A Breakthrough In Injury Treatment & Prevention

Many of my clients speak of how frustrating conventional injury treatments are. Their complaints include:

• Long waiting times to see a medical professional
• No clear treatment pathways, either on the NHS or privately
• Multiple interventions, such as steroid injections, painkillers and physiotherapy, none of which work long-term
• Inadequate aftercare post-surgery, with many patients left to fend for themselves

Has this been your experience too?

One often overlooked reason why medicine struggles to treat musculoskeletal injuries, despite massive advances in technology, is because the problem is often functional in nature, NOT structural or medical.

Chronic muscle tension can distort posture, misalign joints, herniate spinal discs and lead to diverse health issues, like poor sleep, headaches, shallow breathing, gut conditions, anxiety, low mood and fatigue.

The good news is that function can be changed at any age for long-term relief. Even better, is you can learn to do this for yourself, so you don't have to wait for an appointment to see a health professional.

My clients have made life changing transformations by changing the way they move and how they respond to life's stressors. They do this by learning to reprogramme their subconscious patterns through my unique framework "The Befriend Your Body Method for pain relief and relaxation".

Read on to see why neural repatterning is a new dawn in getting relief from chronic pain, and preventing hard to treat injuries like osteoarthritis.....

Sensory Motor Amnesia (SMA)

Sensory Motor Amnesia is a little known phenomenon where the brain ,loses the ability to sense and control skeletal muscles.

This means that the brain doesn't register increased tension in the affected muscles, and therefore can't fully relax that muscle. The result is a permanently contracted muscle that feels sore, achy, tired and tight all the time. Stretching and massage might give short-term relief, but it never lasts long.

SMA is a response to the natural accumulation of stress as we navigate life's ups and downs. 

For example:

1. You're born with the ability to contract and relax your muscles from 0% to 100% tone and back down to 0%
2. In your 20's you get whiplash after a car accident,. After this your muscles hold onto 10% tension. You're now able to contract and relax 90% of your muscles.
3. You have surgery to repair a fractured arm after a fall in your 30's. Now your muscles stay 40% tense, and you're only able to consciously control 60% of your muscles. You start feeling stiff in the mornings and ache more after working out.
4. In your 40's you suddenly lose your job, leading to months of financial uncertainty. These high stress levels leaves your body locked in tension, so you end up only being able to control 30% of your muscles. Now, you have tension headaches, IBS and c**p sleep. Your back aches, you feel permanently stiff and tired.

Medicine will tell you that this is part of ageing, or the onset of perimenopause. You'll probably be prescribed some drugs to mask your symptoms or told to "just live with it".

But SMA isn't a medical condition. It's an adaptation to stress that your brain learned to do.

Neuroplasticity says that you can learn new skills at any age, including the ability to regain conscious control of your muscles and move out of SMA>

This involves making your conscious mind aware of your learned subconscious patterns. If you're not aware of it, you can't do anything to change it.... including your body.

The principles of Clinical Somatic Education (CSE, or Hanna Somatics, are the foundations of my unique pain relief framework "The Befriend Your Body Method".

The Befriend Your Body (BYB) Method Overview

This image illustrates how my framework helps my clients make the transformation from stiff, painful, cautious movements to trusting their body, feeling empowered and moving with confidence.

This isn't a prescriptive, "tick box" method. The whole journey is driven by the client and how their body responds along the way. I liken it to an onion, as we strip away the layers of compensations that have accumulated through life experiences to come back to efficient, enjoyable movements.

The BYB Method teaches the skills they need to dial down pain effectively on their own.  The more they practice and do this, the more powerful the effects become, because they're retraining their nervous system to get better at releasing tension.

What the brain does often, it does well.

If practiced regularly, the brain will eventually learn to recognise elevated tension and how to release the muscles back to resting state ie. fully relaxed.

Now, you can reset your body out of pain any time without relying on someone else to provide a magic cure that can't be replicated in their absence or doesn't last longer than a few weeks.

It's a totally different philosophy on pain and injury. One that doesn't aim to treat symptoms as they appear, but harnesses the natural healing power of the brain and body.

Rather than trying to fix (you're not broken!), the focus is on education, self awareness and self regulation. 

How To Learn The Befriend Your Body Method for Pain Relief and Relaxation

There's various options you can get support with getting lasting relief from chronic pain:

1) Pain Relief At Home Classes

These are online classes that you do in the comfort of your own home - turn up the heat, turn down the lights, create your own relaxation zone, whilst I guide you through a restorative movement practice designed to reduce pain and improve mobility and ease.

There will be 2 classes a week to choose from - do 1 or both!

This option is ideal if....

• you already come to one of my in-person classes but want a top-up,
• have done 1:1 coaching with me and now simply need a consistent maintenance routine, 
• you're new to my unique approach and looking for a gentle introduction to the world of movement for pain relief.
• you're not local enough to come to an in-person event

2)  1:1 Coaching

If you're ready to get help with finding long-term relief from chronic pain and stiffness and are looking for a more personal experience, a good place to start is my Unlock Your Body breakthrough session.

This is a one-off powerful 1:1 session where I'll help you understand the root triggers behind your persistent pain, and how to begin reversing them. This breakthrough session is ideal if you have a specific pain or injury that you're struggling to resolve, even if you've already tried other treatments with limited success.

We'll work together to find new ways of moving without pain. You'll leave with a deeper knowledge of what's triggering pain in your body, and a clear action plan to gain lasting relief. 

For some of my clients, a single session is enough to reset their body out of pain. For others, this is their first step to learning how to move their body without pain after months or years of struggling.

Apply HERE  and I'll be in touch to arrange an initial complementary consultation to discuss the various 1:1 coaching options I offer, and which would be a good fit for your circumstances.

Other ways you can find help with managing pain or an injury are:

• Book into a Stretch or Pilates class with me - these are a good introduction to some movement explorations from The Befriend Your Body (BYB) Method for pain relief and relaxation. This is my signature framework that I use to help my clients get out of pain and back to the activities they love.
• Come to my new class "Restorative Movement" at Field Place, Durrington, which will introduce you to somatic movement. This runs on Thursday from 7.15pm to 8pm.  
• Subscribe HERE to receive "The Movement Chronicle", a free weekly e-newsletter delivering movement and pain relief truth bombs directly into your inbox every Monday morning,

You can connect with me to get help with chronic pain or injury through any of these channels:

• Email at norma@unicornhealthandfitness.com
• Follow me on Facebook and DM me on Messenger https://www.facebook.com/norma.pearsonfitness
• WhatsApp message to 07801 867361.