How Gratitude Supports Physical Recovery

Most people think of physical therapy as a journey of muscles, joints, tendons, and exercises. And it is. But anyone who has navigated recovery from pain or injury also knows this: healing isn’t just physical. It’s emotional. It’s mental. It’s personal. This Gratitude Month, we’re exploring a powerful, science-backed tool that can support your recovery just as much as strengthening or mobility work: gratitude. 

What Gratitude Really Does for the Brain and Body 

I recently listened to a Huberman Lab podcast episode: "The science of a Gratitude Practice and how to cultivate one" that was shared with me and was surprised to learn some of these concepts, so I wanted to share them with you. It's a very "sciency" episode, so I'm breaking it down here. Gratitude isn’t just positive thinking. Neuroscientist Dr. Andrew Huberman explains that gratitude activates specific neural pathways in the brain linked to motivation, connection, and resilience. Research shows that consistent gratitude practice can: 

•  Lower stress and reduce inflammation markers in the body 
•  Shift your mindset from frustration to progress 
•  Increase motivation and follow-through on recovery exercises 
•  Improve emotional resilience during tough phases of healing 
•  Strengthen feelings of connection and hope 

Why Gratitude Matters in Physical Therapy

Recovering from an injury isn’t always linear. There are ups and downs. Some days feel easy and empowering; others feel slow or discouraging. This is where gratitude becomes a recovery tool—not just a mindset trick. Gratitude helps by: 

•  Reducing the brain’s "defensive" stress response that leads to tension and worry 
•  Reinforcing effort and progress by reminding your brain why recovery matters 
•  Improving consistency, which is the #1 predictor of physical therapy outcomes 

 The Most Effective Gratitude Practice (According to Neuroscience) 

 Most of us have heard of gratitude lists like "I’m grateful for my family" or "I’m grateful for my health.” While that’s helpful, Huberman points out that the most powerful form of gratitude involves a story. Research shows gratitude works best when you: Recall a real moment when someone helped you – especially a moment that made a difference. Feel what that help meant to you – let the emotion sink in for 1–3 minutes. Reflect on the impact – how it changed you or supported your journey. This could be a moment from your recovery, or any time in your life—big or small. 

A Simple 3-Minute Gratitude Exercise for Recovery 

Try this after your PT session or home exercises:  

Step 1: Choose your gratitude story. Example: "When I felt stuck and frustrated, my therapist adjusted my exercises and encouraged me. That support helped me believe I could move forward." 

Step 2: Write 2–3 short bullet points 

•  What was happening before the help 
•  The help you received 
•  How it made you feel 

 Step 3: Read and reflect for 1–3 minutes Breathe. Let yourself feel the gratitude. Notice how your body responds. Repeat 3 times per week. 

Why This Works 

This type of practice activates a part of your brain that drives "approach behavior" — motivation, effort, and willingness to engage. That means gratitude doesn’t just make you feel good. It makes you more likely to stay consistent with your recovery. 

 

Try the Gratitude + Recovery Challenge for the next 30 days: Do your gratitude reflection 3x per week.  Pair it with your PT sessions or home exercises.  Notice how your mindset and motivation change over time.  

Final Thoughts 

Recovery is more than repetition — it’s resilience. Gratitude doesn’t ignore challenges; it gives you the emotional fuel to overcome them. Whether you're rebuilding strength, restoring mobility, or getting back to the activities you love, gratitude is a powerful partner in the process. 

Looking for support in your recovery journey? I'm here for you. Simply call or text (414-405-3956) or email me (1212bodyworks@gmail.com) to schedule. 

Stay tuned this month for more recovery mindset tools designed to support your body and your brain. 

Gratitude is the Best Medicine

"BOOM!" The sound of the collision between my SUV and the Minivan that crossed over into my lane haunts me to this day. 12 years ago this month, a roll-over car accident changed my life. For the first time in my career, the Physical Therapist became the patient. The same muscle techniques we now use to help YOU move and feel better were successfully employed by MY Physical Therapist to help rehabilitate my neck and shoulder injuries. This experience validated that venturing outside of the traditional physical therapy box was the best decision for me as the patient, and for all of my future patients, and for that I am truly grateful! This experience also helped me appreciate the little things in life that I had once taken for granted. I was lucky and grateful to be alive!! 

