull the bones out of alignment. This creates wear and tear on the joints and pain. Doing the individualized Egoscue program you are prescribed gets those muscles back to doing what they’re supposed to do, which puts the bones back where they belong. If my client had done her Egoscue prior to working so hard, her body would have been prepared – less wear and tear on the joints, less pain.

So, the very best way to enjoy your Egoscue and your new found alignment is to DO YOUR EGOSCUE MENU BEFORE YOU BEGIN YOUR ACTIVITIES! It is our goal to get you back to doing what you love and what you need to do! The body needs to be aligned before you start pushing it. It is the best way to avoid pain, avoid injury and begin to strengthen your alignment –not strengthen your dysfunction. Does that make sense?

So, put the horse (Egoscue) before the cart (your life’s activities) and make your Egoscue menu part of your early morning routine! Your body will thank you.