Hello from Alison
Welcome to Part II of our three part series: Back Pain No More. We will travel through the fascinating landscapes of anatomy and physiology, where you will learn the basic concepts that are crucial to living a pain-free life. Remember, being pain-free requires continued education, training, persistence, and practice. You can do it!
Personal Health
Understanding the language of the body is essential to living pain-free. As discussed in Part One: Back Pain No More Series you are now aware that pain is an intelligent signal emitted to get your attention to take action. The next step is to understand what action to take and when. Understanding the language of pain can be as confusing and overwhelming as learning a foreign language. The content in this newsletter contains the basic translation information you need to travel the path of being pain free. What do muscles, bones, nerves, connective tissue and blood chemistry have to do with the language of the body? These are the crucial voices that speak to you, in their specific ways, to get your attention. Here is how to diagnose which anatomical voice is speaking and how to take action to improve your condition.
Number One: Muscles What to know: A muscle is designed for movement. Healthy muscles do two main things: lengthen and shorten. Injury and pain occur when a muscle is too tight and/or overstretched. A muscle becomes hyper-contracted from constant use without a balance of stretching and strengthening to supporting muscle groups. Voice of pain speaks as: heated, burning, throbbing sensation.
Action to take: The origin of muscle pain will determine which action is best to take. Overuse and chronic pain: ice/heat, stretch, acupuncture, massage. Sudden injury i.e. rip or tear requires ice (0-48hr) or until inflammation has subsided, rest, gentle massage, acupuncture, drink more water, eat foods high in oxygen content i.e. vegetables and fruits. Go to http://www.yogajournal.com and click on pose finder for specific stretch sequence for your condition.
Number Two: Bones What to know: Bones are designed for support. Like the beams of a house, your bones are the foundation upon which your body rests. Misalignment of bones can cause nerve impingement, muscle weakness and muscle hyper-contraction. When the bones are out of alignment muscles begin to cast like a bone to hold the body upright.
Voice of pain speaks as: You will most likely hear the voice of bone misalignment through the voice of muscles and nerves.
Action to take: Stretch to loosen muscles that attach to bones pulling them out of alignment. See chiropractor, osteopath, massage therapist, roll on foam roll.
Number Three: Nerves What to know: Nerves relay electrical signals to cause muscles and organs to contract and function. Nerves relay the signal of pain when they are entrapped, pinched, compressed by bone and/or tight muscles. Voice of pain speaks as: Shooting, sharp sensation and can feel like pins and needles.
Action to take: Determine where you feel pain. Discover what nerves are sending the signal of pain. It is important to note nerve pain can be relayed long distances. For example, when you feel nerve pain in the lower leg the way to relieve the pain is by stretching the region where the nerve exits the spinal column and sacrum area. Not necessarily at the location where you feel pain. Partner up with a great osteopath, chiropractor, massage therapist, herbalist, acupuncturist, and yoga teacher.
Number Four: Connective Tissue What to know: Fascia is a layer of tissue that starts at the bottom of your feet, goes to the top of your head, wraps around every single muscle fiber, organ, and grows down into the bone. Fascia helps to give you your structure. When fascia is tight it feels like wearing a tight wetsuit 24 hours a day. Voice of pain speaks as: Will not hear voice of pain through fascia directly. It is typically experienced through the constriction it causes in muscles, misalignment of bones and entrapment of nerves.
Action to take: Partner up with Rolfing practitioner in your area. See http://www.rolf.org for information. It is ideal to go through Rolfing series once to twice, if not more, in your lifetime.
Number Five: Blood Chemistry What to know: Similar to a pool your body has a pH. When pool pH is out of balance bacteria and fungus grow, causing an unhealthy environment to swim in. When your blood chemistry is out of balance, too acidic or alkaline, you are creating an environment for disease and pain. Voice of blood chemistry out of balance: Is felt as soreness, shooting pain, achiness, weakness in muscles, poor and foggy thinking.
Action to take: Take a look at your diet. Choose foods that promote a balanced pH. Choose vegetables, fibers, fruits, grains, nuts and seeds as staples for your diet. Remove caffeine, sugars, white flour, dairy products and excessive amounts of soy. See http://www.phmiracleliving.com for more information.
With more than 10 years experience in health and wellness, Alison Miller, author, speaker, retreat leader and health care practitioner is dedicated to educating and empowering individuals and groups in personal health, healing and rehabilitation. Alison has a B.A. in Kinesiology, and is certified in yoga, massage and energy medicine. For one-on-one appointments call 808-269-2324 or email:
