How many parts of you can you feel when you move your knee? When does your leg move in isolation (from the hip joint) and when does the pelvis join in to support?
Often when we have pain or an injury we adopt an adaptive way of moving to stop the pain. And that’s useful, whilst we’re healing. But we need to peel back the layer afterwards, or we end up with the adaptive movement causing its own problems.
This week in one of my 1-to-1 sessions, I saw a lady who has problems with her hip. It’s painful, and so that’s what she notices, and talks about, and wants solved. Understandably. But often in a session, I’ll start on the other side, or far away from the area itself. We tend to protect an area that’s sometimes painful, even if it isn’t right now. By starting elsewhere, I’m letting their nervous system know its safe. And then they can relax. Which in itself can be a good start for new possibilities. Once they know what I’m doing, how I move, how well I’m listening to them on the easier leg, it will usually feel safer to accept me moving the area that is more problematic.
I often measure this by their breathing. If they can breathe freely, their system is available to listen to my input. They can learn. If they’ve stopped breathing, I need to adjust, pause, and alter what I’m doing, so they can feel safe, and have room for input once again. If they’re not breathing, they can’t take anything new in.
Transform how you move, feel and live 