Arm pain, numbness or tingling?

I ran into a friend I hadn’t seen in over 45 years yesterday (yes, that dates me 😏)…when I shared that I teach posture therapy for a living she asked "can it help pain, numbness and tingling in my arm?“. My answer was yes! I’ve helped multiple clients reduce and even completely get rid of this referral pain by helping them change their posture through corrective exercise.

Tingling and numbness in your arm(s) typically is the result of compression in your cervical spine. This compression is often a result of years of forward head posture and rounded shoulders and that posture is often the result of many years sitting at a desk. Can it be fixed after so many years? Well, it can definitely be helped. I’ve helped clients in their 80’s change their posture and feel better so, as a Dove Chocolate wrapper quote read “it’s never too late and you’re never too old”!

The best way to determine which postural imbalances are causing your pain is to come in to Pain Free Clinic of Denver for a postural evaluation. Click here to schedule your postural evaluation now.

I created a video with two of my favorite exercises designed to help restore proper head and shoulder position thereby giving relief to a myriad of aches, pains and tightness including tingling in hands and arms. Please be aware that these exercises are not medical advice, so if you’ve been told not to do these types of exercises then you’ll want to skip it altogether.

I recently took a client who had neck pain and nerve sensations in her arm through these two exercises and after doing them twice through she said, “I’ve been seeing a PT for 2 months and while I got a bit of relief, I couldn’t get rid of the nerve pain and now it’s gone. How did you do that?!?”

I didn’t do it, she did. She did two exercises that changed the position of her head and shoulders and found immediate relief.

Ready to give it a try? If so, contact me at info @painfreedenver.com.

Your Shoes, Your Feet & The Function Run

I found this picture on Facebook and it is brilliant! Which picture is the best representation of YOUR feet in YOUR shoes? 

When your toes are all squished together like the picture on the left, your metatarsal bones are pushed in too and that results in pain overtime. 

This inward pressure can result in:

• Bunions (no they aren't just hereditary)

• Hammer Toes

• Tight, restricted or inflamed fascia of the foot, called plantar fasciitis

Consider the effect on our feet since most of us have worn shoes with a tight toe box ever since our very first pair of shoes 😟.

Bunions 

A calcification of the first toe joint on the inside of the foot near the big toe, as the big toe begins to push toward the second toe. 

This bump often becomes even more irritated by the pressure of tight toe-box shoes. 

• Dr. McClanahan DPM at Northwest Foot & Ankle says “Bunion formation only exists in cultures that wear conventionally shaped footwear with a tapered toe box, toe spring, and an elevated heel.” 

• It it also true that calcification results from postural imbalances and compensations between the hip, knee and ankle that cause an improper foot strike.

Hammertoe: 

Toe(s) that form a bend at the mid-toe joint, as if the toes are trying to grip the ground.  

• Hammertoes are quite often linked to toe compression in restrictive shoes...as seen in the shoe picture above. Dr. McClanahan noted that shoe-less populations very rarely exhibit hammertoe.

• Hammertoes are also quite often the result of improper foot strike, which is the result of feet, ankles, knees and hips that aren't functioning properly. 

SOLUTIONS for foot problems:

• Change your hip, knee and ankle function by improving your posture

• Improve your gait & foot strike (I've included an exercise below to help)

• Strengthen your feet

  • If you've worn orthotics or motion control shoes, you've weakened your foot overtime

• Go barefoot as often as possible

• Swap out your conventional shoes, including running shoes, for shoes that allow your feet to work properly and build muscle. Here are my two favorite brands:

  • Xero Shoes

  • Flux Adapt

• Get Correct Toes...these are proven to help with bunions and hammertoes, not to mention plantar fasciitis and other issues I will discuss in this email series. I sell these in my office for locals.

The best fix is all of the above. 

I can tell you from personal experience that when I switched to Xero shoes a few years ago, my feet were tired at the end of the day and felt sore (like good workout sore) when they hit the ground in the morning...but my feet are much stronger and that tired sore feeling is long gone.

Many of my clients said the same thing, and also added that their foot pain, hip pain and even back pain was greatly reduced after wearing the zero drop, wider toe box shoes. 

Remember, just changing the shoes is only a part of the solution. You have to change your posture and alignment in order to improve your foot strike. 

For one of my favorite exercises to improve foot strike + hip function + shoulder function, Egoscue’s Function Run, shoot me a quick email.

Tight Hamstring - Sore Back Workshop

I've shared this before...I couldn't bend forward to touch the floor with straight legs for the first 45 years of my life.

What I didn't share was that in addition to feeling tight and stuck, my back was chronically tight and sore and in my 40's I threw my back out twice 😣.

Now...

• I can easily reach the floor 💃

• My back isn't tight or sore 🎉

• My back hasn't gone out in years💪

Guess what?

I'm going to help you do the same thing!

Join me for the live Zoom 'Touch the floor' workshop on May 27th at 8:00 am

In this workshop you will...

• Find out why you can't touch the floor...is it really just tight hamstrings?

• Go through a few exercises to improve your range of motion

• Get closer to touching the ground in under 1 hour

Workshop + Bonuses $37

• Attend the live Zoom workshop

• Gain mobility and range of motion during the workshop

• Unlimited access to workshop recording

• Access to exercise download

Workshop Basic $27

• Attend the live Zoom workshop

• Gain mobility and range of motion during the workshop

Is Shoveling Snow a Pain or a Great Workout?

Hurt your back shoveling?

For some yes & others no. The key to staying pain free is the posture, alignment and breathing you use during the work.

I created this short video that quickly explains how to shovel with correct and safe posture alongside. Check it out!

Protecting your back is more than just bending your knees and using your legs to lift things. The way we sit, stand and move is important in terms of protecting our spine for as long as we want to be able to live and move comfortably.

PS - Here’s a download with four exercises that help realign your body after shoveling…but, you can also do these before so you go into the work with better alignment!

How often do you hear about someone who threw their back out shoveling? This happens for a number of reasons with misalignment and muscle dysfunction/compensation at the top of the list. If your hips are tucked under and your spine is in flexion (like the guy in the video), even if you bend your knees, your back is in danger because you are putting a ton of pressure on your spine. However, if you hinge your hips (check out our hip hinge article) + bend your knees + exhale as you lift, you protect your spine. In a proper hip hinge position your glutes are working and with proper breathing your core is working.

Back pain isn’t caused by shoveling, back pain is caused by years of improper loading.

The great news is that even years of poor posture and alignment can be changed. Just ask Anne, my 88 year old client who wasn’t able to get up and down off the floor at 88 but now in her 90’s can!

As a certified Egoscue Affiliate + a Foundation Training Instructor and a Postpartum Corrective Exercise Specialist I was able to teach her corrective exercises designed to improve posture, get her muscles moving and firing correctly resulting in her ability to get up and down off the floor + move better and feel better!

Need help now? Here are three things you can do now to start healing and feeling better:

• Download the Pre/Post Shoveling Exercises

• Find out what postural imbalance is causing your pain? Sign up for a postural evaluation

• Fast track your healing with Individual Training Packages

Ladies AND Gentlemen...does your pelvic floor work properly?

I learned so much about the importance of proper core and pelvic floor health during my training with MUTU System™ almost 5 years ago. I went through the MUTU Pro™ training to better help pregnant and postpartum women strengthen and heal their core and pelvic floor after pregnancy.

Now, as many of you know, I’ve never been pregnant BUT the breathing protocol and exercise in this program showed me that I had a weak and very tight pelvic floor. TMI? Maybe…sorry. The important thing I took from my own experience at the time was that ALL women needed to do this work to either gain or maintain a strong, healthy pelvic floor.

But…what about the guys?

I gave a presentation at a local OBGYN office and she asked, “Are you helping your male clients with this too?” No, I wasn’t…but now I do. She said pelvic floor work is especially helpful for men following prostate treatment.

Think of it this way, the pelvic floor muscles are no different than any other muscle you have, they have to work!

What is the pelvic floor? I had the same question 5 years ago!

The pelvic floor is a group of muscles and ligaments that attach from the pubic bone in the front to the coccyx or tailbone in the back. It is like a hammock as you see in the photos below.

If your pelvic floor is weak, the support for your spine is weak.

If your pelvic floor is weak, your core is weak, at least in one area.

Your core is not just your ab’s. Your core has four sides: the diaphragm at the top (this is why proper breathing is so important) + the abdominal wall in the front + the pelvic floor at the base and the paraspinals in the back. If you have weakness in any of these areas it will result in issues throughout your entire, four-sided core.

Female photo courtesy of MUTU System™

Not only do pelvic floor muscles provide support for the organs just above it, but also for our spine! That is why a weak pelvic floor an add to back pain and even hip pain, let alone causing issues related to continence or prolapse.

So, hopefully it makes better sense as to why you need a strong pelvic floor that is able to engage AND relax! Usually you can do this by retraining your pelvic floor muscles through proper breathing along side contracting/lifting and relaxing the pelvic floor. I’ve added instructions for ladies and gents below.

If, after trying to work through the exercises below, you still can’t feel your pelvic floor engage or relax I highly recommend seeing a pelvic floor PT. Locally, I send all of my clients to Dr. Mara Towne at Physical Therapy Specialists. I love that the PT’s at Physical Therapy Specialists take a whole body perspective in their treatment; meaning they will asses posture alongside any issue you have in order to make sure they are treating the root issue.

For the ladies:

Sitting on the floor or chair or ball x 1 minute

• Sit on a chair or exercise ball

• Inhale through your nose, expanding your ribs 360º (meaning belly, sides and back expansion) as if an umbrella is opening up in your ribcage.

• You want to relax the pelvic floor during the inhale. You can even press down slightly as long as you are not experiencing any prolapse symptoms.

• Exhale fully, often times through pursed lips as you do a kegel by closing the openings of the pelvic floor and lifting the pelvic floor up inside

  • As if drawing a tampon up inside (thanks for the great cue MUTU System™).

  • Be sure to keep your glutes relaxed, don’t clench your butt in other words.

• Repeat  x 10

Hooklying position 

• Lie on your back with your knees bent and feet flat. Knees and feet only 4 to 5 inches apart with a straight line on the OUTSIDE of the foot…don’t let your feet point outward

• Inhale through your nose, expanding your ribs 360º (meaning belly, sides and back expansion) as if an umbrella is opening up in your ribcage.

• You want to relax the pelvic floor during the inhale. You can even press down slightly as long as you are not experiencing any prolapse symptoms.

• Exhale fully, often times through pursed lips as you do a kegel by closing the openings of the pelvic floor and lifting the pelvic floor up inside as if drawing a tampon up inside (thanks for the great cue MUTU System™).

• Be sure to keep your glutes relaxed, don’t clench your butt in other words.

• Relaxing it all on inhale is AS IMPORTANT AS engaging it on exhale

• Repeat  x 10

For the gents:

Sitting on a chair or exercise ball:

• Inhale a chair or exercise ball

• Inhale through your nose, expanding your ribs 360º (meaning belly, sides and back expansion) as if an umbrella is opening up in your ribcage.

