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Question: “I hurt my back and I don’t have health insurance, what should I do?”

This is courtesy of Egoscue Portland, who found a great blog from Betsy Crouch (aka Coach $izzle).

That’s a big question right?

The number of unemployed Americans rose to 10.2% recently.

The number of uninsured Americans, whether you believe it’s 46 million or 36 million, continues to rise also.

Imagine how many people can relate to this question?

Maybe one of them is you.

Well, here is an answer to the question – and no this is not coming from me – it is coming from Betsy Crouch (aka Coach $izzle) from a blog called Broke Ass Stuart. Betsy talks about her own experience of having a ruptured disc in her back and having level 8-9 pain. I think she has some very good wisdom in here, especially number 1: “Listen to your body and trust your intuition.” Here is what she had to say:

Here are the strategies and therapies that have worked for me, including free/affordable options:

1.  Think for yourself. Question everything and do your own research.  Keep in mind, if you go to a physical therapist they will tell you to do physical therapy, and if you see a surgeon they will likely suggest cutting you open.  Obviously each of these types of healers/professionals are going to likely suggest the healing modality they know.  Listen to your body and trust your intuition.

2. Egoscue therapy. They have clinics in the bay area and the therapy is expensive, however you could pick up the book called “Pain Free” by Pete Egoscue and find the exercises for back care and do them yourself.  Be gentle and go slow.  I did their exercises and experienced relief almost immediately.  The exercises help create better alignment and great alignment means preventing future issues.  www.egoscue.com

3. Yoga class and Chiropractor. I also took this yoga class for back care and I see this amazing,non-cracking chiropractor, Dr. Meakim (who does accept insurance), for those of you in SF who have some funds or insurance to pay for these types of things.

4. Limit sitting. Sitting is one of the worst things for our bodies.  If you sit a lot for work, get up and walk around or at least stretch periodically throughout the day.

5. Acupuncture.  I see Karena Goldfinger in Potrero Hill.  She is awesome and she has helped me with many things not just my back stuff (emotional, digestive stuff, quick healing of a cut, etc.).  Right now she has a special community rate of $75 for two people to have an acupuncture treatment.  She is amazing.  Email Karena – kgmedicine@pacbell.net

Affordable Chinese Healing in SF and NYC:  Quan Yin Healing Arts – San Francisco, New York College of Traditional Chinese Medicine – New York

5. Drugs / Natural Herbal remedies / Alcohol.  I was given a prescription for Vicodin and I never filled it.  I did take 5 rogue Vicodin pills during the really rough pain when I couldn’t get out of bed.  I avoided filling the prescription because I really like Vicodin and I didn’t want to get hooked.  Also, I wanted to feel what was going on in my body.  I did take some natural herbal medicine, and drink some red wine.  When you’re in a lot of pain and you don’t have pain killers, in moderation, these things can help.

6. Meditation.  When I was going through a lot of pain at the beginning, I did a number of healing meditations visualizing relaxing my back and healing energy flowing through it.  I really believe that helped a lot, so much so that I stopped doing it for a while!  :)  I have gotten back into it.  I go to this class Tuesday nights in the Mission, and meditate a few other times per week on my own.  It really helps.

Sending you lots of healing energy!

Coachsizzle@brokeassstuart.com

 

Read the entire blog post here

The Egoscue Experiment

This is a link to a fantastic blog started by a woman who is using Egosuce to help with her painful neck and “creaky” knees. It has been fun following her journey, hope you enjoy.

The Egoscue Experiment

Marie Makes Her Own “Chiropractic” Adjustments

Below is a testimonial by an Egoscue client from our Orange County office.

This is a great example of taking responsibility for your own health and becoming an active participant in achieving your goals.

 

Dear Chris,

Yesterday my chiropractor’s office called wondering why I haven’t been in to see them in over a month.  During my last visit they proposed a 2-3 times a week “corrective” regimen to force my bones back into position.  I opted for the Egoscue Method instead, which my doctor firmly told me would not work.  Well, yesterday I announced to my doctor that my pain is gone and that I don’t need an adjustment.  He argued I should continue with the chiropractic visits whether I hurt or not.  How insane.  I am so happy with my Egoscue menus and results that I do not intend to go back to my chiropractor.

If you ever need a testimonial, I am here to tell your future clients that Egoscue changes your life with better posture, improved self esteem, and a sense of self empowerment, because you adjust yourself through the exercises.  You are not dependent on a doctor to “fix” you.  I feel great, have more energy, and my chronic hip and shoulder pain is disappearing.  I am less irritable and generally a happier person.  Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.  Egoscue is now part of my everyday lifestyle.

