Who doesn’t love magic?
Pick a card, any card, put it back in the deck, 3, 2, 1, is this your card?
Classic.
My favourite of all the magicians was the Hypnotist;
When I click my fingers you will wake up and think you're a chicken?
Brilliant.
Daniel I’ve had this pain in my lower back for 6 months, no problems, follow the watch and only the watch, feel yourself getting sleepy and when I click my fingers your back pain will disappear.
Click.
Fixed.
Wouldn’t it be wonderful to snap my fingers and make all the pain go away? To make everything better.
The reality is that a return to good health is often a lot more difficult, and dare I say it, involves the client taking an active role in their recovery.
The most common injury or dysfunction that comes to mind for people is the acute trauma, or impact injury - a slip, trip or fall where part of the musculoskeletal system suffers a sprain or strain. You should be so lucky to suffer something so straight forward. Dysfunction in the body is rarely this simple. Activities of daily living, from sitting at a desk to putting our seatbelt on in the car, can cause imperceptible changes in the movement patterns of the body. Small postural changes can occur from repeated movements or overuse. Neuromuscular transmission can be interrupted or rewired so that compensatory movements or muscle engagements occur. All of which will alter the body’s biomechanical integrity and quality of movement.
For instance;
Glute Amnesia (i.e... Lazy Arse Syndrome) – A syndrome whereby the gluteal muscles through inactivity become inhibited and stop working properly. This causes the muscles of the lower back, hips and thighs to take up the slack leading to altered movement patterns and overloading.
Forward Head Posture (i.e. Tech Neck) – The meteoric rise of technology in our daily lives has contributed to increase in FHP, whereby a group of neck muscles become overactive with repeated flexing of the neck and stabilising muscles through the shoulders and mid-back become weakened.
These common musculoskeletal conditions are responsible for pain and discomfort within the body, however they require more than a click of the fingers. In both cases, regular Myotherapy treatments will help alleviate the discomfort; however without the correct movement pattern being restored the nature of the problem will persist. Efforts to train the area may cause further problems unless the correct muscles are engaged.
Always talk to your Myotherapist about a management plan that will not only address your short term pain but incorporate the self-care techniques that will ensure a long term solution. A combination of manual therapy (ie. massage, cupping, myofascial dry needling) to directly address the soft tissue, corrective exercise to facilitate function and build strength, as well as stretching to restore tight muscles to normal length, are all essential.
Getting better isn’t magic. If it was I’d wear a top hat. Don't fall for cheap tricks, be prepared to do the work and you will make your aches and pains disappear.