• Draw your pelvic floor up (see next line) & engage core as you exhale through pursed lips or making SSSS sound…a gentle, slow blow out

• Draw pelvic floor up inside you as you exhale as if you are stopping the flow of urine

  • Think about drawing scrotum up

• Think about shortening the penis at the base (most important action)

• You should also feel anus tighten, but not the gluteal muscles contracting – keep those relaxed

• Inhale & FULLY RELAX the core and pelvic floor – letting everything drop and relax

• Relaxing it all on inhale is AS IMPORTANT AS engaging it on exhale

• Repeat  x 10

All in all, if you have low back pain, your pelvic floor may be part of the problem. Practice these breathing with lifting and relaxing techniques to help strengthen the bottom section of your core!

Stuck at Home? Lets relax your back, body and mind.

Stuck at home with back pain? Here's a 3 exercise video that will help! My clients say these are some of their favorite exercises: static back + diaphragmati...

My back was sore this morning, shoveling all that snow yesterday was like a full body workout! It was heavy. On top of that the massive life change we’re all going through can weigh heavy at times. For me personally I am finding my solace in trusting the Lord and seeking truth in His word…truth like 2 Timothy 1:7 “for God has not give us a spirit of fear but of power, love and a sound mind.” … or Proverbs 3:5-6 “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and do not lean on your own understanding and in all your ways He will make your paths straight.”

Exercise also helps me relax and one of my favorite exercises to help with low back pain, hip pain, neck pain, shoulder pain is Static Back with a few additions so I thought I’d share it with you. Watch this video & give it a try tonight and let me know what you think.

Pain Myth #1

Myth #1:

Treat the symptom by doing exercises focused on where you feel the pain. 

Myth Buster:
Find & treat the root issue

Determine the root cause of the pain and treat it rather than the symptom. Mike's Story (seen below) will explain exactly what I mean. We worked on head and shoulder alignment in order to alleviate low back and leg pain. 

At Pain Free Clinic of Denver we find and treat the root of your pain rather than focusing on your symptom.  We find the root contributors during a postural evaluation where we ask questions about your pain, take photos and do some functional testing.

Mike's Story

Mike came in to see me because of searing back pain, sciatic pain down his leg and drop foot...his left foot dragged when he walked. We took some photos, did a few functional tests and found that his root issue was a forward head and rounded shoulders. We followed up with a number of one on one sessions to get his head and shoulders into a better position and his back pain has greatly dissipated and his foot doesn't drag! 

Moral of the story: find the root + treat the root = feel better!

Book your postural evaluation today!

Love these shoes!

• My feet love these shoes

• My knees love these shoes

• My hips love these shoes

• I walk with better function

• I run with better form and function & my hip doesn’t hurt after running

Seriously?!? Yes.

Xero Shoes are my new favorite shoes and the science behind the shoes makes a TON of sense. I had the opportunity to talk with Steven Sashen, Xero Shoe Founder & CEO a week ago and learned a lot about why they created these shoes and why they help your whole body move better and feel better.

We were created with feet that are made to work and function in such a way that they help the body stand and move correctly. We don’t need extra cushioning, we don’t need extra support…we need the muscles of our feet to get strong doing the work they were created to do. Steven explained how our feet get weak and less functional when we wear orthotics, motion control shoes and the like. He shared some cool testimonials about people with plantar fasciitis and parkinson’s who had great results going barefoot and wearing Xero shoes and sandals.

I got a pair of shoes and I’m not kidding when I say these are the most comfortable shoes I’ve ever worn. I’ve been telling everyone for the past week that they should try these out.

I teach corrective exercise as an Egoscue Certified Practitioner, a Foundation Training Instructor and a MUTU Pro™ and I have a series of exercises I do to maintain good alignment and avoid hip pain and I truly believe that you have to change muscle memory through corrective exercise in order to truly maintain alignment and avoid pain & injury. Wearing Xero shoes has really helped strengthen my foot + force me to use my glutes and mastering

Here’s a link to check these shoes out, you won’t be sorry!

Here’s another link for anyone who wants a free postural evaluation…this is only good if (1) you click the link and sign up before Friday May 24th (2) set your evaluation up anytime before June 30th!

4th Trimester?

• What is the “Fourth Trimester”?

• Should you jump right back into high intensity fitness after pregnancy?

• Does your body give you signs? Warnings?

• Are there common but not normal postpartum issues that often get brushed under the rug?

• Can your body heal?

These are great questions to consider during and after pregnancy. Thankfully core & pelvic floor health for women is finally becoming recognized as an important part of the postpartum healing process. I’ve seen more articles and found more studies on this subject than ever before. Women from my mom’s generation didn’t have the amazing resources we have today to help heal, rather than “bandage” issues including diastasis recti (split ab’s) and incontinence or prolapse.

The “Fourth Trimester”

Elisabeth Kwak-Hefferan, a Fort Collins-based freelance writer recently wrote an amazing article in the January 5280 Magazines Health Edition on postpartum issues experience by many women. I am quoting some of her article titled “What I Wish I’d Known About the “Fourth Trimester” below, but I highly recommend reading it in its entirety.

Elisabeth quotes Dr. Julie Scott, a clinical associate professor of maternal fetal medicine at the University of Colorado School of Medicine; “We’ve thought of pregnancy as three trimesters and focused all our care on getting mom safely through pregnancy with a healthy newborn. [Now] they’ve realized that a lot of problems occur during the postpartum period.” ACOG (The American College of Obstetrics and Gynecologists) issued guidelines this past May [2018] recommending more thorough care during what is now called the “fourth trimester” or three months that follow the delivery of a baby.”

Common Myth’s About Diastasis, Prolapse & Incontinence

1. These issues are normal so just accept it or have surgery:

   1. A friend who had twins in 2014 was told by her OBGYN that “diastasis is normal effect of pregnancy and you can either accept it or have surgery…call me in 2 years if you still feel uncomfortable with it.” She hated the way it looked and the way it felt, she had lots of back pain, she couldn’t run…and yet she was told to simply accept it as a normal way of life after pregnancy. How many women are told this today?

