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My New YouTube Posture Channel:

My New YouTube Posture Channel by The Posture Specialist Ashley Osier MA, HHE, CPS, CSMT, CAMT, CAYT, CWHP  ~ Holistic Well...

Friday, April 27, 2018

Posture: From the Feet Up

Posture: From the Feet Up



Ashley Osier aka The Posture Specialist
MA, HHE, CPS, CSMT, CAMT, CAYT, CWHP

 ~ Holistic Fitness for Mind, Body, and Spirit ~



As I continue to learn how to better navigate my social media platforms, I want to encourage you to make comments at the bottom of this post and let me know how easy it is for you to find my links, find my comment section and then actually make comments.

Though this post is not about navigating my social media platforms, well maybe a little, it certainly does feel like I am starting this journey at the bottom and working my way up. Similarly, I am putting together my YouTube videos for my posture and pain management channel the same way.

All posture begins at the feet. Whether we have good posture habits or poor posture habits, it begins with the feet. It is important to make sure our feet and ankles are healthy, flexible and strong. If you haven't checked out my official foot series playlist on my YouTube channel, head over after finishing your read and commenting on this post and take a gander. There is a surprising amount of info to know about our feet and I have one more video coming that I will be sharing before I move on to the legs and knees.

You can find the link in my links section at the upper right area of this blog called "YouTube Posture and Pain Management Channel" or below my name at the bottom of this post. So start thinking about your feet. They are incredibly important. They go with you everywhere and are impacted by the shoes you wear, how you stand, how you walk and how you care for them.

Let me know what you are doing to take care of your feet. Do you know what the bottoms of your shoes have to do with how you distribute your body weight? You can find more info on that in my footcare series. All videos are free, holistic, and are backed with 20+ years of education, teaching, experience and professional practice.

Hope to hear from you in my comment section below!

Take care and make it a great posture day!

Ashley
The Posture Specialist
YouTube Channel: theposturespecialist.com
Instagram (@theposturespecialist)
Website: eastwestsomatherapy.com
Facebook Q & A Group: The Posture Specialist Q & A Group
Facebook Group: Business Facebook Site


Ashley Osier is a holistic health educator and therapist, stress management therapist, corrective posture and corrective exercise specialist, an acupressure and massage therapist, stretching, massage, acupressure, and self-acupressure instructor and creator of the Point Release™ Technique and StretchFit™ Method. She specializes in working with stress management, injury prevention and pain relief, therapeutic stretching for individuals and couples, and posture awareness. She also offers coaching in nutrition and support for women going through divorce. Appointments can be scheduled by contacting her at   ewsomatherapy@gmail.com.


Disclaimer: The information on this site is not intended or implied to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. All content, including text, graphics, images and information, contained on or available on this blog is for general information purposes only. You agree that your use of this blog is at your sole risk. Consult your physician before beginning any stretch, exercise or self-acupressure suggestion. By using this site, you are agreeing to indemnify, defend and hold harmless Ashley Osier against any and all losses, expenses, damages and costs resulting from using the information contained within this blog. 





Wednesday, April 25, 2018

The Posture Specialist: FB Live Chat Q & A

The Posture Specialist Live Chat Q & A



Ashley Osier aka The Posture Specialist
MA, HHE, CPS, CSMT, CAMT, CAYT, CWHP

 ~ Holistic Wellness for Mind, Body, and Spirit ~

Join me!
I am going live tomorrow to talk about holistic strategies to counter pain. These are alternative approaches based on my education, work with clients and students for over 20 years, and my personal experience with managing chronic pain for over 40 years. I would love to chat with you about your thoughts!

If you want to join me live, you will need to go to this link...The Posture Specialist Live Chat...and join the group. This just gives you the ability to speak with me live, leave comments on the live thread during and after and participate in the group.

This is a fantastic way to address needs holistically in the moment. Holistic measures are not cures and I am not a doctor, but it is great to build up a repertoire of counter-pain strategies to start tackling your pain symptoms that may or may not be improved with surgery, medications, or injections.