My client just came in this morning and said "I'm not doing well today." I assumed she meant because our session last time was too much for her, but instead she said, "I just found out that my friend's husband died as a result of injuries from the Waukesha Christmas parade event yesterday." My heart broke for her and the many people and families affected both physically and emotionally by the horrific incident so close to home for many of us! Life is such a precious gift that can be taken from us at any time without warning. She expressed gratitude that her friend's injuries were less severe and that she has a strong support network to lean on during this difficult time. 

Last week, a client who has been severely sleep-deprived due to the pain of his dislocated shoulder, was grateful that he was starting to improve. Even though it was his non-dominant side, he realized just how much he really needed it to function better to get through life! And sleep deprivation is no joke!! Those of us affected by that because of pain or other issues in our life can surely relate.  His gratitude for even a little better sleep, and a little better function gave him a new perspective and he was starting to feel more hopeful. 

No matter what is going on in our lives, having gratitude always helps. This time of year always brings gratitude to mind, as we are about to celebrate Thanksgiving this week. We all have so much to be grateful for, but sometimes our gratitude can be lost amongst our pain and life's stressors.  

Even though it may feel like a nuisance to change your schedule to get to and from therapy appointments, at least there are answers to your pain problems to be found.  Even though doing your home exercise program takes time away from other daily activities, it may be helping to support those daily activities. It's annoying to have to make changes with how we do things when pain and other limitations don't allow us to do things the normal way, but at least our bodies were designed to compensate so we can still keep going.  Having gratitude that our bodies have a warning signal system in place when we feel pain or that something isn't "right" with our bodies is actually a huge blessing!! It allows us to take notice and find better ways to move, whether on our own or with the help of a professional. Being able to FEEL our body means that we are alive. Sometimes it is hard to find the blessings and have gratitude when we don't like what we feel, but the alternative (not being alive...) is worse! 

I am so grateful to have each of you in my life! It is such a HUGE blessing to enjoy coming to work each day. The opportunity to help each and every one of you move and feel better is so important to me, and I thank you for committing to this process, allowing us to work together to solve your unique issues, even if it takes some time to get to the root of them. I know what it is like to be limited by pain, problems moving how we want to be moving, sleep disturbances, and having to keep working at home exercises to feel better. I'm grateful for every session where we can help your body shine your light on the world a little brighter! Thank you so much for giving me the opportunity to be a part of your healing journey! 

Wishing you a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday and that you can focus on all that you are grateful for in your life, no matter what is going on around us. God Bless You!! 

Tootsie's "TWEET:" Don't Wait Until It's Too Late

It's me again, Emily's alter-ego, Tootsie, "Queen of the Posture Police."  I'm tired of Emily being so nice to you all!! I'm here to keep it real and offer some unfiltered advice so you feel better & STAY better!!  I'm here to blow my whistle and make another citation for crappy posture! 

TWEET! Don't Wait Until It's Too Late!!  

It's so annoying!  That lingering, dull ache when you bend or reach. It's been bothering you for some time now, but you just keep hoping it will go away...eventually. But it is still there. It's not convenient, but you move on. It doesn't seem to matter what you do, it is still there. You've tried stretches. It's still there. Your Chiropractor gets your alignment straight and you feel better for a little bit, but it's still there. Your Massage Therapist tries to untie the knot in that area, but it tightens back up. Then all of a sudden, you move the wrong way and your body locks up completely!! You have to cancel all of your plans and let your body calm down for who knows how long!! Again, not convenient, but this time you can't move at all!  Now, what are you supposed to do??

Good question. I know the answer. (Emily is too nice to share it, so here I go!) DON'T WAIT!! That little annoying ache, that all of a sudden turns into an emergency could have been dealt with much better in Emily's office when it was a molehill, rather than a mountain. You know how it goes on Emily's treatment table..."Move this way...Hold here...Ready, RESIST! Roll over, lift this leg, Hold, Ready RESIST! Now roll back over. Stand up. Sit down. Move this way, Ready RESIST!" Good luck trying to do any of THAT when your body is in crisis-mode, crying out in pain! 