   2. Another pregnant friend just told me that she heard that anyone with diastasis recti had to have major surgery and she was scared. NOT TRUE, thousands of women have healed their diastasis split with simple corrective exercise…NOT SURGERY!

   3. My sister was recently talking with a nurse and telling the her how most of the women taking my MUTU System™ Core & Pelvic Floor class at Goodson Rec Center had eliminated incontinence issues when they sneezed, coughed, run or jumped. The nurse said “that’s not really possible'“. Huh? Not only is it possible, but it is proven! You don’t have to leak every time you laugh too hard or sneeze. The body was created to help heal itself and with simple exercises & corrective breathing you CAN STRENGTHEN AND HEAL YOUR PELVIC FLOOR!

      1. 94% of mom’s participating in MUTU System with diastasis recti reported an improvement after using MUTU System.

      2. 92% of women who had experienced bladder symptoms including urinary incontinence reported an improvement after using MUTU System.

2. The sooner you get back into exercise the sooner you get your pre-baby body back

   1. In her article, Elisabeth said “I expected childbirth to change my body. What I didn’t expect was how long it would take, and how hard it would be, to get back to normal.” She is saying two important things:

      1. Healing takes time, be patient. After running just 7 weeks after a difficult birth resulting in a C-Section she said “In hindsight, running that soon was a terrible idea…”

      2. The body can heal, regain functional movement & eliminate pain with good alignment + correct breathing + corrective exercise

   2. Getting right back into running, sit-ups, crunches, planks and more can actually make things worse. You need to take the time to heal the body before jumping into these things. MUTU System™ is a proven, medically endorsed online program you can do in the comfort of you home that has helped over 50,000 women heal diastasis & pelvic pain + incontinence.

Common but Not Normal Postpartum Issues

1. Diastasis recti - Experienced by 2/3rds of women after their 2nd pregnancy

   1. It’s Never Too Late to Heal Diastasis Recti

2. Painful sex - Experienced by 21 - 36% of women after pregnancy

3. Urinary Incontinence: more than 13 million Americans suffer

   1. Twice as common in women

   2. 42% of women have had it 4-6 years without seeking help

   3. 25% have had it for over 16 years without seeking help

   4. 41% of female athletes are affected

   5. Frequency of incontinence increases with each pregnancy

4. Fecal/gas incontinence

Facts - Healing Diastasis + Pelvic Floor Issues

Most women with diastasis or incontinence have no idea the issues can be remedied though corrective breathing and exercises.

The body needs these three things to begin & sustain a successful healing process:

1. Correct diaphragmatic (not belly) breathing: Sarah Duvall, a PT with a focus on postpartum health says, “Most of the women I’ve seen post-prolapse repair do not have good breathing habits. They are usually in a shallow breathing pattern and will often hold their breath when they do anything hard. Ok, so this is another no-brainer, we need to get women breathing. But if we take it one step further, we need to make sure they have that great 360 breath so we get some back expansion. “

2. Proper alignment from head to toe: Misalignments (forward head, rounded shoulders, tucked pelvis) in the body cause compensation, shallow breathing, weakness & STRESS! Sarah Duvall also says, “Poor alignment can keep both diastasis and pelvic floor issues from fully resolving. Basically, almost all poor alignment patterns usually lead to shallow breathing or too much belly breathing. A shallow breathing pattern leads to an increase in the flight or fight nervous system response. Poor alignment literally stresses us out!” MUTU System’s online program has a huge focus on alignment and breathing which is why it is so successful.

3. Corrective Exercise: You must regularly do corrective exercises in order to fix your misalignments & improve you breathing patterns in order to heal diastasis recti & pelvic floor issues. Just thinking about “good posture” isn’t enough, your body needs new muscle memory and strength in order to sit, stand, move correctly AND to create proper breathing which isn’t possible with misalignment. Pain Free Clinic of Denver’s alignment program utilizes three amazing methodologies (MUTU System, Foundation Training & Postural Therapy/ Egoscue exercises), to help men and women reduce or eliminate pain & heal diastasis recti & pelvic floor issues.

Be encouraged! Healing can happen without surgery. Regardless of your age you don’t have to accept these issues. Take action today to get aligned, breath correctly and heal diastasis recti, incontinence, back pain and more! See Stasia for a postural evaluation on one-on-one one basis to find the root problem and learn corrective exercises designed for your individual compensation patterns , buy MUTU System, join a MUTU Core & Pelvic Floor class at Goodson Recreation Center.

Is "leaking" when you sneeze something you have to accept?

Should women just accept "leaking" now and then?

Should women buy into ads that tell them the answer is a discreet pad?

NO!

Here’s a great breakdown of myth vs. fact courtesy of the experts at MUTU System™:

Pelvic Floor Fact #1 – Wetting yourself (a little or a lot) is NEVER NORMAL
If you pee yourself (even a tiny bit) when you workout, laugh, sneeze or cough, you shouldn’t be putting up with it. Just because something happens a lot (and to other people too) does not make it okay. If you bury your head in the sand, ignore it and don’t address these symptoms, it could lead to more serious pelvic health issues, such as pelvic organ prolapse. 

Pelvic Floor Fact #2 – You do not have to accept pain or discomfort during sex
Let’s get one thing straight, pain free sex is the very least you should expect when you get down to it. If you experience any pain, this is NOT okay and you should seek the advice of a qualified Women’s Health Physical Therapist.

Pelvic Floor Fact #3 – An incontinence pad isn’t the answer for a healthy adult woman
We’ve all seen the ad with the young woman bouncing on a trampoline and giggling about her “oops moment”, or the gorgeous, silver haired woman in her 50s, smiling, laughing and running whilst peeing herself, but it’s okay because she’s got her stash of ‘discreet’ incontinence pads! The women portrayed in these ads are getting younger and younger. We’re conditioned by advertising to believe that we’ll inevitably leak as we age and after pregnancy. Not true and it really doesn’t have to be the case.

