A studious few months

I have been on a tremendous learning journey over the past few months. It began with a trip down to Bristol where the ever inspirational Matt Hudson took us on a journey through the human mind and its role in chronic pain. We chatted for 7 days solid in the most idilic of locations, set up several pop up clinics (thanks Sally Trussler) and drank plenty of wine (slightly more of it than we thought according to the bar bill). A quick train journey back into London Paddington then off to PDTR level 2 with Jose Paloma. Again the material was incredible and the level of detail was immense. The smell of fried brain cells was most definitely present by the end of day 4. Finally an afternoon in Covent Garden with the voice of reason Chris Sritharan-we sat nattered about everything and nothing and put the world to rights….the cherry on the top of a fantastically indulgent time of study.

The reason I have not written any blogs recently is that I wanted to digest everything I have learnt, play with the material and see how it layers over this wonderful body of ours. I wanted to test drive what I have learnt, assess and reassess to see how effective it is during sessions and whether it lasts through to follow up.  There have been some incredible stories and some less epic ones, however every exploration has built on the one before and I now feel I am doing the creators of these new tools better justice and integrating them into my existing practice.

Back to blogging

This weekend the planets seemed to aline and body met mind in the most incredible way. I have been treating someone very close to me for a while now. She has very kindly donated her body on numerous occasions to clinical science (mostly without duress) and we have slowly been peeling the layers of her injury history piece by piece. On Saturday a massive chunk came tumbling off. With an injury history as long as my arm we had built a theory around her existing presentation, however there had been one piece that had only recently come to life. As a 5 year old Miss X (that is not her real name by the way) had been on the receiving end of a particularly unpleasant boy’s aggression resulting in a boot to the ribs. Even now as she recalled it there was a change in inclination of her voice and her eyes gazed down and to the left as she re-lived the event (a space that has been mapped to internal dialogue in HNLP). “That’s interesting” I thought, “let’s explore a little deeper.”

From a movement perspective she had chosen to move away from her initial impact, which could have possibly locked her in the two walking gait phases that she had been stuck in. If her spine would not side bend into the left ribs, then the trickle down effect through the body would be global and massive. All this could explain the chronic tightness and pain in her right hip that recoiled every time anyone tried to release it, and the tightness through out her diaphragm which could have added to her digestive issues, anxiety, neck pain , etc. All just a theory but worth pursuing we decided.

Using PDTR we assessed the pain receptors in the area. Old injuries once heeled can leave behind a legacy of dysfunctional nerve receptors which can then influence the muscular chains and fascia through out the whole body. “I’m feeling a little confused” she said as we tested the area “I think we might be onto something”.

The pain receptor tests proved positive so we reset the area……then the fun and games began!

An almighty out breath

Suddenly she let out a massive breath of air as her diaphragm let go for the first time in 25 years. Colour flooded into her cheeks, tears flooded out of her eyes and laughter simultaneously exploded from her mouth.

“What are you noticing?” I asked as she continued to giggle.

“I’m feeling a bit overwhelmed and confused but not scared” she said. “It is as if I am back in the place where it all started and my brain is going fast forward to catch up to the present day. I am feeling amazingly relaxed, as if every cell in my body has melted. I feel like I have been underwater all this time and am gasping down the breath that I have missed out on.”

We sat back as her body let go and we both observed the process in fascination.

“Do you want to feel that hip and see if there is any difference?” I suggested. Amazingly the tissue had just let go, the hip moved freely and the neck articulated smoothly like the day it had been created. Three days later she is still breathing deeply and exploring her new found freedom. Will it change any of the other symptoms? Only time will tell. Yesterday some very, very old lower back pain returned which we proceeded to unravelled. I always see this as a positive thing as the layers continue to peel away and we move onto yet older compensations.  We will monitor over the next few weeks and perhaps a second blog post might be required to follow up. It is all too easy to report through rose tinted spectacles about the initial fireworks, but the proof of the pudding’ will be whether it sticks.

Conclusion

Although I was going to wait another month or so to post about integrating this new work this seemed like the perfect time. It was an honour to see first hand how awe inspiring the human being is and how working from the space of ‘anything is possible’ is a place of infinite possibility. Mind, body and spirit wrapped up in one perfect unit.

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I am very lucky to have the lovely Magdalena Brzozowska coming into clinic recently to help me coach breathing. The way you breath can be attributed to a multitude of things, however it can often be a real fight or flight response which does not respond to just hands on diaphragm inhibition or other manual techniques.

I have always been a huge fan of surrounding myself with fantastically diverse therapists who are passionate about what they do and who quite frankly do it better than I could ever dream of. Having a network like this is not only of huge benefit for my patients, but has always been great for business and has enabled me to learn massively from those around me. It is a win-win-win situation for everyone involved.

Why it matters

Breathing is the first thing we do as we enter this life and the last thing we do as we leave it. Our first few breaths drive the amniotic fluid from our lungs and away we go ready to thrive and prosper….or do we?

I assess breathing patterns on every person who comes to see me as it is often an area that could do with a little TLC and that if compromised can cause havoc globally. Neck pain, back pain, knee pain, dizziness, palpitations, poor digestion, thoracic outlet syndrome….the list is endless and from what I have seen ‘dysfunctional’ (….ooh I hate that word) breathing is some-what of an epidemic in our 100 mile per hour, desk bound world.

Miss Brzozowska

Recently I have had the pleasure of working alongside the lovely Magdalena Brzozowska to provide a multidisciplinary approach to help people reconnect with their breath. Magdalena draws on yoga to help people explore their breathing patterns and in doing so empowers them to be able to wash respiration through their joints, viscera, muscles and perhaps most importantly their minds. Having assessed through osteopathy, Anatomy in Motion and NKT whether the diaphragm is a major part in someone’s presentation, I have passed several patients across to her and let her work her magic.

When I return, and before even laying on hands to reassess, the changes in the room are easily observable. A cloudy, smiley and slightly hazy look of calm always greets me and I can immediately feel and hear the difference as I walk back in. It is as as if ‘fight or flight’ has left the building and the body and mind have become one again. Breathing slows, the pitch of the voice changes and the speed at which words tumble out relax into a leisurely amble.

The reassessment

The beauty of having a set of objective markers from the initial assessment is that it allows us to quantify the effectiveness of her treatment in addition to experiencing the changes from within. Pelvic floor quadrant strength often magically reappears, as does transverse abdominal and multifidus strength. Restricted neck vertebrae instinctively release as the accessory neck breathing muscles get a chance to relax their vice like grip, and lower back segments that have been under the strangle hold of the diaphragm’s tendinous attachments get a chance to breath. Rib cages that have been torsioned by asymmetric contractions of the diaphragm are encouraged by mindful breathing to let go and muscular tension within our closed system begins to unravel.

Watching movement change can be equally as staggering. The diaphragm and inner core link the lower and upper limbs together. As the oblique fascial slings cross over the body they rely on firm foundations to function effectively and efficiently. To see a body access rotation equally and easily as it ambulates is a great aim for every session. From there on in, every step reinforces the body’s ability to heal itself outside of clinic.

Conclusion and homework

The homework…..enjoy using your body as diversely as possible again, check in with your breathing and escape the rat race by taking the time for yourself.  As you sit on the tube, tune in to your breath put some good music on your iPod and smile. This medicine is free, has no side effects and is incredibly powerful.

Stay posted for the next article where we will go into more depth on some exercises to help you on your journey. Until then keep breathing.

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