Everyone is welcome...so let's chat!!

If you are not able to make it, but still want to respond with questions, you can leave comments on the thread as long as you are in the Q & A group.

See you tomorrow!!

Ashley
The Posture Specialist
YouTube Channel: theposturespecialist.com
Instagram (@theposturespecialist)
Website: eastwestsomatherapy.com
Facebook Q & A Group: The Posture Specialist Q & A Group
Facebook Group: Business Facebook Site


Ashley Osier is a holistic health educator and therapist, stress management therapist, corrective posture and corrective exercise specialist, an acupressure and massage therapist, stretching, massage, acupressure, and self-acupressure instructor and creator of the Point Release™ Technique and StretchFit™ Method. She specializes in working with stress management, injury prevention and pain relief, therapeutic stretching for individuals and couples, and posture awareness. She also offers coaching in nutrition and support for women going through divorce. Appointments can be scheduled by contacting her at   ewsomatherapy@gmail.com.


Disclaimer: The information on this site is not intended or implied to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. All content, including text, graphics, images and information, contained on or available on this blog is for general information purposes only. You agree that your use of this blog is at your sole risk. Consult your physician before beginning any stretch, exercise or self-acupressure suggestion. By using this site, you are agreeing to indemnify, defend and hold harmless Ashley Osier against any and all losses, expenses, damages and costs resulting from using the information contained within this blog. 

Sharing My First Product Review

Sharing My First Product Review


Ashley Osier aka The Posture Specialist
MA, HHE, CPS, CSMT, CAMT, CAYT, CWHP

 ~ Holistic Wellness for Mind, Body, and Spirit ~


Gosh you guys...there are so many posts to write
 and not enough time to write them! 

I definitely want to take this opportunity to share my first product review. One of the things that has been on my heart is to review health-related products and approaches (including stretches and exercises) that we see on various platforms of social media. As a pain management specialist, I have had too many people come to me getting hurt from gym classes, yoga classes, physical therapy, massage therapy, and the like. Then there are numerous products we see on the market to take away pain or to improve our posture and some of them are just gimmicks and don't really work. As a Certified Posture Specialist, I want to make sure you are getting the best products to help correct and maintain good posture. As a chronic pain sufferer, I understand it is hard enough to manage life with the pain much less try and figure out which stretch and exercise won't hurt me and which products are worth the investment.

Part of my job will be to try out various products to see if they actually do work and if not to make sure to let you know. 

This first product is exciting because I was able to find more uses for in addition to what the company proposes. I show a few examples of this in the video, which I have provided a link for below. I'm not going to get into the details because it is all in the video. But I personally have kept this product to use for myself. I sleep with it, sit on it constantly and sometimes stand on it when I am spending extra time on the computer at my standing desk. I would love to hear your feedback, so please make sure to leave a comment here or on the video.

To watch my first product review, click Product Review and enjoy!!

If you are interested in a particular product but want a more professional and educated take on it, please let me know and I will try it out, review it and post my video. I am also posting on this blog, my Instagram and my Facebook so I can support awareness for as many people as possible. 

Please share this blog post and/or my videos with others 
so they can benefit. 

Postural awareness, awareness of our options for better wellness and pain management, and awareness of what to stay away from is really important for EVERYONE. It can save time, energy, and body aches/strains/injuries. 

Thank you for participating in this movement!

For more blog posts on holistic fitness for the mind, body and spirit, make sure to follow this blog.  To get notified of my weekly YouTube videos, make sure to SUBSCRIBE and click the BELL (mobile phones make it more difficult to click the bell, so try your computer). You can always follow me on my other social media platforms below. I have a new Facebook site of my live posture Q&A broadcasts, which just started last week, so I will put that link below.

Stay tuned for more posts coming soon on all sorts of holistic fitness for the mind, body, and spirit.

Make it a great day! Happy Posturing!!

