How Can I Help Overcome My Low back & Hip Pain
by Dennis Gibbons, LMT
Dennis Gibbons, LMT
First of all, Marge and I want to wish everyone a Happy, Healthy and Prosperous 2010. One suggestion I would like to make to everyone for 2010 is to take control of how you are feeling. Over the past 23 years I have been helping others feel better and reduce discomfort. During the early years when I was developing Soft Tissue Postural Balancing techniques, I realized that I was missing a key ingredient but didn’t really understand which one. It was movement that was missing not only in my therapeutic approach but in all of the methods.
What does this have to do with my low back and hip pain? When someone would come to me in the early years for therapy, I would treat the problem and there would be immediate relief that lasted for a period of time afterward. But to increase the odds of long term pain relief, I still needed to develop the method that would recapture the proper movement pattern. Most therapy techniques approach the symptom presented and care for the affected tissue in a static process. The therapist would massage the area of the problem and relieve the tension in the tissue that was being compromised. These therapeutic approaches are great tools, but they only address symptoms.
As the discipline of Postural Balancing grew, the study of movement became more critical to achieving the overall balancing of the bio-tensegrity systems of the structure. Therapy needed to bring about a positive push/pull to the whole structure. That is when I started studying movement and realizing that the individual needed to create a strong center of gravity in their posture, not only in a static position but in a mobile pattern as well.
This understanding changed my entire approach as therapy was presented to the individual. Finding and treating the soft and connective tissue that were altering the bio-tensegrity system became the challenge. Once the system was brought into a therapeutic balance, it was more apparent that a positive strengthening system needed to be developed. That brought into being Fundamental Movement Pilates℠, a system that directly re-patterns the proprioception system needed to engage the postural centering muscles while activating the correct order of motor responses. This brings us to how you can overcome your low back and hip pain.
What most people do not realize is that the low back and hips are typically the two areas that bear the brunt of altered posture. This region becomes the focal center that adapts to balance the structure and compensate for the original trauma. In the beginning of the process it is capable, but as in any material stress, it will eventually weaken and cause the breaking point that most individuals feel as low back and hip pain. This alteration of the posture is normally what leads to the common complaints that most people experience.
By the time an individual starts to experience discomfort, the overall postural distortion has altered many of the normal movement patterns and started to create new patterns to accommodate the compensation. Remember here that the compensation started in order to accommodate the trauma. This means that by the time the individual seeks treatment there has been an entire neurological chain of events that brought the structure to this point. This point is when individuals normally start a search to rectify the symptoms. Unfortunately, in the beginning many individuals will have travelled the traditional trail of pain killers and other forms of treatment that continually address just the symptoms and not the cause.
The Muscle Release Therapy, MRTh® process will begin by bringing the posture into a neutral balance. This is a necessary step in the journey as it creates the correct environment for change. In this process the practitioner of Muscle Release Therapy, MRTh® will scan the bio-tensegrity system of the body to ensure that there is a balance in the push/pull system. This balance is what makes the body seem lighter after a Muscle Release Therapy, MRTh® session, as the balance between the negative pull of gravity and the body’s posture is neutralized. That is when people most often ask, “What can I do to keep this feeling?” We suggest they start an approach that will address the neurological system so that their movement does not continually bring about a return to imbalance. They need to begin re-strengthening the proper musculature to hold the postural center. What happens in adaptation is that the “wrong” postural muscles begin to hold the structure in what the brain has determined is a comfortable position. As happens whenever muscles are not used effectively or efficiently, there will be atrophy and a corresponding weakness.
I developed Fundamental Movement Pilates℠ after studying the Pilates Method developed by D.K. Body Balancing which, aims to strengthen and not to condition the person. When my friend Dolly Kelepcz started to develop and teach the format that she uses in Las Vegas, it was to help dancers extend their careers. She realized, after being a professional dancer herself, that these individuals were already in great physical condition but needed to strengthen their “core” to reduce stress in areas of the body that they needed when they danced. At Chagrin Valley Wellness Center, we altered that process and adapted it to our population. Fundamental Movement Pilates℠ is a continuation of Muscle Release Therapy, MRTh℠, as it reinforces the body’s neutral posture and strengthens the balance of the bio-tensegrity system. This is how you can overcome the low back and hip pain that you experience.
Most people are confused when they come in and tell me that they have neck pain, or some other symptom, and the first area I often address is the foot. I recently had a young lady from New York City in my office whose major complaint was neck and shoulder discomfort. Her father told me that she was confused that her session began on her lower extremity. Upon assessing her posture, I determined that her left foot was not in proper posture. When the lower extremity is extended, the foot posture needs to be on the outside or over the 4th and 5th metatarsals (foot bones). Hers was over the 1st and 2nd metatarsals and was compromising her hip joints, which then altered the pelvic girdle. This alteration of the pelvic girdle (low back and hip joints) will offset the neutral center of the body’s posture and create stress points throughout. At the end of the session, once the majority of imbalances to the bio-tensegrity system were removed, she remarked how light and balanced she now felt. Since she lives in New York City, I recommended she monitor her foot posture and find a studio where she can reinforce the new pattern.
