find_relief_therapy

Healing Your Core – An OT’s journey

findrelieftherapy@gmail.com (Amanda Fleissner) — Tue, 10 Jul 2018 02:49:05 GMT

My clients got better. But what did I get?

As an Occupational Therapist, I have always been focused on helping my clients achieve their goals as efficiently and safely as possible. To do this, I had to sit at the side of a low treatment table, twist my body to assist with a transfer in a tight space or spend hours on the floor with a child in therapeutic play. And my clients got better. But what did I get? A tight low back, stiff knees and a burning pain in my right trapezius.

OT was healing my patients and hurting me. I had always followed the basic tenants of “good posture” on the HR posters at work but that didn’t seem to be helping. The tension that had built up in my body from standing, walking, sitting and bending inefficiently brought on chronic pain, decreased joint mobility and was setting me up for a major injury in the not too distant future. My body and its ability to be strong and mobile was critical if I wanted to maintain a long and healthy OT career, not to mention raise a family. So what was the source of my problem?

My movements during all daily activities needed to come from my core, primarily the muscles and soft tissues connected to the pelvis and upper thighs. These muscles are large, strong and meant to withstand the strain of a 40+ hour work week, exercise, and daily self-care. When these muscles experience stress, overuse or misuse however, they begin to fatigue and the fibers tighten which restricts blood flow and decreases oxygen.

When muscles are deprived of oxygen, they shorten their normal resting length, pull on joints, tilt the pelvis off its neutral axis, make small muscle groups work harder and develop negative patterns of tension throughout the body. To break this cycle and release the core so that it is free to move and support the upper and lower body, one has to release the tension, retrain the body to move from the core and build strength and endurance. But how to do that?

The best way I have found to release chronic tension since I started on a journey to heal my aching body is PUSH Therapy™. It is a specialized muscular therapy that releases chronic passive tension and creates permanent change in the body’s mobility and strength by using a specific manual treatment and progressive training within the context of everyday activities.

The first step in PUSH Therapy is the use of Tension Release Treatment℠, a manual therapy that releases tight tissue, one layer at a time, restoring blood flow and oxygen and allowing muscle fibers to relax and lengthen. This therapy decreases the pull of tendons, ligament and shortened muscle fibers on the joints and allows the muscle to return to its natural resting length.

One cannot just receive treatment. There must also be a training of the tension out of the body otherwise it builds back up again in a matter of hours or days. PUSH Therapy Tension Release Training℠ is a revolutionary form of training that first releases tension in the body and then builds strength and endurance. The body learns how to rely on the larger hip, glute and thigh muscles of the body to support the smaller ones, decreasing muscle tension, increasing the mobility of joints and increasing accuracy and efficiency of daily movements. You are training for mobility, not training for tension.

Once tension is released, you have to train the body to use the core for movement. This means moving from your hips and legs, connecting your upper and lower body to that support. PUSH Mobility Training℠ looks at daily movement habits, including walking, standing, sitting, bending, lifting, twisting, etc., and teaches how to move without putting tension into the body. Moving from the core as you transfer from sitting to standing is more impactful to your body’s mobility than 1000 sit-ups which do nothing but tense the lower back and hips.

So how do you know if you too have chronic tension? Ask yourself these questions:

Do I have pain or stiffness during or after sitting in one position for more than 30 minutes?
Do I have to stretch in an attempt to increase joint mobility?
Do I wake up stiff and painful in the morning?
Do my back or knees hurt after standing or sitting for a short length of time?

If you answered yes to any of these questions, then you are probably suffering from chronic tension and need to get your body soft and mobile as soon as possible.

When I started looking for answers to my pain, I found PUSH Therapy, studied it over the past 10 years, incorporated it into my daily life and now use it with my clients in my private OT practice. I teach others how to save their bodies from chronic tension breakdown while continuing to save mine in the process. With PUSH Therapy you can work all day without putting tension into your body and teach your clients to do the same.

To learn more about this treatment approach, please contact the author at https://www.findrelieftherapy.com/

How to Play Without Pain

Mon, 14 May 2018 18:30:30 GMT

Have you ever thought about your posture when on the tee?