Ashley
The Posture Specialist
YouTube Channel: theposturespecialist.com
Instagram (@theposturespecialist)
Website: eastwestsomatherapy.com
Facebook Q & A Group: The Posture Specialist Q & A Group
Facebook Group: Business Facebook Site


Ashley Osier is a holistic health educator and therapist, stress management therapist, corrective posture and corrective exercise specialist, an acupressure and massage therapist, stretching, massage, acupressure, and self-acupressure instructor and creator of the Point Release™ Technique and StretchFit™ Method. She specializes in working with stress management, injury prevention and pain relief, therapeutic stretching for individuals and couples, and posture awareness. She also offers coaching in nutrition and support for women going through divorce. Appointments can be scheduled by contacting her at   ewsomatherapy@gmail.com.


Disclaimer: The information on this site is not intended or implied to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. All content, including text, graphics, images and information, contained on or available on this blog is for general information purposes only. You agree that your use of this blog is at your sole risk. Consult your physician before beginning any stretch, exercise or self-acupressure suggestion. By using this site, you are agreeing to indemnify, defend and hold harmless Ashley Osier against any and all losses, expenses, damages and costs resulting from using the information contained within this blog. 

Tuesday, April 10, 2018

Pain Relief with Foot Reflexology and Acupressure

Pain Relief with Foot Reflexology and Acupressure


Ashley Osier aka The Posture Specialist
MA, HHE, CPS, CSMT, CAMT, CAYT, CWHP

 ~ Holistic Wellness for Mind, Body, and Spirit ~

My new free video is here and I am thrilled to share the benefits of foot reflexology and acupressure for pain relief!

When I was in the throws of chronic pain from multiple disc bulges and sciatica pain to my toes, I relied heavily on Western foot reflexology, Japanese foot reflexology and key foot acupressure points as one of my many holistic counter-pain strategies. I couldn't walk more than half a block and practicing good posture is very difficult when you are experiencing debilitating pain. I literally worked on my feet 3-5 hours a day so I could function and walk without my leg giving out on me regularly. I am so incredibly thankful that I went to school to learn this work, that I had amazing teachers, that I implemented it to counter the chronic pain I was experiencing, and that it was an effective counter-pain strategy to help me function.

Just as a side note, I was told by one doctor that I would never be able to be an acupressure massage therapist with my back injury. I was told that I needed surgery. I was told by another doctor that my hands would be cripple by the time I was fifty from the tendonitis and carpal tunnel I developed from compensating for my back pain. In a flood of doctor's visits, I was told by another doctor that I looked too good to be in any pain at all. Confused? I was! Chronic pain is definitely a challenge for both the sufferers and the physicians. And it leaves many people helpless to figure out how to manage and live with the pain symptoms and limitations.

In providing free wellness videos for corrective posture and pain management strategies, I wanted to provide a BONUS partner video for those who have a hard time using their hands. With the intense carpal tunnel, tennis elbow, golfers elbow and frozen shoulder conditions I developed, I could not work on my own feet with my hands, see clients, and teach at the schools, wellness centers and hospitals where I was teaching. It took me three years to rehab myself and it was incredibly painful. I heavily relied upon various tools to help me manage the pain, break up congestion and scar tissue, increase circulation, and decrease nerve and muscle pain. As a result, I created the Point Release Technique, which I am now calling AcuPoint Release Technique. It uses a tennis ball on specific acupressure points I found to be painful on myself as well as over 95% of the clients and students I worked with and taught. I have been teaching this counter-pain strategy for over twenty years to students and clients and have a blog that I post to when I am able. I have a direct link to that blog in the side bar of this blog. I put together a tutorial for using the tennis ball on the feet in a previous video, which is linked in my new video today. Empowering ourselves to decrease pain without pills, surgery and injections can be incredibly freeing!

