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!

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. 

Neck Pain

Need to get rid of a big pain in the neck?

Bad news...I woke up with a painful kink in the right side of my neck on last Monday. Did I sleep wrong? Bad pillow? No...misalignment.

Good news...Monday, unlike 6 years ago, I knew what to do to get rid of the kink. I didn't go buy a new pillow or mattress, I didn't get an adjustment. I simply did my postural exercises (some of which are listed below) for two days and the pain and discomfort of looking side to side is totally gone. Thanks for the great exercises Pete Egoscue!

Ask yourself why you have neck pain and maybe even write down the cause(s) - (real or perceived) - of your pain.

I've learned a lot about my own neck pain (and other physical pain) over the past six years and what I've come to understand is vastly different from what I originally thought. You can read in my post "My story...Your story?" all about the neck pain I was experiencing and my path to healing.

What people have told me about their neck pain

• It's hereditary, my dad/mom/grandparent always had issues with________
• I have Osteoarthritis
• My bed and pillows are causing my neck pain
• My work station is awful

What I've learned about pain and posture

• Our posture has far more to do with our pain than anything listed above
  • Ex: Is your head in a forward position or does your ear line up over your shoulder?
  • Ex: Are your shoulders rounded forward from sitting at a computer or driving all day?
• Misalignment of joints, caused by compensating or dysfunctional muscles, causes pain
• Posture is typically hereditary based on doing what you saw & learned (walk with feet out or bent stance) more often than being born with poor posture. Just look at baby pictures of yourself when you first learned to stand or walk and note the position of your feet, shoulders, head and hands...my guess is that you had pretty good posture at one point
• Pete Egoscue says, form follows function, meaning that what you see, looking at your posture is a result of what is or isn't happening correctly from the inside out
• Pete also says your bones do what your muscles tell them to do, so for the person with osteoarthritis...we have great news! Fix the muscular compensations and dysfunctions and see your osteoarthritis dissipate.
• Katy Bowman, who holds a Masters in Biomechanics & whose writings I have recently started studying says "osteoarthritis is not a disease (like rheumatoid arthritis), but is damage caused by user induced friction of the joint"...in other-words, the way we (users) move (friction) due to compensation and dysfunction has caused the joint damage and can be reversed by reducing or eliminating the friction on the joint
• Reduce friction on your joints by retraining your muscles to work as they were originally designed to work through gentle corrective exercises (a few freebies below!)
• Right shoes (sadly those without any heel) are helpful in regaining right posture and reducing pain throughout the body...with that said, I still wear heels, just not daily!
• A family friend recently said Motion is Lotion and I agree...as long as it is correct motion!

A few exercises to help re-introduce correct motion:

Let me share a few exercises that should help ease the pain caused by postural deviations. These should help release tightness along your posterior chain...backside of your body, which should give you some relief from your neck pain.

These exercises are not your typical stretch the neck exercises. We are working on addressing the root of your problem, not the symptom (neck pain).

These exercises are not medical advice and you should consider consulting your Dr before performing them.

Sitting Floor: 3 Minute Hold

Sitting Floor promotes spinal extension while limiting the rotation ability of your hips, knees and ankles. Spinal extension is the opposite of what most of us do sitting at a desk or in a car.

1. Sit against a wall with your legs straight out in front of you
2. Your buttocks and upper back should be against the wall the entire time
3. Squeeze your shoulder blades together and hold
4. Do not lift the shoulders; only squeeze them back and down
5. Tighten the thighs and flex the feet back so that your toes are pointing back toward you
6. The keys are to keep your blades pulled together, your thighs tight and your feet flexed back

Static Wall: Hold 4 Minutes

Static Wall promotes spinal extension while limiting the rotation ability of your hips, knees and ankles. Again, spinal extension is the opposite of what most of us do sitting at a desk or in a car.

1. Lie on your back with your legs pointed straight up and against the wall, upper body relaxed with arms out to sides at about 45 degrees and palms facing up
2. When getting into this position, get your hips as close as possible to the wall, so once you are in position your butt is also as close as possible to the wall
3. If your hips are lifting off the floor then scoot your butt back until you are able to place your hips flat. As you get more functional, your hips will sit closer to the wall and be flat on the floor at the same time
4. In this position tighten your thighs and pull your toes down and back toward you
5. Your feet must be pointed straight for your hips to properly do the needed work to stabilize your spine

Frog:

Frog promotes lumbar / pelvic extension.

1. Lie on your back with your arms at your side, palms up, and hands relaxed
2. Place the soles of your feet together
3. Center your feet along the mid-line of your body and let your knees relax down to the sides
4. Relax
5. Do not press your knees/ legs to the ground. Just let gravity pull them down

Do you feel better?

I hope this information helped you to understand how your posture relates any pain you may be experiencing.  Every person is different and the exercises that best fit each person vary. If these don't give you a great deal of relief, a postural evaluation will help us better understand the root of your pain and create an individualized set of exercises to help you feel better by realigning your body!

If you have any questions please feel free to contact me! Call or email us today to set up your your postural evaluation and let’s find out what the root of your problem is and get you on the road to recovery!

Chronic Pain...I Get It!

My Story - Chronic Neck Pain & Back Pain

I know what it's like to be in chronic pain. Due to a skiing accident + knee surgery + PT ... oh yeah, and poor posture, my neck and back were in so much pain that I couldn’t wipe down the kitchen counter let alone do things I loved like running, biking, swimming and lifting. I tried everything I could to get better (chiropractic work, massage, acupuncture, PT, DO, etc) and after a few years of various therapies that didn’t provide measurable or permanent improvement, I read Pete Egoscue’s book Pain Free and discovered that the root of my pain was caused by dysfunctional and compensating muscles. Pete offered a simple solution: I could feel much better by performing a series of his “Ecises” on a daily basis. These would reduce pain and improve my posture!

Do you have chronic pain? Recurring Pain?

• Chronic pain?
• Sports induced pain?
• Poor sports performance?
• Neck pain? Back Pain? Foot Pain? Plantar Fasciitis? Shoulder Pain? Carpal Tunnel?
• Accident induced pain?

Find Relief through Corrective Exercise / Posture Therapy:

Because postural therapy was what finally helped me get out of pain, I decided to start helping others with pain. I am now an alignment specialist certified in Foundation Training, MuTu System™ and a postural therapist certified through The Egoscue University. I went through the Egoscue University program after going through a series of visits with one of their clinics in 2010 and found the exercises they taught me was the answer to my pain issues…as it has been for countless others. Foundation Training, created by Dr. Eric Goodman has also been an amazing program for me and many of my clients! The focus on decompressing and stabilizing the spine has worked wonders! MuTu System™, created by Wendy Powell has helped me have a much greater understanding of how to teach people to strengthen their core & pelvic floor in a safe and highly effective manner.

My back is so much better! I run, bike, swim and do countless other activities Pain Free! You can too. If you are suffering from back pain, neck pain, shoulder pain, hip pain, knee or foot pain, and are reading this blog then you’ve found your solution at the Pain Free Clinic of Denver.  I utilize my training through Egoscue University, Foundation Training and MuTu System to create individual programs for each client. Call or email today to set up your postural evaluation!