Simply put, physical therapy includes procedures or modalities performed by your therapist such as manual therapy as well as a series of controlled movements and exercises aimed at increasing lost movement, easing pain, and recovering from illness or injury.
At Healing Motion, we offer four advanced forms of specialized treatment:
- Reduce or eliminate pain
- Learn how to breathe easier
- Gain increased strength and flexibility
- Move more easily and gracefully
Depending on the injury or condition for which you are seeking therapy, you may receive a manual therapy session, an exercise session, or a combination of both. Manual therapy, which will include Myofascial Release, requires skin-to-skin contact and friction between your therapist’s hands and you. Your therapist will provide towels, blankets and sheets so you do not get cold during your treatment.
There is paper work that you will need to fill out. Please come 10 or 15 minutes early your first time, so that we can spend as much time as possible helping you get on the path to better health.
- A loose tank top/t-shirt and loose shorts, or a bathing suit
- Toe socks (all exercises are done barefoot)
- Refrain from applying any lotions or creams (if you must use cream for a medical reason, apply it after your session if possible.)
In order to maintain the progress you achieve in our clinic, and further your healing process, your therapist will give you strengthening, stretching and self-treatment exercises to do at home on the days you do not come for therapy. Your home program is an extremely important part of your therapy (in some cases, even more important than the once or twice a week visits to the clinic), so please report how often you do your program and any effects you notice to your therapist at the beginning of each visit.
By listening to your pain and relaying these messages to your therapist, the road to recovery will seem more within your reach.
- Listen to Your Body: Before, during, and after treatment, listen to your body. You will know intuitively what you need if you really listen. Your therapist will coach you in this skill if you are not already familiar with tuning into yourself. Identify and monitor any areas of redness, tenderness, tightness, or tingling.
- Reframe Your Notion of Pain: Allow yourself to soften your experience of pain. Instead of identifying with the pain, become aware of the “sensations” occurring in your body. Concentrate on the areas where sensations are present. Focus on what you are feeling underneath the therapist’s hands.
- Breathe Into Sensation: As you breathe, imagine that you are blowing air out of your body through the area that is producing the most sensation. This type of breathing puts you in touch with your body and enhances your body awareness.
- Unwind: You do not need to remain motionless on the table, and in fact your progress will be enhanced if you let movement happen as it arises from the unconscious part of your mind. As movement occurs, fascial restrictions are being released, but you are in complete control of the process at all times.
- Express Emotion: Express emotions experienced during or after your treatment session. The fascial system holds emotions in the body in the form of pain that may be preventing you from getting better. Often, with the release of emotions, the pain will decrease and you will feel better.
- Use Images or Memories: Share them with your therapist to help locate the source of your pain.
- Communicate: Don’t hesitate to communicate with your therapist. After all, this is a collaboration between the two of you. Even things that may seem unrelated, silly or embarrassing, speak up. Your therapist cannot help you if you do not speak openly and honestly with them.
- Stay Positive: It can be hard to remain positive in spite of chronic pain, but you have taken a crucial step in reclaiming a pain-free life. Remember to reinforce your intention to enjoy a pain-free, active lifestyle by giving yourself messages such as “I am getting better everyday.”
- Remain Focused: You may experience setbacks, one step back for every two steps forward. Unfortunately, healing is not a linear process. Keep focusing on your goals and the progress you have already made to help you through each treatment session.
- Set Goals: Visualize the attainment of your goal. Establish a time-frame for this to occur. If goals are not completed on time, it’s okay. Stay focused and know that the healing will occur.
