How it works

I have been working with people in pain since 1987. At my first job in a physical therapy facility over 20 years ago, I saw that movement combined with massage therapy got people well. The past ten years has seen exciting new research establishing spinal instability and poor posture as the source of most recurrent back, neck, hip and shoulder pain. I have had the privilege of learning from cutting edge leaders and successfully teaching these techniques to people just like you, who find they can now sleep through the night, play with their kids, resume their sport activities and stop taking pain killers.

WHO ARE MY CLIENTS?
My average client is usually a baby boomer and has chronic pain that is interfering with their quality of life - sleep, work, play, relationships. Some are hard core athletes while others have a low activity level and are sedentary at work and play. Some have health issues such as fibromyalgia which improves with exercise. They are often frustrated, sometimes depressed and often mistakenly attribute their discomfort to growing old.

KEYS TO SUCCESS
Clients are likely to be successful working with me if they are committed and consistent. This is a process and relieving your chronic pain is the project. To be successful clients need to be willing to come regularly, be (or learn how to be) present in their bodies and practice the techniques.

Results are often felt after only one or two sessions. Some clients feel they have achieved their goals in six to ten sessions. Others so enjoy the process and so continue after their initial pain is gone.

EXPECTED RESULTS
The results you can expect working with me are that you will have a new understanding of your own body and why it hurts. You will understand what working from the core really means. I have helped hundreds of people reduce pain, become stronger, more efficient and have improved performance in everything they do while reducing chance of re-injury. These are tools for life!

Clinical studies have shown that patients who were treated with spinal stabilization approach are up to twelve times less likely to experience repeat episodes of back pain as compared to people treated with more traditional approaches (Jemmet, 2003: p28).

MY PHILOSOPHY
Eighty five percent of Americans will experience idiopathic (unknown cause) back pain at some time in their lives. I believe that the majority of these incidents can be completely avoided or shortened. I believe that everyone can learn how.

Research in just the last ten years, based on new imaging techniques have revealed a new model of spinal health that is flexible, plastic and able to move in every plane. Modern sedentary lifestyles, long hours driving or in front of the computer, severely compromise posture, the source of most pain and discomfort.

Back pain is a neuromuscuscular issue, not a strength issue. Our nervous system tells our muscles what to do. People with back, neck and shoulder pain have a nervous system that continually compensastes for its inability to properly sequence movement, protecting the joints and spine. The key to this approach involves improving the nervous system's ability to activate muscles in an appropriate fashion.(Jemmet, 2003: p41-43)

MY APPROACH

Everyone has developed different compensation strategies. Sometime the pattern is immediately obvious, sometimes the layers of patterning take time to unravel.

My job is to find the pieces of your puzzle, and get to the source.

Typically in a first session includes a thorough intake and postural analysis along with hands on therapy. Seeing you in motion gives me more information about your compensatory or stress patterning process.

Correct movement is simple, yet difficult to perform correctly (Jemmet, 2003 p28), which is why experts strongly recommend learning from a skilled therapist. Hands on soft tissue (Neuromuscular Therapy, trigger point and myofascial release) work is used judiciously to help you to execute movements correctly, creating your new healthier, pain free posture.

Different clients need different things. Although I have a wide variety of skills and experience I approach each client individually, combining your feedback and hopefully some humor to guide your process back to optimum performance.

WHY ME?
When you’re looking for answers, there are a lot of options to choose from:

•Should I get a trainer?
•See a doctor?
•Go to physical therapy?
•Take a yoga or Pilates class?

Doctors, physical therapists, chiropractors and personal trainers all refer clients to me.

What makes me different is that I combine soft tissue release work with immediate movement re-education, usually in the same session. This way your body can retain and utilize the new information. You get the synergy of 20 years successful experience in movement, combined with hands on soft tissue techniques, and the latest science of posture, spinal and joint stabilization. Additionally, if you were to see for example, a doctor and a physical therapist and take Pilates (yoga, etc.) classes, it be unlikely that they would take the time to work with you in detail, or be sharing and cross pollinating important information from your sessions with one another. I am trained and skilled at blending and incorporating all these, in one place at one time.

This synergy maximizes your investment of time and money.

"Chronic pain is often due to the cumulative effect of incorrect patterns of movement. After years of relying on such patterns, we actually believe that their use is normal rather than being the source of our physical distress."
Tudor Marinescu, MD/PhD

"Kerry has helped me enormously and was able to pinpoint structural body issues that none of the MD's took the time to figure out. It made a tremendous difference in my life."

Kathleen McDonald Thousand Oaks, CA

“Kerry’s knowledge and honest approach gave me new hope for my chronic lower back pain, in just one session. Her insight and treatments have returned me to a fulfilling lifestyle I can enjoy without the pain and discomfort I once had.”

Jay L. Kay

Oak Park, CA