When an individual first comes to Chagrin Valley Wellness Center for Fundamental Movement Pilates℠ they will take three private sessions. This is done for a couple of reasons. The first, being to introduce the person and instructor to their body. The next is to introduce the individual to the machines that were developed by Joseph Pilates and how they will use these machines to assist them on their new journey to wellness. Remember, it is not the machine that will change your life; it is how you use the machine that creates the change. The machine is there to assist you, not to resist you.
The individual will be instructed on proper breathing protocol, where to begin movement from and most important where the body needs to center itself so that it can functionally hold that posture. Remember this will not be an aerobic workout and it is not intended to be. You will take control of how you begin to move and create the proper environment for pain free movement.
The one area that you need to reinforce over and over again is how you initiate movement from the ankle; you need to become consciously aware of foot movement. Understanding this is important even when performing upper body work. The instructors will often use different props to ensure that the body’s neurological system is creating the proper environment. It is through this reinforcement that the body’s perception of its proper center is engaged during all movement. As this strengthening takes place, and it starts using the proper muscles and bony structures for moving, the fibers that have atrophied begin to strengthen.
As these fibers become stronger your bio-tensegrity posture becomes more functional and you become fundamentally sounder. This process becomes more engrained in the nervous system, and you become able to perform more of your daily tasks without risk of reinjuring yourself. You will notice that the low back and hip pain you originally suffered from are becoming a thing of the past.
What does this have to do with my low back and hip pain? When someone would come to me in the early years for therapy, I would treat the problem and there would be immediate relief that lasted for a period of time afterward. But to increase the odds of long term pain relief, I still needed to develop the method that would recapture the proper movement pattern. Most therapy techniques approach the symptom presented and care for the affected tissue in a static process. The therapist would massage the area of the problem and relieve the tension in the tissue that was being compromised. These therapeutic approaches are great tools, but they only address symptoms.
As the discipline of Postural Balancing grew, the study of movement became more critical to achieving the overall balancing of the bio-tensegrity systems of the structure. Therapy needed to bring about a positive push/pull to the whole structure. That is when I started studying movement and realizing that the individual needed to create a strong center of gravity in their posture, not only in a static position but in a mobile pattern as well.
This understanding changed my entire approach as therapy was presented to the individual. Finding and treating the soft and connective tissue that were altering the bio-tensegrity system became the challenge. Once the system was brought into a therapeutic balance, it was more apparent that a positive strengthening system needed to be developed. That brought into being Fundamental Movement Pilates℠, a system that directly re-patterns the proprioception system needed to engage the postural centering muscles while activating the correct order of motor responses. This brings us to how you can overcome your low back and hip pain.
What most people do not realize is that the low back and hips are typically the two areas that bear the brunt of altered posture. This region becomes the focal center that adapts to balance the structure and compensate for the original trauma. In the beginning of the process it is capable, but as in any material stress, it will eventually weaken and cause the breaking point that most individuals feel as low back and hip pain. This alteration of the posture is normally what leads to the common complaints that most people experience.
By the time an individual starts to experience discomfort, the overall postural distortion has altered many of the normal movement patterns and started to create new patterns to accommodate the compensation. Remember here that the compensation started in order to accommodate the trauma. This means that by the time the individual seeks treatment there has been an entire neurological chain of events that brought the structure to this point. This point is when individuals normally start a search to rectify the symptoms. Unfortunately, in the beginning many individuals will have travelled the traditional trail of pain killers and other forms of treatment that continually address just the symptoms and not the cause.
The Muscle Release Therapy, MRTh® process will begin by bringing the posture into a neutral balance. This is a necessary step in the journey as it creates the correct environment for change. In this process the practitioner of Muscle Release Therapy, MRTh® will scan the bio-tensegrity system of the body to ensure that there is a balance in the push/pull system. This balance is what makes the body seem lighter after a Muscle Release Therapy, MRTh® session, as the balance between the negative pull of gravity and the body’s posture is neutralized. That is when people most often ask, “What can I do to keep this feeling?” We suggest they start an approach that will address the neurological system so that their movement does not continually bring about a return to imbalance. They need to begin re-strengthening the proper musculature to hold the postural center. What happens in adaptation is that the “wrong” postural muscles begin to hold the structure in what the brain has determined is a comfortable position. As happens whenever muscles are not used effectively or efficiently, there will be atrophy and a corresponding weakness.
I developed Fundamental Movement Pilates℠ after studying the Pilates Method developed by D.K. Body Balancing which, aims to strengthen and not to condition the person. When my friend Dolly Kelepcz started to develop and teach the format that she uses in Las Vegas, it was to help dancers extend their careers. She realized, after being a professional dancer herself, that these individuals were already in great physical condition but needed to strengthen their “core” to reduce stress in areas of the body that they needed when they danced. At Chagrin Valley Wellness Center, we altered that process and adapted it to our population. Fundamental Movement Pilates℠ is a continuation of Muscle Release Therapy, MRTh℠, as it reinforces the body’s neutral posture and strengthens the balance of the bio-tensegrity system. This is how you can overcome the low back and hip pain that you experience.