Thankfully, I continue to have a modest therapeutic bodywork practice after 20+ years. I continue to successfully manage the 19% disability I have with holistic counter-pain strategies and wise lifestyle choices. I just turned fifty and my hands are not cripple nor arthritic! How is that possible? I will have a video on that in the future! I no longer have tendonitis or carpal tunnel symptoms! And I have never had surgery, consistently required pain meds, or got an injection. It has been a lot of work, but holistic counter-pain strategies like foot reflexology and acupressure are incredibly beneficial. I am thrilled to be able to put the Western reflexology and acupressure points in this video as a simple tutorial for everyday people to be able to practice on themselves as well as the bonus video on using tools for pain relief. I will work on a separate video for Japanese foot reflexology and my experience and recommendations for that practice in the future.

Now...because of the many alternative counter-pain measures I implemented, I was able to stay away from surgery, pain medications, and injections. I am thrilled that I went this route, BUT, it is not for everyone. It demanded A LOT of my time and focus. Many people won't have this option. I am not against allopathic interventions and I completely understand that many people require surgery, pain medications and injections to function. As a holistic health therapist, my preference is to go the holistic route as much as I possibly can. I do believe my shoulders, arms, and wrists are healthier today because of my choices. The FREE BONUS VIDEO is linked at the end of the video. I will eventually release the link publicly, but for now it is available for subscribers and followers of my social media sites. I would love to hear how these free wellness videos are working for you.

To view the tutorial go to Pain Relief with Foot Reflexology and Acupressure


I pray you are blessed with both videos and that they encourage better posture practice through pain relief and overall enhanced wellness.

Happy Posturing!
Ashley
The Posture Specialist

Ashley Osier is a holistic health educator and therapist, stress management therapist, corrective posture and corrective exercise specialist, an acupressure and massage therapist, stretching, massage, acupressure, and self-acupressure instructor and creator of the Point Release™ Technique and StretchFit™ Method. She specializes in working with stress management, injury prevention and pain relief, therapeutic stretching for individuals and couples, and posture awareness. She also offers coaching in nutrition and support for women going through divorce. Appointments can be scheduled by contacting her at   ewsomatherapy@gmail.com.


Disclaimer: The information on this site is not intended or implied to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. All content, including text, graphics, images and information, contained on or available on this blog is for general information purposes only. You agree that your use of this blog is at your sole risk. Consult your physician before beginning any stretch, exercise or self-acupressure suggestion. By using this site, you are agreeing to indemnify, defend and hold harmless Ashley Osier against any and all losses, expenses, damages and costs resulting from using the information contained within this blog. 


Sunday, April 8, 2018

Chronic Pain and Exercise

Chronic Pain and Exercise

By Ashley Osier
MA, HHE, CPS, CSMT, CAMT, CAYT, CWHP


Currently chronic pain impacts 100 million Americans, more than diabetes, coronary heart disease and cancer combined, each year.  
~ John Hopkins Medical Center and the American Academy of Pain Medicine
    

This article is written for those who are struggling with chronic pain, for my clients and students who are in process with countering their own chronic pain, and for those who love someone who suffers from chronic pain. Part of my intention in putting this together is to provide a safety check for chronic pain sufferers in the current sea of fitness videos, practices, approaches and expectations in attaining the perfect body and fitness level. It is imperative then that those who suffer from chronic pain exercise safely and with people who have knowledge of chronic pain.

Many years ago I wrote my master's thesis on alternative therapies that effectively treat chronic pain. These treatments are still seen as being useful means to decrease chronic pain and address other aspects of one's life that is affected by living with chronic pain. I have listed them in the latter part of this article. Exercise was one of the solutions I addressed in my thesis. More studies over the years have found depression to be a major side effect with chronic pain and exercise is proven to effectively counter depression. Exercise then is one means to reduce chronic pain by boosting seratonin levels and reducing depressive symptoms, but it can also improve strength, flexibility, function, circulation, and bone density, when done wisely. 

