Presentation of Postural Alignment

PAIN FREE THROUGH POSTURAL ALIGNMENT

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REASONS FOR CLAIMING DISABILITY BENEFITS

Mental and behavioural disorders 1,183,390 47%

Diseases of the musculoskeletal system 352,710 14%

Symptoms, signs of abnormal clinical findings 263,890 10%

Diseases of the nervous system 163,460 6%

Injury, poisoning 128,030 5%

Diseases of the circulatory system 99,240 4%

Diseases of the respiratory system 54,420 2%

Neoplasms (benign and malignant cell growth i.e. cancer) 51,920 2%

Diseases of the digestive system 40,020 2%

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WHAT IS MUSCULAR PAIN? 

❖ Muscular Pain is a message being sent to brain via the central nervous system.

❖ Foolproof system, see it as something positive.

❖ Lot of focus on the nervous system (e.g. neuropathy - hands and feet feel cold or numb because of no neural function).

❖ Cause is most often lack of motion.

❖ Cold or numbness is indication that nerves are working fine and that the muscle is shut down due to lack of oxygen.

❖ Sciatica mostly due to anterior pelvic tilts and weak muscles in lower back. Disc slips with wrong movement and impinges on nerve.  It’s not neurological.

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WHO IS PETE EGOSCUE?

❖ Studied politics.

❖ Got injured in Vietnam.

❖ After years of failed therapy realised that body has a specific design that if restored enables us to move pain free.

❖ Human skeleton developed over millions of years; we had to move to get food and survive.

❖ The human skeleton is designed to run, walk, skip, jump, climb, fall, dance. We are Motion machines.

❖ “MOVE WE DO AND MOVE WE MUST”

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THE PRINCIPLE BEHIND THE EGOSCUE METHOD?

❖ Starts with the understanding that we all share the body’s inner power to heal itself.

❖ Treat the cause of the problem, not the site of the pain.

❖ Unless treatment addresses underlying musculoskeletal dysfunctions, pain relief can only be temporary.

❖ If in doubt the patient is always right. 

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WHAT IS POSTURAL ALIGNMENT?

❖ The Egoscue Method is an approach to therapeutic exercises.

❖ This method is built on posture.

❖ Human body acts as a blueprint, the goal is to bring about a state of muscular and skeletal balance.

❖ How do we recognize this balance? We start with what we call the design posture; Freddy Function featured on the right.

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WHAT IS POSTURAL ALIGNMENT?

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WHAT ARE THE CONSEQUENCES OF BAD POSTURE?

❖ Different causes for bad posture (e.g. inherited, trauma, bad habits, using only one side of the body etc.) but begins with alteration in joint mechanics.

❖ This leads to decrease in performance (e.g. rising from chair). Changes go unnoticed because body compensates.

❖ Eventually range of pathologies and disorders manifest themselves e.g. inflammations of tendons and bursa, wearing off of cartillage (it can grow back), muscle pain, unequal loading of discs etc.

❖ Problems are not limited to muscoskeletal system. As foundation of body is removed from its most efficiently functioning position the nervous, circulatory, respiratory and digestive system can all be affected.

❖ Internal organs become misarranged, neural pathways are impinged, blood flow can be compromised.

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SOME CAUSES AND SYMPTOMS

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SYMPTOM CAUSEPlantar Faciitis and Heel Spurs The Plantar Facia is a tough sheet of connective tissue that attaches to the rear of the heel. It stretches like a fan under the sole of the foot to form a lining of sorts between the skin and the muscles.

Pain occurs when the facia is inflamed, usually from improper loading of the body and improper foot strike when walking.

Calluses and Corns These are semi tough pads of hardened skin formed as a result of irritation and intermittent friction.

Calluses and Corns These are semi tough pads of hardened skin formed as a result of irritation and intermittent friction.

Bunions and Hammertoes Over calcification of the first toe joint or a misshapen appearance of the other joints in an effort to accommodate inadequate shock absorption of the foot during walking.

Excessive friction and improper use of the foot during walking.

Degenerative Knee (Degenerative Hip) The gradual absence of the articular cartilage at the end of the long bones of the knee joint creating pain and restricting motion.

Limited motion of the joint along with improper load bearing creates excessive friction in the joint and a gradual wearing away of the cartilage.

Tennis Elbow Inflammation of the tendons in the region of the upper and outer section of the elbow.

A compromised elbow on an arm with a shoulderdysfunction is asked to continually move in a repeated fashion causing excessive friction and inflammation in the area.

Frozen Shoulder (FSS) A painful restriction of the of the shoulder joint as a result of various clinical conditions, ie...bursitis, calcifying tendonitis, and partial rotator cuff tears.

The joint begins to immobilize itself after incurring any number of friction related conditions. The initial movement restriction is caused by a positional problem of the joint and it continual use from the faulty position.

Herniated Discs The vertebral discs have been squeeze by the bones (vertebrae) until the disc comes into contact with a nerve.

Uneven loading of the spinal column often caused by posterior pelvic tilt and misalignment of vertebrae during movement.

Headaches Pain in the head, at the base of the head and may include tenderness and pressure around the eyes.

Typically, a misalignment of the head seated over the spinal column resulting in decreased ability to receive and use oxygen cause the tissues of the head and brain to swell and cause pain.

POSTURE 1 (FACT COLLECTOR)

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- Anterior pelvic tilt; the beltline is tilted down in front

- Increased lordosis; excessive arching in low back

- External femur rotation; kneecaps point outward

- Shoulders rounding forward; hands in front of body

- Head forward of shoulders

- Feet everted; toes point outward

POSTURE 2 (THE SKEPTIC)

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- Hip elevation / rotation;

- Trunk rotation

- Trunk offset; the upper body leaning to right or left

- Shoulder elevation; one shoulder higher than the other

- Asymmetrical foot position; feet evert differing amount

- Asymmetrical knee position; knees point different directions

POSTURE 3 (THE DEPPRESSED TYPE)

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- Posterior pelvic tilt (“tucked under")

- Flattened S-curve (rounded spine)

- Shoulders rounded

- Head forward

- Hands in front of the body

- Feet everted

- Collapsed chest

EXERCISE FOR POSTURE 1

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❖ Arm Circles❖ Elbow Curls❖ Static Back reverse presses❖ Supine Groin Stretch❖ Foot Circles Point Flexes❖ Cats and dogs❖ Downward dog❖ Runners Stretch❖ Airbench

Airbench Runners Stretch

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ACHIEVING YOUR POTENTIAL - HEALTH THROUGH MOTION