Pelvic Floor Fact #4 – Kegels aren’t always enough
Whilst Kegels or traditional pelvic floor squeezes are a foundational starting point, they are often not done correctly and they may simply not be enough. There is a vital relaxation phase often missing, along with proper postural and alignment changes to ensure your pelvic floor is functioning in the best way it can.

Pelvic Floor Fact #5 – Certain exercises can make things worse
High impact exercise or physical exertion like running, jumping, weightlifting, skipping or sit ups are not suitable for women with pelvic floor issues. The impact on an already weak pelvic floor can cause further damage. If any of these are exacerbating your problem, back up and focus on rebuilding strength first, so that you can return to the exercise you love, symptom free.

Strengthen Your Pelvic Floor

1. Focus on your alignment. Postural alignment is very much connected to pelvic floor tone. 

2. Focus on rebuilding strength in your pelvic floor with safe exercises to help you to find and work those muscles properly.

3. Check out the 12 week MUTU System program with workouts starting from just 12 minutes a day.

4. Don’t bury your head and hope it goes away. Now is the time to take control of your recovery. No amount of intensive exercise will fix things.

5. Join a MUTU Core & Pelvic Floor Class with Stasia, a Certified MUTU Pro at Pain Free Clinic of Denver or Goodson Rec Center.

MUTU, Posture & Kate Middleton

Kate Middleton ascribes her postpartum healing of diastasis recti to MUTU System™ and improving her posture! Pain Free Clinic of Denver loves to see the methods we teach making a difference in peoples lives!

Anyone with Diastasis Recti and pelvic floor weakness (including issues like incontinence and prolapse) should to follow her lead and check out MUTU System and for all of you, here is a 15% discount on the easy to do at home program.

Diastasis:

Here’s what the Daily Mail article said about Kate’s “Ab’s Attack”:

“Kate is also said to like the MUTU System — a 12-week online programme of post-natal exercise to address this [diastasis recti] and also strengthen her pelvic floor.”

Posture:

The article also shared, “Kate has concentrated hard on her posture. After the birth of Prince George, she has worked with personal trainer Louise Parker, who believes that every baby can take its toll.

She has said: ‘Your posture needs a lot of auto-correction after pregnancy, so make sure you are opening up your chest, strengthening your upper back and your core.’”

Diastasis recti is common for postpartum women, but also happens to women who’ve never been pregnant. Men can get it as well. MUTU System is a great answer for anyone with Diastasis and Pain Free Clinic of Denver offers MUTU training as well as postural help utilizing certifications in both the Egoscue Method and Foundation Training.

You

If you are dealing with any of the following issues, contact Pain Free Clinic of Denver today for an evaluation and healing program, we would love to help you, just fill out the form below to set up your assessment. We are offering FREE Evaluations through November 30th, so be sure to sign up today!

• Diastasis Recti: Test & It’s Never too Late to Heal Diastasis

• Pelvic floor weakness: incontinence, prolapse

• Back pain

• Neck pain

• Hip Pain

• Knee Pain

• Plantar Fasciitis

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Back Pain? Read about Hip Hinging & Fig Leaves!

How do you bend?  How do you stand? The way you do these things plays a huge role in the short term and long term health of your back and your hips.

Hip Hinge vs. Cashew Back

Looking at the two women in the photo above I can tell you that the one on the right will have back pain because she is using her back to do the work. Whereas the woman on the left has hinged her hips and as you can see, has a long, straight back which is supported by her gluteal and leg muscles. 

In partnership with South Suburban Rec Centers I offer 8 classes based on 3 different modalities, ALL OF WHICH TEACH YOU HOW TO PROPERLY HIP HINGE so that  you can learn to protect your back!

This blog post is a follow up on a great article from NPR talking about back pain and why some people have it and others don't:  Lost Art Of Bending Over: How Other Cultures Spare Their Spines.


I've been sharing a great quote from Katie Bowman for years: "When in doubt stick your butt out!"...just another way of teaching the hip hinging technique which is promoted by anyone who understands alignment and back pain. 

I teach hip hinging in all of my classes with a major hip hinging focus in my Foundation Training class. Eric Goodman, the founder of Foundation Training teaches hip hinging as one of the major components of alleviating back pain, strengthening the muscles supporting the back, creating functional hip movement and decompressing the spine. 

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COME LEARN proper hip hinging in any of my classes:

Foundation Training
Functional Motion
MUTU Core & Pelvic Floor

New classes begin April 4th...Click on any of the links above for details on each class

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Here the spine is flexing forward in order to pick something up. This motion is very hard on the back because the back is trying to do much of the work. 
Ouch!

Here, my hips are hinged and pulled back creating a long + strong back position. This motion is healthy for the back as the gluteal muscles and hamstrings are supporting the bend.

HIP HINGING IS IMPORTANT!

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Take Action

• Sign up for an alignment assessment
• Sign up for a group class or a one on one program
  • Learn how to be able to get up and down from a chair or the floor for many years to come
  • Learn how to pick things up 
  • Learn how to garden without so much pain 

Forward this email to a friend who would benefit!

Contact Stasia today to set up a time for a postural assessment or to get more info on individual & group training. 

Start Your Day Aligned, Tall & Strong with Foundation Training & MUTU System™

Foundation Training + MUTU System™

A big thank you to Eric Goodman & Erin Low + Wendy Powell & Jennifer Gibson for a great morning workout! I guarantee that I am going into my day aligned, sitting taller, walking taller and feeling stronger due to an amazing 18 minute Foundation Training workout + a fantastic 11 minute MUTU System core & pelvic floor workout. All of that in under 30 minutes? Yep!

What am I feeling right now...10 minutes after my workout?