When you play golf, you are always looking to improve your game. To do this, you may focus on working on your backswing or some element of your short game, but have you ever stopped to consider your posture while you stand waiting for your partner to swing? What do your body mechanics feel like as you walk from the golf cart to the tee? How do you bend to pick up or place down a ball? The average golfer spends 90% of their game engaged in these activities and 10% on actual skilled performance. The tension you build up in your body standing, walking and bending inefficiently will bring on chronic pain, increase the risk of injury and decrease the mobility of your body to effectively play. By understanding how you build tension in the body, what you can do to release that tension and how to train to keep your muscles loose is the key to “Enabling you to play” playing a strong, effective game for many years to come.

A golfer’s movement needs to come from their core, primarily the muscles and soft tissues connected to the pelvis and upper thighs. These muscles are large, strong and meant to withstand the strain of playing 18 holes. When these muscles experience stress, overuse or misuse, the muscles begin to fatigue, and the fibers tighten which restricts blood flow and decreases oxygen to the muscles. The muscles then shut down and a negative pattern of tension develops in the core of the body.

When the core is fatigued and chronically tight, the body tries to adapt by shifting the burden of movement to other joints such as knees, shoulders and the low back. These joints and tissues are not meant to bear the strain of swinging, bending, walking, and standing for several consecutive hours and, over time, those areas become stiff, painful and injured. To break this cycle and release the core so that it is free to move and supports your upper and lower body, you need to release the tension and build strength and endurance.

The best way to release chronic tension in the body is through PUSH Therapy™, a revolutionary therapy that provides both treatment and trainings to release tension and create permanent change in the body’s mobility and strength. The first step in this process is the use of Tension Release Therapy℠ manual therapy that releases tight tissue, one layer at a time, restoring blood flow and oxygen and allowing muscle fibers to relax and lengthen. A specially trained therapist in your area can provide the therapy quickly and effectively.

You cannot just receive treatment. You must also train the tension out of your body. PUSH Therapy Tension Release Training℠ is a revolutionary form of training that releases tension in the body while simultaneously building strength and endurance. By learning how to use the larger muscles of the body to support the smaller ones, you will decrease muscle tension, increase the mobility of joints and increase accuracy and efficiency of your movements both on and off the green.

Once tension is released, you have to train your body to use your core for movement. This means moving from your hips and legs, connecting your upper and lower body to that support. If you do not learn to move that way, the next few games of golf will bring that tension right back. PUSH Mobility Training℠ looks at your daily movement habits, including walking, standing, sitting, bending, lifting, twisting, etc and teaches you how to move without putting tension into the body. Moving from your core as you walk, sit or stand is more impactful to your body’s mobility than 100 sit-ups. You are training for mobility not training for tension.

So how do you know if you have chronic tension? Ask yourself these questions:

Do I have pain or stiffness during or after a game?
Do I have to stretch in an attempt to increase joint mobility?
Do I wake up stiff and painful the next morning after a game?
Do my back or knees hurt when bending to pick up the ball?

If you answered yes to any of these questions, then you may have chronic tension and should call your local PUSH Therapist right away before any permanent injury occurs.

From your very first appointment your therapist will help you begin to notice your posture while you are standing and walking on the green, give you manual Tension Release Therapy for relief of pain and begin teaching you the invaluable Tension Release Training exercises. You will begin to practice these simple exercises daily, especially before and after a round of golf. Mobility training will become second nature during all aspects of your golf game including walking, standing, bending down, swinging, putting, getting into and out of golf cart and much more. Strength Training will be the final key to transforming weakened areas of the body into strong, supple muscles that will allow your body to hold a neutral posture and a strong core throughout the entirety of your game.

With PUSH Therapy you can play an entire round of golf with increased mobility and strength and no risk of putting tension into your body. You can play at the top of your game for much longer than your competitors because you are taking care of your body for the long term.

To learn more about PUSH Therapy and to schedule your first appointment call:

Amanda E. Fleissner, OTR/L at (973)-768-5139 or go to www.findrelieftherapy.com