Why Do You Hurt?

Our bodies are designed with a structural blueprint that is millions of years old. Nature has created us as creatures of movement. Our ancestors ran to catch their prey, they ran to hide from predators, they gathered food, they needed to be able to defend themselves. However, today’s culture does not promote regular movement and certainly does not offer much in the way of easily accesible education for those interested in taking good care of their bodies. Today we drive to the store to gather food, many of us have occupations that require hours of sitting, we are too busy to get out and move!

One of the most important factors involved in our physical development as a species has been the force of gravity. We are inescapably intertwined with gravity. From the way we move to the functioning of our organs, gravity has shaped our bodies. The inherent desire to play when we are children is no accident; the constant movement signals our genetic blueprint to express the postural strength and alignment we need to be able to move freely and without pain in Earth's gravitational field. We need only look at small children, and we will see the effortless maintenance of perfect postural alignment.

Trouble begins with improper use of the body and, typically, no regular maintenance. Hours of sitting is a great example of an improper use of the body. While it is essential for many occupations, it is one of the leading causes of postural imbalance. The lower body, the legs and hips, are not active in a sitting position. Over time, as we sit for hours on end, critical muscles that would normally stabilize our standing posture from gravity's pull become weak and unsupportive. You may have heard the phrase, "If you don't use it, you lose it". If these muscles cannot do their intended job then some other muscle group must compensate for the weakness. When we lose strength in our lower body the low back muscles become chronically tense as they must work overtime to stabilize and protect the weakened area. This can cause chronic back pain, headaches, or predispose one to spinal disc injuries. The stomach muscles often become slack and weak. The internal organs can be displaced downward impairing their function and giving one a "potbelly." Joints become stiff and muscles lose their tone. In this state true relaxation becomes impossible, as does peak physical performance of any kind. Take a look at a house. Would you feel comfortable in a house with a slanting floor, twisted walls, and a buckling ceiling? No. You would know it is unsafe. The human body is no different. Look around and see if you notice how few people stand upright in a powerful, erect posture. It may surprise you that this has never caught your attention until now, but that is simply because poor posture has become the norm. It is an epidemic.

The lack of sufficient movement is not the only culprit to chronic pain. There may be an injury from the past that necessitated a compensated walking pattern like a limp. Unidirectional sports, like golf and tennis, overdevelop one side of the body and leave the other side struggling to catch up. With the body no longer in its natural balanced state, joints start to grind down in their sockets causing inflammation (arthritis) and cartilage wear. Some muscles become shortened, or perhaps weak and overstretched, and lose the leverage necessary to fully contract. Long term misalignments can even cause spinal and sacral iliac joints to fuse. These misalignments and muscular compensations cause the alert signal called pain! Some people will go for 60 years and never have pain. Then one day they will bend over to tie their shoes and sneeze and their back literally explodes into a major spasm! When we examine these people they invariably show several major postural deviations, like a twisted pelvis, and numerous muscles around the affected area that cannot sufficiently contract enough to withstand a simple muscle strength test.

Correct postural balance is elemental to physical health. When we are able to identify the structural and functional causes that are putting strain on your system, we can begin the unwinding process that will help return your body to "TrueBalance". The TrueBalance aim is to put the body back into optimal alignment so that healing can occur and open the door for an individual to realize their peak physical potential!