Health Trek

What Frozen Shoulder?

2007-05-17T21:55:00.001Z

"No one was able to help using any significant change to my frozen shoulder. Unexpectedly, one day, I received the "Pain Free" book in the mail from a friend. I read it in one sitting and immediately started the exercises for shoulder pain. Finally I had found something that made absolute sense." More...

For those who, like me are keen in some visible evidence that something works you might like this picture and testimonial from Kathy Morris who is a client in the Egoscue Clinic in Atlanta. I should congratulate Kathy M. and Sally for helping her get there.

Technorati Tags: egoscue, frozen, shoulder

Does Posture Affect Running Performance?

2007-05-15T12:01:00.001Z

Rather than me waxing lyrical about this and for the benefit of you visual learners, here is a very cool short video with simple visuals. I think it makes the point rather well, don't you?

Click on the video screen TWICE to view it on youtube.com

BTW - this relates to an article in Peak Running, by Brian Bradley (the guy talking in the video) VP of Egoscue.

Technorati Tags: Egoscue, Peak, Running, Posture, Performance

TREVOR HOFFMAN EGOSCUE PATCH VIDEO

2007-04-20T11:16:00.000Z

Where has the past 3 weeks gone?!

This year is going so fast I get motion sickness
when I close my eyes!!

Now, as many of you know, Egoscue work with some
of the greats of American sport and these guys
LOVE the Patch! Even though it kicks their
'butts', big time!!

Trevor Hoffman, is a baseball pitcher for the San
Diego Padres and the all time leader in 'Saves'
(I don't know what they are either!?), which is a
big deal. It's a big deal because it means he's
the best EVER in what he does. E-V-E-R!!!

When I was in San Diego in October, I met Trevor
when he was in the clinic getting his mother-in-law
some help for her hip and back pain. He's a really
nice guy!

Anyway, if you liked the previous Patch videos, you
might like to get a glimpse of Liba Placek (Egoscue
Athletics Director) putting Trevor through his
paces as part of his pre-season training.

Click the link below and scroll down to
'April 07, 2007'. Click on the second option -
'Top 5 The Natural'

Click here for the video link

IF IT'S BROKEN, PATCH IT!

2007-03-26T10:37:00.000Z

Ok, so they're still from back in the day and it looks like someone shot these on their Nokia after rubbing their greasy fingers all over the lens, BUT that's missing the point!

Movement and exercise need not require fancy pants equipment and it should always be, at least just a little fun...

If there are anymore questions on any of these workouts or ecises drop us a line or post a comment here.

Egoscue Patch Videos in The Open!

2007-03-23T15:33:00.000Z

Here are a couple of Egoscue Patch workout videos from the 'archive'. Lets be honest they're not pretty...but I think you guys will enjoy having a look all the same.

I'm not too sure how long they'll be up, so if you have friends you'd like to see them too, pass the link on now...

IS YOUR BACK PAIN CHANGING YOUR BRAIN???

2007-03-22T12:22:00.000Z

BBC NEWS | Health | Back pain linked to brain changes

"Chronic back pain is linked to physical changes in the brain, according to researchers in Germany.

A team found patients with the condition also had microstructural changes in the pain-processing areas of their brains."

Unfortunately, the quote from Dr Jurgen Lutz is very much the reality for a signifigant number of 'chronic pain sufferers',

"A major problem for patients with chronic pain is making their condition believable to doctors, relatives and insurance carriers"

...which poses the question 'why'? Why is it that so many people have difficulty in believing the extent of anothers suffering?

Could it be a lack of understanding of the actual cause? After all, time and time again we hear of cases where the medical community have been stumped as to the causes of pain. In some cases the suggestion is made that it is psychosomatic.

And while I'm in danger of banging on about posure again, just think for a moment, what if it really is that simple? What if our societal obsession with technology and fine detail has meant that we (and the medics) can't see the provebial wood from the trees? (More about this later...)

What is very cool about a study like this is, while it does nothing to tell us how to eliminate the cause of the pain, it very much indicates that the body does indeed work as a unit (thank you Mr Egoscue!).

I for one eagerly await further studies to confirm what Pete Egoscue has been saying for 30 years or so...

Thanks for Graham Wilson for sending me the link for this article. Graham was a student on the recent Egoscue PAS Level I Seminar in London last week (taught by Matt and I). I'm looking forward to hearing about great success from him in the near future.

Talk soon,

Donal

Remember To Have Fun!

2007-03-10T09:04:00.000Z

Nine (Baby) Steps On How To Give Your Child The Absolute Best Start In Life - Baby Step #9

So here we are on the last of our “Nine (Baby) Steps On How To Give Your Child The Absolute Best Start In Life”.

If after reading the previous posts you are somewhat concerned because you used a walker or a playpen or any of the other things we’ve talked about… Don’t be!

You can only work with the information you have at the time and you were undoubtedly doing the best you could with the tools you had. Life is constantly changing and with it, our knowledge of what’s best and what’s not.

If your kids are still young enough, get them out playing as much as you can and make the play as unrestricted as possible… Jumping over and crawling under objects, twisting and turning, jumping up and bending down, hopping, skipping, jumping…

You get the general idea!

Football and other sports are certainly great, though they don’t offer completely unrestricted motion that takes their bodies through a full range. The more unrestricted and free play it is, the better.

And make sure you get out there and join in too! You don’t need us to tell you about the joys of having kids… So relive a little of your youth and get down on the floor or the lawn or anywhere else and join in!

Kids are fun and so is rediscovering your inner child!

The most important aspect in all of this is that you have fun with your little people.

If you would like to get a deeper understanding of the points covered in this series of posts, we can’t recommend enough the reading of Pete Egoscue’s fourth book, Pain Free For Women.

The title can easily give the impression that it’s for women only… Don’t be fooled! It’s a great book that everyone should read.

Chapter 5 is the most pertinent to the points that we’ve been covering in this series of posts.

Talk to you soon!

Meet Them On Their Level

2007-03-09T09:35:00.000Z

Nine (Baby) Steps On How To Give Your Child The Absolute Best Start In Life - Baby Step #8

One of the reasons we often see little people trying to stand before they’re ready (in addition to the sheer boredom of being cooped up in a playpen) is because they’re down low and all the activity is up high.

