It’s been an interesting journey for me throughout the last decade in learning and incorporating different approaches in bodywork
within a body-mind wellness model. I began studying different Holistic medical
modalities while overseas and still serving in the Navy years ago. When I
came back stateside, many of my international certifications were not
recognized stateside. Many forms of bodywork that were specialized overseas
were initially lumped under a Massage Therapy licensure (back in 90s). So, in
order to use my training in neuromuscular therapy and acupressure, I went back
to school stateside under this path initially so that I could practice what I
previously trained in.
The bulk of my practice was while living in North Carolina.
My practice seemed to evolve and focus in two main areas. I found myself mostly
working with returning Veterans with medical considerations. I also worked with
pain management and lifestyle coaching for Active Seniors. I covered the Raleigh,
Durham and Chapel Hill areas. I loved my skill sets. However, I found that they
had some clear cut Pros and Cons.
On the Pros side, by having the person relaxed on the table,
I was able to accurately feel out spams, knots, pains and adhesions and work
them out; I felt like I was able to work both acute and chronic conditions with
great success. If their pain was caused
by something short term; a neck cramp from sleeping wrong, a fall, or a work
related injury, the results of the therapies used could be long lasting.
The Cons side of this was that I saw a recurring pattern.
Usually my clients had reoccurring pains that were a result of repetitive
misuse or misalignment. (Sitting patterns at a work desk, prolonged lifting on
the job or even something as simple as shoe problems with posture.) In these
cases, the pain relief was short lived and the client became a “regular”,
whether to spot fix a pain, or to be preventative in keeping it from returning.
Mind you, that is ok if that is what the client wants.
My concern was that I disliked that clients were feeling
like they were dependent on someone else to give them relief. I think a
healthcare provider should be there to initially facilitate hands on if needed.
But ultimately, only YOU know how you truly feel and are recovering. I wanted
to provide relief for my clients, and continue to empower and educate them to
keep themselves that way. The second concern is that it’s only been over
the last few years that our healthcare system has been taking a more of holistic
approach when it comes to treating pain or rehabilitative therapy.
Holistic you say? No
I am not talking about New Age crystals and droning music. Holistic, or more
aptly WHOLISTIC, is used from the standpoint that having a pain problem in one
part of your body will eventually cause problems with other parts of your body,
as a whole, that are having to step in and take on an extra workload to
compensate for the injured area. When my father had a recent hip replacement,
the damage to the hip socket was extensive.
He had pain in his leg and hip for many years before this. He was using a cane and even a walker at one
point. Constantly shifting his weight on the other leg, as well as bending
over, caused all sorts of havoc on the opposite knee and foot on the “good” leg. This even travelled up, manifesting as
migraines, and neck/shoulder problems. He went to physical therapy after his
surgery. He asked if they could help
him with these areas that have been affected. He was told that his insurance
wouldn't cover that. So the leg was fixed, but the other problems still
remained because he was out of alignment and wasn’t given the tools to correct
them on his own.
Herein lays an
example of why I chose the BioMechanics Method. In the simplest terms, I wanted
a system to help YOU be the best therapist for the job. The BioMechanics Method
is a cutting-edge approach to pain relief and performance enhancement (whether
in recreational activities or in day-to-day living). It is an education and
training program that integrates structural assessment procedures, self-massage
and muscle testing, corrective exercise principles, and life coaching
strategies to ensure successful elimination of pain.
Is the BioMechanics Method of Corrective
Exercise, right for you? Corrective exercise programs may not help
everyone because there are situations that may be more complicated. Each body
has its own particular design, and everyone has different circumstances. On top of that, I’ve been asked:
Question: I see many sites coming out with online
downloads of corrective exercise routines I could do for my problem pain areas. What makes this
different? Why go with a certified specialist?
The simplest answer for this is a personalized program based
on YOUR needs. All corrective exercise programs, like all bodywork therapies
can be helpful. However, many of these downloads clearly state that the
routines offered are based on the most
common misalignments. This means that if you don’t quite fall into that
category, but try following a routine but not taking everything into account,
you may actually AGGRIVATE the surrounding muscles and make it worse. You might
not be performing exercises correctly without someone to observe and initially guide
you through the movements. That can add further pain, leading to frustration
and feeling like yet another dead end. You are able to better understand what
is going on within your body and work towards being pain free through
structural assessments and personalized routines.
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