Here's the deal. When your body has trouble MOVING or you can't MOVE a certain way, your muscles are involved. When you feel tight or have a "knot," your muscles are involved, but I'm here to tell you, those stretches won't help! When your posture and alignment are out of place, your muscles are involved; when your alignment is put back into the ideal position, if the muscles that hold it there aren't on board, your crappy alignment will shift right back to where it once was. It is as simple as that! Fortunately for you, YOU happen to have your own personal Muscle Specialist. You know who to call when your body is starting to send you the uncomfortable messages. You know NOT to wait until it is too late.  

A few weeks ago, Emily got a call from a client she hadn't seen for several months. All of a sudden, this client reached out in crisis mode. "I NEED to get in for a session! My body is ANGRY!!" Unfortunately for this client's sake, Emily's calendar was full of clients who had already been on her schedule for weeks, committed to working on the process of moving better after their body gave them subtle warning signs. This client waited until it was too late! She waited until her body was screaming at her!! Not only would she have been miserable on the treatment table, trying to move into the range-of motion positions needed for Emily to figure out the best way to help her, but the hands-on and exercise treatments themselves would have been more painful to endure as well in her inflamed state. 

Even though she is a PT (which some people think stands for "Pain & Torture"...), Emily truly does NOT like to hurt her clients!! Seriously, she doesn't!! She knows that it will be painful for her clients to be treated when they are in an active crisis mode. Of course, IF she is able to help, Emily will see her clients in whatever state they show up to the session, but it goes much more easily for everyone involved if the sessions are focused on promoting wellness rather than doing damage control. (But she's too nice to say anything, so that's why I'm bringing it up!) 

So, in summary, listen to those body signals, people!! Even if the message seem just like a little "whisper" right now, these quieter messages are important indicators that something may get MUCH louder if you wait too long to have your muscles checked! Maybe you've been told by a friend or family member that your posture needs help, or you've noticed uncomfortable sensations in your body with all the stress & changes you've been through since 2020, or you've been dealing with a chronic, nagging ache for years and you just keep on plugging away. Now, bring your mole-hills in to see Emily before they become mountains!! 

DON'T WAIT!!! Call, Text (414) 405-3956, or Email 1212bodyworks@gmail.com to set up your next session! 

 

Is Your Head On Straight?   How many of you have heard me say "We need to get your head back on straight?" Sure, it sounds kind of silly, but SOOO many of my Physical Therapy clients benefit from this simple reset. My client Stacy came for help to resolve chronic shoulder and elbow pain, which was making it difficult to perform her work as a Professional Photographer. Her camera was heavy with all of its attachments, and she was having trouble making it through an entire shoot without needing many breaks. Then, while sitting at her computer to edit the photos, a feeling of tightness settled into her upper back. She was seeing a Massage Therapist to try to "untie the knots" in her neck and shoulders but wasn't having lasting results. She was frustrated that despite going to the gym regularly, doing all sorts of stretches, and using pain-relieving essential oils, she couldn't find relief.  When we first met for her Full Body Assessment, her posture caught my attention. Stacy's head position was slightly tilted and rotated to the right. Her left shoulder was higher than her right, her pelvis was also rotated, and one of her foot arches was much flatter than the other side. This alignment is very common, especially with clients who are Right hand dominant. As we worked together, Stacy performed corrective exercises at home for her shoulder and arm. She noticed very little pain while doing her exercises but then felt some discomfort later in the day. She adjusted her computer workstation to take pressure off of her arms, but that only helped a little bit too. When we treated Stacy's neck, she could immediately feel an improvement in her shoulder mobility, tightness and pain!  Stacy was surprised to learn that so many of her neck muscles were "asleep!" She asked, "How have I even been holding my head upright with all of this weakness?"  We laughed, and I told her she was compensating for the weakness by holding tension in surrounding areas. It is not an efficient long-term solution to weakness, but that is what our body does! Since the head houses the brain, which is responsible for ALL of the nerve signals traveling throughout the entire body, it is important to "get it on straight!" Just this week, Stacy told me that her Massage Therapist even noticed how much better things are for her now! She's happy she is finally finding relief!  Stacy's pain and tightness was located relatively close to her neck, but getting your head back on straight can even help client's who are suffering from Lower Back Pain, Sciatica, Knee pain and even Foot pain! It's amazing how everything is connected.  If you or someone you love have been dealing with chronic pain or tightness that doesn't seem to lessen with exercise or other therapies, there is hope!! You too can find freedom from the pain once and for all!