• a well positioned head; ears over shoulders
• a long, strong and supported spine
• shoulders back & down, not up around my neck or rounded forward
• inner thighs/adductors burning
• relief in my IT bands due to Foundation Training's Internal Leg Trace exercise (love that one!)
• a core and pelvic floor that are functional and strong

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Foundation Training is designed to:

• decompress the spine to alleviate and eliminate back pain
• strengthen and lengthen the posterior (backside) chain of the body & improve alignment
• strengthen our pelvic anchoring muscles (adductors, hip flexors...)

My morning Foundation Training routine:

• Supine Decompression
• Internal Leg Trace
• Founder
• Anchored Back Extension

Our posterior chain (back side of body) muscles, adductor muscles and hip flexors get weak and ineffective due to our lifestyle of sitting...sitting to work, drive and enjoy entertainment. That's why we need Foundation Training! The result of the Foundation Training work is less back pain for those who have it and/or a stronger core and spinal support system for those who want to avoid back pain and injury. In addition, our shoulders are often rounded forward, tightening the pectoral/chest muscles. Our hip muscles are often tight and externally rotated resulting in shortened IT bands, weak hip flexors and weak adductor muscles. Foundation Training addresses all of these issues.

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MUTU System is designed to:

• Safely strengthen your core
• Heal diastasis recti
• Safely strengthen your pelvic floor (muscles between your tailbone & pubic bone)
• Help heal pelvic floor issues like incontinence and prolapse

My MUTU System routine this morning:

• MUTU Breath (to wake up, strengthen and reconnect our core & pelvic floor)
• Circling Cat to Swan
• Heel Drop with Arms
• Lift Hips
• Lamp Post Pee
• High Kneel  Squeeze
• Squats

These exercises, created by MUTU System founder, Wendy Powell are designed to help women safely and effectively heal weak core and pelvic floor muscles. They are a beginning platform for women who have diastasis recti (split abdominal wall) and or a weak pelvic floor (urge incontinence issues when running, jumping, sneezing or coughing + prolapse). These exercises also help anyone create strength in their core and pelvic floor in order to avoid these issues down the road. By the way, it is never too late to heal your diastasis split or weak pelvic floor! I haven't had core or serious pelvic floor issues, but MUTU System has made me so much stronger over the past year!

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Want to try this workout? Lots of options!

• Join a group class for either Foundation Training or MUTU System. These 12 week classes are offered quarterly at Goodson Rec Center & occasionally at Lone Tree Rec Center.
• Bring a friend or 3 and do semi-private classes at Pain Free Clinic of Denver.
• Visit Stasia in a one-on-one setting where you will learn where the root of your pain or lack of function lies and be given multiple sets of exercises over time to realign, strengthen and help you body to heal and function as it was originally created to do.
• Purchase Foundation Training's Core Elements on-line program
• Purchase MUTU System's on line program (15% off using this link)

Contact Pain Free Clinic of Denver today to set up your Postural Evaluation and figure out what program will be most beneficial to you!

By the way, it is now 3 hours post exercise and I am still feeling tall, aligned and strong!

Introduction to Foundation Training Class

In response to so many of you wanting an Intro to Foundation Training class we have decided to fit one in before Christmas! Its a great time to heal your back and get ready for shoveling snow and wrapping gifts!

Check out this testimonial about how Foundation Training helped a woman with a long history of debilitating back pain and then sign up for the class or forward this sign up link to a friend who needs it! 

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Testimonial: How I Went from Debilitating Pain to Living Again!

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The Intro to Foundation Training Class will begin in 3 days, on November 13th! Here are the details:

What: Foundation Training Intro - you will learn the basics of Foundation Training and learn to get it right from the beginning...things like hip hinging, posterior chain integration, decompression breathing, core strengthening, spinal decompression and stabilization! Lots of great, helpful tips to benefit you for life!

When: Mondays for 6 weeks at 5 pm: November 13 - December 18

Where: Goodson Rec Center Rooms 4/5

Cost: $65 in-district & $70 out of district

Equipment: You will need to bring your own yoga mat each week

Hope to see you there. Contact me with any questions!

Core Elements - Foundation Trainings Amazing New On-line Program!

Foundation Training & the new Core Elements Program

This is what so many of you who have done Foundation Training have been asking me for! I've been through this new training and FT workout program and it is truly amazing. You will love it, you will get stronger, you will feel better! ... and, best of all, you can get a $50 discount by ordering before October 25 (details below)!

Foundation Training Core Elements is the newest way to apply and reinforce what you've learned at your Foundation Training sessions in an all new streaming platform. It contains over 5.5 hours of engaging content including lectures & theory, exercises, focus sessions and incredibly effective, progressive workouts that you can access on any streaming device (computer, tablet, phone).

The program contains the entire library of Foundation Training exercises - which is awesome to have, but can also be a bit overwhelming. However, as a Certified Foundation Training Instructor, I am able to tailor and customize a specific Foundation Training “prescription” with you in my office, using Core Elements so you’ll know exactly what to do and when to do it. I make it simple and easy for you to stay on your path to healing and wellness with confidence.
 

While you don’t have to own Core Elements to experience fantastic results in your Foundation Training sessions or classes, it is a phenomenal tool to bridge the gap between the times when I see you in my office or in class.  Here are a few more benefits:

• It reinforces all the helpful tips and cues you learn at your Foundation Training session (that you may have forgotten!).
• It gives you a way to practice along with an on-line instructor when your schedule doesn’t allow you to meet with me.
• Each facet of every exercise is taught in detail. You can rewatch again and again to fully absorb all of the nuances that make these exercises so effective.
• The program is designed to give you the motivation to practice everyday. This accelerates your progress and gets you closer to your goals.
• You can take it with you. So whether you’re at home or traveling, you can keep your Foundation Training practice going strong until we see each other again.