If you’re not getting down on the floor or the garden lawn very much to play with your kids, you might want to have a look at your own musculoskeletal system to see how functional you are.

You can follow this simple test to see how you get on. And remember to check out Pete Egoscue’s books for a real in depth look at what is going on in your own body. In addition to the link, there’s also a recommended reading list on the right hand side of this page.

So, if you’re not getting down on the floor, why not? When you get down and spend time with the little one, she’ll get the message that it’s OK to be down there and that she’ll join the adult world of standing when she’s built the functions and is ready.

Once again, contraptions like high chairs are great for making sure she is safe while you turn your back, but they are restrictive in movement terms and they also give the message that up high is where all the action is, “So hurry up and join us”.

Now we know that that isn’t really the case, but in a child’s simplistic view of the world, it’s a pretty logical conclusion to come to.

Next time she’s in her playpen, she’ll try grabbing the side rail and pull herself up into a standing position.

Looks great… Until she realises that she doesn’t yet have the function in her hips and pelvis to hold her there. So how to get back down? “Let go and fall seems the best way.”

Sixty years later, as she lowers herself into her favourite armchair, she’ll still be using the, “aim bum over seat and drop into position” tactic. That will simply be blamed on getting old.

So, to encourage your little one to stand when she is ready and not before, get down on the floor with her as much as possible and show her that her world on all fours is very much OK.

And if getting down on the floor is a struggle for you, take a look at your own posture and get started on restoring those lost – but not forgotten – functions.

It’s the last in our series of “Nine (Baby) Steps On How To Give Your Child The Absolute Best Start In Life” tomorrow. We’ll be summing it up, reminding you of one last important step to giving your little person The Absolute Best Start In Life and letting you know where you can get more information on the same topic!

Until then…

*

Confinement Is Detrimental To Good Health

2007-03-08T07:33:00.000Z

Nine (Baby) Steps On How To Give Your Child The Absolute Best Start In Life - Baby Step #7

So we’ve had a look at Baby Walkers and why they’re not so good for the development of your child… And we’ve had a look at hard soles shoes and how they play their part in sabotaging strong, functional muscles.

Today we’re going to look at a device that is great for keeping the little ones safe while Mum and Dad tend to other matters, but aren’t so good for their healthy development…

Today, it’s the playpen! (And unrestricted motion in general).

You’ve probably seen a wee child in a playpen that is screaming at the top of her lungs. Is she throwing a tantrum? Is she being a little brat? Or is she saying, “Hey, get me out of this prison! Don’t you know I’m designed to move and to get out and explore this new world?!”

Now, we realise that life moves at a hundred miles an hour nowadays. Mums go out to work and there are numerous other things that need to be done all the time.

In addition to all of that, when you’ve got a little person to look after, you want to make sure she’s safe while you turn your back to drain the spuds and turn the oven down to gas mark 3…

It’s tough to balance everything.

And we also know that your little person is the most important thing in the world for you. You’ll do whatever it takes to protect her and to ensure that she is fit, strong and healthy.

Which is why she needs to be out of the playpen and given free range to explore wherever she wants as much as is humanly possible.

Crawling and exploring builds strong and healthy muscles… And more than that, "the baby's movement is strengthening not only musculoskeletal system functions but brain functions as well."

That’s quite a realisation for many folks and it’s worth repeating…

"The baby's movement is strengthening not only musculoskeletal system functions but brain functions as well!" *

So keeping your child out of the playpen, out of hard soled shoes and out of baby walkers is not only working towards building strong and healthy muscles (which lead to great posture later), it’s also working to develop brain function too.

Remember, we humans are designed to run, hop, skip, jump… To roll, tumble, reach, bounce and pounce. We are designed to move.

Movement is not only necessary for building strong functions from birth, it is necessary throughout our lives as we continue to repair and regenerate worn parts.

We’ll talk to you again tomorrow when we’ll be looking at the joys of entering their world, as opposed to bringing them into ours!

Talk to you then.

* Reference: Pain Free for Women – Pete Egoscue

*

Give Baby Shoes The Boot

2007-03-07T13:51:00.000Z

Nine (Baby) Steps On How To Give Your Child The Absolute Best Start In Life - Baby Step #6

Aaah, shoes on little feet… We love them almost as much as we love baby walkers!

Get ‘em off!!

While the latest fashion label might look very cute on your little one, guess what? It’s going to do absolutely nothing for helping to build strong functions.

Why not?

Well, for a start, there are more than 100 muscles, ligaments and tendons in the foot. With a hard soled shoe covering them, they’re not getting a workout and building strength and flexibility. (Incidentally, tendons attach muscles to bones while ligaments attach bones to bones).

And if that’s not a good enough reason to keep your little people out of shoes as much as possible, you might want to consider the lever-ability that shoes give. Remember that your child is designed to walk when she’s ready, and not before.

“A hard soled shoe turns a child’s foot into a platform that will encourage her to push herself up into a standing position before she is ready”. *

As we’ve already talked about, standing before she is ready to is going to place a large amount of stress primarily on the hips and pelvis that they aren’t yet ready to handle, not to mention the spine.

If done properly (i.e. all the stages of development have been properly passed through), “it usually takes between seven and twelve months before your child is standing… but you should forget that. If your child is still crawling at thirteen months – it’s no big deal!”

As we’ve said several times now, she will stand when she is ready.

We’ll be talking about the vast benefits or unrestricted motion very soon…

We look forward to catching up with you again tomorrow!

* Reference: Pain Free for Women – Pete Egoscue

*

Walk On… Bye

2007-03-06T13:01:00.000Z

Nine (Baby) Steps On How To Give Your Child The Absolute Best Start In Life – Baby Step #5

Of all the contraptions that are built to “aid child development”, the Baby walker has to be our most disliked.

Just as we’ve talked about previously, if your baby cannot walk unaided, she isn’t ready to walk yet! And the same is true for sitting up or anything else… If she needs help to do it, she hasn’t developed the functions yet and isn’t ready to do it.

Many well-meaning parents put their little ones in walkers to ‘help them along’ or to ‘get them ready for walking’.

Unfortunately, walkers do nothing to help or get them ready for the process.

Going through the stages of development such as creeping on her tummy and crawling are what will prepare your child for walking.