5 Daily Habits of Healthy, Independent Seniors

 

Last week, a sweet 98 year old woman really impressed me!! I was called by her son, a long term client of mine, to do a home visit and assess her back pain due to a recent fall. Mary was amazing!! She still lives by herself and doesn't take ANY medication!! She's able to maintain some independence and has caregivers come into her home to help her with hygiene, dressing, and home care activities. I was impressed at how well she is still moving around with her walker, despite having some intermittent back pain. This experience got me thinking about what types of daily habits it takes to live a long, healthy and independent life. Keep reading if you are a senior, know one, or plan to be one someday!!  Movement is Medicine When I asked Mary if we could do some "exercises" to help alleviate her back pain she said "I don't like exercise." When I rephrased it and asked, "Can we try some "movements" together?" she smiled right away and said "YES!" Even I don't LOVE the idea of exercising, per say. But "Movement" seems like a less intense activity and less challenging than lifting weights, doing squats, and lunges. (Those are great movements, but not necessarily appropriate for a senior who doesn't love exercise.) We kept things basic and performed some gentle body movements while seated and standing. Her daughter-in-law and I moved her dining room table slightly so she can do laps around the table with her walker when her caregivers are present. She enjoyed moving and it actually made her back feel better.  Daily movement habits could include practicing yoga, walking, biking, swimming, weight lifting, taking exercise classes, gardening, or doing laps around your dining room table. Movement helps to get our blood pumping to bring oxygen to our tissues and organs, as well as pumping our lymphatic system to remove waste materials out of our body. Movement is some of the best natural medicine available to keep your body healthy for decades!! Be sure to get your daily dose.  Balance is Key Unfortunately, the reason for Mary's home visit is that she took a fall, which is a common occurrence among the elderly population. She took this fall like a champ, but that is not always the case with seniors. Sometimes a fall can be the "beginning of the end," especially if someone breaks a hip, as it is difficult to make a full recovery. Balance reactions decline as we age, so it is important to incorporate daily activities to maintain or improve our balance. Doing simple activities like calf raises (rising up onto your toes), standing on one leg, performing side steps, and marching in place can challenge your balance. These are all easy to do while standing behind a dining room chair or near a counter so you can use your hands for support. These can also be performed without holding on if your balance allows. Just be sure to keep yourself safe! By incorporating balance activities into your daily routine, you too can maintain your health and independence as long as possible.  Hydrate for Health Water is the elixir of life! All of our cells and organs require these essential molecules (hydrogen and oxygen) to perform their many functions to keep us alive and well throughout our lifetime. Water not only helps to keep skin soft and supple, but it also helps to digest our food and move our bowels, which is a function that can become sluggish as we age. Healthy water intake is recommended as "twice your body weight in ounces per day." A slice of cucumber, lemon, or orange in your glass or water bottle could be just the simple addition you need to make drinking water more palatable. It's like having a little party in your water, and the nutrients in fruit can help you absorb and assimilate the water molecules even better! When your cells and whole body function and move at their optimal levels, your health and independence will follow!  Don't Wait As much as our bodies are amazing and capable of healing themselves even in our senior years, some issues are better left up to the professionals! Mary's son contacted me soon after her fall because of her back pain complaints rather than waiting weeks and weeks to see if things got better on their own. By being proactive with your health maintenance and any concerns that arise, it is much easier to overcome injuries or imbalances than if you wait until you are miserable to seek professional help. My senior clients who are in the "Maintenance" Mode of their care plan with me are committed to their regular monthly "tune-up" sessions as they feel the benefit of each session and how they all contribute to keeping their mobility at its best. Sure, we can always schedule a session when pain issues are acute or flared up, but I'm not gonna lie...it is much easier to keep people functioning well than it is to do "damage control" therapy. By staying in-tune with your movement abilities and body sensations on a daily basis, you are sure to maintain your health and independence much more easily!    Laughter is the Best Medicine "One minute of anger can weaken the immune system for 4-5 hours. One minute of laughter can BOOST the immune system for 24 hours!" This quote recently came across my internet feed and although it shocked me initially, it actually makes sense. One of the most enjoyable aspects of Mary's home visit was the laughter we shared. She was pleasant the whole time, despite having some pain when she transferred from standing to sitting, but we shared some good laughs together. I'm confident that her positive attitude and sense of humor are 2 of the main reasons she has made it to 98 years old and is still going strong, despite all the ups and downs that each decade can bring. Smiling and laughing do so much good for our heart, soul, immune system and our mental health state. Be sure to prioritize reading, watching programs, and sharing time with the people in your life who fill your spirit, make you smile and laugh, and warm your heart! Keeping your sense of humor is sure to help you stay healthy and vibrant for years to come.  As always, I'm here to help keep your body functioning efficiently to stay healthy and independent for as long as I possibly can! (Written June 2020)

