Train the Brain to Reduce Pain

Are you in so much pain that you feel like you can't go on?  Are you in so much pain that you want to crawl up into a ball and not move?  Is your comfort zone lying on your back with feet elevated?  Does the thought of going on like this another day bring you to tears?  Do you know that there's more to life than the pain you're going through?  Do you know you're too young to feel this way???

My new client answered yes to all of the above questions.  A botched back surgery left her with shooting pain beneath her shoulder blades; it hurt to raise her arms, it hurt to bend forward, it hurt to sit in a chair, it hurt to walk.  Everything hurt.

To top it off, she has emphysema so breathing even hurt.   When I got there her pain level was a 10 out of 10; actually a 15 out of 10 but you get my point.

I could see the pain on her face when I got to her home.  We sat at the kitchen table and I started with the 90-minute assessment.  During this time, I ask a lot of questions and test a lot of different things.  This is a great time to get to know each other and for me to learn what happened before what happened happened.  How did she get in so much pain.

Pain is an output from the brain.  Don't get me wrong; pain is pain and it hurts.  It's valid.  It's real.  But pain is a protective output from the brain to get you to stop doing what you're doing.   Your brain is overwhelmed and something needs to stop.  Pain is the quickest way to get you to stop doing something.

Pain is an output from the brain.  Train the brain to reduce pain.

However it's up to you to change and/or address what's causing the pain.  In my new client's case, her brain wasn't getting enough fuel and her eye muscles needed to be activated.  She also needed to start moving her nerves.  Her nervous system needed a major tune-up!!!  WHAT?

Once we did some breathing drills and vision training drills, there was a smile of relief.  When we did some nerve glides and got the nerves moving, there was a glimmer of hope in her eyes.  She told me that I was her last option; it was either work with me or get back surgery!  I embrace that challenge and left her with some drills to do for homework.

Before I left, I asked her to rate her pain on a scale from 1-10 again.  She smiled and said "5/10".  Yay!!!  My job was complete.

When I returned THE NEXT DAY to review the homework drills with her, a different woman answered the door!  The same client, but she wasn't in nearly as much pain.  She was smiling, she walked lighter and her entire demeanor was different.

When we sat down to go through the homework drills, she told me she was so excited last night that she couldn't sleep!  She felt different and knew this was going to work.  Now I was excited.  I love using brain-based fitness training to help people get out of pain, improve balance, see better and move better.

Once your brain gets the activation it needs, your entire mood will change.  Not in a voodoo/weird way but in the best way possible.  You realize there is hope at the end of tunnel.  There is more to life than living in pain.  You learn how to move your body so it doesn't hurt.  You learn how to breathe so your brain gets the oxygen it needs to function.

I am so excited about working with her and seeing her transform before my very eyes.  I'll take pictures so you can see the improvements along the way.

And hey, if you're like my client and want to get out of pain so you can start living the life you were meant to live, contact me.  Set up a consult.  
Click here to make an appointment:  
I want to get out of pain and live my life!

Blood pressure control through brain exercise

You probably didn't know that your blood pressure is controlled by your brainstem and through precise brain training drills, you can manage your blood pressure without medication.

As a Z-health Practitioner, I am trained to activate areas of the brain for optimized function.  I think we all agree that blood pressure is required for optimal life function.

Brain Training is Holistic blood pressure control

Last week, I was working with a 90-year old client and her blood pressure measurements at the beginning of the session were:  122/84 on the left and 149/109 on the right.

First I want to educate everyone that if your doctor isn't taking your blood pressure on both sides, you need to fire him/her immediately.  As you can see by my clients numbers, there's a huge difference from the right and left side.  This is because there is a left and right side of the brainstem and control of blood pressure begins in the brainstem, specifically in the pons.

My client's numbers on her right side of her body were pretty alarming but having worked with her for over four weeks, I already know that her right cortex needs more activation.  Her blood pressure readings support my findings.

Because her numbers were so high, we spent the majority of the session activating her right cortex; specifically right vestibular activation, right-cortex activating vision drills, and left side voluntary movement drills.  We also practiced a lot of respiration training drills and cerebellum activation.

Her blood pressure readings at the end of sixty-minute training session were:  112/72 on the left and 102/66 on the right.

Let me repeat this in a way you can clearly see the effect of precise brain activation training on a 90-year old's blood pressure:
Before:  149/109
After:  102/66

Get off the drugs.  Begin a holistic exercise program that starts with organ that is responsible for all movement and thought; the brain.  Brain activation is not voodoo; it's scientifically proven.  It's functional neurology and it's the future of fitness.

If you've tried everything and nothing has worked, try brain training.  Try training the organ that determines the way you move through life.  My name is Kelly Ward and I am a certified Z-Health Practitioner and I re-educate the nervous system to transform the way people move.  It's never too late, you're never too old and you're never too broken.

