Fitness and exercise often go together. Most people benefit from various forms of exercise. At times however things seem to go wrong in spite of having sessions with qualified trainers. One such case was that of Peter (not his real name) a 54year old man, who worked in an office in Plymouth.
He came to see me for treatment for his severe sciatic pain. He had been suffering with the problem for some 8 months. He had been practicing yoga exercises when he suddenly felt an “electric shock” in his back. The pain was terrible. Since then he had developed a left-sided sciatic pain extending down his leg. Along with this he had started getting discomfort in his left, and to a lesser extent his right gluteal area. In his own words “It’s as if somebody is pushing a hot poker into my body”.
When his posture was assessed at the plumb-line, it was observed that he had a pronounced left pelvic rotation forward. Due to this forward rotation his right hip was, in effect, rotated backwards. In short his body was considerably distorted and out of alignment and the distortion was affecting various muscles especially in the lumbar and the dorsal region, around the shoulders and neck, and also down into his legs.
His suffering was of the kind which would be alleviated and remedied by the realignment and relaxation available from the light touch approach of Spinal Touch and Bio-Stress Release for the persisting pain. Peter’s postural assessment also revealed the precise points of leverage to be used throughout his treatment session which would guide his body back to structural and energetic balance.
For the treatment itself Peter lay face down on the treatment couch. The session involved the application of a sequence of gentle “rub-outs” on various muscle zones.
At the same time specifically relevant leverage points were held in order to individualise the treatment to his particular needs.
When he rose from the couch and walked around the room he found that he was entirely free of pain. Re-assessment of his posture at the plumb-line showed correction of the pelvic rotation and the restoration of proper vertical alignment. Throughout the months of his ordeal Peter had been on strong medication for pain-relief and these he entirely discontinued after two further Spinal Touch sessions.
It became apparent that Peter’s symptoms were generally better when he was on holiday or otherwise stress-free. They tended to slightly return whenever he was under physical stress or with physical exertion such as swimming or running. Under these circumstances he would return for a further treatment. Repeatedly, after treatment, he would look with disbelief and ask “How did you do that? – The pain has totally disappeared”. The theme of his discussions with the friend who had referred him for treatment was that the therapist “must be doing some sort of magic”.
He continued having Spinal Touch treatment for some time. Sometimes, after a number of weeks of complete freedom from pain, it would return for a short time. Once the pain entirely ceased returning he stopped treatment altogether. In due course he felt so secure in his improvement that he took up his exercise regimes and sports again.
It is a simple fact that the whole spinal column (and all the structures which it supports) rest upon and are supported by the comparatively small surface area of the lumbo-sacral articulations. If these surfaces have an abnormal tilt then the spine must immediately compensate by taking on an abnormal curve so as to maintain the best balance possible and minimise strain and loss of energy.
For this reason, a pelvic rotation will affect the lumbo-sacral articulations and this in turn will have a knock-on effect on the spine itself and the nerve endings. Structurally and energetically redressing the pelvic rotation, realigning the body to the force of gravity and returning it to balance will bring pain relief both to sciatic and other associated pains and also to the many disorders involving disruption of spinal nerve supply.
Spinal Touch is based upon engineering principles as they apply to living physiology. It is a gentle and yet dynamic approach whose effects can indeed seem like magic.
My advice to fitness enthusiasts is to make sure that their posture is properly aligned before they undertake any form of vigorous exercise or have it corrected once it is out of alignment.
© Susanna Terry
