IS YOUR POSTURE CAUSING YOUR PAIN?
Susy Russell is a physical therapist with over 20 years of clinical experience and a Masters in Science from Duke University. She is also a Postural Alignment Specialist certified with Egoscue University. After working at the University of Virginia and in various outpatient clinics in Charlottesville, Susy developed extensive manual therapy skills working with the spine and orthopedic injuries. As the co-founder and previous co-owner of Pain Free Performance in 2006, she began focusing on overall body alignment and posture utilizing the Egoscue technique.
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You may have tried a traditional physical therapy approach which focused on the area of pain. If you were unable to
Contact information:
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Susanne Russell
3040 Berkmar Drive A-1
Charlottesville, VA 22901
434-249-9578
Fax: 434-218-1486
​restoremyposture@gmail.com
fully abolish your symptoms or found only temporary relief of the pain only for it to return in the same location or a new location, then most often, the missing link is the ALIGNMENT.
Most musculo-skeletal pain is related to imbalance in the body or when the body is out of alignment. Some muscles are overworking and others are not doing their job. This creates stress on the joints and over time, leads to pain. Stretching and strengthening does not permanently alter posture. You can temporarily force yourself into good posture but it is impossible to sustain this. To correct alignment, the body needs gentle re-patterning with
specific positions and movements. This will reset the body and create a permanent change. When you guide the body to optimal alignment, function will be restored and most often pain abolished.
Perform a self-test: stand with your heels against the wall and feet about hip width apart. Notice if the back of your head rests on the wall or if you have to tip your chin up to touch the back of your head on the wall.
For every inch that the head sits away from the wall (or the ear is in front of the shoulder) the weight of the head increases 10 pounds. In other words, if the back of your head is 3 inches from the wall, instead of the muscles in the neck having to hold your head that weighs 10 pounds, the muscles have to work 3 times as hard and it is as if they are holding up a 30 pound weight. This is just one example of how poor alignment creates stress on the body.
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In her practice, Susy provides one on one treatment in a quiet environment. The initial visit will include a full postural analysis. Photos are taken in order to educate you as to where the imbalances are occurring in your body and this will be correlated with gait analysis and functional movement testing. Once you have an understanding of the source of your symptoms, a sequence of exercises will be developed specific to your needs. These exercises or positions allow the body to re-set or re-pattern so that a permanent change will take place in your overall alignment. My goal is to give you tools to empower YOU to make the changes. When the body regains balance and alignment is improved, movements are more efficient, the joints will have less friction and pain is diminished.
In many situations, the body has developed significant joint or muscular tightness that will benefit from manual therapy techniques. Exercise and re-patterning of the body is a critical part of healing; however, when the manual physical therapy techniques are added to the treatment, this speeds the process and optimizes the potential for mobility and recover of function.
Your body has incredible abilities to heal itself… it simply needs proper guidance. I look forward to assisting you on your journey to a HEALTHY BODY!