From Active Seniors to Weekend Warriors AND Professional Athletes, Word is Getting Out about how MAT can help you Move & Feel your best!!

 

Radio Interview on WUWM  More and more people are learning to take their health in their own hands, be proactive, and hire their own personal Muscle Specialist to keep them moving and feeling their best!! Thank you to all of you who tuned in to listen to the radio interview I was invited to do back in November. If you missed it, you can listen to it   (Link provided below) or read the great article written to accompany the interview. It was a really fun experience to have the producer of WUWM's "Fit For You" segment on Lake Effect, Audrey Nowakowski, and her professional photographer, Lauren Sigfusson, come to my office to experience MAT, take photos and record the interview. The Interview was received really well and I was delighted to have 2 people call me even before it was finished airing for the first time!      Checking Audrey's Hip Range of Motion   Late last month, MAT was featured again on The Golf Channel's "Golf Pass" with Chris Como. Here he interviewed Greg Roskopf, the founder of MAT, at the MAT Headquarters in Denver, CO. He's been working with professional Golfer Bryson DeChambeau who has seen excellent results in muscle building and golf swing efficiency. It's another great interview and it's filmed right in the room where I go each year to do my training courses. So happy that more and more people are learning about how this amazing modality can help pick up the pieces where other traditional approaches have fallen short.    MAT Founder Greg Roskopf & Bryson DeChambeau Click Here for the WUWM Radio Interview and Article Click Here for the Golf Channel's "Golf Pass" with Chris Como & Bryson DeChambeau Segment Let me know what you think! Feel free to pass this along to someone you believe would benefit from this information and would like to move and feel better themselves. (Written February 2020)

8 Key Elements to a Well Balanced Life: "D" is for...

I've been naughty this year. I've been teaching my clients to perform exercises specifically for their unique muscle imbalances, but I haven't done my exercises faithfully. I have all sorts of exercise equipment at home and at my office, but do you think I use them often? No. I haven't been practicing what I preach as much as I should have been this year. However, a good friend of mine once said, "Don't ever "should" on yourself" and I have always appreciated that comment. I have realized that it is important to focus on all of the good things I have done this year instead focusing on what I "should" have done.  

In August, I finally broke down and hired a personal trainer to help keep me accountable for taking care of myself, as I had been focusing on taking care of others and let myself go. I am also making great strides in overcoming leaky gut syndrome and the resultant autoimmune conditions that have created challenges with my health and energy levels by educating myself on  how to use food as medicine. I am helping my family to also improve their health and energy levels so we can keep up with our 5 year old! Prioritizing time with my family and friends has also brought a lot of joy into my life in 2016. I also just formed a "Meet Up" group called "Get Moving Mil-WALK-esha" to get people together for walks around Milwaukee and Waukesha Counties. These good things in 2016 have helped to move me closer to living a well balanced life. 