If you’ve ever seen a child in a baby walker, you may have noticed that quite often, their feet don’t quite reach the floor to begin with… So, frustrated at not being able to move, she will reach down with one leg to enable her to ‘push off’.

What happens over the weeks and months is that she will continue to use that same leg, which is going to build the hip and pelvic muscles up on that one side. It doesn’t take a trained expert to see that an imbalance from left to right can and will lead to a compromised posture and problems later in life.

By the time she gets to sixty and is in need of a hip or knee replacement, friends, family and doctors will say, “Well it’s inevitable, isn’t it? What can you expect at your age?”

If the functions are built properly from the start, you can expect to live a pain-free, active life… for the whole of your life. And so can your children!

So if you have your child in a baby walker, let’s get her out and on the floor crawling… Where she’s designed to be!

If, on the other hand, it’s too late and the walker has already been and gone, don’t fret! You can’t turn back the clock and you were simply doing what you thought was best. The thing to do now is to ensure that your child gets lots of unrestricted, free play.

Play that requires them to run, hop, skip, jump, crawl, roll, tumble and all other fun things that they are designed to do.

We’ll be talking more about unrestricted play in a later post, so watch out for that and check back tomorrow for our post on shoes!

Until then…

This Way Up!

2007-03-05T07:42:00.000Z

Nine (Baby) Steps On How To Give Your Child The Absolute Best Start In Life - Baby Step #4

They may look cute, cool and groovy, but are devices like the Backpack Baby Carrier, that keep your little one vertical, so good for their health?

Well, the short answer is no, not really.

As we’ve been talking about the past couple of days, horizontal is where good health is at. Nature has made our design perfect… And that’s not just the functions that She has given us, but also the manner in which those functions are built.

You see, if babies were designed to be in an upright, vertical position, they would be! But they weren’t designed that way. If your child is unable to be upright without a helping hand and by being propped, she isn’t ready to be there yet! (And as we know, she will be ready in her own individual time).

So if backpack carriers aren’t so good, what is the best way to carry a child around?

Well, women from other cultures use a sarong or other such piece of cloth that allows their baby to lie horizontal. In addition to the child being kept in the most beneficial position, it also has the added benefit of being able “to not only hear, but feel the vibrations of their mothers’ words and songs”. *

The mother-child bond that has been built from the moment of conception continues to be built outside in the big wide world… This bond building between mother and child is priceless.

Modern day sarong-type carriers are now on the market and are becoming increasingly popular. As well as keeping your child in a horizontal position and close enough to feel your heartbeat and vibrations, they are also extremely convenient for breast-feeding.

Tomorrow’s baby step #5 will be talking about the thing we love to hate the most… Baby Walkers!

It’s gonna be a good one!

* Reference: Pain Free for Women – Pete Egoscue

*

Four Pillars of Support

2007-03-04T14:24:00.000Z

Nine (Baby) Steps On How To Give Your Child The Absolute Best Start In Life -Baby Step #3

In the previous two posts on “Nine (Baby) Steps On How To Give Your Child The Absolute Best Start In Life”, we talked about building functions by keeping her horizontal until she’s ready to go vertical and the importance of tummy time.

After she’s spent time on her tummy, she’ll be up on all fours crawling before you know it! This is yet another really important aspect to building those functions that we’ve touched on already.

Crawling is one of the first stages of development and it continues the process of building strong muscles around the hips and pelvis – not to mention the shoulders and spine – that will be able to support her properly when she comes to stand.

Skip this important stage and the foundations to the rest of her life will be shaky to say the least.

Think of it this way, depending on how active she turns out to be, she can expect to be taking in the region of between 5,000 and 10,000 steps every day… If she lives to the UK life expectancy of 78, she will have taken between 142,350,000 and 284,700,000 in her lifetime…

Put into easier to read words, that’s somewhere between ‘one hundred and forty-two million, three hundred and fifty thousand’ and ‘two hundred and eighty-four million, seven hundred thousand’ steps in an average lifetime!!

It kind of illustrates the importance of properly functioning muscles around the hips, does it not?!

And proper functioning hip musculature all starts with the importance of crawling… And wiggling, shimmying, shaking, reaching up, reaching out, rolling, pouncing, bouncing and any other type of movement you can think of!

As we talked about yesterday, creeping, or dragging along on the belly, usually starts first and can start anytime after about the age of six months. This is a great way to activate musculoskeletal system functions.

To give a helping hand to those functions developing, try scattering her favourite toys around the room, so that they are just beyond her reach. This will encourage creeping, which in turn will build those strong and healthy functions.

And we know that strong and healthy functions mean a far greater chance of living life without chronic back, hip, shoulder or any other type of joint, pain.

Remember, keep those toys just out of reach; toys that are too close wipe out the need to explore and will leave her rooted firmly to the spot.

In tomorrow’s tip, we’ll look at some of the dangers of going vertical before time with devices such as the backpack baby carrier.

Talk to you then.

Tummy Time!

2007-03-03T10:04:00.000Z

Nine (Baby) Steps On How To Give Your Child The Absolute Best Start In Life - Baby Step #2

In the first of the “Nine (Baby) Steps On How To Give Your Child The Absolute Best Start In Life”, we talked about building functions by keeping her horizontal until she’s ready to go vertical.

A really important aspect to building those functions is by allowing your child time on her tummy as much as possible.

From about the age of two months is when a baby is usually ready to roll over on her own. If it hasn’t happened by then, don’t force it… She’ll do it when she’s ready – the important thing to remember here is that a child’s rate of development is as individual as the child itself.

There is no ‘right’ time to be crawling, or ‘right’ time to start walking or any other ‘right’ time… Everything will happen in the child’s own good time.

When your child does initially go on to her tummy, as she tries to pull herself forward, she’s unlikely to get very far and will probably become a little frustrated. It’s at this point that well-meaning parents often feel sorry for their little one and turn her onto her back again…

That frustration is very good for her and will cause her to ‘dig her heels in’, which is going to build strong and healthy muscles. We’ll talk more about the importance of this in tomorrow’s post.

Play gyms and other such devices, while great for keeping the little one occupied while Mum and Dad tend to other necessities, aren’t very conducive to ‘Tummy Time’. By their very nature, they tend to require babies to be on their back, which is great some of the time… Just so long as there’s enough tummy time to balance things out.

One important aspect of tummy time is that it helps to create a healthy spine with curves in all the right places. Given what many people’s spines look like nowadays, you could be forgiven for thinking that they are designed to be shaped like a ‘C’ or an inverted ‘J’…

However, your spine, my spine and everybody’s spines are designed to be a beautiful elongated ‘S’. They are designed so that there is an arch in the lower back, an outward curve for the upper back and a sweeping curve in for the neck.

Remember, strong and healthy muscles built today mean a far greater chance of a life without back, hip and other joint pain tomorrow.

Speaking of tomorrow, that’s when we’ll be back with the next instalment. We’ll be talking about the importance of building strong and healthy muscles.

Talk to you then.

*

A Horizontal Baby Is A Healthy Adult

2007-03-02T11:42:00.000Z

Nine (Baby) Steps On How To Give Your Child The Absolute Best Start In Life - Baby Step #1

Life can be manic, can’t it?

Rushing around from here to there… There’s always something that needs to be done.

There are some things, however, that simply can’t be rushed, one of which is nature.

You see, nature has got it perfect – the way that we as humans have been designed, the way that the seasons roll into and out of each other, and the way a baby goes through its stages of development, for example.

One of those stages of development for a baby is to be horizontal until she is ready, in her own time, to be vertical.

Notice I said “in her own time”?

That’s because many well-meaning parents want to get their little one up and running before a lot of essential development has taken place.

So what’s the “essential development” that your baby needs then?

Quite simply, she needs to develop functions that will support her when she finally gets to that stage of standing unaided. Not only will these functions support her, they will also give her an infinitely better chance of a life free from pain… Well into old age!

We’ll talk more about developing functions in your child in the remaining “Eight (Baby) Steps On How To Give Your Child The Absolute Best Start In Life”.

Until then…

*

Booming Baby!

2007-02-21T21:57:00.000Z

I'm very happy to say that I became an Uncle for the first time on Sunday! I'm also happy to say that he's been given a rather cool middle name - 'Matthew'! (With Todd being his first name).

Here's a picture of me holding my name sake.

Now, the title of this post may suggest that the little'un has been screaming non stop... but it's far from how it's been.

Apparently he's a very chilled baby who sleeps, eats, does the business in his nappy, and sleeps... again.

So to celebrate the new addition to the family, there will be a series of posts on "Nine (Baby) Steps On How To Give Your Child The Absolute Best Start In Life".

Because posture (and an active, pain-free lifestyle) starts right now.

Many well meaning parents do things that would be best avoided and don't do things that would be of great benefit to their child.

So if you'd like to find out just what those 'things' are, check back over the next few days to find out more.

You can rest assured that Todd is going to be one fit and functional toddler and a fine champion of The Egoscue Method!

Talk to you again soon.

Matt

*

Bad Posture - Bad Mood?!

2007-02-16T23:53:00.000Z

"Poor posture can also affect your moods, your intestines and your clothing! Slouching is synonymous with laziness, tiredness and depression and sitting up straight actually can change your mood; your intestinal tract can become sluggish and blocked if you are sitting in poor posture. A client, whose goal was to improve her posture, told me that in this past year she has gained 3/4 inches in height because her posture had improved. Her clothes fit better because they don't bunch in unsightly areas and her shoulders fit better into her jackets." more...

There are some good points well made in this article. Rememnber that there is much more to posture than 'the core' and often gentle exercises with little or no added resistance are more effective than 'resistance training'.

Promise yourself to be so strong...

2007-02-15T15:49:00.000Z

"Promise yourself to be so strong that nothing can disturb your peace of mind. Look at the sunny side of everything and make your optimism come true. Think only of the best, work only for the best,and expect only the best.

Forget the mistakes of the past and press on to the greater achievements of the future. Give so much time to the improvement of yourself that you have no time to criticize others. Live in the faith that the whole world is on your side so long as you are true to the best that is in you!”

- Christian D. Larson

I love a good quote! So, when I came across this one I thought I'd share it with all of you.

It very much in line with what it means to take responsibiliy for your own health and to work on that (a little) each and every day - after all, shouldn't you regard yourselve as the best and wouldn't some posture work be time spent on 'the improvement of yourself'?

Some might also say that being 'true to the best that is in you' is another way of saying, you should align with the best of your true self...did someone say posture?!

Talk soon,

Donal

Move More For Better Posture

2007-02-14T11:42:00.000Z

Posture Myth #7 "A brace or corset is an effective way to improve your posture"

Lets start with the basics. Pain is a posture problem and posture is a lifestyle problem which needs a lifestyle cure.

Braces work for your teeth because there are no muscles there and you don't have joints in your teeth - they don't move individually. So called 'posture braces' restrict your natural movement. Your body needs more, not less movement!

Notice how the girl in the picture on the right has her right shoulder higher than her left! (click on the picture to enlarge)

A brace is not going to address the elevated right shoulder, because the brace doesn't understand why it's there and can't address the cause. If 'muscles move bones' (and they do!), then you need to remind the muscles what they are supposed to be doing in order to put the bones back where they belong.

An Egoscue exercise (or e-cise) program will treat the whole body, addressing the specific compensations and dysfunctions present.

There's More To Your Posture Than Your Back

2007-02-13T17:46:00.000Z

Posture Myth #6 "'Posture' refers only to the alignment of the spine"

For most of us, as kids we became used to every day chides like 'sit up straight' or 'stand up tall' from our parents and school teachers. And while they may never have actually said it, the assumption was that they were primarily refering to the alignment of your spine.

This notion has penetrated our psyche to the extent that the vast majority of people, tend to believe that posture is only a reference to the position of the spine. Yet, in actual fact, posture refers to the alignment of the whole body - from the foot position, to the tilt of your pelvis and the sideways lean of your head.

Your posture is a snapshot of your muscles ability to function correctly - form follows function! So, the position of your feet in your standing posture can reveal a great deal of information about how the muscles of your pelvis are able to do 'their job' and why you have that back pain.
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Is Visualisation Enough to Improve Your Posture?

2007-02-12T11:28:00.000Z

Posture Myth #5 "Visualising a better posture will help you to maintain one"

Visualisation (or imagination) is a useful skill to have. After all, without the imagination of inventors and innovators we would certainly not have the luxuries of modern living.