Sincerely,

Marie Winter

Balance Test

So how do you know if you have a posture imbalance?  It can be easy to self- diagnose.  One way is by using the Balance Test.  To perform this test, take your shoes off and stand up.  Close your eyes and try to get a feel for the weight distribution in your feet.  Do you feel a sway from front to back?  Do you feel a sway from left to right?  Is there more weight or pressure on one foot than the other?  Is there more weight in your heels or toes?  If you felt a difference from left to right on any of the above questions then you know your posture is off balance.  So how do you fix it?

First remember that bones do what muscles tell them to do.  So correcting your posture is something you can do with the right exercises.  Remember your Balance Test results, keep that in mind while you try the following three exercises and then see what feels different.  Did you notice any changes?

George_Ecises0

Straightening Out Fibromyalgia

Living with Fibromyalgia (FM) can feel like being on a roller coaster.  At one point you are up, and then at a moment’s notice you can be down.  For those that live with FM they know this ride all too well.  One morning you wake up feeling fantastic, and you do all those chores and activities you have been meaning to do.  The next day however, you end up paying the price.  The pain so bad you can hardly move.

For many this roller coaster can be hard to understand, and for someone with FM it is even harder to explain.  Sometimes widespread pain is not the only thing to deal with.  There can be a myriad of other disorders that can develop and become part of the problem.  Dealing with FM is an everyday thing. Sometimes the fear of the disorder and the impact on one’s way of life can be overwhelming.

Posture?

As hard as it is to explain FM, it’s even harder to find a cure.  With all the advances in medicine, there is still a mystery behind the true cause and treatment of this disorder. I am here to offer a different perspective on what may be the true cause and treatment for FM: posture. .  That’s right posture.  You might be thinking it can’t be that simple, can it?  First let’s learn what it means to have good posture.  Posture is the ability to maintain structural integrity of the joints regardless of position — standing, sitting, squatting, etc.  Essentially this is telling us our body has a blueprint, a design that is universal to all men and women.  When our body obeys this blueprint we are capable of all kinds of movement without damaging the body.

This design or blueprint is one that is familiar to all of us.  If you open any anatomy or health book and see the human body in its anatomical position it is easy to see.  Our body is a balanced, brilliant machine.  We have eight major load-bearing joints (shoulders, hips, knees, and ankles).  These load-bearing joints were designed to line up horizontally in the front view, and vertically, (one top of the other) from the side view.  In this position the joints create a ninety-degree angles, giving them the capability to perform any movement that our body is capable of performing.  If the joints deviate from this 90-degree angle the body must compensate. (See figure below)

When the body compensates muscles that were never intended to be involved in walking, bending motions, or other basic body functions are called into action.  This puts stress and wear on the body that it was not designed to handle.  What causes the body to compensate?  Simply put, you are not moving enough to keep your body and overall health from deteriorating.  And when you do move, because this “motion starvation” is acute, the movement violates the design of the body with every step you take.

Our body is a living, breathing organism that is constantly renewing itself.  Just as our body needs minimum daily nutritional requirements, it also needs daily motion.  Unfortunately, the world we live in today does not give us our minimum daily motion.  We sit at a desk, sit in our car, and sit in front of the T.V. This lack of motion means that the body is not prepared for the demands we may place on it when have to move or workout.  The result is eventually pain, and this might limit our motion even more.

How do I fix it?

So how do you know if you have a posture imbalance?  It can be easy to self- diagnose.  One way is by using the Balance Test.  To perform this test, take your shoes off and stand up.  Close your eyes and try to get a feel for the weight distribution in your feet.  Do you feel a sway from front to back?  Do you feel a sway from left to right?  Is there more weight or pressure on one foot than the other?  Is there more weight in your heels or toes?  If you felt a difference from left to right on any of the above questions then you know your posture is off balance.  So how do you fix it?

First remember that bones do what muscles tell them to do.  So correcting your posture is something you can do with the right exercises.  Remember your Balance Test results, keep that in mind while you try the following three exercises and then see what feels different.  Did you notice any changes?

Click Here for E-cises

Is it possible that the widespread pain of FM could be caused by postural misalignments?  What if the pain from FM was nothing but a signal, your body’s voice telling you that something is wrong, and needs to be fixed.   With that approach you can really take responsibility and try to fix yourself.  There is no doubt we are a living, breathing organism, and having our body in the correct alignment is going to give us the best chance of being healthy.