Over the past 8 months, you have discovered how to live a well-balanced life also through Breathing, being mindful of your body's Alignment, moving around or being "Locomotive", bringing Awareness to your body's sensations and movement limits, eating a Nutritious diet, Circulating your body's important life giving and cleansing fluids, and enhancing your Environment to maximize health and minimize toxins. Finally, as the year draws to a close, you will discover the final key element to a well balanced life. 

The journey toward health and wellness is not an easy one. Pain, tightness, limited movements and mental blocks can all get in the way of our ability to enjoy life. Many of us seem to be wearing many hats and burning the candle at both ends, as they say, and time seems to fly by before our eyes. The final key element in BALANCED is one of the most important elements but can also be one of the most difficult: Dedication to taking care of ourselves and living a healthy life. 

Dedication means taking the time out of your day to breathe. Dedication means taking a moment to look within and be aware of how you are feeling, and then take action to improve upon that feeling if necessary. Dedication means taking the time to plan out, prepare and enjoy nutritious meals, snacks and drinks. Dedication means doing the best you can on any given day, or at any given moment, to commit to your well-being and make the best decisions you possibly can to care for yourself.  

Dedication is NOT perfection. (I have to keep reminding myself of that one.) Dedication means cutting yourself some slack for missing a workout, and getting back on the horse as soon as possible. Dedication means having the right network of family, friends, coaches and helpers to keep you moving toward your goals and truly living a well balanced life. Dedication means taking care of yourself so you can continue to care for others. (I have to remind myself of that one, too!)

Congratulations on your dedication so far along the journey toward your well-balanced life. The journey keeps on going until our time is up on this planet. I'm dedicated to being here for you to support you on your journey as I continue along mine. 

Keep moving well!  

8 Key Elements to a Well-Balanced Life: "E" is for

We have learned the importance of optimizing how our body works through breathing, being aware of our body's alignment, movement abilities and limits, and fueling our body with nutrient dense foods.  What we put inside our bodies determines how we feel and move throughout our lives. The communication between our nervous and digestive systems greatly impacts our musculo-skeletal health. To boost how our body works to keep us healthy, it is equally important to consider our environment, to maximize the benefits of our surroundings and minimize the stressors that may be impacting our health.

Our natural environment provides us with some of life's greatest necessities including the air we breathe, the food we eat, resources to create energy, and lumber to construct homes and buildings.  We can also turn to our environment for recreation, enjoyment, health and exercise. Our environment provides homes for wildlife, "is responsible for pollution dilution and detoxification, pollination, flood and climate regulation." 

(http://www.environment.scotland.gov.uk/get-informed/people-and-the-environment/benefits-from-the-environment/ )

The sun provides Vitamin D to help us absorb calcium and phosphorus, improve our bone and tooth health, boost our immune system, and prevent many diseases. It is important to find a nice balance with getting enough sunshine to meet your daily requirement of Vitamin D which involves getting outside. As the winter months are fast approaching, it gets more challenging to get outside (especially here in Wisconsin) to get adequate amounts of this important vitamin, so supplementation is necessary. I've been loving an Isotonic Vitamin D supplement that I have been taking lately. I'd be happy to share more details about this product with you if you are interested. 

Our environment also includes with whom we live and with whom we spend the most time. Family, friends and colleagues can fill us with joy but can also create stress in our lives. Maximizing the energy spent on relationships that bring happiness and joy and letting go of those no longer serving us can have a big impact on living a well-balanced life. 

Our environment includes the substances and products we use to keep our homes, belongings, and body clean. My friends use to tease me and call me a hippy for using natural products and not wanting to use chemicals on or around my body.  Luckily, there are more and more people who have also become aware of the dangers and have moved away from using synthetic chemicals and toxic ingredients in commercially available cleaning agents, and personal care products.  The chemicals we use to clean our homes should be made with natural ingredients especially if we have children or pet in our homes. Our skin is our largest organ, and it will absorb chemicals from personal care products that can be harmful to our body. If you haven't already, be sure to check the labels and avoid petroleum based ingredients and other harmful chemicals in your home cleaning and body care products. Click on the following link to find a list of which chemicals to avoid: 

http://www.womensvoices.org/avoid-toxic-chemicals/15-toxic-trespassers/ 

I have been using natural cleaning agents, essential oils, and personal care products for the last 15 years. Let me know if you want more information on which ones are my favorites.  