Never TOO old to IMPROVE Balance, Posture and Movement: 92-year old with Scoliosis, Kyphosis, and slight Dementia

Several weeks ago, a 65 year-old man contacted me about working with his 92 year-old father.  He told me he wanted his father to get strong and stay out of the nursing home for as long as possible.  One of his main concerns was his father being able to get up from the floor.  He also stated that he wanted his father to continue with the training schedule of three times a week that he was currently doing with the physical therapist.

He was switching from a well-known Physical Therapist to my services because insurance no longer covered his father's treatment since there wasn't anything physically wrong with him.  This was fantastic news to me because the work I do is equally as good yet much more affordable for out of pocket training.  As I began to explain the neural input training I do, he stopped me; he had heard of me and knew his father was going to be in good hands.

Brain-based Training Results In Better Movement and Posture

When "Frank" came to his first session, he was stooped over and relied heavily on his walker for mobility.  I started with senior fitness tests and then did a thorough neuro-assessment; testing his vision, vestibular and peripheral nerve function. As a Z-Health Neuro-Performance Coach, I am constantly assessing and reassessing to discover what type of input training works for him.

All this sensory input stuff was new but Frank went along with everything and would smile when there was a big difference in his reassessment; nothing compared to his smile after he reached down to touch his toes after sharp/dull sensory input testing! When we started, he was 6 inches from touching his toes. After several sensory input tests, he was touching his toes and smiling ear to ear.

Frank is Latino, 92-years old and he has slight dementia so there's obviously some communication challenges but he's a go-getter and does what I ask after some explanation.  Not surprisingly, he struggled with the cerebellum drills but the pay-off was outstanding; he stood up without using his walker and this time, he was beaming smiled ear to ear and said, "Yes!".   That was session #1.

Nine sessions later, Frank is standing taller, getting up powerfully, moving easier and walking more balanced.  We've practiced getting up from the floor; the first time Frank cussed me but the second time was much better.  Now he's practicing kneeling exercises so being on the ground isn't as threatening to his brain or his body.  

Before session #5 at his home, Frank's caregiver told me he fell last night. Before I could say "uh-oh", she told me his son said that by the time he could get to the room, Frank was up and sitting on the bed as if nothing happened!  She said "I don't know what you're doing but it's working!".  

I am so proud of Frank and the huge strides he's making in our training sessions. Through ongoing sensorimotor testing, I've identified what areas of Frank's brain need more activation than others and I  consistently training the neural inputs (vision, vestibular and peripheral nerves) for improved motor output.   

The results are phenomenal; his stooped posture is standing more upright, his right-side scoliosis is becoming less evident and he's stronger and more stable.  This man is 92-years young and he's thriving with neural activation.  It's never too late and you're never too old to improve your balance, strength, posture and coordination.  

Brains and Balance Class Participant with Multiple Sclerosis Improves Dynamic Balance by 4 seconds!!!

In my latest Brains and Balance Training session at the Woodland Community and Senior Center, a 78-year old class participant improved her dynamic balance and agility score by 4 seconds!  In other words, she was able to get up from a chair, walk around a cone that is eight feet away and return to her seat four seconds faster than she did on the first day of class!!!
 

This quick-on-your-feet skill can save your life if you're walking across the street and the light turns before you're all the way across the intersection.  Dynamic balance can help you get a pot of boiling water off the stove or answer the phone or front door in a hurry.   We need dynamic balance to get through life safely andbeing agile can save your life in an emergency.

Her exceptional improvement is amazing in several ways.

First, she is 78 years old!  Yay Kate!  On the first day, her scores were 12. 5 and 11.8 seconds to get up, walk eight feet around the cone and return to her chair.  On the last day of class, her scores were 8.8 and 7.8 seconds; both were consistently faster and her walking gait was stronger and more stable. It's never too late to improve your balance and mobility!!!

Second, the class is only four weeks long and Kate missed an entire week of training due to travel.  She kept doing her homework exercises while away and when she came back, she jumped right into the new material as if she was there the entire time.

I urge people to attend all eight sessions but Kate is proof that you get out of the class what you put into it; she did her homework drills as prescribed and her body was ready for more!

But the main reason her four second improvement was so awesome is because Kate has multiple sclerosis.  That's right; she has been living with multiple sclerosis since 1995.  For twenty-three years this woman has been exercising and trying to stay ahead of the disease process.  She came into class with a smile on her face and left with an even bigger smile!

When I told her the score improvement, she was thrilled and said, "I'm still improving!".  She improved her lower body strength by two chair stands and knocked four seconds off her Eight Foot Up and Go test.  Excellent job for 78 years old; OUTSTANDING performance for someone living with multiple sclerosis.

Next Brains and Balance Training session at Woodland Community and Senior Center is
August 7th-August 30th.  Tuesday and Thursdays.  1pm-2:30pm.  $125 for 8 sessions.