When it comes to our health, the ability to see or visualise things better than they currently are (sometimes called hope) is an important step. We need to have goals beyond the absence of our symptoms.

The next step is to have a plan. This plan must be achievable and must be measurable. How will you know when you are making progress?

Will you see it the difference? Or will you feel it?

TAKE ACTION!

That's right, a plan needs action to be meaningful. You have over 600 muscles in your body which require and are designed to respond to physical stimulus. Give them the right movement and they will pay you handsomely.
*

Pain Free Radio... Update

2007-02-11T00:40:00.000Z

So Pete Egoscue hosted his weekly radio show last Saturday, which is ready for you to download right now!

This show has callers phoning in with issues such as:

Pain in the pelvis
Arm pain
Ankle pain
Knee pain

As well as other symptoms, including:

Migraine headaches
Rib pain

You can download the MP3 Podcast right here!

Enjoy the show and make sure you check back every week for new updates!

Correct Alignment For Your Spine

2007-02-10T19:51:00.000Z

Posture Myth #4 "You should maintain a straight spine (sitting or standing)"

When you sit or stand your spine is designed to have a neutral alignment, which rather than straight, has a natural ‘S’ curve. Deviation away from this ‘S’ curve is in all but very exceptional cases, the result of poor posture as a result of repetitive patterns of movement and a modern sedentary lifestyle.

Attempts to consciously change the curve of the spine do not address the route cause of the problem – your muscles are not doing the job they are intended to do.

You must address the body as a unit and restore the design ‘S’ curve of the spine. The result will be miminum effort to achieve and maintain this position.

Does Core Strength Mean Better Posture?

2007-02-09T19:26:00.000Z

#3 in the Posture Myths series:

While a strong core can certainly benefit posture, it’s not a given that it will.

Firstly, if we concentrate on the core we may be ignoring other vital pieces of the equation. Remember, the body works as a unit - the foot bone is connected to the ankle bone, the ankle bone is...

To simply work on the core, while you may strengthen it, in addition you may unintentionally make our postural compensations and dysfunctions (misalignments) stronger, potentially compounding any existing problems.

So what is the answer?

‘Straighten…then strengthen!’

You want to consider the position of your feet, knees, hips and shoulders as well as the alignment of the spine and head. By addressing all these elements and using the muscles to put them back in their design position, you’ll achieve a balanced and optimally healthy posture.
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Posture Myths #2

2007-02-08T10:42:00.000Z

"You should check your posture regularly in the mirror and correct it accordingly"

Observing your posture in the mirror is a great idea. When you do, you should ideally do so in your underware (or naked!) in a full length mirror if possible. Look for:

Are your shoulders level?

Is one hip higher than the other?

Do your feet point straight ahead?

Where do your knees point?

Are you 'knock kneed' or 'bow legged'?

Is one side of your body closer to the mirror than the other?

The answers to these questions will tell you a lot about any postural imbalances you have. Then you can go about addressing them.

So, how do you address the imbalances? Well consciously attempting to correct them doesn't work!

You see, each muscle has specific functions that it is designed to do. When your posture is compromised you know that there are muscular dysfunctions and consequent compensations occurring.

Consciously correcting the misalignment does nothing to address the functional deficit. What you need, is to to remind the muscles of their proper function with exercises designed to do so.

To start now, click here to get a FREE Egoscue ecise menu appropriate for your particular posture.

See more controversial myths about posture here
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Relax You Abdominals For Better Posture

2007-02-07T10:49:00.000Z

Following on from yesterdays 'Posture Myths' post...

Here are a few things to consider regarding contracting your abdominals:

The diaphragm is an important postural muscle. Consider that the average person takes in the region of 23,000 breaths daily, yet only 10% of people are are said to actually recruit their diaphragm. If in addition you begin to contract the abdominals you are further inhibiting proper function of the diaphragm.
The abdominals work to flex the trunk, in opposition to the majority of the muscles of the back which are extensors of the spine and trunk.
You, as a typical person already spend 11 or more hours sitting - IN FLEXION.
What you don't need is more flexion - you need balance!

The body works as a unit. You need to address your posture wholistically, from head to toe restoring the balance from left to right and the dynamic tension from front to back.
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7 Controversial Myths About Posture

2007-02-06T12:59:00.000Z

There is a lot of talk about posture from well meaning 'experts' and magazines are full of 'posture tips'. Below are a few of the common myths that you are being told about posture:

Contracting your abdominal muscles (your transverse abdominals) supports your spine and allows you to stand up taller and with less pain.
You should check your posture regularly in the mirror and correct it accordingly.
A strong 'core' ensures a good posture.
You should maintain a straight spine (sitting or standing)
Visualising a better posture will help you to maintain one
'Posture' refers only to the alignment of the spine
A brace or corset is an effective way to improve your posture

We'll look at these in a little more detail over the next post or two, to understand them within the bigger picture.

The Straw That Broke The Camels Back

2007-02-05T17:48:00.000Z

If you've ever suffered from muscle or joint pain, there's a good chance you blamed it on a specific event or activity (or maybe even your age).

It's not uncommon to hear runners, for example, blame running for their knee pain. Just as it's not uncommon for folks to blame bending over for their back pain.

Now, while running can certainly trigger knee pain and bending over can trigger back pain, neither of these activities are the cause of the problem.

Let's illustrate the point to make it a little clearer...

Let's say Alex were to come along and throw a bucket of water over you and your friend Sam. You'd both get wet, right?

In fact, it doesn't matter who Alex throws the water over, it will always cause a person to get wet. Water causes wetness - it gets the same result every time.

Now let's say that when Alex threw the water over you, you found it cool and refeshing. But when Alex threw the water over Sam, s/he became angry and clearly wasn't amused.

The two reactions to the same event were different. Therefore, we can say that water was the trigger for your refreshed feeling and for Sam's anger... It didn't cause those feelings.

A cause gets the same results everytime. A trigger produces results that vary.

So, while running can trigger knee pain and bending over can trigger back pain, neither knee pain nor back pain are caused by running or bending over.

The knee pain and the back pain were both "accidents waiting to happen" due to postural misalignment. The running and the bending were "the straw that broke the camels back".