Our body works best when our environment is full of sunshine, fresh air, natural, healthy food and clean water, and people who fill our hearts with good feelings. Let go of those relationships with people and products who are not benefitting your health and you will feel so much better on many levels. 

Keep Moving Well! 

Unexpected Gifts

This time of the year can be challenging for me to get out of bed in the morning, especially when my down comforter keeps me so cozy! Our dog Sherman loves his morning walks, so he helps me find the motivation to get going each day. He does this by coming over to my side of the bed, nudging my arm and hand with his cold, wet nose, and batting his tail against the mattress until I respond. At first my response is a groan, but when I hear his sweet, happy noises, my response turns into a slight smile.

This week was a little wet at the beginning, so I especially dreaded taking our walk on Monday morning. I reluctantly put on my wet-weather gear, opened my huge umbrella, and huffed and puffed as I trudged out the door. Of course Sherman is so non-judgmental and unconditional that he runs outside, tail wagging, as if this is just like any other day. I slowly make my way down the driveway and down our hill, looking down at the wet ground from under my umbrella, listening to the consistent pitter-patter of rain overhead. Then there was Sherman, prancing along, not phased at all by the rain! As we turned the corner at the bottom of the hill, I looked up from under the umbrella and gazed out over the trees and saw the most beautiful sight--the WHOLE sky was the most beautiful shade of orange with pinkish undertones. I literally dropped my jaw and said "WHOA!!!" and looked around with a smile on my face to see if anyone else was there to witness this beautiful scene. Nope, it was just me and Sherm. I wanted this moment to last forever, but as we continued forward on our walk, I noticed the sky starting to change. From orange and pink, to purple then blue, I saw the sky slowly transform before my eyes. I never did see the sun come up officially that morning, as I had to get in the house to continue my daily routine, but knew that the sun was responsible for the glorious gift of color and beauty in the sky. I felt like this was a personal gift sent to me that cold, wet, rainy morning, as a reminder that even in unpleasant circumstances, there is always an unexpected gift.

As a Physical Therapist and Muscle Activation Techniques Specialist, I work with clients every day who are faced with their own challenges or unpleasant circumstances. It is difficult for some clients to find motivation to move through the painful sensations. It is my privilege to help them uncover their imbalances, re-activate their body’s healing potential, and realize the gifts the human body offers, which are often taken for granted. One of the unexpected gifts often received by my clients as they work through a painful experience is a deeper appreciation of how our bodies are capable of changing for the better, with the proper individualized care.

It truly is a gift to have the bodies we do!  When we cut our finger, we don’t have to think twice about our body’s ability to heal itself. When we want to get up and grab a bite to eat in the kitchen, we walk over to the fridge and choose from an abundant selection. When we want to get together with a friend, we hop in our car and drive over to the restaurant to meet them.  When we want to exercise, we lace up our shoes and hit the pavement, or show up to our favorite group exercise class to participate. When we want to lift our kids and grandkids, we reach down and pick them up with ease. It usually isn’t until our body doesn’t respond in a favorable way that we even notice the complexity of some of these everyday activities.

Did you know that walking is one of the most challenging neurological activities that the human body can perform? We are all so lucky to be able to stand upright against gravity and walk all over the planet. How often do we stop and think about this? When traveling home recently from our Thanksgiving visit with family in California, I noticed a man in a wheelchair at the airport. Initially I thought to myself, “What a challenge it must be to travel in this capacity.” Then we made eye contact and exchanged friendly smiles. Upon further thought, I realized “What a gift it is to be alive in a time where technology has advanced as much as it has, and people with disabilities are able to travel and move around our wonderful planet to enjoy their life to the fullest!” His smile and my thought correction were other unexpected gifts that day.

