The body amazes me EVERY SINGLE DAY

Written by Lisa Wilcox, PT, DPT and originally posted on solsticephysicaltherapy.com.

two hands massaging an arm that’s resting on a beige blanket

I don’t know how many times I have said the above words, probably at least 1 to 2 times during each workday. Because I have no restrictions in how or what I can treat, I am able to look, listen and feel my way through each treatment and follow the person’s body rather than follow a protocol or whatever treatment the current research has decided is the best. When I am treating a body, research rarely comes into play, because that research likely did not include the person that is on my table at that moment. Every person’s body is so completely different under my hands and can completely change within the scope of an hour long treatment.

Bodies are intricate, beautiful and fluid works of art that can accommodate, compensate and survive so many stresses that are thrown at them constantly. Unfortunately, many of these accommodations that were necessary to survive an injury, environmental insult, physical trauma or emotional trauma can stick around for longer than they are required for survival. This can start a cascade of incremental changes that can add up to big issues over time. For example, one little surgical scar can spiderweb throughout the surrounding tissues or can restrict movement and mobility enough that it causes postural changes that result in symptoms in a completely different area of the body. Treating this is my specialty. This is what I see with EVERY SINGLE PATIENT. No one gets through life without having some kind of trauma that is held in our bodies. Even our birth is quite the traumatic experience – we are curled up and very snug in a tight little ball in our mother’s womb. We are then forced through a very small opening – our heads have to deform, our shoulders are contorted, and we are expelled into a cold environment that we have never felt before. Our lungs suddenly have to take on oxygen, we are stretched out into a physical position that we have never experienced, and then our only source of nutrition and connection is clamped and cut. And this is just the first few seconds of life outside of the womb! This is a physically and emotionally taxing experience that leaves it’s mark on our bodies in some way. When I had my daughter, I was so surprised that when I held her, I immediately felt tissue and fascial restrictions around her tiny little spine! Again, everyone has experienced some form of “trauma” in their lives – no one is immune.

The body is also incredibly resilient and with proper, individualized care, it can bounce back and heal! This is the reason that I find myself saying out loud, multiple times a day, that the body is so amazing. When I am working on someone, I feel the changes happening under my hands and it’s INCREDIBLE! The body responds to the lightest touch, sometimes you don’t even have to be touching the body – just the energy transfer from the practitioner’s mental and physical space can induce changes in the patient’s body. I know, it sounds kind of “out there.” Okay, to some of you it might sound like it’s completely woo-woo – I was you. I literally cannot believe that I am writing this, because just 5 or 6 years ago I would not have even imagined that these words would come out of my mouth. I was extremely skeptical of “energy” practices and thought that any positive outcomes must purely be placebo effect. I was wrong. After practicing myofascial release for the last few years, I continue to feel and sense more and more – whether it be energy, the subtle differences in tissue density, mobility and hydration or the hardness and energy flow through bones. My sense of touch has become so in tune with these subtle differences that they now seem HUGE to me. The density and energetic changes of the tissues can be the smallest sense of movement under my hands, or they can be as big as full body twitching, shaking and more. I’ve come to terms with the fact that other people may think that I have now crossed over to the woo-woo side. I’m totally okay with this because I know what I feel and I see the astonishing changes and improvements in my patient’s physical and emotional states. Many patients tell me that they’ve had better gains in a few visits of using gentle myofascial release techniques than they have had with years of deep tissue massage, physical therapy, chiropractic, etc. I’m telling you, I was the biggest skeptic, but now I’m the biggest believer. When it comes down to it, everything in this world is energy in some form, we just have to allow ourselves to be open to it as both a practitioner and a patient.

The thing that might amaze me the most about the body is it’s ability to communicate. If I completely let go of my own thoughts about how someone’s body should be moving or what I should be treating, the body will completely lead me. If I listen to what it’s telling me, it will lead me to places that I never would have thought were connected to the patient’s pain. Almost everyday I have a patient that is so surprised that I am able to improve their pain even though I’m working on a completely different area of the body. There is no way to explain it, as it’s different for every patient’s body and it changes constantly. The best results always happen when I let go of my thoughts, past experiences, education and biases and I completely listen to their body and allow it to lead me, even if it where it’s leading me seems completely crazy. I have never had a bad outcome with this. The only times I have less than desirable outcomes is when I am thinking too much and I force my own thoughts rather than letting the body take the lead. I’ll say it again…AMAZING!

So if you are feeling stuck and have not had improvement in your chronic pain, or if you just want to feel better in your body in general, find a practitioner that will truly listen to you and to your body. Be open to holistic evaluations and treatments – if your practitioner doesn’t look at your entire body and let your body lead the way, then I would highly recommend seeking out someone that does. Your body is amazing and you deserve to feel your best!

For further questions, or to schedule an appointment, please email Dr. Lisa Wilcox at DrLisa@SolsticePhysicalTherapy.com,  call (720) 369-7738, or contact her through her website at www.SolsticePhysicalTherapy.com.

**This is not to be considered medical advice, please contact a physical therapist or other healthcare professional for more information.  All content on lisawilcoxpt.com is created for informational purposes only and is not to be taken as medical advice, treatment or diagnosis.