Injury Recovery
Neck Pain and Posture
Please enjoy this guest blog by Dr. Michael L. Rothman, M.D. Dr Rothman is a former orthopedic surgeon who now helps his patients overcome chronic pain using posture alignment therapy. He is an Advanced Exercise Therapist (AET), certified by the Egoscue Institute, who...
Join the Pain Revolution!
The Pain Revolution is a grassroots movement that strives to change people’s understanding of chronic pain. The genesis of this evolution in our understanding of pain is based in Australia. Specifically, the Pain Revolution started in South Australia, in the city of...
Prevent Injuries: Ease Back Into Exercise
Let’s say you’re a runner, because the person who inspired this blog is, and this is her story. I’ll call her Kate, although it’s not her real name. In a nutshell, Kate took a week off of running, then she went back to it at the same intensity and duration as before....
End Chronic Knee Pain Through Alignment
We learned everything we needed to know about our skeleton in kindergarten . . . Recall a section of the lyrics from the children’s song Dem Bones: “The ankle bone's connected to the leg bone, . . . The leg bone's connected to the knee bone, The knee bone's connected...
3 Gentle Back Extension Exercises
Back extension is a normal human movement! However, doing back extension exercises, particularly of the lumbar spine (low back), is not universally practiced or accepted. In fact, people have strong opinions about this issue. I have had students refuse to do these...
How You Think Affects Your Pain
Thoughts are inputs into the nervous system that can increase or decrease your sensation of pain. Have you ever noticed your pain decrease when you are having fun, in a beautiful place, or engaged in a meaningful activity? Conversely, have you felt your pain increase...
New Research on Chronic Back Pain
Millions of Americans suffer from chronic back pain (CBP). However, the majority of those with CBP—85%, in fact—have not been diagnosed with a definitive structural cause for their pain. Instead, changes in the central nervous system, including the brain, are causing...
How To Fix Plantar Fasciitis
The treatment for Plantar Fasciitis needs to extend above the feet. In order to realign your body and alleviate your pain, try the exercises provided.
What To Do When You Have A Pain Flare Up?
Pain flare-ups are no fun! How do I know? Because I’ve had plenty myself. Sometimes, flare-ups are understandable, such as when we increase an activity too quickly. For example, perhaps you pushed it a bit too far on your run, hiked a longer and steeper trail than...
Tap Into Your Subconscious Mind to Heal
Your subconscious mind directs the actions and behaviors that create the results you experience in your life. Interestingly, your subconscious is more powerful than your conscious mind. It makes up most of your mind's capacity. As you can see in the iceberg image to...
Membership Website Launching in October
I am excited to announce the pre-launch of The Pain Free Athlete membership website. The site officially launches on October 1, 2021. The creation of this website is one of the benefits of Covid-19. A year and a half ago, I moved all of my in-person classes to Zoom....
Osteoarthritis: The Latest Research
“Osteoarthritis is not a ‘wear and tear’ disease of the joint.” Thus says Tasha Stanton, associate professor and lead osteoarthritis researcher at the University of South Australia, Adelaide. I had the opportunity to listen to her presentation, “Re-thinking...
Is peer pressure prolonging your injury?
Peer pressure, the influence a group or individual has on your behavior, can be positive or negative. When we view it in relation to activity and sport, peer pressure can drive us to do more than we might on our own. This is great if we are lacking motivation and need...
A New Relationship with “Rehab Exercises”
I have a confession to make: I frequently struggle to do my “rehab exercises”! There you have it. I am a posture coach that can lack motivation to do the work she asks of her clients. So, do you think less of me now? Or, maybe you respect my honesty? Well,...
How to “Be Careful” and Excel After Injury
A client recently remarked to me that I probably have to "be careful" with my athletics since I have been injured and have had multiple joint surgeries. This blog is in answer to her statement. If you Google the topic, the idea of being careful regarding pain...
Meet Jessica!
I believe we are designed to move and play throughout our entire lives. I don’t buy into the idea that we should slow down with age, or that pain, injury and physical restrictions are unavoidable aspects of growing older. So, here’s my philosophy. Our mental mindset, combined with the physical position and condition of the body that we bring into any activity (from walking to skiing to everything in between), determines our chance of hurting when we move. If we have a positive mindset, and if we have proper positioning and move with correct body biomechanics, all activities should be possible.
This is the goal I have for everyone: to overcome pain and limitations so you can Stay in the Game for Life!
Visit The Pain Free Athlete website for additional resources and opportunities.
