Life Moves©
Self-Care News You Can Use	Vol. 1, No. 1 June 1998

In the area of back care, for instance, the traditional overemphasis on passive remedies for back pain bypasses the element of self-care. Treatments such as heat, bed rest, massage, manipulation, etc., require little activity on the part of the affected person. Other more active approaches may involve rote exercises or superficial instructions of various sorts that give lip service to the idea of self-care. These gloss over the specific needs of the individual and the time required to learn something new and useful. Studies indicate that a particular episode of back pain will tend to pass simply with "tincture of time". Passive treatments may help you feel better for the moment. However, they can also encourage dependency. They don't suffice if you want to have a chance to prevent future problems. Instead of just depending on someone 'giving you a fish', how can you learn to 'fish for a lifetime'?

Such 'fishing' involves developing a scientific attitude toward yourself and your problems. You can begin controlling your symptoms by observing as a scientist does and noting their patterns throughout the day. What do you feel and where? How do symptoms vary in intensity and frequency? Are they related to positions and movements that you get into? If, based on your observations, it seems that your symptoms are related to your postural-movement habits, then even relatively small changes in how you do things may help you to shorten the time of your present problem and reduce the probability of future episodes.

Sensory Awareness - Out of This World
The practice of sensory awareness, spending even a few moments to observe what goes on in ourselves and in our environments, provides a powerful basis for enhancing our abilities to move and to experience life more creatively and fully.

Astronaut Story Musgrave, in an interview discussing his repair work on the Hubble Space Telescope 368 miles above Earth, described how this can be done: "I have these little interrupts and they go off all the time. I'm doing a space walk, and the interrupts say, 'Look at the Earth, the sky, or inward. What are you feeling right now? Listen to your body.' It's an attempt to be a total participant, and at the same time getting the job done."

Posture and Singers
The Fall 1996 issue of Cantata, newsletter for the California chapter of the American Choral Directors Association, had a cover story on "The Ten Most Common Problems of Singers". At the head of writer Teresa Radomski's list stands (or slouches): Poor Posture. "The efficient alignment of the body", she noted, "is of primary importance to voice production. Problems in posture range from 'collapse' of the chest and rib cage, with corresponding downward 'fall' of the head and neck, to the hyper-extended, 'stiff' posture of some singers, that results in tension throughout the entire body. Effective posture evolves from the kinesthetic awareness that may be developed through the study of a physical discipline such as Hatha yoga or Alexander Technique."

Important note:
This material is meant for your information and not intended to substitute for evaluation or
treatment by a physician or other health-care professional.
 

Copyright Conditions: This material is copyright by Bruce I. Kodish.  However, permission is hereby granted to download, copy and distribute the text to others if (1) the text is not altered, and (2) there is no charge to the recipient, and (3) this copyright notice and conditions are attached.  It is a copyright violation to distribute this material in any way for which remuneration is received without the prior permission of Bruce I. Kodish.  Contact: backsolutions@aol.com     Return to Top of Page

Return to Back Pain Solutions Newsletter Archive