I use a little feature called Google Alerts to help me track chronic pain information on the web I’m interested in. I have a setting for “neck pain”, “headaches”, and “back pain”. It’s always good to keep up with what’s being said out there, which, I’m sorry to say isn’t much. I’m thankful that I can discern between what is meaningful and what is often just a recycling of old ideas. Judging by the comments of people reading these articles and blogs, I realize that the average consumer has no real way to understand what is good information and what is bad.

If you have no knowledge of anatomy, biomechanics, and physiology, how can you be expected to make an intelligent decision as to whether to see one practitioner over another to help you with chronic pain? Or try one product or another, not to mention undergoing surgery. Unfortunately it often comes down to word of mouth but even that isn’t very reliable because the practitioner being referred to, may have just set up that person to come in on a monthly basis forever to keep their pain at bay. I see plenty of people who have been to see “experts” and are left with no lasting answers and their bank account more than a little depleted.

Even when I say that you can trust my books because I lay out the specific anatomy and biomechanics involved with particular injuries, you really can’t. I’ve heard fitness or health care practitioners explain anatomical or biomechanical concepts completely wrong and people buy it because it “sounds” right. Well, on what basis do you as a consumer decide that something “sounds” right?

I’m afraid I don’t really have an answer for you. I suppose that is why I’m writing these blogs–to help give you, the consumer, some intelligent background so you can make the best choices for you. So here’s where I’m coming from:

One of my basic tenets regarding chronic pain is that our bodies are not designed to be in pain. They are perfect working machines. In my experience, doing something right for the body pays instant dividends regarding eliminating chronic pain. Most of my clients instantly feel better after one or two exercises because we’ve restored proper function. This inspires my clients then to fix themselves. Most people feel significantly better in two or three treatments as a result.

The same goes for using my books. After testing yourself and performing the exercises, you will feel significantly better very quickly. You can read my testimonials if you’re not convinced.

I determine my success by how few times I need to meet with a client. If I’m doing my job right, then they won’t need to see me again–ever. As one doctor I treated for neck and back pain stated, “You’re not much of a businessman then, are you?”, I replied, “But I can sleep at night.”

Conversely there are practitioners whose goals are to see you as often as possible and for as long as possible. Yes your pain may temporarily reduce after seeing them but are they really fixing you if you need to keep coming back? Would you be happy with this set-up if it was your car? Continually returning to tweak it again and again? No, of course not. Do you then, think your car is built better than your body? I’m here to say your body is perfect. It just needs a little help to get back on track and you’re off and running again.

So the next time you’re looking for information about how to fix your chronic pain, ask yourself, “Does this person (or product) require that I visit them (or use it) perpetually? That’s one hint that maybe they are geared more toward temporarily easing your pain rather than fixing the source of the problem.

One of the toughest aspects when talking with someone with chronic pain is feeling their sense of defeat and doubt. The hardest part of helping people with chronic pain is getting them to believe they can still heal their pain. Fear is a big obstacle here. Fear of being let down, fear of hurting themselves, fear of spending a lot of money on another dead end, and fear of getting hopes up only to be dashed– again. All of this contributes to doubt that anyone can really help them. After all, haven’t they visited the best specialists in their fields?

I don’t blame people with chronic pain one bit for their doubts. So many doctors, specialists, therapists, and other practitioners haven’t been able to help them–why should I be any different? They’ve been in pain for so long, it must be permanent–mustn’t it? If there was something new under the sun, surely the word would have gotten out by now–wouldn’t it?

Besides, there was an X-Ray or MRI with a disk bulge, herniated disk, spinal stenosis, degenerated disk, arthritis, or any number of other diagnoses that showed exactly why they have pain. There’s a physical thing causing their pain–they actually saw it!

But is that structural issue really causing their pain? If that was the case, why didn’t surgery help? Why did the pain pop up somewhere else after the surgery? Could it be that the same issue that caused that structural problem is also causing their pain? Could it be that the structural problem seen on the MRI or X-Ray is separate from the issue that is causing the pain? Could it be that the structural problems are instead a symptom of the underlying roots of their pain, borne out in a physical form?