So what is exercising wisely look like? Well it will depend upon a number of factors that each person needs to take into consideration prior to beginning. Age, previous injuries/sprains/strains, resolution of the same, general health and fitness level, diet, sleep and time to exercise. Level of chronic pain is also a major factor. Checking in with your doctor to make sure all of your general vitals are stable is a great start. If you see an exercise, gym, trainer, video, etc, that interests you, you can talk to your doctor about whether your health history and current status is a good fit. Make sure to be realistic about your exercising goals. Start small, light and slow and work your way up. 

Those who have lived with chronic pain know that it impacts every area of a person's life and every relationship is affected. It is a physiological response that cannot be measured, diagnosed or cured and it depletes physical, emotional and mental energy from the constant bombardment of pain messages. Recommended treatments often include pain and psychiatric medication and surgery. Many people are left feeling hopeless and helpless with little explanation or understanding of what is really going on. On a positive note, chronic pain requires greater attention to body posture, mechanics, details, breathing, activity, overall function and ability and modification thereof. As a result, body awareness can lead to knowing one's body better in all areas having to do with health, which can result in a healthier lifestyle and longer life.

In working with my own chronic pain in the past, I found it useful to understand what pain was and the difference between acute pain and chronic pain. I have spoken to a number of people over the years who wonder why pain goes away with some injuries but then lingers with others. Often times chronic pain sufferers who try to exercise will experience increased pain symptoms and will need to stop exercising. Most of the time it is due to exercising with the idea that they can workout the same way as they did prior to the chronic pain. But most often chronic pain sufferers need to start at square one and work their way up to what will keep them fit and functional without increasing symptoms. The time commitment and process can be frustrating. But when chronic pain is able to be better understood, sufferers can approach exercise more realistically and effectively. 

One of my clients, for example, is a 30-year old man who is fit and lean. He works out regularly, but also has a desk job that requires 8-12 hours of sitting every day. He has an unresolved sledding injury to his low back (from college), but he is able to work out hard and when he strains a muscle, to recover well enough within a couple of weeks to continue working out without having to stop his exercise. However, one day he bent over to pick up a piece of paper that fell on the floor and his back went into spasm. He has had dull intermittent pain ever since and has not returned to any kind of regular exercise routine. When he tries to exercise, the pain increases and other functions become challenging. Married with another baby on the way, he is caught in a very frustrating pain cycle that is impacting work, personal function and relationships with wife and children. 

This is a perfect example of the difference between acute and chronic pain. When you are injured and the pain is acute pain, the pain will usually last 2-3 weeks and there is a right side of the brain correlation that receives the sharp localized pain associated with acute pain. On the other hand, if the pain is associated with chronic pain, it will last a minimum of a few months to one's lifetime, can be constant and/or intermittent, and it is the left side of the brain that receives the dull, aching or throbbing sensations. It goes even further than that. At the opening of the base of the neck (referred to as the "gate") are nerve-fiber clusters and these clusters are called "gatekeepers." There are large nerve-fiber clusters that close the gate and there are small nerve-fiber clusters that keep the gate open. Can you guess which cluster is associated with chronic pain? Yep, the one that keeps the gate open. So the messages for chronic pain move markedly slower and with more consistency while the acute pain cluster move quickly so the sensation of pain can be minimized. In the animal kingdom, acute pain provides a quick escape from predator function with recovery time being a few days to a few weeks. So what is the function of chronic pain?

 At the time of my thesis, a study in 1989 by Curl, D. D. and Shapiro, C. S. found that "chronic pain serves no self-preservation function and rarely warns the patient against any impeding biological threat…" It cannot be detected, effectively measured or diagnosed by doctors, and it is impossible to treat or cure. Unfortunately my findings still hold true today. But on a more positive note, at minimum, chronic pain can serve as a means to slow us down, make us more thoughtful and intentional with how we use our body, help us to become more careful, and often our ability to consider others and be more empathic will result. This becomes useful when working on posture, good body mechanics and correct lifting, proper ergonomics at work and home, and safe exercise. Though frustrating, chronic pain can actually make us smarter with our body and even healthier. I will address this more in the exercise section.

