Not As Easy To Move As It Used To Be? Think About Structural Integration

I moved to Guilford, Connecticut from Brooklyn in the fall of 2013 to get closer to air, light and water. And a less expensive, more spacious apartment was a big plus. I especially like being near the ocean. Every morning I check out the tide chart that’s posted on the refrigerator and note when high tide will hit Guilford Harbor so I can run down to Jacobs Beach for a quick swim. I’ve enjoyed learning about the tides and like the feeling of moving through my day with a little deeper connection to natural rhythms than in my Brooklyn days. Walking back from a high tide swim recently I met Bob Mahoney, an old fellow I’d often seen walking slowly across the town green. Bob shared with me that he would be going sky-diving next week to celebrate his 80th birthday. I started to suspect that he was full of the Irish blarney when he told me he had finished the New York marathon when he was 76, then four years into his battle with Parkinson’s. Later I did an Internet search for Bob and sure enough, there he was, featured in the Shoreline Times edition of June 30, 2012. Yikes, and here I am, still patting myself on the back for completing my first 5K race in April and this old guy, a number of years my senior, has done the NY marathon while facing a serious neurological condition.

And more: From a recent NY Times article detailing research on athletes competing in the Senior Games I read, “…the results were impressive. While the athletes’ average chronological age was 68, their average fitness age was 43, a remarkable 25 years less…” One of the principal researchers comments, “A majority of the athletes didn’t begin serious training until quite late in life, middle aged or older…so you can start anytime. It’s never too late.”

I don’t think I’m going to start training for the Senior Olympics (I would qualify based on age) but I’m very aware that the more I move, the better I feel and the more I’m inclined to move some more. And I’ve learned that a couple of the most pervasive causes of the stiffness and tightness we associate with aging are gravity and lack of movement. We can’t do much about gravity but we can learn how to move more easily and efficiently in it’s field. A central aspect to my practice of KMI structural integration (a first cousin to rolfing) is to help my clients find and release those stuck spots (that we might not even be conscious of) that we move around, not through. Perhaps we’re compensating for an old injury or poor postural habits or whatever accumulation of traumas that bind tissues together in search of stability. It’s a natural bandaging process that in the short run serves to relieve pain but in the longer run can fix the body in less than healthy movement patterns that may ultimately cycle into chronic pain.

The KMI series is designed to systematically make conscious those impediments to movement and unwind deep holding patterns, always inviting length and breadth and balance. Most clients will experience a sense of “feeling taller” (sometimes they actually are!) and moving more easily. Normally experienced over 12 sessions, it is “project” oriented with each session focusing on a specific goal. Such as mobilizing a stuck ribcage that restricts free breathing patterns, realigning the feet and pelvis for better support, decreasing tension in the neck and back---all in service to gaining a better relationship to gravity and posture.

So if you’re experiencing stiffness or tightness and you like the idea of “a full body tune up” give me a call at 203-809-0036 to schedule a free consultation. I am in the Duffy and Bracken office on Fridays and occasional Thursday afternoons.

RD Hunting, CMT, CST

Gravity: Is it taking a toll on you?

There is no escaping gravity, in fact it is the one constant thing that never changes on this earth! It doesn't matter if you sit, stand, walk, run, play sport or are sedentary .... It is a constant 9.8m/s2 and it does not have favorites. In the world of gravity we are all equal to its pulling effects. If it weren't for gravity we wouldn't be grounded -- we would be free floating heavenly bodies--- no we are not fallen angels!!

Dr. Carolyn Richardson from Queensland Australia is one of the pioneers in research of gravity and the muscular system. She and her team have been well published as her research is scientific and sound. She has coined the term GRMC or Gravity Related Medical Conditions.... You can read more in her book at www.gravityfit.com. I've been a fan of her research for over 15 years and it has served as a keystone in my clinical practice in NYC. As you know I am in the business of pain and gravity keeps me very busy! 

Then why do I hurt and others don't  --- if you are thinking this then you must  read on to get an inside view on pain. I say these two things to every patient of mine "If YOU don't have a good relationship with gravity your body will breakdown" and "Better the relationship, the better the quality of life".

Let me explain!

Gravity has a pulling effect on you and if your muscles don't respond to that pull you will fall flat to the ground. To avoid that, your muscles offer gravity a counter pull via core muscles and anti-gravity muscles to keep you upright.

Balance of reaction forces between gravity and muscles = all well. 

Imbalance = all hell

It's that simple Really.

Our "jungle life" allowed us to closely interact with gravity as we climbed, rolled, stood, walked, and jumped --- all things that tone activate rejuvenate the core and anti-gravity system. It uses our sensory tactile system to send messages to our body to perform and thrive. Our "urban life" causes us to sit and the static predictable nature of a computer screen desensitized our sensory system to movement. Yes we don't move for over eight hours a day and counting.

In the same way we recharge our cell phones every night for using it during the day..... prolonged sitting posture discharges sensory awareness when sitting at a computer. Yes sitting reduces tone in the core and anti-gravity muscles --- making your body use phasic muscles to do the job which leads to breakdown and eventually pain.

We were meant to move; not sit for prolonged periods of time. If we don't move often or are not aware of how we sit --- breakdown happens within the gravity relationship causing pain.

To avoid GRMCs finding a balance between all the static postures and constant movement is optimal and important. It can be taught and learnt just like any other skill be it a language, cooking or art.

I can do that! Come to Duffy & Bracken and let me reacquaint you with Gravity!

Renuka Pinto, MPT, PGDR, CSCS, CES
Duffy & Bracken Physical Therapy Director
renuka@duffyandbracken.com