I believe the roots of back, neck, or other types of pain are usually separate from these diagnoses. I believe these root causes create these diagnoses. Here’s why. If these problems were really the source of people’s pain then I shouldn’t be able to make anyone painfree because I’m not a surgeon. How could I possibly help someone with spinal stenosis without correcting the spinal stenosis? The same goes for disk bulges, degenerated disks or any of the other diagnoses mentioned above.

But they do become painfree. They are able to resume their normal life again. In fact they are able to do much more than they could because they are armed with knowledge of their condition and what makes it worse or better. They have the tools to fix themselves instead of being dependent upon me to fix them. Everyone has the ability to fix themselves. The only thing they’re missing is the knowledge to do so.

That’s where my books come in. You are now closer than you’ve ever been to fixing your chronic pain. I know this sounds presumptuous but it is true. My books will teach you to understand your pain from an anatomical, biomechanical, and movement-based perspective. Though it may sound difficult, it is all quite simple. Don’t worry, I won’t overwhelm you with boring technical jargon. I’ll explain it just as I’m explaining this to you now. Besides, I have video clips on the Fixing You website of all the exercises in my books to make sure you get it right. And I am always here to help.

Those of you with years of chronic pain, believe you can be fixed. Know that the answers exist to eliminate your pain. Instead of relying on someone else, rely on yourself. My books will give you the tools to do so.  Suspend your doubts for just a little while. If you have reached this website then you are closer than you’ve ever been to fixing your pain–for good. You can do it!

Thirty spokes converge upon a single hub,

It is on the hole at the center that the use of the cart hinges.

We make a vessel from a lump of clay,

It is the empty space within that vessel that makes it useful.

We make doors and windows for a room,

But it is these empty spaces that make a room livable.

Thus, while the tangible has advantages,

It is the intangible that makes it useful.

Lao Tsu

I have a client I’m seeing for weight loss right now. She’s having trouble dropping the weight even though her workout frequency and intensity have increased. The problem we’ve isolated is her diet and cravings for sweets. She’s an intelligent woman and understands perfectly what she is doing to undermine her weight loss goals. But she seems incapable of making the hard decisions to eliminate her bad habits.

I’ve run into this many times before where a client hires me to help them with weight loss goals. We develop a training program to get them there but they fall apart when forced to change their eating habits. Time passes and nothing happens other than strength or endurance gains. Then, one day–click! It all comes together. They find the motivation to make the right choices and weight melts away. I’ve asked my clients what exactly made them finally commit to the process. Not one of them had a clue other than they just “decided” it was finally time. What is it that triggers people to really commit to their goals? How do we turn on the switch? I think if we could harness this intangible ability, all the fad diets, weird workout equipment, and extreme workout techniques would disappear because everyone would be making the right choices all along.

I just returned from running my first marathon. It was hot and humid and I was miserable for half of it but I made it! I was prepared for muscle and joint fatigue, however I wasn’t prepared for the misery over such a protracted period of time. Phew! That was tough! I’m proud of myself and plan to do more. Looking back, I don’t think I could have done anything differently. It was really a matter of taking successively bigger runs and continuing to chomp down the miles.

The highlight of the trip, however, was spending a week with my 4 year-old son at a cabin on a lake afterwards. We fished, swam, and did all sorts of outdoor activities. It was a wonderful trip!

My first marathon is coming up in just over a month. I’m finding the most difficult part of the training is changing my lifestyle habits surrounding my training goals. In other words I’m having a hard time committing to the process of training.

Committing to the process is about identifying and altering the secondary aspects of meeting a goal in addition to meeting the primary requirements. Primary requirements in this case are completing the runs. The secondary aspects of the training are changing my diet to keep my glycogen levels adequate, hydrating more thoroughly throughout the week, getting more rest and staying on top of  minor aches and pains.

