Case study: Sam, yoga instructor
This is Sam. Sam booked his first appointment at the clinic 2 weeks ago. He was suffering with pain in his right lower back, mid back and a restriction when trying to achieve deep overhead positions in yoga.
Because Sam is training vigorously to become a yoga instructor, these issues are impinging his progress. Therefore, he needs to get back pain free, if he wants to continue is training.
I began my assessment by checking Sam’s posture to exclude any underlying structural issues. I immediately noticed a clear scoliotic curve in his spine (scoliosis is a medical condition in the spine has a sideways curve, usually shaped like a “C” or an “S”). After getting him to move around a little it appeared the curve in his spine was functional and not structural .
That meant with the right treatment and rehabilitation I could improve his condition. By focusing on reducing pain while reaching overhead and improving the quality of his movement, the symptoms mentioned above should rapidly decrease.
Treatment: How I reduced his back pain
The video below was taken one week after his first assessment and shows one of the many strategies I used to treat Sam’s condition.
The video shows Sam in an overhead position against the wall. Using his newly found right side flexion, Sam performs repeated flexion and extension movements through his thoracic spine. The scoliosis has virtually gone, there’s little to no lower back pain and the tension on his right side and middle back has almost disappeared. However, he’s still far from being totally pain-free, he still needs to perform this exercise regularly throughout the week. In 1 weeks time, when I met Sam again at the clinic, I expect him to be close to a pain-free condition.
Suffering from an injury?
If you have any questions relating to your injury/pain/stiffness then I’d love to hear from you.
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You can also follow Sam on instagram: @sbarrett94
