Pain Free Performance — Egoscue Certified

Posture Alignment Therapists, Certified by Egoscue University

pain management

TREATMENT FOR BACK PAIN

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If you have suffered through a severe back spasm you know just how excruciating back pain can be! Treatment for back pain usually takes you to the doctor to get muscle relaxers, anti-inflammatory medications and perhaps a referral for physical therapy, massage or chiropractic.  I know….. I spent years in physical therapy treating patients with back pain using hands-on techniques, exercises and other treatments.  Don’t get me wrong… I am not against taking appropriate medication or having hands-on work directly on your symptom.  The problem with that approach is that you never correct the actual underlying cause of the back pain. The real cause of back pain; neck and shoulder pain; hip pain or most muscle pain is musculoskeletal imbalance in the body.

Our muscles are designed to do a certain job.  When muscles are out of balance,  some muscles are working too hard (causing them to get over-developed, tight and painful) and other muscles get weak.  These imbalances can pull our bones out of alignment and cause wear and tear on our joints. So what is the best treatment for back pain, neck and shoulder pain; hip pain or any muscle pain?  The Egoscue Method!
The Egoscue Method focuses on muscle imbalance. Sometimes where you hurt isn’t why you hurt.  Let me give you one example (out of 100’s of possibilities) of how misaligned hips can cause back pain!  Let’s say you sit all day at the computer. This causes the hip muscles to shorten and get tight.  These hip flexor muscles are now pulling the pelvis  into a tipped forward position.  Now, every time you get up and walk, the changed pelvic position causes the muscles of the buttocks and the back of the thighs to become weaker, creating imbalance. This imbalance pulls the low back  into a swayed position, the leg bones and feet are pulled outward  and the upper back will eventually round forward pulling  the head and shoulders along with it. The result?  Back pain!
The good news is you can bring your body back into balance by doing corrective exercises that will allow your injuries to heal.  The key to the Egoscue Method begins with a thorough evaluation of your body.  By examining photos, looking at the way you move and function,  we can determine which muscles are too tight and which ones are too weak.  This gives us the information about your body to design corrective exercises to restore your body to proper alignment.  The result?  Improved function, and NO PAIN!
What a better way to start your New Year than being Pain Free!
In Good Health,
Cindy Meyers
P.S.  –Give me a call @ 434-296-0600 and learn more about how we can help you

CINDY GETS MELT CERTIFIED

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What is M.E.L.T ??
Six years ago everyone was asking……

“What is Egoscue”??   Well…. Here I go again….

In my quest for understanding all that I can to empower my clients with tools that will offer them the best care possible, I discovered a method called MELT. This stands for Myofascial Energetic Length Technique. This technique involves the connective tissue in our body.

What exactly is connective tissue?

If you ever pulled the skin off of a piece of chicken before you cooked it, you will see a thin, white sheath…that is connective tissue. And as our manager so kindly pointed out… vegetarians can think of peeling an orange and seeing the protective coating over the fruit as the connective tissue. Connective tissue covers every cell, nerve, muscle, bone and organ in our bodies.

When the connective tissue becomes dehydrated, it loses its buoyancy and can no longer do its job to support and protect our muscles and joints. In addition, the nervous system becomes over-stressed and the tissues cannot act as a communication network. That leaves you with tissue that is now bound down to the muscles and a nervous system that stays in a state of “dis-ease” (meaning the body can’t rest). When you go to move, the muscles still move but the connective tissue is pulled causing that stiff/painful feeling.

When you MELT you push fluid back into the tissue and your proprioception (how your body senses its enviornment) improves. At PAIN FREE PEFORMANCE, we are combining MELT with Egoscue to enhance the body’s ability to RESTORE POSTURE…. CREATE BALANCE….LIVE PAIN FREE!

We are offering a MELT class on Wednesdays at noon… come try it out. If you want to learn more feel free to call me at 434-296-0600

“the tower”

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The Supine Groin Exercise often uses a piece of equipment called “the tower”.  This particular exercise creates powerful changes throughout the body.  It will help restore your alignment and help to retrain your gait pattern.

Here’s a helpful video that further explains what the tower is and how it works!

http://www.youtube.com/egoscuesd#p/a/u/2/zBSeycBZ9V8