It's your posture - the position of the joint, not the condition - that causes the problem. Change the position through posture realignment, and you can enjoy running, gardening or any of your other favourite activities without pain!

(More about the cause of back pain here...)

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Bad Posture Causes Paralysis

2007-02-05T11:23:00.000Z

You might want to sit down before you read this...er, on second thoughts stand up - but hold on to something!

Article -icCoventry - Sitting at a desk left me unable to walk

"OFFICE worker Christine Wheeldon is back on her feet after being left temporarily unable to walk - by bad posture at work.

…she felt numbness in her bottom which she couldn't get rid of, but within two days that had spread to both her legs, leaving her unable to walk.

…the 47-year-old from Regent Place, Leamington, was amazed when she was told the problem was caused by a combination of her bad posture and physical inactivity while at work." more...

Now, if you find this a bit frightening, consider it an indication of just how important your posture really is to your health.

There are one or two points that should be mentioned here. As Dr McKiernan, from BackCare says, this is not an occupational issue. It's not that bad posture and being sedentry at work was the only factor - what about bad posture and being sedentry at home?!

We carry our posture everywhere (actually it carries us). So, the problem is not the chair/matress/job/pc/sport, it's the body you take there.

Be good to your body - Feed your posture today and plan on doing it daily for the rest of your life.

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I'm In Pain - Fix Me NOW!

2007-02-04T19:58:00.000Z

This is a comment I left on another blog - I thought I'd give it a home here also:

The ‘fix me’ attitude is a symptom of the society within which we live, the so called Western World. We expect to be able to purchase instant gratification. THe most unfortunate thing is that it is probably our most pervasive export.

Pain is indeed a call for attention. Actually, the body offers many more subtle messages to inform us that all is not well. By the time we have pain, the message is more akin to a desperate scream.

Symptom based treatment is at best short sighted. At it’s worst it is unnecessary invasive surgery giving little or no relief.

Fortunately the body has many forms of communicating and posture is available for all of us to see. As posture is a snapshot of function (the ability of the muscles to perform a given task without pain, limitation or compensation) deviations from design posture tell us of imparment.

By addressing the posture and treating the body as the highly integrated unit it is we begin the process of REPAIRMENT -

“the dynamic process of regaining health and vitality, far beyond the absense of symptoms and limitations.”

Check your posture for imbalances now - click here.

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Don't Do Anything Else About Your Pain Until You've Listened To This...

2007-02-03T13:40:00.000Z

If you've not yet heard Pete Egoscue hosting his Pain Free Radio Show, you'll want to have a listen. Every week, he chats with people about their pain and then, the best bit, he gives them an exercise to do that immediately impacts their symptom!

Last week's show had folks phoning in with symptoms related to:

Back Pain
Neck Pain
Arm Pain
Knee Pain
Foot Pain
Hip Pain
Shoulder Pain

And it's not just the usual pains that Pete helps with... There were also calls related to:

Vertigo
Bunions
Bladder Problems
Shingles

Download the Pain Free Radio Podcast right now!

Look out for a new show every week!

Women are more susceptible to back problems - Nonsense!

2007-02-02T11:51:00.000Z

Article - Easy strategies can help ease back pain

"Women are more susceptible to back problems because their backs and abdomens are weaker, causing more strain on the spine.
Childbearing, carrying heavy purses and doing housework also add to the potential for pain..." more

While this is is simply not true, it also prepetuates an unhealthy victim mentality. STOP! and think about this for a moment - do you think that in 4 million years of existance that nature has played a sick joke on women? That women are weak and fragile and 'that's just how it is'?

And don't think it stops at back pain, next you'll be being told that nature intended for you to be chained to the kitchen sink!

The 'information' age we now live in, means that we are all bombarded with thousands of messages daily. The danger is if we do not challenge the logic, validity and ultimate truth of those statements we can begin to allow them to seep into our consciousness and beliefs, accepting them as truths.

Gaining an understanding of how posture offers you an opportunity to become empowered and accept responsibility for your health (a corner stone of the success of the Egoscue Method) is for many a first step and important step. That understanding won't come from books (or blogs) it's not intellectual, - it's experiencial!

With the acceptance of responsibility, comes the need to challenge the healthcare providers and 'experts' from whom you seek advice. This is not to be 'difficult' or obstinate. Understand that many of the very well intentioned people we put our trust in, have built their beliefs on their own life experience.

Is it time you found your own truth?

Your Questions Answered

2007-02-01T20:05:00.000Z

Here are a few of the great questions we've been getting relating to the Egoscue PAS Seminar coming up on March 12-16th, in London.

Q. What does the [Egoscue] PAS involve?

A. Comprehensive home study including 6 in depth modules and 216 E-cises to get familiar with, followed by an action packed, 5 day seminar.

Q. Is the PAS based on the 3 conditions from the P3?

A. No. The PAS goes into much more depth. Remember the P3 is based on Pete’s book The Egoscue Method of Health Through Motion, which is designed as a “self help” manual. You will learn to construct individualised menus that are tailored to an individuals specific compensations and dysfunctions.

You’ll take posture assessment to a completely new level looking at all 8 load bearing joints (and the spine) and how their position relates to your clients symptoms and limitations to performance.

Q. What do I need to do to get my qualification?

A. To achieve certification as an Egoscue PAS, you will be required to submit knowledge reviews relating to the home study modules. In addition, you will either complete a written and oral exam (on day 5) or submit case studies.

If you have a question, you can email us directly or better still post it as a comment here on this blog post.

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Posture Gadget Madness??

2007-02-01T14:45:00.000Z

Visomate spots poor posture

"Maintaining a good posture is something that has to be taught to children when they are young, or they will end up hunched over in front of their computers when puberty hits, making any attempt at change doomed from the beginning. I am speaking from experience, and think that the Visomate USB Vision and Posture Reminder targets those who want to make a positive change in their seating habits." more...

Aaaaaah...I don't really know what to say about this...

I do think, there are good intentions behind this, yet it's another great example of how we tend to look for gadgets to 'fix' things. Adopting a short term view and ignoring the longer term implications speaks to acting from a place of fear.

See How Should You Sit?

Donal

Follow The Leader? Follow Yourself...

2007-01-31T13:42:00.000Z

I came across this quote by the Japanese poet Matsuo Basho today...