Rachel Lerner a client of Egoscue, had been suffering for many years with FM.  When she was able to listen to the signal her body was sending, and focus on the cause of her pain, it gave her the power to truly change her life.

I used to suffer with fibromyalgia symptoms on a regular basis, limiting my daily physical abilities.  In December of 2006 an accupuncturist I was working with recommended I contact The Egoscue clinic.  At first I was skeptical to believe that my daily aches and pains were casued by misalignment.  After working with the clinic for about 3 months I started to see a direct correlation between my back, hip and neck pain and the alignment of my body. My pain started to move around and eventually dissipate. I learned that even though I was experiencing tightness or pain in my left hip, it could be coming from my right shoulder.  After 2 and 1/2 years of regular Egoscue visits and exercise programs I can happily say I have resumed a normal daily life, which includes jogging 2-3 times per week, long walks, tennis, pilates, weight lifting and even extended computer use.

Now is posture the answer to curing FM?  It is definitely a step in the right direction, but it really is just one facet of the cure.  The true cure starts with taking the responsibility for your health because you are the expert of you and your health.  Pharmaceuticals can help, but might cause more problems than they fix.  Ultimately the cure lies within you.  Correcting one’s posture is vital, but diet, stress response and coping strategies, and controlling environmental influences should all play a part of curing yourself of Fibromyalgia

Breast Cancer Awareness Month- Fantastic Post from John Elder, Director of Egoscue Nashville

This is a post from John Elder, Clinic Director of Egoscue Nashville

Chances are most of you know someone who has had to deal with breast cancer.  I’ve worked with several clients who were doing Egoscue while going through treatment, some with double mastectomies, and some still feeling the residual effects of treatment nearly a decade after ending it.  Today I’m going to share from Pete’s book Pain Free for Women.  To be honesty, it’s my favorite book of his.  I think it contains extremely valuable information.  In it, Pete has two menus for breast cancer.  With this being Breast Cancer Awareness Month I wanted to draw attention to them.  In addition, it covers everything from infertility/conception menus, to trimester menus, to menopause menus.  There are menus for infants, adolescents, young adults…the list goes on and on.  Personally, I think it’s a must-have for any book collection.

Here’s what Pete has to say about breast cancer:

Once I start offering E-cise menus keyed to specific diseases, I thought, where do I stop? The answer must be–I stop with these two menus.  Why include breast cancer but no other  disease?  At the Egoscue  Method Clinic, I see far more women who are facing breast cancer than those facing other serious illnesses.  Almost every client is there for musculoskeletal system-related issues, like a bad back or sore knees.  But those with breast cancer form the largest subgroup because the conventional treatment regimen can have such drastic effects on upper-body mobility, comfort, and function.  The Egoscue Method has a good track record in easing pain and restoring mobility and function.  That’s why they come to us.

Furthermore, we believe–I’m using the authorial we here to include my coauthor, Roger Gittines–that a sound, robust metabolism is an essential precondition to the prevention and treatment of breast cancer and to full recovery from surgery.  Roger’s mother died of breast cancer in 1970 at the age of fifty-four, seven years after undergoing a radical mastectomy.  The initial surgery shattered her spirit , and her health never recovered.  Her lifestyle, both before and after the operation, amounted to a paradigm of metabolic suppression and abuse–from heavy smoking (she loved Kents) to a virtual addiction to soft drinks (especially Pepsi), a lack of exercise (never walking when she could drive), and musculoskeletal system dysfunction.  She was an unhappy woman before the diagnosis and desperately unhappy after.  With a strong metabolism she would have had a fighting chance to survive to see her grandchildren grow up.  What happened to Miriam Gittenes didn’t have to happen in 1970; nor should it have to happen to women more than thirty years later.

Motion and metabolism are inextricably linked, and we have to get women in thei predicament moving and functional again.  If that’s you, consult with your physician, and tother please consider putting the appropriate program to work on your behalf.  It’s not a substitute for anything you’re already doing; it’s a valuable supplement.

We just shot the first of the two menus, and I encourage you to try them.  The first one is for women going the non-surgical route.  If you’re going through radiation or chemotherapy, we have to get your metabolism up.  In addition, we need to put your body in the best position possible to accept the treatments.  Do these e-cises in order, and let me know how you feel.  If you have any questions, PLEASE don’t hesitate to contact us.  We’re here to help!

