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.