"Do not seek to follow in the footsteps of the wise. Seek what they sought."

So we could look at this in the same sense as Motivation Vs Inspiration. The wise person is one who moves towards pleasure, rather than moving purely away from pain.

Or put another way, the wise person is one who moves towards improving posture for a life without limitations, rather than simply moving away from pain.

We'll leave you with that thought!

Motivation v Inspiration

2007-01-31T11:38:00.000Z

The inspiration for this post came from an Egoscue message board post by Matt Whitehead, Clinic Director - The Egoscue Method Portland.

Motivation is fear based - away from. Inspiration is joy based - towards.

Big difference, don't you think?

Think about this: why do you want to be pain free? And is being pain free really your goal?

If you are taking action (such as doing your Egoscue menus) to be Pain Free, that is motivation – a short term, fear based approach.

If you are doing menus to get your body able to walk, run, play with your grandkids, or climb a mountain, that is inspiration - which is a long term solution.

Inspiration doesn't have to be big or clever, it just has to have meaning.

Right, Who Made My Back Hurt?!

2007-01-29T16:56:00.000Z

StopMusclePain » Blog Archive » Selective activation of muscles with eToims

Firstly I do have to admit that I have not yet looked at any of these movies. There are a few points though that do spring to mind.

I do admire anyone who will committ to a course of action for the long term. It speaks a great deal about the stickability of the individuals which is uncommon.

There is however the fact that this man of 81 years of age has been suffering needlessly with back and neck pain for 50 years! 50 years!!! And now for the last 16/17 he's been having these weekly treatments.

While I'm certainly not implying it's the case here, I am often amazed by the lengths people will go to, to give responsibility for their health to an "expert".

If only we'd take a small step (or 3) back and look at the whole picture. We wouldn't for instance, stand in an orchard and assume an apple was suspended in mid air, because we take in the whole picture and see that it's hanging from a branch, connected to a tree and that that tree is firmly rooted in the soil.

The likely hood is that the roots of your pain lie in a very different location to the symptom. Your posture is the secret to unlocking your pain.

How Should You Sit?

2007-01-29T10:49:00.000Z

How To Keep Good Posture When In Front Of A Computer at Ririan Project

This article got me thinking about the advice dished out about sitting 'up right'...

It's actually one of the most common questions students and clients ask, "what is the right way to sit (sleep/stand)?"

And considering the general advise typically given, it's no wonder I get a look of initial surprise when I first answer, "whatever way is comfortable". You see, consciously sitting (or sleeping or standing) in a particular way is really compensating for a compensation - like two wrongs trying to make a right!

It just doesn't work.

If you can't sit 'up straight' comfortably without conscious effort that is a clear message. The message is telling you that you are compensating to try to hold this position.

So rather than try to overcome the limitation with will power and bloody mindedness, wouldn't it be more sensible to address the route cause - your posture.

Try this quick Egoscue exercise:

Sit in a hard backed chair and move about 6" forward from the back.
Put your feet flat on the floor, with your knees bent at 90 degrees
Now, roll your hips forward using the muscles at the front of your hips to put a little arch in your lower back with your shoulders over your hips.
Place a fat pillow between your knees and gently squeeze and release x60 with equal work on both sides.
Watch the video here

Notice now how you feel to sit. Is it a little easier to sit unsupported? Do you feel more in contact with the back of the chair when you sit back?

If you notice a change from doing this just once it's telling you that you can change your posture simply by giving your body the right kind of stimulus on a daily basis!

Do yourself a favour and move more, NOT less.

And remember as the man says, "The Body Works As A Unit!"

You can read the tips here

By the way the correct way to sleep is however you can get 8 hours sleep each night ;-)

Simple Posture Imbalance Test

2007-01-26T15:20:00.000Z

Here is a very quick test you can do yourself to notice if you have posture imbalances - expanded from an earlier post.

Kick off your shoes and stand up on a hard, level floor if possible. Relax your hands by your sides while relaxing and breathing from your abdomen.

Now close your eyes and pay attention to your balance and where your weight distribution is located on your feet. Notice:

Is there more weight on the left or right foot
Does the weight bare on the inside or outside of your feet
Are you back on your heels or on the balls of your feet

When you've noted all this, you can of course open your eyes.

Now, take a look at your feet. Do they both point in the same direction? If not, do they point at different angles?

If you're like 99% of the population, you noticed that your weight distribution was a little uneven (or maybe a lot uneven!) and that your feet point in different directions.

So what to do about it?

The first thing is to put your feet straight and only hip width apart (4-5" or 10cm). Keep your stomach relaxed and continue to breathe from your abdomen. Now do the following:

Pinch your shoulder blades together - moving them down and back - and release. Repeat X30
Make BIG circles with your shoulders forwards. Repeat X30 and X30 Backwards
Now squeeze and release your bum (or butt) cheeks. Repeat X60

When you've finished these, close your eyes and recheck you balance and weight distribution. ALso notice if you feel your posture has changed.

If you do notice changes to your posture and weight distribution there is a lesson here:

THE BODY WORKS AS A UNIT

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What?...Posture Work Helps Pain???

2007-01-26T12:32:00.000Z

The Egoscue Method - Be Pain Free

This is a great post of this guy's experience with Egoscue and how it's affected his pain and posture to date. There really isn't much else to say about this except that I love this line,

"It wasn’t that slouching was uncomfortable, it just felt unnatural."

Read it all here

Maybe there really is something to this posture malarkey after all?!!!

Causes of Back Pain

2007-01-25T18:55:00.000Z

Article - Why Does My Back Ache?

"Muscle strain; poor posture; fractures; viral infection; women suffering gynecological problems; infection of kidney or bladder; too much pressure on a nerve root; tumors; osteoporosis; bacterial infection; arthritis and stress or trauma.
The doctor will diagnose the reasons for your backache after performing several tests on you. A blood test is required. Plus X-ray of spine, CT scan or MRI can also be required depending upon the seriousness of the issue." more...

The simple fact is that few of the listed reasons are likely to be the cause of your back pain. Possible, but statistically highly unlikely.

So what about looking at the simple solution first. The one that is non-invasive and the only side effects are entirely positive.

Mention of infections, tumours and diseases just scares people to death, while being dressed up as a warning or of educational value. Sure, regular health checks are advisable, yet there is little benefit in people becoming hypochondriacal.

