You ask for your Back Pain!

Does your foot, hip, back, or neck hurt?

You asked for it!

So do your clients.

Most people respond in the same way, "NO, I DID NOT ASK FOR THIS PAIN!"

Uh, yeah, you did. You didn't realize it. If pain is unexplainable, then you are simply unaware of some bad habits.

Everybody asks their body for their pain, and it will limit the progress of pain removal if you view yourself or your clients as if they are victims.

That crook in the neck or ache in the low-back isn't a mystery.

I'll explain.

Western Medicine has only started studying fascia in the past decade, so most people are clueless about how fascial collagen works. Only the most progressive minds understand its dynamic tension/compression function, how it connects to our beliefs about the present moment, the way we take up space, and how to affect it.

Fascia is the collagen substance that keeps all the organs and muscles in place. There is a thin layer around every muscle. 

If you have ever cooked a roast or stew and put it in the refrigerator, that layer of gelatin is fascia, melted with heat, or solidified with cold refrigerated air.

Important fact: brains are wired to conserve energy and avoid pain

If we consistently move our body in the same fashion –Repetitive Stress– then the body produces fascial adhesions that act like organic duct tape forcing muscles to stick together (think frozen butter). These adhesions are strategically placed to CONSERVE ENERGY (typically, the cause of dysfunctional movement and pain follows shortly after).

Here are a handful of common examples I see:

Anatomy Overview of the Foot: 

• Feet Hurt? - your favorite shoes without arch support are probably the cause - without support, the medial arch collapses and causes the tibia to drop, reducing the shock absorption of your gait, causing the foot to tighten around bones that are out of place. (It also causes knock knee, throwing the hip and low-back off.)
  
• Low-Back Hurt? - you sit too much (along with the rest of humanity - in school, church/temple/mosque, driving, eating, and watching tv), which gradually shoves the sacrum forward and locks it into place. When your hips don't slide next to your sacrum, your body structurally limits your core's power from activating. (Sacroiliac Joint Dysfunction removes the power that your primary core muscle should transfer from your legs to your hips and torso). 

(See image above) - If the Sacroiliac Joint is stuck, then it removes the primary core muscle becomes structurally limited. 

(See image below) - the iliopsoas is actually two muscles that start in different spots but insert in the same place. The psoas (pink muscle) muscle travels from the Lumbar (L1 to L4) and inserts into the femur. The ilacus (green muscle) travels from the inside of the hip and inserts into the same spot on the femur. Iliacus + Psoas = Iliopsoas.

• Shoulder Hurt? - Sleeping on your side or carrying your backpack/purse on the same side is probably the cause. If you sleep on your side, it compresses the shoulder, limiting the healing you receive during sleep, causing the shoulder to stick in place. The muscles in your neck and shoulder can stick together because they can keep your bookbag or purse strap lifted. 

Anything held in the same position will get stuck, like two trees grafting into each other, and this makes your neck wonky (Specifically, the scalenes and trapezius often pulls the 1st & 2nd rib into dysfunction, which limits breath, and increases anxiety. This adhesion locks the shoulder into a dysfunctional position, which reduces power and causes pain. (There are several other challenges it causes, but the muscles stick together in a similar fashion).

• Neck Hurt? - your computer is to blame (or at least it leaning forward for several hours a day without changing position) - our actions tell our shoulders to 'stick in a forward position' so our bodies can conserve energy. 

• The head likes to rest over the shoulders, so when the shoulders are held forward, the head follows, and we turtle our necks forward. (Splenius Capitus gets stretched long as your sternocleidomastoid stays short, keeping your head pulled forward - this causes pain in the back of the neck, while the problem is the short muscle in the front of the neck.)

Remember when your mamma told you not to make that face, or it will stick—ever heard of RBF? 

Well, your mammas was right. 

Habits

Fortunately, all these things can be remedied with new habits.

These collagen adhesions reduce the energy required to hold whatever position your clients choose. We call these fascial adhesions' knots', and they get removed with heat, vibration, and pressure.

1. HEAT: relax in a hot bath, lay in the sun, or sweat in a sauna, and your body will feel looser because those adhesions will have melted a bit.
2. VIBRATION: many therapists and trainers use a vibrating instrument (that looks like a fancy drill) like a 'gentle jackhammer' that quickly breaks apart the adhesions and enables muscles to work independently of neighboring tissue.
3. PRESSURE: get a deep tissue massage, lay on a tennis ball, or use a foam roller, and your body will feel looser because they remove parts of the adhesion.

For best results, combine all three as much as possible:

• Soak in a hot bath or hot tub before manual therapy
• Use a 'percussion massage gun' to release significant adhesions.
• Finalize everything else by 'that magic touch.'

How do I use this?

For clients: right before you visit your massage therapist, chiropractor, or physical therapist, take a hot bath to prepare your body. Your investment in wellness will be much more effective.

For therapists: tell your clients, "Next time, soak in a hot bath or hot tub for at least 20 minutes before you come in. I want you to explore how much more my work's effectiveness is after using heat to prepare the body. It will blow you away."

This statement for therapists does three things:

• It lets clients know that they didn't optimally prepare for the appointment without being judgmental.
• It sets up your clients for better results next time.
• It also plants the expectation they will return by stirring curiosity.

People dislike being told what to do, but they love having a partner guide them towards faster and better results. By phrasing things in this manner, you get to be that guide. 

Plus, the wellness journey towards becoming pain-free shortens, and who doesn't want that?

Want help to remove low-back?
Then sign up for my Pelvic balancing workshop (BeckBalance.com), where I teach you how to remove Sacroiliac Joint Dysfunction through self-care.