The Egoscue Method (recommended by SP)

[Buddy]

From Selene River Press:

THE EGOSCUE METHOD
The Egoscue Method has been gaining recognition for its effective and professional approach to therapeutic pain management. Health professionals as well as the individual will be interested in this work. The following is from egoscue.com:

The Egoscue Method works by returning the body to its original blueprint through a set of individualized gentle stretching exercises. All the body's systems function interactively -- their ability to function normally, however, depends to a large extent on postural alignment and the body's ability to move. Due to stresses in our daily life, our muscles have forgotten their basic training and are deviating from the body's original blueprint.

The "blueprint" we speak of is one that is familiar to all health professionals--the standing normal anatomical position. In the sagittal plane, the axis of the hip, knee and ankle joints are directly aligned. The head sits evenly between the shoulders and the hips are level. In the coronal plane, the mastoid process should sit directly over the shoulder joint; the shoulder, hip, knee and ankle joints should be vertically aligned. In the transverse plane, there should be no rotation of the torso on a fixed pelvis. There should be no rotation of the humerus, femurs or shank outside what is considered appropriate in the literature.

The mechanical changes eventually manifest themselves into a variety of pathologies and disorders if allowed to continue. These can include, but are not limited to, inflammatory responses to overstressed tendons and bursa, non-congruency of joints surfaces, unequal loading of the intervertebral discs, laxity of ligaments, muscle pain and ischemia.

We must then return to our "blueprint". The individual is visually evaluated with the aid of a plumb line and background grid. The therapist who is highly trained to recognize structural and mechanical deviations of the body as a whole and does so with the use of diagnostic machines or specific manual muscle tests. Based on the patient's self reported history and the therapist's observations, a series of functional demand exercises are developed. These exercises are designed to address the muscular imbalances and dysfunction leading to this individual's structural deviations

The exercises emphasize the deeper muscles of the axial skeleton and pelvis as well as the more superficial muscles. They require no special equipment and are designed to strengthen the body functionally. Our primary source of resistance is the person's body weight and the force of gravity. The Egoscue Method's therapists do not administer "hands on" therapy. The patient is instructed in a series of personalized exercises and then is expected to continue them on their own at home. Modifications are readily made whenever necessary. The home program prevents the patient from developing a dependency on someone else while pursuing their own well being. Instead, they assume responsibility for their own health. This is another major premise of The Egoscue Method.