Pain Free Performance — Posture Alignment Therapy

Live Pain Free!

On-line Appointments

The Evolution of our Practice

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Our clinic first opened in 2006 when our founder, Cindy, encountered a book that shifted her understanding of how the body experiences and resolves pain. At the time, Cindy was working in physical therapy when a client introduced her to Pain Free by Pete Egoscue. The book’s central idea—that the body functions as an interconnected system—offered a new perspective on therapeutic exercise and muscular compensation.

Trusting her intuition, Cindy began applying these principles with her physical therapy patients. The results were striking. Patients who had been preparing for surgical procedures were improving and, in some cases, no longer needed them. Encouraged by these outcomes, Cindy took a leap of faith and opened the first postural alignment therapy clinic in Central Virginia.

After completing her certification through Egoscue University in 2006, Cindy continued to deepen her belief that the body has an extraordinary capacity to heal when muscular imbalances and postural dysfunction are properly addressed. For more than 20 years, our practice has helped clients experience meaningful improvements in function, longevity, and overall quality of life—often allowing them to move beyond chronic pain.

As our understanding of the body has continued to evolve, so has our approach. While Postural Alignment Therapy remains the foundation of our work, we have thoughtfully incorporated additional modalities when they support the healing process. These include hands-on techniques such as Strain Counterstrain, as well as therapeutic technologies like red-light and infrared laser therapy.

Equally important to us is the process of assessment. Each client is evaluated individually through observation, movement analysis, and hands-on palpation. This allows us to understand the subtle compensations within the body in ways that standardized software or automated assessments often cannot capture.

In 2018, after more than a decade as Egoscue affiliates, we chose to continue our work independently at Pain Free Performance. This transition allowed us to expand the services we offer while maintaining the principles that have guided our practice since the beginning.

Alignment: Treating the Body as a Whole to alleviate Pain

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Healthcare today is focused on the parts. Our healthcare practitioners are specialized and focus on specific sites and no longer view the body as a whole. As a result, we are missing how each site impacts another directly.

With the Egoscue method, alignment matters. When the position of the head, shoulders, vertebrae, hips, knees, and ankles are in line the forces through the joints are distributed to allow movement with minimal effort. This is the ability to move freely and without pain.

When our body is not in alignment, our joints wear down and uneven load is placed on parts of our body that are not meant to bear the added weight. This dysfunction is often the root of pain.

Many clients find Egoscue after trying other modalities that are not addressing the compensation created by their tissues, muscles, and joints. When we see clients for the first time, their gait and the movement of their body tells the story of a system trying to fix its parts. In order to determine what is causing their neck pain, knee pain, or hip pain we must determine what body part positions are misaligned.

Our job is to release the muscular compensation and strengthen the correct muscles to bring the body into alignment. We do this through specific exercises targeted towards what is off in a client’s specific body. After each exercise, we use gait analysis and functional testing (like an arm circle or reaching to touch the toes) as tests to see how the body is changing. As things become in a better joint position, the body is noticeably moving more fluidly, straighter, and more balanced.

This is why we must consider the body holistically when pain is present. Often the site or location of pain is not the cause. Our goal is to identify the dysfunction and create an integrated muscular skeletal system where movement is freer and function is unlimited.

Virtual Posture Therapy Sessions

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Facetime and skype appointmentsWhat is Virtual Therapy?

Virtual Therapy is a postorual therapy session conducted via Skype, FaceTime or Zoom at your convenience by a therapist certified by Egoscue University. It can be done anywhere as long as you have a phone, tablet, or computer!  Many clients see us for their sessions via virtual therapy when they are traveling, living abroad, or reside in a different state.  Even for clients in town, if the weather is bad or you would rather connect in the comfort of your home or office, virtual therapy is a great alternative to keep you out of pain.  Egoscue techniques work best with consistency to provide new stimulus for our ever-changing bodies. Virtual Therapy allows you to be consistent and feel your best, no matter where you are.  Give us a call if you have any questions or would like to schedule a Virtual Therapy appointment.