If we have a few glasses of wine at a party, we don't wake the next day assuming we have a brain tumor typically. So, why is it so easy to ignore the cause of our back pain (or other pains) and look for diseases or blame the trigger?

We'll talk more about the difference between a trigger and a cause soon...

We've now talked more about causes and triggers. Check it out here.

Better Posture, Better Golf???

2007-01-25T16:39:00.000Z

The Golf Blog: Important Golf Factors…Posture & Stance

Victor Nunn tells us that posture is a factor in your golf game - some would say it is fundamental.

Just to be clear, your spine is designed to have what is often refered to an "S" shaped curve rather than to be straight like a board. Being "hunched over" means that your spine is unable to rotate properly, causing you to compensate by rotating your hips instead to get back swing.

The result of "hunching" is a butt ugly swing, loss of club head speed, pittiful drives and a small fortune in Titlest balls as you hack your way around the course.

The key is the body (posture) you take to the course! Improve your posture before you go to the course and watch as your friend jaws hit the floor.

Go check out the Egoscue Condition 2 posture here and see if you recognise anything in the mirror. Then have a go at the exercises suggested for a least a week to begin with and when you start getting results keep doing 'em!!!

Read Victor Nunn's artilce here

Donal

Shocking Link Between Posture And Confidence Suggested

2007-01-25T11:10:00.001Z

Tips on projecting a confident image

There's no arguing that these tips on projecting a confident image are sound, however the author is suggesting that posture and body language are one and the same and that doesn't quite fly.

"Body Language +Stand with weight evenly distributed over both feet with head level. This will help the speaker appear stable, levelheaded and straight forward. +And open posture and fluid hand gestures will help one appear comfortable and conversational. Hands that are clasped or stiff can look too formal or disengaged."

'Poor' posture will contribute to 'poor' body language. Similarly, 'good' posture contributes to 'good' body language.

Try this simple test. Kick off your shoes and stand up. Relax your hands by your sides and relax and breathe from your abdomen. Now close your eyes and pay attention to where your weight distribution is located on your feet. Notice:

Is there more weight on the left or right foot
Does the weight bare on the inside or outside of your feet
Are you back on your heels or on the balls of your feet

When you've noted all this, you can of course open your eyes.

Now if you're like 99% of the population, you noticed that your weight distribution was a little uneven (or maybe a lot uneven!). So, would you really like to give a public speech while trying to concentrate on keeping your weight evenly distributed??? Isn't public speaking difficult enough for most people?

Wouldn't you rather not have to think about your posture at all and just focus on giving a great presentation? What would it be like to be able to stand up in public situations (or any other situation) and have your weight evenly distributed, your head level, shoulders back?

In fact, lets go a step further. What if your voice was resonating (light projects, sound resonates) richly with volume and depth? And eye contact was easily maintained?

Well, maybe it's just crazy talk, but I'm going to tell you that if you address your posture effectively all this happens naturally and with ease. In turn you feel and appear more confident.

So, what really is posture and how do you address it effectively? ...Well I'll have to come back to that a little later (and I will). For now, just remember this - muscles move bones.

Read the complete article here

Talk soon

Donal

Blogged with Flock

Posture Article

2007-01-24T15:45:00.001Z

Posture pitfalls and back-saving stretches

There are a couple of good points made in this article, however Prof Griffin is only touching on a small piece of the posture puzzle.

“Our bodies are not set up to hold one posture for that length of time and the long-term, negative effect of this is that certain muscles get tightened and others lose their strength, permanently changing our posture.”

We all already know intuitively that we are not designed to stay in one static position for lengthy peroids - isn't that what the stiff feeling or worse still the pain are telling us?! The good news is that you can change your posture quite quickly by feeding your body some of the movement that it has been starved of.

"By changing your posture and stretching tired and fatigued muscles, you give them a chance to recover, and reduce the chance of permanent changes or injury. Doing this a few times a day can make a tremendous difference to the health of your back."

The term "permanent damage" is misleading here. It implies that your posture will become 'broken'. Remember that posture can be improved. The first step is as the good professor says, to move more.

Read the complete article here

If you are currently experiencing pain, try these Egoscue exercises paying close attention to the instructions - click here.

technorati tags:Egoscue, posture, pain, exercises, back, health, stretches, muscles

Punch Drunk

2007-01-24T10:27:00.000Z

So yesterday, we had an interesting meeting with Shaa Wasmund. She's the business coach for Channel 4's 'The Day I Got The Sack' and won Business Woman of The Year while helping build Dyson into an international brand as well as working as a boxing promotor for Chris Eubank.

While we left feeling like 2 school boys with our tails firmly between our legs (think Condition 3 posture), it would be hard to deny that the lady does indeed know her stuff.

Anyway, apparently there are way too many people out there who are crying out for what is offered in the Egoscue P3 Workshop (and some of them don't even know it yet!), so we'll be announcing a new date very soon.

More P3 Pics

2007-01-23T16:55:00.000Z

Greg Smith from Aegis Training has up loaded some nice pics from the Egoscue P3 (Posture, Pain & Performance) Workshop to his photo diary blog here.

Check out some of his other offerings too - I particularly like the dramatic contrasting skyscape with the London Eye - is there really no end to this mans talent?!

Donal

P3 - Great Success!

2007-01-22T22:24:00.000Z

Break out time at the Egoscue P3 last weekend in London.Greg tells Donal how it really is!

We had a great day with everyone at the Egoscue Posture, Pain & Performance Workshop on Saturday. It was a really good mix of participants from different backgrounds - personal trainers, massage therapists, pilates teachers, a chiropractic student and even a stock broker! - who ALL contributed to the rich tapestry of the day.

Big thanks go to Aegis Training for hosting the event in their awesome training space and studio. Greg and Graeme were both very welcoming and true stars!!

Keep an eye out for the video action coming soon...

Welcome!

2007-01-22T11:39:00.000Z

Hi folks,

Just a quick post to say hello and to look out for some great things related to Posture, Pain and Performance (we'll throw in some prevention too!). You're invited to share in all of the health news and views.

Look out also for details of Saturday's very successful Egoscue P3 workshop, along with some very cool video clips and photos!

See you soon!

Matt & Donal