Dana, a 45 year old mother and an avid runner, came in for a treatment with severe ongoing lower back pain. A couple of months earlier, she had sprained her ankle. Within a few days, once the discomfort in the ankle subsided, she was back in her routine. Soon afterwards. she began to experience sharp pains in her lower back and a tightness in her hips. To alleviate the discomfort, she cut back on her physical activities, while looking for solutions that could enable her to regain her regular mobility.
As is often the case, when we experience as injury, we compensate by using other areas of our body to prevent extensive use of the injured area. After a short period, the compensation stratagy, originally intended to bring relief, becomes a habit, changing ones entire movement pattern. Unaware that her movement patterns had changed, she was now looking for a solution for her back pains.
How could she fix it?
Clearly she was not a novice and had explored a number of treatments. I asked her to do some basic movements walking, turning, bending. I observed her movement, to see where she may be straining and what maybe limiting her movements.
“What can you do about it?” she inquired.
What differentiates functional integration from other modalities is the focus on the nervous system and integration, rather than the musculature and the bones (structure). In my work I use touch, and gentle guided movement, as a means to self organization. Over the next few treatments Dana was able to reorganize her movements, reducing the discomfort she experienced in the first place, she is able to regain almost full functioning capacity and get back to the activities she values.
For consultation about back pain relief, email: Info@noamgamady.com