Pain Free Performance — Posture Alignment Therapy

Live Pain Free!

Egoscue

What is Different About Egoscue?

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People ask us all the time “how is Egoscue different?” At Pain Free Performance, we want to get down to the root of your pain. Egoscue therapy looks at the entire body and determines what joints are out of alignment and therefore, are not mobilizing correctly. When this happens, other muscles will try to create the movement for the weaker muscles. This is what pulls the joint out of the right position.

Egoscue looks at each area of the body and determines which muscles are too tight or overworking. Through gait analysis and functional testing, Egoscue therapy can determine how your body is moving. Then the fun part begins. Our Egoscue University trained therapists will work with you to determine how to release the overworked muscles and how to wake up the muscles that are weaker and not supporting the joints. In other therapies, like traditional physical therapy, therapists work to strengthen the weakened joint, but overlook the compensations from different parts of the body. Egoscue therapists understand that your spine rotates because your right foot is turned out. Egoscue therapists at Pain Free Performance take it a step further and notice the over developed muscles on the right side of your spine. Their Egoscue training promotes further testing to release those muscles before they re-balance the rest of the body.

Want to get back to the life you had before pain? Live the life where you could move naturally and not in order to avoid the pain? Try Egoscue therapy at Pain Free Performance and let’s uncover the root of your pain.

You get injured, what do you do about your Egoscue program?

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It’s a beautiful day and you’re enjoying the outdoors. Then, bam! You slip over an acorn on the sidewalk and you’re down. And, you’re hurt. You have a knee injury, bruised elbows, a jammed wrist, you have swelling and ankle pain, not to mention you hit your head and the neck pain is killing you. Even if nothing is broken, there is so much pain!

When something like this happens and you’re injured, the advice used to be to put your feet up and rest. And, the last thing you want to do is “exercise”. But, we know better now. Your body will start compromising the minute you get up off the sidewalk. You’ll be guarding, limping and twisting to try to avoid the pain and that will throw everything off in your body. We don’t want you to get “stuck” there, so don’t stop moving but knowing the type of movement to do based on your injuries is key.

Your alignment will affect the outcome and recovery of the new injury. Even if there is a fracture, we’ll provide a revised program based upon your injury and how it affects your ability to do your Egoscue menu. For example, if you can’t handle full weight because of your foot pain or knee pain, we alter the position to take pressure off your injury. If you have a shoulder injury and you have arm pain, we can work around that. We align the rest of the body focusing on straightening your spine and your shoulder becomes less forward making you more functional. This will keep you on your path toward becoming properly aligned, assist in healing your injury properly and get you back to being pain free.

So if you’re injured, after getting the necessary diagnostics, call us and we’ll provide you with an updated program to get you through this unexpected setback. If you have an upcoming appointment with us, don’t cancel it, call us and come in. Your new menu will address the changes that occurred from the fall, while correcting the previous imbalances without compromising your recovery. This will speed up your body’s innate ability to heal by giving it the proper stimulus! We’ll keep you moving forward toward your pain free alignment goal while you’re healing.

Cartilage Regeneration

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The body has an innate ability to heal. What does that really mean? It means that our body produces over 500 billion new cells a day – without conscious direction from us. Cuts heal, broken bones mend, muscle tissue builds, and brain cells, cardiac muscle and, yes, cartilage regenerate!

The key to a healthy healing body is the environment we provide it. Consider your nutrition, how much you move, if you’re getting enough sleep, how you’re managing stress and how aligned your posture is.

If you consistently work on all of these aspects of good health, your body responds. In order for cell production to be optimum, each of these needs to be happening simultaneously. I want to focus on how all of this enables cartilage regeneration, from an alignment standpoint. Maybe you’ve been told your knee (or hip, ankle, wrist) is “bone on bone” and you think the only answer is a replacement. Not true!

Research shows that under the right conditions cartilage can regenerate like any other tissue in the body. The first question to ask if you are told that you are “bone on bone” is why is that joint wearing away? Where did the cartilage go that is supposed to be there? It’s all about the position of the joint and the uneven force going through it as you move. Once the joint position is corrected, the body will produce more tissue to repair itself. Take a look at these before and after x-rays:
Look at the narrow joint space (bone on bone) on your left
knee pain
One year later after a postural alignment regime. Notice the uniform joint spaces!
repaired knee without surgery
Here at Pain Free Performance we watch the way bodies move and stand. We determine if body weight is equal front to back, side to side. We evaluate the position of all major joints looking for proper loading (head over neck, over shoulder, hip, knee, and ankle.) If there is disparity, the body is not functioning properly. There are muscle imbalances causing an uneven force in the joints which creates friction. The friction wears down the cartilage. The joint becomes a victim of the imbalance and bone surfaces begin to wear away. Bone on bone.

What is the remedy? Posture alignment. And I’m not talking about your mom telling you to “pull those shoulders back”. I’m talking about retraining muscles to do the job they are intended to do. Why?…because muscles pull bones. The bones are out of alignment but they are innocent bystanders because the muscles are either doing too much or too little. At Pain Free we unravel what the muscles are currently doing and give you the tools to get them working together again. When the muscles that propel the joints are working correctly again this provides increased blood flow to the area, and allows more movement. And, yes, this gives the cartilage an opportunity to regenerate. It’s not magic but it’s amazing and possible for you too.

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!

