IS YOUR BACK PAIN CHANGING YOUR BRAIN???

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

Bad Posture - Bad Mood?!

"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...

"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

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

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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Correct Alignment For Your Spine

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?

#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

"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

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

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:

1. Contracting your abdominal muscles (your transverse abdominals) supports your spine and allows you to stand up taller and with less pain.
2. You should check your posture regularly in the mirror and correct it accordingly.
3. A strong 'core' ensures a good posture.
4. You should maintain a straight spine (sitting or standing)
5. Visualising a better posture will help you to maintain one
6. 'Posture' refers only to the alignment of the spine
7. 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

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

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!

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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Women are more susceptible to back problems - Nonsense!

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?

Posture Gadget Madness??

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...

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!

Right, Who Made My Back Hurt?!

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?

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

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???

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?!!!