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DOES IT HELP TO HAVE A POSSITIVE ATTITUDE ABOUT MY PAIN?
Recently
we had a new patient tell us that she has had neck, back and headache pain since having a car accident three years ago. We’ll call her “Mary”. After very little progress despite years of physiotherapy and chiropractic treatment Mary became understandably frustrated with her situation when her physiotherapist told her that
this is what her new life
is going to look like and she simply needs to maintain “a positive attitude” to make the best of it. Ugh…
Not willing to accept that “diagnosis”, Mary recently went for a new set of x-rays. The x-rays revealed five bulging discs!
Three in her neck and two in her lower back! With all due respect, if years of professional help hadn’t already eliminated the bulging of her discs, she was going to need more than a positive attitude to minimize her pain problems.
It appears that Mary doesn’t need more of the same “medicine”, she needs more APPROPRIATE “medicine”. Thankfully a friend of hers is a patient of ours and suggested that Mary come for a Discovery Session to see if her problems are a good fit for what we offer.
Today our 3D Motion Capture
assessment revealed that, like many people we see, her knees, hips, shoulders, and head do not align
well with her ankles (when looking from the side). In fact, most of her body resides forward of where it ought to be. That posture forces most of the muscles of the back side of her body to work much harder than they would otherwise (especially her foot, calf, back, and posterior neck muscles). Does that sound like a problem for someone who has chronic back, neck, and headache pain?!?!? YES, very much so! Although therapy treatments and stretching are often useful in such situations, this postural pattern suggests a serious need for postural strength and stability training.
We also saw that her body alignment was significantly different standing up than it was when she was on the treatment table. This is also often a characteristic that suggests a need for strength and stability rather than “more stretching”. That might help to explain why this yoga lover has not found her yoga practice to be particularly helpful for her pain problems.
Bulging discs and compromised postures are exactly the kinds of problems we help people solve. With cutting edge assessment technology, we make sure we understand the root cause of the problem because what are the odds you can solve a problem you don’t understand? However, once you understand the cause, the solution is usually self-evident. Although “no amount of the wrong medicine will get you better”, sometimes just a little of “the right medicine” can change your life!
Yours in health,
Geoff Dakin
Alignment First
"Most people who have chronic or recurring knee pain have a hip/pelvis alignment problem, a foot/ankle problem, or both." First-principles thinking involves breaking down a problem into its assumption-free, fundamental building blocks. In the chronic pain-elimination game, the following fundamental truths have served me well over the years: 1. The nervous system is paramount. 2. Malalignment of the skeleton adds stress to the neuromuscular system. 3. Postural malalignment can usually be reduced with the practice of appropriately prescribed corrective exercise.
I have found that most people will stretch as aggressively as their pain threshold will allow. However, there is this thing called the “Stretch Reflex.” In other words, stretch too hard and all you are doing is making yourself sore! All pain, no gain. Stretching "the wrong muscles"??? I can hear the gears turning in your head. "The wrong muscles" doesn't make any sense!
Although chronic back pain is the most common chronic pain problem worldwide, of course, it's not the only one. In my practice, I also help people struggling with foot pain, hip pain, shoulder pain, and many others!
In fact, today I want to share with you my perspective on KNEE PAIN, one of the most common problems I'm asked about.
“Impossible” is usually an opinion, not a fact. Although you may’ve taken a very long and winding road to get relief from chronic pain, and you’ve probably even had experiences that suggest that solving your pain problems are “impossible” If you come to the clinic or work with me using video conferencing I can guide you through your rehab training even faster and easier!
This morning I got thinking about something a patient said. She has felt “heard” and she is no longer fearful that she will be “forced to do things that cause undo pain". I put a lot of time, effort, and yes, thought, into making sure you’re getting the care your body needs, not what some system says you SHOULD need.
I continue to see chronic pain problems being mismanaged and misunderstood. Or better said, mismanaged because they are misunderstood. Is it any wonder that people aren’t getting the help they need and instead end up relying on painkillers and surgeries to “solve” their problems?
With people living longer than ever before, more and more individuals find themselves sandwiched between caring for their children and caring for their aging parents. You may experience feelings of grief and loss, as you see your parents changing and the roles of your family shifting. You may also feel fearful and anxious about your parent’s mortality, and that gets you thinking about your own.
The body holds much of the information we need to function at our best, but too often we ignore its messages and plow ahead with what our minds tell us. Instead of asking our body what it wants, we go for the quick fill-up or the comfort food that may be the last thing we really need. So, what to do to give your body an equal say in how you use it?
In challenging times such as these, taking care of ourselves is more important than ever—yet it’s often the last thing on our minds. We all know the negative impact on our health that stress can have—so, let’s find some balance. Take this self-quiz to see how well you are taking care of yourself.
What many people fail to realize is that fear is nothing more than a conditioned response. It's a natural reaction to a frightening or unfamiliar situation. While it is usually automatic, there are things you can do to overcome it. Here are three…