I must admit, I’ve been slacking on the fuel and hydrating parts of the goal. I haven’t taken it seriously enough and I’ve paid the price on a couple of longer runs where I’ve hit the wall way too soon. From now on, I’m embracing the process and changing my habits!

This closely parallels the process of injury recovery. Yes, you can perform the prescribed rehabilitative exercises x times a day but are you really embracing the secondary aspects of your healing? Have you taken the time to identify the habits, activities, and general attitudes that may be prolonging your recovery? If not, it’s time to begin! I’ll be doing it for my marathon and you should do it for your injuries (or whatever you are trying to achieve). Let’s commit to it for one month and see how it goes!

I spoke with a woman over the phone in N. Carolina who has terrible back pain. I diagnosed her problem and she agreed with me. I then sent her several exercises to correct her pain. These were the same exercises that have worked for countless clients I’ve seen with similar problems. Unfortunately she isn’t experiencing pain relief from them.

When she emailed me she said that perhaps she has gone too long letting things go and so wouldn’t respond to the exercises. I completely disagree. Our bodies respond incredibly fast to the removal of harmful habits and initiating corrective exercises. I’ve seen people with back pain for 20 years have their pain significantly reduced in just one session–all from retraining the body to move and work as it should.

So, why didn’t this woman feel relief from her pain doing the same exercises everyone else has used to completely eliminate their pain? I think it has to do with her belief in herself. All too often, I see people who don’t believe they can be helped. There is something transferred from me to a client that instills belief that they can get better. People who don’t see me face to face aren’t able to absorb whatever that is.

Part of how I do this is that I test a client to see what hurts and when. For instance if it hurts to bend over, then we note at what point in the range it hurts and how much. Then I ask them to do a corrective exercise for a few repetitions. Afterward I ask them to re-test (bending over in this case) to see whether the pain is resolved. Almost always it is. That is when belief is kindled in their mind and they allow themselves to think their pain will stop. I think instilling belief in the client is a powerful aspect of healing.

Here is my problem though. I am writing a series of books to help people fix their chronic pain. I know the techniques work but will they work if I’m not there to help convince the reader they will work. If I’m not there, will belief in the probability they will be pain free take root in their minds? I don’t know. Somehow I want these books to engender this belief just as I do in clients I see face-to-face. How can I achieve this?

I have been writing a book detailing some very powerful self-treatment techniques I use to treat patients with chronic pain. It’s been an interesting venture because, in the process of writing the book, I now understand how my subconscious or intuition has been working to guide my treatments. This understanding, in turn, has helped guide my treatments.

Each chapter of the book addressed a different area of the body. For instance neck pain & headaches, shoulder pain, elbow pain, back pain, hip pain, knee pain, foot & ankle pain and back pain & sciatica during pregnancy. The feedback I’ve received is that the information was too technical for laypeople (who happen to be my audience). In the process of breaking the information down even more, each chapter has expanded to become its own book.

The title of the series will be Fixing You. The first book out will be Fixing You: Back Pain and will be followed by seven other books all to be published this year. It will be a busy year for me! My sincerest hope is that these books help the thousands of people out there living with chronic pain. So often with just a little attention to the right areas, pain will vanish. I hope the Fixing You series can guide people to pain-free lives.

I just returned from a 4-day seminar for advanced upper and lower extremity diagnosis and treatment. The people who put this on were the same people who have essentially put so many pieces together for my evaluation and treatment of injuries.
I went to the seminar thinking I would hear much of the same that I heard last time. My intent was to fine tune my treatment to obtain even faster results. What I got was much more. In the year that I had been honing my treatment skills, these researchers continued to forge ahead with more theories and biomechanical observations. I was trully inspired! They were not happy to sit back on their successes but instead were determined to understand everything about how the body moves and becomes injured.
This in turn inspires me to continue my observations and to discover solutions to problems others may not have been able to solve.