Showing posts with label vestibular system. Show all posts
Showing posts with label vestibular system. Show all posts

Sunday, September 29, 2019

Excruiating Hip Pain Solved With Simple Exercises

Today's client was in tears when she came limping into the gym.  She complains of excruciating left hip pain and asked if I had any 'magic tricks' that could help her.   Ninety minutes later, she was grinning ear to ear when she walked out of the gym.

Does your sciatic pain keep coming back?  Do you want to scream and cry when the pain returns?  Would you do simple movements if you knew it stop your pain?

I can help you!  I am a nervous system specialist.  Using an 8-levels model of assessment, I identify the source of the problem and give you holistic drills to reduce threat to your brain, thereby stopping the pain.  Immediately. 

What did I do for my client?  Let me tell you.  This was the first session after a vacation with her sisters.  After her flight to her destination,  the pain started.  When she flew home, the pain was tolerable until the stress of her seventy-hour work week broke her again.

The first thing we addressed was fuel supply to the brain.  She had orange juice earlier so I had her bag breathe off and on for 5 minutes.  After bag breathing,  the pain was still there so we started neuro-bio-mechanical work on the sciatic nerves. 

There are three nerves that branch off the huge sciatic nerve, so we focused on the tibial, sural and peroneal nerves.  Nerves need to move and nerves that cross multiple joints can easily get compressed or pinched.  

The one that eliminated her pain was the peroneal nerve glide but it was the slacking component that provided the best relief.   She was in disbelief.  She was so grateful.  She said, "I knew you could help me".   

After 5 minutes of nerve tensioning and slacking, we addressed her vestibular system.  

The inner ear system is critical in the perception of pain.  She had just flown and air pressure changes can immediately affect the vestibular canals.  We got her head moving, rapidly.  Since I knew which of her canals need more activation, we went aggressively after those areas. 

In addition, she did lots of spinal mobility drills, some arm circles and figure 8s, bounced up and down on the stability ball, vertical eye movements and the more head tilts and turns specific to her needs.

"My hip is wide open!  What did you do?  There's no pain", she cried and hugged me.   We did some more vestibular activation drills and she wanted to do the weight machines.  Here this lady limped into the gym in tears and was ready to lift weights 45 minutes later.   

If you're in excruciating hip and low back pain, ACTIVATE YOUR BRAIN, don't medicate your system.    If you've tried everything and NOTHING has worked, BOOK YOUR SESSION WITH ME!

I can get you out of pain and give you the tools you need to prevent the pain from returning or how to deal with the pain if it comes back.  

Invest in yourself.  
Pain is not a normal part of growing older.   There are options. 

Thursday, February 15, 2018

Development of Balance System as a Child and Fall Prevention as an Adult



As "The Fall Prevention Lady", a Balance and Mobility Specialist who teaches older adults how to improve balance and prevent falls, the vestibular, or inner ear equilibrium, system fascinates me.  The more I learn, the more I want to help people learn how to maintain upright position and improve daily balance.

Balance is ongoing communication between the brain and the body and  the first neural system to develop in the embryo; even an unborn fetus needs to know which end is up! ⬆⬆  Your vestibular system and reflexive balance skills continue to develop during the first five years of growth and your “reflexive” stability is proportionate to the amount of movement you did or did not do as a child. 

Think about your youth; did you play, jump up and down, spin on a merry-go round, do gymnastics or some type of flipping and flopping, rolling and tumbling on the ground?   I remember doing cartwheels, front and back bendovers, walkovers, and handsprings in the grass with my friends.  

I also clearly remember by mom, old to us then but only in her late 20s, walking outside to check on us and doing three to four back handsprings in a row when asked!  No stretching, no warm-up; she’d walk out and flip flop backwards as long as the yard allowed! 

I thank God I grew up in a time when kids played outside, tumbled, rolled, played on swing sets, ran up and down hills, jumped on trampolines and swam in lakes.  I didn’t know it at the time but I was developing my inner ear balance system and the ability to react timely and efficiently to life’s imbalances. 

Kelly Ward, aka
The Fall Prevention Lady
Of course I fell down but I was a kid and falling wasn’t a big deal; it was expected! That what kids do.  I felt dirt on my feet, the grass between my toes, the heat from sidewalks and the cold from ice and snow.  I smelled mom’s cooking, I smelled the neighbor’s cooking.  I smelled country air. 

I stimulated my sensory systems, which activated different parts of the brain which resulted in healthy neural development.  Being active as a child, I stimulated my vestibular system regularly and as a result, my balance and sports skills were exceptional.  

I went on to become a three-sport Varsity athlete (field hockey, basketball and lacrosse) and earn a full basketball scholarship.  Today, my balance is better than ever because I am “The Fall Prevention Lady” and I practice balance drills regularly!

My question to you, “what was your childhood like”?  Did you play outside?  Did you play inside?  Were you active or sedentary?  If you read a lot and did not get much physical activity, your “balance system” may not have received much activation.  Poor activation results in decreased brain function due to weak input signals.

Does that mean it’s over for you?  Does that mean you have to accept it and deal with it?
NO and NO!  It’s never too late to improve your balance.  There are very specific drills you can do, at your own pace, to train your balance and improve stability.  

I offer Skype (online) training sessions and private sessions within a 45-mile radius of Fair Oaks California.  I also offer partner and small group training and Brains and Balance Training classes.  

You don't have to accept and live with a disorder; you can train your brain to improve balance, vision and movement.  Movement is life.  Time to start living!