| | The word “aging” means different things to different people. Unfortunately, too many seniors believe that with age, comes the inevitable pain of sore muscles and stiff joints. In more cases than you might think, this doesn’t need to be so. More than likely, most if not all of the pain felt in joints and muscles is simply due to long standing stressful imbalances in the musculoskeletal systems -- muscles, connective tissues, bones, and joints. This is one of the primary reasons I love working with seniors, and why this age group makes up so much of my practice! So many times, after decades of unwittingly living with painful imbalances in muscles and joints, the relief of corrective balancing is so dramatic that it can literally be a life changing experience…a real attitude adjustment! When muscles and connective tissues are out of balance, the bones and joints they attach to are as well. That’s the way the human body is designed. Muscles must cross over joints in order to move body parts. In a perfect world all of the muscles in the body would always be evenly balanced, allowing maximum range of motion in all directions at each joint. In reality, as the tension in one muscle or group of muscles grows shorter or tighter than their counterparts, this imbalanced tension is always transmitted to and through the neighboring joint. Over time, these imbalances are a recipe for pain and stiffness. A crucial factor here is the widely overlooked role connective tissues play in this balancing act. Without exception, every single muscle, organ, and bone--in fact everything under the skin-- is enveloped in, and supported by connective tissues. It’s the stuff that holds us all together. As indispensable as connective tissues are, they can also become that much a curse. These same tissues, because of their chemical make-up, literally glue us into pain inducing patterns of imbalance. Time is not our friend here. The longer these patterns are left in place, the more laminated the tissues become. Over time these imbalance patterns in the body become “the new you”. One day you wake up to find you simply can’t bend, reach, twist, and move as fully as you once could. There are numerous ways for imbalances to be introduced into the body. Many times an imbalanced pattern will begin in childhood and progress over the years, cumulatively exerting itself in the body. Have you ever, at any time in your life, taken a hard fall, broken a bone, had surgery, received any type of an impact trauma, been in an auto accident, or had a prolonged or traumatic emotional experience? You may still be dealing with the consequences in ways you are unaware. Unless something is done to correct the irregular patterns in these connective tissues, the muscles, cartilage, bursa, and ligaments of the joint wear abnormally and deteriorate. In the worst cases, the long-term result of this wearing down process can culminate in a complete breaking down of the joint’s protective system. At this point, no cortisone shot will help…it’s joint replacement time. Enter Structural Integration bodywork. Structural Integration is a series of advanced bodywork sessions developed to balance the relationship of muscle, connective tissues, and joints. By applying very specific pressure and slow strokes to the affected muscles and connective tissues, the body is released from its stressful, pain-inducing patterns. Length and balance come back into the body, allowing the bones and joints the freedom to “line up” again in their natural relationship to one another. Decreased mobility, limited range of motion, and pain greatly diminish or vanish all together because the imbalances in the tissues have been reorganized. The series of 10 to 16 sessions of Structural Integration covers the body from head to toe and is generally completed within several months of weekly sessions. There are easy to understand posture and movement tips given with each of the different sessions to help support and engrain the healthy changes in the body. Through this process, the shrinking and slumping generally associated with aging is arrested or reversed. People get taller, feel lighter, move more freely, and enjoy a new spring in their step! As a Structural Integration practitioner, working with seniors is a special treat because the changes can be so dramatic and life changing! After decades of rigidified holding patterns, many forget how it once was, and succumb to the belief that this is just the way it will always be. The new freedom and flexibility in their bodies can truly be a transformative experience and gives some a whole new lease on life. If you think you are a candidate for Structural Integration and would like a simple and free way to find out, get two scales and put them side-by-side. (It is important that they are the same height). Now stand on them with one foot on each scale. If the numbers you see are different, you have musculoskeletal imbalances. Even this isn’t fool proof because you may be imbalanced from front to back, not side to side. Either way, if you are interested in finding out, come on in for a free evaluation and assessment and let’s have a look. It might be fun, or at least informative. Besides, I’d like to meet you!! |
