Dr. Knudsen's solution to breaking
the pain cycle
+ Locate and de-activate trigger points to help alleviate pain; turning off improper protective muscle reflexes can lead to immediate pain relief
+ Break-up adhesions in the lines of fascia related to the problem area; hands-on therapies and body movements that are personalized to alleviate your type of pain
+ Develop more accurate brain-body communication through visualization techniques and precise moving and breathing patterns that promote brain-body health messages
+ Gently correct the position of the upper cervical bones (especially the Atlas) and the pelvic bones to help improve your body's balance, posture and spine alignment (see before and after pictures)
A message from Dr. Knudsen: why we get stuck with chronic pain
Your body and brain speak to each other continuously through health messages and warning messages. It is a communication distortion between the brain and body that prevents recovery from a painful condition.
Our body communicates with the brain through our nerves that relay mechanical messages that come from stresses placed on fascia. What is FASCIA? It is a sheet of dense tissue that encapsulates every muscle fiber. All muscles are connected to other muscles and through long lines of fascia.
These mechanical messages help the brain monitor body position and movement; they also warn of potential tissue damage and initiate protective muscle reflexes. If the spine is out of alignment even by a few millimeters, then nerve impulses traveling up and down the spinal cord may become distorted and hyper-sensitive causing us to feel pain.
When the brain does not know the precise position of the body, poor posture and faulty movement patterns emerge. Over time, painful trigger points arise which are aggravated by movement or stressful positions.
Dr. Howard A. Knudsen, a Doctor of Physical Therapy, and Provo physical therapy clinic owner, has spent years training with pain experts worldwide to discover comprehensive and holistic solutions for pain relief.
A Summary of Pain Solutions
Dr. Knudsen has identified six things that may perpetuate the chronic pain cycle. Each problem may be involved in the overall condition... making it worse. Treating one of the six may have a good affect, but treating each one is more likely to lead to a cure of the pain condition.
At the top of the image below, you will see "DESPAIR" and at the bottom "Atlas Misalignment." The biggest bang for your buck is to target these two culprit as both are more likely to be at the root cause of your condition.
If we correct the alignment of the Atlas then we will have less distortion in body-brain communication. If we stop focusing on the medical diagnosis (e.g., "I have arthritis in my neck and therefore I will always have this pain...") then we can become more hopeful, instead of suffering in despair. What follows is that the body's natural ability to self-heal will be initiated.
You probably know someone who regularly experiences pain. In fact, it is highly likely that you or a loved one is suffering from a painful condition at the present moment.
My message today is a message of hope! The human organism is a complex creation with a phenomenal ability to heal itself... given the right conditions.
What is the root cause of chronic pain? Modern neuroscience is showing that the root cause of chronic pain is distorted or restricted communication within the brain and also between the body and the brain.
How does this distorted or restricted messaging occur? The usual offender is a relay station at the top of the neck (where the brainstem passes through the top neck bone called the atlas). If the atlas is misaligned then any messages passing through may become distorted or restricted, harming the health of body parts below.
Another way that messages get distorted is through the body's system of muscles and fascia. Because all muscles are enveloped in and connected to other muscles through lines of dense tissue called fascia, our bodies are only as healthy as the weakest link. When fascia is repeatedly strained because of restrictions called fibrosis, then these messages turn into pain signals.
A muscle that does not communicate efficiently with the brain is unhealthy and in a state of crisis. This crisis creates painful muscle trigger points that scream: "bloody murder" when the fascia that envelops them is strained by movement or from prolonged stressful positions.
Dr. Knudsen has learned multiple strategies that provide practical solutions for breaking the restrictive chains of chronic pain.