Since taking the "chronic pain is a wonderful teacher" route is not a popular path, most doctors offer many creative options to treat chronic pain.  Health centers provide classes on pain management, physical therapy, cortisone shots, nerve blocks, surgery, pain medications, and recommendations for time off of work and any activities that increase pain symptoms. Acupuncture is now being offered and recommended by a number of doctors as well. Many doctors when they are unable to find a causal factor will diagnose their patients with a psychosomatic disorder and recommend psychological counseling and meds. But it doesn't address the physiological reality of chronic pain. 

In doing my research on chronic pain, I found that the speed in which chronic pain sends the pain message through gate is 3mph as opposed to 40mph with acute pain. Pain that travels that slow and is repetitive is difficult to stop. So chronic pain that is increased by bad posture will not go away by correcting posture for thirty seconds a couple times in a day. Nor will it go away by taking a stretching class once or twice a week, getting massage once a month, or taking a relaxing bath for 20 minutes every night. When people go to a massage therapist expecting chronic pain to be relieved, it is completely unrealistic specifically because of this 3mph message output. At 3mph, one needs to counter the pain with multiple solutions multiple times per day and on an ongoing basis to address the physiological reality of chronic pain. Does that make sense? 

When I start to get tendonitis in my forearm, for example, I am working on LI 11 consistently throughout the day, wearing an arm support throughout the day, using ice or Biofreeze multiple times in a day, stretching throughout the day, having good use of body mechanics, etc. This multiple countering technique counters the pain message output, blood and energy are promoted for better healing, inflammation is decreased, tightness is stretched, stiffness is moved, soreness/damaged tissue is rested, etc. I want to be in solution with a pain symptom more than I am experiencing the pain to shift the pain message output itself.

This is where the Point Release™ Technique comes into the picture. 

Remembering that I am not a doctor but a health educator and therapeutic bodyworker that specializes in pain management, I focus on reducing the pain messages by stimulating the PRT points regularly. My experience is that it is an effective counter to the three second message output most of the time. Does it stop it? I am not sure. Studies on acupuncture points used for chronic pain present how the stimulation of acupuncture points releases endorphin, encephalin, and dynorphin, natural pain relievers in the body. Stimulating acupuncture points also works on the limbic system and the nervous system to effectively block pain. Since chronic pain is associated with the limbic system and acupuncture points affect the limbic system, naturally releasing pain relieving hormones, it is likely that stimulating PRT points regularly will indeed effectively counter the three second message output. With continued practice and by incorporating other counter measures with consistency, I have experienced myself and seen it in clients and students, pain recognition decreases significantly so that exercise is possible. There have also been times when it completely disappears and routine function, sometimes modified, is restored.

So what about exercise? While countering chronic pain messages with consistent practice of effective techniques, slowly adding safe exercises that engage the muscles at a micro level will build healthy muscle development from the core out. When the foundation is established added exercises for the bigger muscle groups can be tried one at a time, to test efficacy without increasing symptoms. For some people, like myself, this process has taken years. For some of my clients whose chronic pain comes from a less severe cause, the restored function and strength can take a year or less. For those whose chronic pain has a more severe cause, such as a result of a surgical procedure that went wrong, it can be slow and arduous. Realistic thinking and empathic planning with commitment to appropriate goals are essential. Finding the right therapists can be a challenge but worth the time.

Below are some alternatives to relieving chronic pain, safe and repeatable exercises and things that increase pain symptoms. The more you can focus on using chronic pain to increase your body awareness and health the less the chronic pain will be a negative influence in your life. There are many ways to befriend chronic pain and make it a powerful ally in your life. You can contact me to set up a few sessions to explore some of these options and experience them for yourself. The key is to find the combination of pain countering solutions that will be useful for you in your process to reduce and manage the pain. Exercise is essential and should not be cut out completely unless recommended by your physician. And as a note of caution, never go to the gym in pain and lift free weights, machines with weights,  or work with a personal trainer without letting them know you are in pain. Always go to your personal physician and let him or her know what you are experiencing and ask what exercises will be safe and repeatable without getting injured. Then make sure you follow directions so you don't make symptoms worse.

