In my experience treating thousands of pain patients over the years, I have come to know the limits of acupuncture with regards structural problems.
By structural problems I’m talking about the body not being properly aligned at the major weight bearing joints– ankles, knees, hips, shoulders and spine. If the body is not aligned as it should be there will be excess wear and tear on joints, soft tissue and connective tissue leading to degeneration and pain. If you only relieve the pain without fixing the dysfunctional body the pain will return in one place or another.
This is why I also offer Posture Correction Exercises. The program is focused on aligning the body in the three anatomical planes — Sagittal, Coronal (Frontal), and Transverse. If your body is aligned in these 3 planes your joints will function properly and your muscles will be able to hold and move your bones as they should. A functional body is a pain free body.
The program consists of 2 parts. First we take a series of objective measurements, some with a handheld instrument that can measure deviations in elevation and protraction. Examples of elevation problems would be a shoulder that is higher than the other or hips that are uneven. The other device we use is a posture grid to measure deviations in either the Saggital or Coronal planes. Saggital deviations could be a scoliotic curve in the spine or knees that don’t line up with feet. Coronal plane deviations could be when the knees, hips, shoulders and head are not in line with the ankle joint.
After we take the measurements to see where you are out of alignment, we assess where your greatest problems are and prioritize the treatment plan. The treatment plan consists of corrective exercise routines sequenced in such a way as to maximize your success and to hold your corrected structure as long as possible. You are sent an email with your personalized routine that includes audio and video instructions of the exercises.
A typical recommended course of treatment would be 8 customized routines over the course of 3-4 months that you can refer back to either in video, email or on paper. These routines are specifically to correct the ways in which YOUR BODY tends to fall out of alignment.
Remember if you don’t correct the structure, the pain will return.
–A.J. Sarrat, L.Ac, Dipl.OM
“The likelihood is that if you suffer from back pain, your condition is not caused by organic disease, but by muscles that are weak, tense, fatigued, or all three.” –Leon Root, M.D.
“Most back conditions are a combination of physical causes, poor posture and stress.” –Al Swayze, M.D.