Postural Restoration® focuses on unbalanced posture and dysfunctional movement as the root cause of pain and limitation. It provides Postural Restoration Certified™ therapists with over 30 diagnostic tests including gait analysis, breathing and posture assessment, and three dimensional measurements of all major joints in the body. This helps to determine which muscles throughout the body are overworking, not just at the site of pain.
Postural Restoration is centered around three principles:
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An owner's manual to teach you what your body should feel like
and how you should breathe, walk, and move
WHAT IS POSTURAL RESTORATION ?
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# 1
The body is asymmetrical
but can still find balance within itself
There is not a single system within the body that is symmetrical
Examples of asymmetry in the body
Each hemisphere of the brain has different functions
Everyone has one eye that is dominant
The right lung has three lobes and the left lung has two lobes
Within these asymmetries, the body balances itself. For example, the heart on the left balances the additional lobe of the right lung. Another example is our primary breathing muscle, the diaphragm, has a stronger attachment into the right side of the spine which causes a rotation to the right in most people. That is optimally balanced out by the rotation of the upper body to the left.
If the body is asymmetrical, why does traditional physical therapy
treat it like it is symmetrical?
Patients will share they felt stronger but did not get better with doing traditional physical therapy. That is because when your body is already imbalanced, doing the same thing on both sides does not correct your imbalance and often does not get you anywhere. You did not change the pattern of how your body is moving.
Instead of this limited method of treatment, Postural Restoration® provides specific tests and manual techniques that are designed specifically for each patient and what their body needs. These positions and exercises correct imbalances in your body, help restore functionality, and resolve pain issues.
# 2
Proper breathing
is the foundation
of good health
The average adult breathes 22,000 times a day. It is a basic necessary function that seems like it should be an easy process yet very few people breathe properly.
Many patients have been told about the importance of breathing into their belly or to breathe deeply. However, if you are only having the belly expand when breathing you are really only getting distension of the abdominal wall. The dome of the diaphragm does not drop but instead pulls the spine forward, causing it to extend. What you need is your abdominal muscles to anchor and support the ribcage so that it may expand with the belly.
Why does proper breathing matter?
Your body has numerous muscle chains that attach to your ribs. If your ribcage does not expand out in every direction when you breathe, those muscles stay tight. The rib cage has 44 joints and joints are meant to move. A chronically tight muscle is one that is overworked and ripe for pain or chronic injuries. If the muscles in your torso are tight or cannot move, it will also pull your arms and legs out of alignment because all of those muscles are connected to your trunk.
So if you are not using the correct muscles to breathe (for instance, you use your neck rather than your diaphragm) the impact of breathing incorrectly 22,000 times a day is significant. This could show up as:
Frequent headaches or migraines
Constant neck tension
Shortness of breath
(even if physically fit)
Fatigue
Anxiety
The way that we breathe also affects our unconscious posture. Posture is not a specific position you maintain. Posture is dynamic; it is a reflection of all systems within the body. It is determined by where your body feels the most stable and is able to breathe efficiently. Your body requires a variety of postures to function effectively and your muscle function is determined by the position of your body. If your ribs cannot move, your back stays tight and your abdominal muscles become inaccessible. It is not just a matter of strengthening your abdominals at this point because they are now in an elongated position where they cannot fire. This is called passive insufficiency. Have you ever tried to perform a core exercise and felt your neck or back helping you? You need help to rewire your brain and to learn to change your body position so that you can restore optimal core function.
# 3
Your entire body
is a series of chains
Muscles work together in groups
Your body does not function by thinking, "I’m going to activate this muscle." Instead, it thinks, "I need to go here now" and your body automatically decides what it needs to engage and how to time contractions and relaxations.
Trying to engage a specific muscle, like bracing your core, can sometimes fail for multiple reasons. First, you never turned off the old muscles that are still working improperly. Second, your body is still in the wrong position. This needs to be self regulated by the brain to determine how strong of a contraction to create, how long to keep the contraction, and when to rest. Trying to micromanage this is not sustainable or effective. It also does not help your body figure out how muscles need to work together. Your brain needs to learn how to get in the right position to allow groups of muscles to automatically work for you. When you learn how to do this, the brain gets a chance to rewire itself which is what leads to long-term relief.
HOW POSTURAL RESTORATION CAN OFFER RELIEF
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The root cause of many types of chronic pain is related to overuse or misuse of an area. Asymmetrical and improper movement along with incorrect breathing patterns can cause this overuse or misuse. By treating these issues, Dr. Brian treats the cause of your pain, not just the symptoms.
Once the root cause of the pain or dysfunction is determined you can
decrease pain and improve mobility, endurance, and strength.
The body moves like a pendulum shifting back and forth. Sometimes certain areas may get stuck on one side. This causes strain, overuse, and compensation. By showing the brain how to correctly shift into each side, it allows the brain to retrain a normal resting position. Instead of always resting to a side (and maintaining the muscle activity that comes with it), the body can rest in a normal neutral position without bias. This improves ability to recover and heal.
Posture is a reflection of this normal resting tone and position. In order to have normal breathing mechanics, you need the ability to move air in and out with pressure changes through the three areas that support posture: your head, thorax, and pelvis. Your body tries to balance activity around these three areas in each plane of movement (front to back, side to side, and rotationally). When you are not resting in neutral, that means you have a dysfunctional pattern of tension. If you have too much asymmetry or tension, this will limit your ability to move freely and you will not be able to move air in a balanced way. This means you cannot manage your internal pressure correctly.
Postural Restoration® helps provide framework in how to rewire the brain to create properly balanced automatic functions like walking and breathing. Most patients can feel a change in their body very quickly if not immediately which can help motivate an individual to be consistent with their physical therapy program. The average patient feels significant improvement within 3-4 visits.
If an exercise or technique is not working to resolve the issue quickly, the answer is not to keep doing the same thing. Instead, Dr. Brian will look further into what might be contributing to your brain and body's reorientation to the old pattern. There is always a reason why this happens and there are specific tests to be able to identify what is going on and how to resolve it. That may include integrative care with Dr. Brian and other specialists.
Postural Restoration® is a treatment suitable for all ages and ability
Postural Restoration® respects the natural design and form of your body. It seeks to restore normal resting tension first and then to retrain optimal function. It teaches you the tools to be a master of your own body. By learning how to move and breathe differently, you are given the skills to rebalance yourself when needed. This helps you maintain the changes instead of gradually eroding back to your previous alignment.