Effective Alternatives in Relieving Chronic Pain

*RICE (rest, ice, compression, elevation)
*Maintaining appropriate weight
*Proper sleep
*Posture therapy
*Safe and repeatable exercises such as tai chi, conscious posture, walking, swimming
*Gentle stretching
*Therapeutic movement such as Alexander Technique and Feldenkrais Method
*Relaxation techniques such as deep breathing and relaxing specific areas of the body
*Aromatherapy - lavandula augustifolia essential oil
*Distraction therapies such as art, therapeutic dance and movment, creative writing, singing/sound therapy
*Self-acupressure/Point Release™ Technique
*Massage/Acupressure/Acupuncture/Reflexology
*Maintaining efficient elimination process

Additional alternatives from my thesis include: autogenic training, biofeedback, guided imagery, hypnotherapy, magnetic therapy, and nutrition therapy.

Safe and Repeatable Exercise
(always consult your physician before you practice any exercise)

Tai chi
Conscious posture
Walking
Swimming

Things that Increase Pain Symptoms

Being overweight
Increased stress
Inadequate sleep
Poor posture
Sedentary lifestyle
Negative thinking
Exercises that are not appropriate for your body

In returning to the example of my 30-year old client, it is important to highlight that he has a previous injury that was never resolved. Unresolved injuries or even strain to muscle that is severe or is repeated can set the body up for a chronic pain scenario. If you consider the animals in the wild who have to run away from predators repeatedly, they eventually end up  exhausted and may even give up running due to repetitive stress and overwhelm. The body has a similar response. With repeated strain or injury to a single area without resolution and proper care, the area or muscle can become weakened, exhausted and challenged to naturally heal or bounce back. More solutions may be needed to assist the healing process and more time may be required to address chronic symptoms. I have found that a quick response to injuries and strain to an area of the body results in the body kicking in more quickly and responding likewise. There is an automatic healing response that takes place in the body naturally, but this automatic response can be impacted by repeated stress, injury or strain and awareness of this point is important to remember. So know your limits and be responsible with your body.


For more information on chronic pain facts, figures, treatment options and other interesting information, you can check out the following sites. The American Academy of Pain Medicine has an website of facts and figures on pain in America at http://www.painmed.org/patientcenter/facts_on_pain.aspx detailing more facts about pain and chronic pain and what options are available for sufferers. John Hopkins Medicine Health Library has additional information at http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/healthlibrary/conditions/spine_shoulder_and_pelvis_disorders/chronic_pain_85,P01366/.  Additional information about the Gate Control Theory of chronic pain can be viewed at: http://www.spine-health.com/conditions/chronic-pain/modern-ideas-gate-control-theory-chronic-pain


Curl, D.D., Shapiro, C.S. (1989). Head/neck pain. The need to identify the patient with acute vs. chronic pain. [20 paragraphs}. Chiropractic Technique. 1 (3), 101-105. Retrieved April 5, 2001, from Alt-Health Watch: http://ehostvgw13epnet.com





To set up a pain management counseling session, therapeutic bodywork session, or private instruction session in therapeutic stretching, Point Release™ Technique, therapeutic exercise, contact me at ewsomatherapy@gmail.com. 




Disclaimer: The information on this site is not intended or implied to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. All content, including text, graphics, images and information, contained on or available on this blog is for general information purposes only. You agree that your use of this blog is at your sole risk. Consult your physician before beginning any stretch, exercise or self-acupressure suggestion. By using this site, you are agreeing to indemnify, defend and hold harmless Ashley Osier against any and all losses, expenses, damages and costs resulting from using the information contained within this blog.