To celebrate the launch of Core Elements, I am offering an exclusive $50 coupon to my valued clients through October 25! Simply click the link below and use the code CEFRIENDS at check out.

Purchase Core Elements

If you have any questions about Core Elements or are wondering if it is the right fit for you, please don’t hesitate to reach out. I’d love to connect with you.

Foot Pain & Footwear

How do you care for your feet? 

• Are they constantly in heeled shoes? Even most running shoes have a "heel".
• Are you losing muscle in your feet by wearing rigid based shoes?
• Are they jammed into shoes with tapered toe boxes?
• Are they always nice and snug in your socks and shoes?
• Are they working extra hard in your flip flops?

 

High Heels, the Pros & Cons:

Pros:

• They look great!

Cons:

• They change your posture from foot to head
• They change the functionality of your feet
• They change the functionality of your ankle, calf & shin muscles
• They shorten and tighten your Achilles tendon
• They can damage knees
• They can damage hips
• They can cause plantar fasciitis
• They can cause bunions & corns

Katy Bowman, a biomechanical engineer with a degree in Kineseology & Biomechanics drew this picture giving us a great visual what happens when we wear shoes with even a short heel.

Heeled shoes, including running shoes with a slight heel, create issues in your feet by:  destabilizing the arch of your foot, creating excessive pressure on the ball of your foot and ultimately resulting in injuries such as ankle sprain, bunions, plantar fasciitis and more.

Most of us wear heeled shoes. I'll admit it, I still wear heels sometimes! Even most running shoes have an elevated heel.

What about those shoes we are told to wear if we're on our feet for a long time? They all have a heel! Have you been sold on the benefit of shoes like clogs such as Dansko's? Read this article and you will most likely rethink your shoe of choice for long hours of standing or walking. Container Store friends, take heed! (Click here for more about the downfalls of clogs).

Robyn Hughes with Natural Footgear says studies show: "Clogs, like other types of conventional footwear, cause or contribute to many foot and toe problems, including neuromas, plantar fasciosis, and ingrown toenails. And they do this because they place your feet and toes in unnatural, compromised positions for many hours at a time. It’s only by examining the harmful design features included in most clogs, though, that you’ll get a better sense of how clogs actually impair foot health and cause problems."

Rigid Motion Control Shoes & Atrophy

These shoes quite often do more harm than good. Our feet were designed to feel the ground and move according to what is under us. A rigid sold acts like a cast for our feet and compromises the form of our foot. Have you ever been in a cast or seen the atrophy that takes place after someone you know was in a cast? Rigid shoes will cause atrophy in your feet.

Benno Nigg, PhD and author of The Biomechanics of Running Shoes is one of the people credited with creating the original concept and design of motion controlled running shoes has done an about face when it comes to motion control shoes. Dr. Nigg says, “It’s important to realize that modern running shoes, even the ones equipped with ‘anti-pronation’ features actually cause pronation—they don’t control it. A runner, male or female, who pronates about eight degrees while running barefoot, will often pronate about 20 degrees while wearing ‘anti-pronation’ running shoes.”  

Smothering Toes in Tapered Shoes

Here's an analogy for you: What if we kept our hands in mittens...nice snug mittens...most of the time, from birth until now? Our fingers would be stiff, closer together and not nearly as functional. Well, the same goes for our feet. Our toes need wiggle room! Our toes need breathing room! Without space to function they will become dysfunctional.

Shoes with a tight/tapering toe box (any shoe where the tip of the shoe is closer together than the area just before the toes), cause things like calluses, bunions, corns and worse. Look at these baby toes vs. adult toes. The adult wasn't born with toes like this, the toe position was caused by many years of improper foot wear and potentially other postural issues. Tight socks without any toe separation can have the same effect.

Babies toes are wider than the ball of the toe area just below the toes.

Years of heels, tight toe boxes results in concerns like bunions, hammer toes, corns, plantar fasciitis and more.

My Toes

A year ago a toe on my right foot, was talking to me! A big ball had formed on the bottom of my middle toe and it hurt! It hurt wearing cute shoes (aka heels), it hurt wearing a pair of slippers, it hurt wearing my toasty warm socks and it hurt with loafers. However, it didn't hurt as much when I was barefoot. Hmm.

I saw some friends at an Egoscue clinic wearing Injinji toe socks and thought they looked a bit silly. But I figured if the posture guys are wearing them I'm going to give it a try. A year later and many days of doing corrective exercises and wearing toe socks, the big ball has shrunk and I can wear cute shoes without pain! However,  I opt for the toe socks as often as possible! I've also replaced old shoes with a tapered toe box with shoes offering a wide toe box. I also do daily exercises that help correct the muscle memory throughout my body which has had a very positive effect on my feet!

Are Flip Flops a Flop?

I LOVE flip flops and have been a big Reef's fan for a long time. If you askedyear ago I would've said I'd wear them all day every day if I could...then I visited Eric Mundt, a Muscle Activation Techniques Practitioner and Physical Therapist. Eric said flip flops are just about the worst thing you can wear for your feet, knees and back. We "discussed" this and he finally said, "if you want your back to get better, get rid of the flip flops". I acquiesced. I did more research and learned a lot more about feet, shoes and healing my body from the feet up! I found out that Eric is right.

Katy Bowman, Bio-mechanical Engineer, created a perfect picture of what happens to your foot when you walk in flip flops. She says, "The “grip” to keep footwear on, curls some toe bones up and some down, drives the end of some bones into the ground creating higher-than-normal pressure (hello fracture!) and drives the ends of some bones up into the top of the shoe (corn, calluses). I won’t even mention the the tension down the front of the leg..."