When you are shoveling snow, walking your dog in the rain, or finding the motivation to face your challenges of the day this holiday season, take a moment to reflect on the unexpected gifts you find along the way, and the gifts your body presents to you each and every day. Move well, my friends.  

Are Your Daily Movements Helping or Hurting You?

Picture this...You reach for your alarm clock as another day begins. You roll yourself over and use your abdominal muscles (or momentum) to sit up at the edge of your bed. Up you go, thanks to your legs, down the hall to the bathroom, where you perform yet another duty of the day.  Then, you walk to the kitchen to prepare your first meal of the day, often standing and moving about the kitchen, bending down or lifting up onto your toes to reach for things in the fridge or cabinets.  Finally, you get to sit and enjoy your breakfast. 

Most of us don't think about how we are doing any of these activities (especially first thing in the morning...) let alone think about if we are doing them correctly or in ways that could be stressing out different muscles or body parts. And this is just the beginning of our day!  I haven't even begun to mention what we do with our bodies to get ourselves showered, dressed, and ready for our day, then take care of others to get them ready, get ourselves where we need to be each day, perform our tasks, eat, use the bathroom, do housework, yard work, socialize...The list goes on and on. We just go, go, go, and assume that our bodies will be along for the ride. It isn't until one of these daily activities becomes difficult or painful that we start to wonder what went wrong!?!

Think about all of the activities listed above and how much longer they would take if you had to rely on someone else to assist you through these activities. How would that make you feel? Leave it to the "muscle nerd" to think about these activities, and share with you some helpful information to make sure that your muscles are being respected and appreciated, and you can continue to perform these functions independently for as long as possible.

After working several years with clients suffering from advanced Knee Osteoarthritis, I have realized that getting up and down from a seated position can be very challenging for them. If this activity is not performed efficiently, it can actually add to the wear and tear already happening at the knee joint, as we all perform this activity many times per day.  I take the time to instruct my clients in the proper way to position themselves and use their body's weight and momentum to efficiently raise and lower themselves. Then, each time they do this, it becomes an exercise instead of another activity that may be slowly wearing down the joint surfaces and stressing the body. Like any other new activity, it takes some extra time to think through how to do this efficiently at first, but with practice, the efficient movement pattern becomes automatic. 

Would you like to be sure you are raising from and lowering to the sitting position appropriately? Here are the step by step instructions I teach my clients regularly, and they find it very simple to change their ways!

1. Be sure your  hips are at the edge of the sitting surface from which you are rising. 

2. Position your knees hip width apart, and place your feet directly under your knees with both feet pointing straight ahead. 

3. Hinge forward from your hips while keeping your spine straight until your nose goes over your toes. 

4. Use your buttocks muscles to bring your body into an upright standing position, allowing your knees to straighten last. 

Doesn't that sound simple? It gets even simpler when I say "Nose over toes, use your butt to come up!" You know PTs--we are always abbreviating everything, so why wouldn't I abbreviate these instructions too! :) 

You may be saying, "I already do it this way," and to that I say "BRAVO!!" I will likely NOT be seeing you for knee related issues anytime soon, and to that you may be saying "GOOD!" 

For those of you who feel you need to use your arms for support or to boost you up, you can place your hands on your thighs, the arm rest of the chair you are sitting on, or the bathroom counter. Just remember to let your buttocks be the main muscle working to get your body standing straight. 

If you like these helpful instructions and are wondering if you are performing your other daily activities with the most efficient biomechanics, you may be interested in attending my upcoming workshop entitled "Movement is Medicine".  In this active learning workshop we will be exploring how natural movement is a form of preventative medicine, and can also be a form of healing medicine for injured or stressed out muscles and joints. We will discuss and practice the proper technique for sitting, standing, walking, bending, lifting, raking, shoveling, carrying little loved ones, driving, and other daily activities.  It is my goal to be sure as many people as possible are practicing "preventative medicine" with their daily movements, and they will remain independent as long as possible!  For more information or to register, click:  http://www.1212bodyworks.com/resources.html

Move Well!