Your Body is Whole, Not a Sum of it’s Parts
It’s amazing how many times I see a client who has been in with a doctor or physical therapist for say back pain, and lo and behold, the doctor or physical therapist will just take account of their back, maybe their glutes or hamstrings as well. But people, we are a whole body. We are not a sum of parts patched together. Our cardiovascular system, meaning our blood vessels, if laid out in a line, would be so long that it would encircle the earth more than 2 times! Ponder on that for a second…
So, how is it that when we have pain, we immediately zoom in on the pain area without taking into account our whole body?
Well, it’s a much easier route to go, but it in no way touches on the potential complexity of our body’s situation.
Just today, I saw a client who had extremely short calves, not just tight, but truly short. And, he had low back pain. Even I fell into the trap of working mainly his back, hamstrings, and calves until realizing (only 20 mins into the session), that I needed to check & work on his neck and the front of his legs. Luckily, he had booked a 90 min massage 🙂
The reason I mention his neck is not just because it is part of his spine, but because when you have forward head syndrome (which many of us do), it throws your top weight forward and creates tension along your fascia and musculature in your back. So, I was not that surprised when my client had a pattern of forward head posture and desperately needed some lengthening and fascial release of the soft tissue around his neck.
So, when doing your own research for the pain you’re experiencing, I hate to break it to you, but it might not be so simple. You might end up going on a journey of health discovery. And that’s ok. That’s how we grow. Just like staying stagnant in our physical body can be detrimental, so can being stagnant in our emotional and mental body. Try to keep an open mind, and remember to question your doctor, massage therapist, acupuncturist, etc. Everyone will provide a different piece of the puzzle.
photo by Saad Faruque
Good piece, Leah. Concise and informative..