Junior Seau Credits Egoscue for his longevity

Great post from Egoscue Portland-  Thanks Matt

Click Here

Vibram FiveFingers-The Less Shoe The Better

WRITTEN BY JUSTIN ARCHER | TOPICS: GEAR

What shoes do you recommend? I get that questions a lot. My answer is the less shoe the better. And it doesn’t take long to see, you can’t get much less than a pair of Vibram FiveFingers.

Since 1962 Vibram has been making soles for various types of shoes. From hiking and military to casual and rock climbing shoes, you can find Vibram soles everywhere you look. But it wasn’t until 2007 that Vibram decided to make their very own first shoe. Well, sort of.

The toe-sock like footwear was dubbed “FiveFingers” for obvious reasons and was marketed less of a shoe and more of a barefoot alternative. It was an immediate hit with barefoot runners and other fitness aficionados. Soon word spread and everyone from weekend warriors to avid couch potatoes were wearing them. Why?

Well, the typical human foot is an anatomical marvel of evolution with 26 bones, 33 joints, 20 muscles, and hundreds of sensory receptors, tendons and ligaments. Like the rest of the body, to keep our feet healthy, they need to be stimulated and exercised. That’s why I recommend wearing FiveFingers for exercise, play, and for fun. Stimulating the muscles in your feet and lower legs will not only make you stronger and healthier, it improves your balance, agility and proprioception.

Simply put, the design and flexibility of the split toe sole stretches and strengthens the muscles in your foot and lower leg to allow for a better foot strike and overall better postural alignment. This in return reduces stress, tension, inflammation, swelling, and/or pain throughout your entire body. Amazingly simple, yet astoundingly successful.

But what if your feet pronate or supinate or you have fallen arches? What’s suppose to support your foot?

Answer: YOUR FOOT! For too long our feet have been casted in hard leather and thick rubber soles with arch and heel support. Our shoes have been doing the work that the muscles in our feet were designed to do. It’s time to turn our feet from the fancy prancy sissy state they’re currently in back into the feet our ancestors used to run eight hours on, barefoot, through the wild to hunt down antelope (click here for the video and a link to Tim Ferriss’s post on FiveFingers). It’s time to de-evolve!

Currently FiveFingers are sold in four different styles with two more due to come out in the near future. They all adhere to the barefoot alternative lifestyle approach, but differ slightly on their design depending on whom the entailed wearer is. I’ll briefly cover each but if you really want the hot spot for Vibram FiveFingers and all the most current news, info, and more visit www.birthdayshoes.com.

Okay, so first up on the roster is the Classic. This is Vibram’s bread and butter and simplest design of them all. They have a large open top (think convertible) to slip your foot in and out of and can be worn for just about anything. Next are the Sprints which are similar to the Classics only with a velcro strap over the top to securely hold the sole to the foot. These were designed with the runner in mind. Well shortly after the Sprint came out people started to complain of dirt, twigs, and small rocks getting lodged in between the soft mesh cover and their foot. Enter the KSOs, which stands for Keep Stuff Out. Basically a hard top version of the Classics with the velcro strap of the Sprints. Next came the Flows. Similar to the KSOs, but with a neoprene top instead of just mesh. This allows the Flows to be worn either through the water or in cold temperatures. Coming soon are the Treks (pictured above), which are a thicker beefier version of the KSOs, meant for hiking. Don’t worry though they still retain a great deal of flexibility in sole and toes. Plus they come with Kangaroo leather tops. Ooh, lala. And finally, we have the Mocs ad the Performa. Basically the same model, the Mocs are for men and the Performa for women. These are the flimsiest (I mean this as a good thing) model Virbram makes. Made purely of Kangaroo leather with only a little tread on the bottom, these FiveFingers are meant to be worn indoors only.

Final Thoughts

Well there you have it. A simple idea made into an amazing product. Just think about what you do when your feet hurt. You take your shoes off. Not a giant leap in logic, right?

So if you have any foot, back, or any pain for that matter, want to help train your body to perform at it’s highest level, or just want a new way to meet people (see 5 Fun Conversation Starters) you have to get a pair of these. Check out the Activotee Store for all available models and check back regularly for reviews on new upcoming models.

Muscles Do Not Stretch. Huh? That’s Right, Muscles Do Not Stretch

Great post from Alex Kussoff of Egoscue Orange County.