Most people are confused when they come in and tell me that they have neck pain, or some other symptom, and the first area I often address is the foot. I recently had a young lady from New York City in my office whose major complaint was neck and shoulder discomfort. Her father told me that she was confused that her session began on her lower extremity. Upon assessing her posture, I determined that her left foot was not in proper posture. When the lower extremity is extended, the foot posture needs to be on the outside or over the 4th and 5th metatarsals (foot bones). Hers was over the 1st and 2nd metatarsals and was compromising her hip joints, which then altered the pelvic girdle. This alteration of the pelvic girdle (low back and hip joints) will offset the neutral center of the body’s posture and create stress points throughout. At the end of the session, once the majority of imbalances to the bio-tensegrity system were removed, she remarked how light and balanced she now felt. Since she lives in New York City, I recommended she monitor her foot posture and find a studio where she can reinforce the new pattern.
When an individual first comes to Chagrin Valley Wellness Center for Fundamental Movement Pilates℠ they will take three private sessions. This is done for a couple of reasons. The first, being to introduce the person and instructor to their body. The next is to introduce the individual to the machines that were developed by Joseph Pilates and how they will use these machines to assist them on their new journey to wellness. Remember, it is not the machine that will change your life; it is how you use the machine that creates the change. The machine is there to assist you, not to resist you.
The individual will be instructed on proper breathing protocol, where to begin movement from and most important where the body needs to center itself so that it can functionally hold that posture. Remember this will not be an aerobic workout and it is not intended to be. You will take control of how you begin to move and create the proper environment for pain free movement.
The one area that you need to reinforce over and over again is how you initiate movement from the ankle; you need to become consciously aware of foot movement. Understanding this is important even when performing upper body work. The instructors will often use different props to ensure that the body’s neurological system is creating the proper environment. It is through this reinforcement that the body’s perception of its proper center is engaged during all movement. As this strengthening takes place, and it starts using the proper muscles and bony structures for moving, the fibers that have atrophied begin to strengthen.
As these fibers become stronger your bio-tensegrity posture becomes more functional and you become fundamentally sounder. This process becomes more engrained in the nervous system, and you become able to perform more of your daily tasks without risk of reinjuring yourself. You will notice that the low back and hip pain you originally suffered from are becoming a thing of the past.
Pelvic Girdle
Dorsi Flexion (up) Plantar Flexion (down)
These pictures illustrate some of what is mentioned above. In the first picture on the left you will notice that the two thigh bones come off of the pelvis on a slight angle, this is known as the Q angle. It is imperative that this angle is maintained in sitting, standing and walking. The formula to keep this angle is to have proper ankle and foot movement. When the knee or hip is in extension the foot should be in a dorsal flexed position and weight should be on the outside part of the foot. Correspondingly, when the knee or hip is flexed the foot should be in a plantar flexed position and the weight should be on the inside part of the foot. This will engage the proper centering muscles to hold posture and allow the joints to properly position themselves.
Although there are many other factors that take place during movement, this simple explanation will give you the information to understand the principles to ensure your comfort level. Your instructor has been educated in this and will prompt and educate you so that you will overcome hip and low back pain, or any other chronic discomfort that you are experiencing.
So one resolution that will become a good habit in 2010 is that you will take control of how you feel. At Chagrin Valley Wellness Center, we will aid you in developing this habit and helping you keep your New Year’s resolution of taking care of yourself. Please give us a call to set up an appointment or ask any questions you may have. Remember too that you are welcomed to come in and receive your complimentary evaluation and tour of our studio. If you have been here in the past, come back and visit us again as many of the “old” ways are gone and many new formats have been introduced to help you.
From the entire staff here at Chagrin Valley Wellness Center, Happy 2010 and may it bring you happiness, health and prosperity. May you all have a blessed, peaceful and happy holiday.
Peace and Blessings,
Dennis
Although there are many other factors that take place during movement, this simple explanation will give you the information to understand the principles to ensure your comfort level. Your instructor has been educated in this and will prompt and educate you so that you will overcome hip and low back pain, or any other chronic discomfort that you are experiencing.
So one resolution that will become a good habit in 2010 is that you will take control of how you feel. At Chagrin Valley Wellness Center, we will aid you in developing this habit and helping you keep your New Year’s resolution of taking care of yourself. Please give us a call to set up an appointment or ask any questions you may have. Remember too that you are welcomed to come in and receive your complimentary evaluation and tour of our studio. If you have been here in the past, come back and visit us again as many of the “old” ways are gone and many new formats have been introduced to help you.
From the entire staff here at Chagrin Valley Wellness Center, Happy 2010 and may it bring you happiness, health and prosperity. May you all have a blessed, peaceful and happy holiday.
Peace and Blessings,
Dennis