I'm guessing that most of you reading this post have at one time or another been injured or have had some type of chronic pain. Right?
Think back to that time when you hurt your knee, threw out your back, had chronic nerve pain, or couldn't find enough pain pills to stop the pain. I'm assuming you probably went to see your doctor about the pain to figure out what was wrong and what was causing the pain. Correct?
You might have been told you have a torn ligament or meniscus in your knee, or herniated a disc in your back, or have bone spurs or stenosis causing the nerve pain.
The big question comes next...What can I do about it? How do I fix it?
Think back to that time when you hurt your knee, threw out your back, had chronic nerve pain, or couldn't find enough pain pills to stop the pain. I'm assuming you probably went to see your doctor about the pain to figure out what was wrong and what was causing the pain. Correct?
You might have been told you have a torn ligament or meniscus in your knee, or herniated a disc in your back, or have bone spurs or stenosis causing the nerve pain.
The big question comes next...What can I do about it? How do I fix it?
How you answer this question can make all the difference in the world. Most doctors, because this is how they were trained, would say something along of the lines of: "I can do surgery on your knee to clean up the torn meniscus" or "we can go in and cut away the herniated part of the disc" or "I can clean out your nerve canal so the nerve has more room to function". In other words, your doctor wants to fix the broken pieces of your body. (Which came first: the chicken or the egg?)
What if fixing the broken piece isn't the answer? What caused the disc to herniate? Why do bone spurs form? Is surgery doing anything about the cause of the problem or just treating the symptom?
What if fixing the broken piece isn't the answer? What caused the disc to herniate? Why do bone spurs form? Is surgery doing anything about the cause of the problem or just treating the symptom?
A meniscectomy surgery that cuts away a piece of torn meniscus or a discectomy surgery which removes part of a herniated disc is not fixing why you hurt it in the first place. Roto-rootering your spinal canal or foramina or having a laminectomy surgery or the more invasive fusion surgery do nothing about why you developed stenosis in your spine.
What if, before surgery or instead of surgery, there was something non-invasive, very safe, and highly effective that you could do that might allow you to be pain free and regain full function? What if you could treat the underlying cause of the problem?
As Barefoot Ted says, "why don't you see how it performs in its default position?" The default position is the standing anatomical alignment seen below:
As Barefoot Ted says, "why don't you see how it performs in its default position?" The default position is the standing anatomical alignment seen below:
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When your body is in it's default position, all your joints, muscles, tendons, ligaments, blood vessels, nerves, etc. are able to work as designed. When your body falls out of it's default position (here are the major causes of postural imbalance) the body and its tissues are exposed to increased stress and strain. This stress and strain will show up as compression, tension, and/or shear. Compression can cause stress fractures, compression fractures, disc herniations, and stenosis. Tension can cause muscle, ligament, and tendon tears along with bone spurs and plantar fasciitis. Shear can cause meniscus tears, ACL tears, disc herniations, joint dislocations, and spondylolisthesis.
 An elevated hip can cause a disc herniation and sciatica. |  Forward head posture can cause headaches, neck pain, and nerve impingements. |
 Internally rotated arms and pronated hands can cause carpal tunnel. |  External femur rotation and varus stress can cause meniscus damage and knee osteoarthritis. |
Postural imbalances are caused by the way we use or don't use our bodies. Learn about 10 things that cause posture imbalances here. The great thing about our bodies are they are stimulus response organisms - meaning they respond to what we do. If we change the stimulus our bodies will respond and change. It is important to remember that the human body is build by movement for movement. Each individual posture imbalance is caused by a specific demand or lack of demand and can be corrected by a specific stimulus.
As an Egoscue University certified Postural Alignment Specialist, it is my job to figure out what posture imbalance is causing your pain and what demand we need to place on your body to correct your posture (return your body to its default position). The therapy process will teach you how to understand your body, how to recognize imbalance, how certain e-cises affect posture, and how to restore your postural alignment. Once you've corrected your postural alignment you should be able to live a pain free and active life without limitations.
As an Egoscue University certified Postural Alignment Specialist, it is my job to figure out what posture imbalance is causing your pain and what demand we need to place on your body to correct your posture (return your body to its default position). The therapy process will teach you how to understand your body, how to recognize imbalance, how certain e-cises affect posture, and how to restore your postural alignment. Once you've corrected your postural alignment you should be able to live a pain free and active life without limitations.
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