Some 50 million people suffer from chronic pain, according to the American Pain Foundation, and more than 50 percent of those individuals have been suffering moderate to severe pain for more than five years. Further, the foundation found that 50 percent of people with chronic, non-cancer-related pain classify it as severe or very severe, and that fewer than half feel that current medications provide enough relief. A survey by Partners Against Pain found that 56 percent of pain patients said pain interfered with their sleeping, 51 percent with their mood, and 30 percent with their ability to drive, and 28 percent with sexual relations. Plus, 78 percent said they were so unhappy with their pain drugs that they were willing to try new treatments, and 43 percent said they would spend all their money if they thought it would work.
A poll conducted in 2005 by ABC News, USA Today and Stanford University Medical Center found that only 48 percent of frequent pain sufferers and 50 percent of those with chronic pain say they got "at least a good amount" of pain relief after seeing a doctor. Among those over age 50, back pain was the most common type among both men and women. Half of respondents said their pain was the result of a specific condition or injury. The study noted that "age 50 looks to be one breaking point for pain: Four in 10 people who are 50 and older say they've had a pain episode in just the last few days."
Medications only treat pain temporarily and don't address the causes of recurring pain. My system addresses those causes, and the pain doesn't return.
Thursday, June 23, 2011
Thursday, April 28, 2011
Another Success
Koichi is a 37 year old managing director in a small financial firm in New York City. He takes pride in being in shape. He runs 2-3 times per week, bikes, and plays squash regularly. It was at one of his weekly squash outings that his problem occurred. Having gone running earlier in the day, and already feeling the effects, it was in the third "match game" of squash that he overextended himself reaching for the ball. He felt a sharp pull and pain in his lower back and couldn't continue to play. The pain increased and his back stiffened throughout the rest of the day, to the point where he couldn't sleep that night. Unfortunately, this was a regular occurrence for Koichi, happening once or twice a year, with the debilitating pain usually lingering for a couple of weeks. By the next morning he had a hard time standing upright and was in so much pain, he wasn't able to go to work.
Koichi is a pretty standard case for me. Like Koichi, most people who are active and consciencious about exercising, fail to properly counter balance or counter act the effects of all the repetitive exercise that they do. In a nutshell, his body insidiously tightened up over the course of weeks, months, and even years, to the point where something had to give, and finally his muscles went into spasm.
Koichi happened to call the office on a morning I was teaching his boss to say he couldn't come in. He was in too much pain and he didn't know when he would be back in the office. What he wasn't expecting was to be out of pain by days end. I first went over his medical, therapeutic, and exercise history. Next, I gave him my diagnosis and explained to him how muscles work, and most importantly, why he was in pain. Muscles have a physiological memory. All his running without properly stretching left him vulnerable, and much tighter. Whenever you overextend a muscle beyond it's normal range, just as Koichi did, the muscle will go into spasm. Muscle spasms can be experienced as a constant dull ache or a sharp pain associated with a certain movement or, like in Koichi's case, a searing stabbing pain. I had Koichi repeat a series of simple exercises a couple times and his pain diminished with each completion. This thoughtful sequencing of postures is essential to actually getting rid of pain. This is a method, one that I have perfected over the last twenty-five years.
Koichi is a pretty standard case for me. Like Koichi, most people who are active and consciencious about exercising, fail to properly counter balance or counter act the effects of all the repetitive exercise that they do. In a nutshell, his body insidiously tightened up over the course of weeks, months, and even years, to the point where something had to give, and finally his muscles went into spasm.