Flip flop wearers have a greater chance of getting, or increasing hammertoe. Hammertoe is when the knuckles of your toes bend constantly, like a learned position of the toe. We weren't designed that way, look at this picture of a babies foot and of a grown woman's foot. Hammertoe is not typically hereditary, it is compensation for a dysfunctional foot. Plantar fasciitis is also often a result of too much flip flop wearing.

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Solutions: Footwear & Exercises

Can you fix your feet even if you've had poor walking patterns, poor posture and/or worn the wrong shoes? The answer is yes! We are going to break this down into 2 categories; footwear & exercises.

Footwear:
What you put on your feet makes a difference. Here are some of the important specs:

• Wider toe box shoes, don't put your toes in something tight
• Flexible base, motion control & stability shoes can often make your issues worse (see below)
• No heel, as you saw above, we were designed to stand on flat feet, not heel raised feet
• Toe socks, like Injinji, are great and will help keep your toes separated, don't wear tight or snug socks
• My Happy Feet socks help spread the toes and are worn around the house or to bed at night
• GO BAREFOOT AS OFTEN AS POSSIBLE!

Keep toes separated and help overcome squished toes!

Lems Shoes: Wide toe box + Flexible material + Zero-Drop

Injinji Toe Socks: Keep those toes separated! Can wear all day.

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Exercises to Help Relieve Foot Pain:

These exercises are not provided as medical advice, you should always check with your health care practitioner before starting any new exercises.

Try these exercises everyday for a couple of weeks and let me know how you feel by emailing me at info@PainFreeDenver.com. As noted above these exercises are not medical advice and may not help everyone with foot and/or ankle pain. If you try these and still experience pain and discomfort contact me to set up your postural evaluation.

This exercise is called Supine Foot Circles and Point & Flex. The point of this exercise is to promote proper function of the lower leg muscles and encourage stabilization of the hip joint on the same leg. Be sure to always do the same exercise and reps for each leg as our goal is to re-introduce bilateral balance.

How to:

• Lie on your back with one leg extended and the other leg bent and pulled up toward your chest
• Clasp your hands behind the bent knee
• Keep the foot on the floor pointed straight up toward the ceiling and your thigh muscles tight
• Circle the lifted foot one way for the indicated number or repetitions, then reverse direction for the same number of reps
•     Make sure the knee stays absolutely still with movement coming from the ankle and     not the knee
• For the point/flexes, bring the toes back toward the shin to flex, then reverse the direction to point the foot forward for the indicated number of reps
• Switch legs and repeat

This exercise is called supine calf & hamstring stretch and its purpose is to promote unilateral lumbar engagement with emphasis on using pelvic flexors which helps reestablish linkage between feet and hips.

• Lie on your back with your knees bent 
• Position 1:
• Take a strap or belt and loop it under the ball of one foot
•  Firmly holding the ends of the strap, straighten that leg and PULL YOUR TOES          DOWN toward your hips to feel a stretch in the calf or back of your lower leg
• The straight leg should be lined up with the bent knee.
• Keep your thigh/quad tight and toes pulled back
• Your upper body should be relaxed throughout the e-cise, shoulders back on the floor
• Hold 30 to 60 seconds
• Position 2:
• Loop the strap under the heel of the straight leg
• Pull back on the strap so your leg points towards the ceiling, you will feel a stretch in the back of your thigh.  Keep your thigh tight and TOES RELAXED.
• Do NOT let the hip lift up off the floor
• Hold 30 to 60 seconds
• Switch legs and repeat both positions

This exercise is called Static Extension Position. The purpose of the ecise is to reduce rotation in the hips and promote spinal extension.

 

• Start down on the floor on your hands and knees with your major joints aligned (i.e. shoulders directly above elbows and wrists, hips directly above knees)
• Hands should be placed shoulder width apart, palms flat with fingers pointed straight ahead
• Arms must remain straight, elbows locked
• Walk your hands about 6 inches forward and then move your upper body forward so that your shoulders are again above your hands but now your hips are forward of your knees about 6 inches
• Relax your low back allowing it to arch with the movement coming from the tilt of your pelvis
• Collapse your shoulder blades together and drop your head down
•  Your shoulders should be directly above your hands (you can use fists or go to elbows if your wrists bother you in this ecise)
•  If your low back begins to hurt, back your hips up toward your knees; this will make the exercise a bit easier
• Hold for 1 to 2 minutes.

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I hope this information has been as educational and helpful to you as it has to me over the past few years. Here are a number of links to some of the articles I read and studied including a guide to recommended footwear.

• Dr Ray McClannahan of Northwest Foot & Ankle in Portland, Oregon, a podiatrist for over 17 years, has learned that most foot problems can be corrected by restoring natural foot function. You can read all about foot pain, solutions and more at
• Injinji Socks are great every day socks to help keeps those toes separated & functional
• Katy Bowman's Winter & Summer Shoe Lists:  Summer & Winter
• My Happy Feet socks are a great way to begin to reintroduce foot & toe functionality

Postural Evaluation & Wellness Workshop

If you have foot pain, ankle pain or knee pain and this information made sense to you call or email to set up your Postural Evaluation and lets get to the root of your postural and/or pain issue!

You can also host or attend a Wellness Workshop.The workshops are informative and interactive, and will explore the role of posture and motion and the importance of understanding both in relation to physical limitations and pain, whether occasional or chronic.  I will share my knowledge of how poor posture and lack of motion are at the root of most of our physical pain and limitations. I will also explain how people can improve their overall well being through this natural approach to pain relief by teaching them how to train their body to function as it was intended. We will also go through a few great exercises to help get extension back into your spine, and reduce tightness in your hips. You will leave with a 5 minute menu of exercises designed to help you feel better physically & mentally!

I am hosting a Wellness Workshop on Chronic Pain at the Lone Tree Hub on Wednesday August 23rd a 12:30 pm. If you'd like to join us please click here.