SCOLIOSIS

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At our clinic, we see several clients a week with scoliosis – a curvature of the spine.  Some people are born with scoliosis and for most it develops in puberty when the muscles can’t keep up with the bones during this intense period of growth.  This muscle imbalance is what pulls the spine into an unnatural curve.  Scoliosis can be very painful and without intervention can worsen.  Our clients with scoliosis have often  tried  everything including bracing, rounds of physical therapy  and even spinal surgery placing Harrington rods in the back in an attempt to correct the curve of their spine.  Despite these methods, they continue to have pain in their body caused by this muscular imbalance.

When Egoscue was developed, the idea was simple: activate muscles to pull the bones into an aligned position. When the body is given the correct stimulus, the muscles will pull the bones into a straight position. When the bones are aligned, the friction on our joints when we move will be decreased. Your spine is subject to the same rules!  By rebalancing the muscles of your back, your spine will load correctly and decrease the curve of scoliosis.

During the initial evaluation, your Egoscue therapist will analyze the curve of the spine by taking photos, palpating the joint position, and completing functional tests to see how the body obtains a specific movement. This will allow your Egoscue therapist to not only feel and see the curve, but also to determine which muscles are overworking and which are not doing enough to align your body and your spine correctly.  Your Egoscue e-cise menu will have a series of exercises designed to activate the specific muscle groups in your body that are needed to decrease the curve of your spine. When your body – including your spine – is aligned and symmetrical it will move with ease and without 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.

 

Things I Wish I Explained Better….

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I often have a conversation with a client that causes me to think – “Wow, I didn’t do a very good job of covering all the information I wanted to!” There is a lot of information we share with clients and it’s a lot to absorb, especially in the beginning.  We also have such a smart group of people who come to Pain Free Performance, we sometimes assume people know things that they don’t.

Here is a smattering of random questions and topics that come up often and might be helpful as you continue your Egoscue journey toward a pain free body! Clients often ask or say….

Can I resume weightlifting?

At first, NO.  We don’t want to strengthen any misalignments.  When your body is ready, we will give you some pointers on how to start with weights again.  You will be surprised at the “work-out” you will get from your Egoscue!

Can I go to Yoga class? Pilates? Tai Chi? Can I jog?

We are all about getting you back to your fullest most pain free life – whatever you love to do! The easy answer is yes, of course.  Talk with your Egoscue therapist regarding your particular issues and your favorite class or activity to make the most of it!

I twisted my ankle (bruised my elbow, tweaked my back) so I’m just going to cancel my appointment.

No, just the opposite! That’s the perfect time for you to come in – this is what we do – treat people in pain!  So, keep your appointment and have your therapist assess the injury and create a program that will enable you to heal faster and keep your newly aligned body on track!

I may not be doing my E-cises correctly and it made my leg hurt so I just stopped doing the program.

Contact us immediately if you feel that your program is causing any pain. We want to know, ask you a few questions and tweak the program if necessary.

I do my e-cises when I get home in the afternoon ……

Do your program in the morning! I know, I know sometimes it’s just not possible but here’s the thing…if you do your E-cises in the morning, you are setting yourself up to have your most aligned body possible to carry out all of the living you have to do during the day!  This means better function, less pain and less possible injury.  Talk with your therapist about how to adjust your program to fit your schedule.

Don’t cherry-pick from your program – do all of the E-cises in the order only!

The order of your Egoscue program is key. The e-cises are prescribed to either wake up certain muscles that are not doing their job or quiet muscles that are overdoing which creates that pesky misalignment, poor function and pain! Depending on your specific issues, there is an important chain of events that must occur by doing the e-cises in order to get you to the best outcome….which is a pain free body!

Do I have to do everything on both sides?

Occasionally, I have a client who ran out of time, or thought because her pain was on the right side that she’d just do the e-cises on the right side. Not with Egoscue.  We are trying to get the two halves of the body to work together as intended.  What you do to one side, you must do to the other.  It is important for regaining muscle balance, symmetry and healing to do the complete program on both sides.  If you’re often running late, talk to us and we can tweak your program to fit those days that are just too busy!

Do I have to do Egoscue the rest of my life?

Yes, but a very doable, shorter version of your program. It will be as easy as brushing your teeth or bathing…a necessary and desirable habit to maintain your pain free functional body!  When you’re ready, your Egoscue therapist will instruct you on how to continue with abbreviated and rotating programs that will keep you aligned and living life to the fullest!

 Speaking of function….

One of the most important things I want our clients to understand is that our job is to improve the way your body functions. Pain relief is the amazing benefit of having a functional body. Pain is the symptom, not the cause.  When the joints in the body are in the proper position and the muscles are balanced – the pain goes away!

 

BACK PAIN

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back-pain-picIf you have ever been faced with back pain, you will do anything for relief! You resort to injections, pain medication, even spinal fusion surgery…anything to stop the back pain.  But these options are all just masking the back pain, they are temporary.  To get lasting real results for your back pain, you must uncover the root of the problem – why do you have the back pain in the first place?

Our backs were designed to be flexible and able to carry weight. The time we spend sitting while working, studying, and relaxing greatly reduces the stimulus we are giving our body – and remember, our body is a stimulus response system.  This inactivity causes our back to loose full range of motion.  Muscles that do not move become muscles that cannot move. What happens? Back pain.

Back pain is a symptom of muscle imbalances over time. Your back pain could stem from something being off in the pelvis, over-contracted stomach muscles, or rounding of the upper back.  Whatever the imbalance, creating symmetry bilaterally and vertically restores proper alignment and your back pain is relieved!  That’s what we do at Pain Free Performance utilizing the Egoscue method.  Let us help you relieve your back pain.