Koichi happened to call the office on a morning I was teaching his boss to say he couldn't come in. He was in too much pain and he didn't know when he would be back in the office. What he wasn't expecting was to be out of pain by days end. I first went over his medical, therapeutic, and exercise history. Next, I gave him my diagnosis and explained to him how muscles work, and most importantly, why he was in pain. Muscles have a physiological memory. All his running without properly stretching left him vulnerable, and much tighter. Whenever you overextend a muscle beyond it's normal range, just as Koichi did, the muscle will go into spasm. Muscle spasms can be experienced as a constant dull ache or a sharp pain associated with a certain movement or, like in Koichi's case, a searing stabbing pain. I had Koichi repeat a series of simple exercises a couple times and his pain diminished with each completion. This thoughtful sequencing of postures is essential to actually getting rid of pain. This is a method, one that I have perfected over the last twenty-five years.
Thursday, December 9, 2010
Welcome
This blog was started to share my experiences with my private clientele and hopefully educate people about their own pain. Bimonthly or monthly I will discuss in detail the pain my client has been living with and I will share one or two of the postures I used to relieve this pain. I will also post a picture or two. Any posture I share will be extremely gentle. However, like any physical activity, you should always consult your doctor before trying anything you may read or see on my blog. Moreover, this blog is meant only as a tool for inspiration. To truly become pain free, I need to meet with a client and go over their medical history. Dispensing advice based on self-diagnosis via the internet would be dangerous. Please contact me if you are interested in private sessions and live in or are traveling to the New York City area.
Monday, November 15, 2010
Latest Success
Carl is a forty year old financial consultant who has been running his whole life. In high school he ran the mile, 440, and 880 during the indoor and outdoor track seasons. He also ran on the cross-country team. He went to Syracuse University on a partial track scholarship. Flash forward; married with three young girls, he remembers the day pain took his life away. Walking down a hill after a long hike with one of his daughters in a backpack on his shoulders, he felt a searing pain in his hip. He also felt pain in his foot.
That was six years ago, and after numerous therapies, he still had the pain and he had gained 20 lbs because he could no longer exercise. He had been prescribed anti inflammatories, muscle relaxants, and pain killers. He had been to physical therapy, seen massage therapists and chiropractors to no avail. Carl resided himself to a lifetime of pain and was therefore skeptical when I told him that I could cure him of his hip pain, sciatic neural pain running down his leg, and his planters fasciitis. Carl could not believe that the excruciating pain he was living with on a daily basis was simply the accumulative effect of repetitive exercise, his history of running without anything to counter balance its effects.
One of the many postures I used to treat his sciatica was an extremely gentle version of gamukasana or what I call bull's seat prep #1(Pictured is my wife demonstrating the pose). As I stated before, this is one posture of a program of numerous yoga poses I tailored especially for Carl and his several problems. While he experienced some relief from this one posture, a full program after proper diagnosis is needed to obtain full relief and maintain a pain free life.
Like most of my clients, Carl saw the instant results of my system after our first full session and he was pain free after 4 sessions. He immediately took up his life long passion for running but now does my program to prevent the harmful effects of running. He remains pain free.
That was six years ago, and after numerous therapies, he still had the pain and he had gained 20 lbs because he could no longer exercise. He had been prescribed anti inflammatories, muscle relaxants, and pain killers. He had been to physical therapy, seen massage therapists and chiropractors to no avail. Carl resided himself to a lifetime of pain and was therefore skeptical when I told him that I could cure him of his hip pain, sciatic neural pain running down his leg, and his planters fasciitis. Carl could not believe that the excruciating pain he was living with on a daily basis was simply the accumulative effect of repetitive exercise, his history of running without anything to counter balance its effects.
One of the many postures I used to treat his sciatica was an extremely gentle version of gamukasana or what I call bull's seat prep #1(Pictured is my wife demonstrating the pose). As I stated before, this is one posture of a program of numerous yoga poses I tailored especially for Carl and his several problems. While he experienced some relief from this one posture, a full program after proper diagnosis is needed to obtain full relief and maintain a pain free life.
Like most of my clients, Carl saw the instant results of my system after our first full session and he was pain free after 4 sessions. He immediately took up his life long passion for running but now does my program to prevent the harmful effects of running. He remains pain free.
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