June 30 2018. Times Of India
Proper mobilisation and alignment of joints and muscles through Functional Manual TherapyTM (FMT) can alleviate back and knee pain.
Back pain is one of the most common problems of modern life, no matter how the average person spends their day—sitting at a desk in office for long hours, doing intense physical work at home or outside, or being a couch potato and binge-watching TV or surfing the net. Muscle and joint problems, especially in the back, are very common indeed. Add to that bad posture and significant weight gain due to sedentary lifestyles, chronic or acute knee pain has also become very common.
Prolonged sitting in an incorrect way puts pressure on the discs in the spine, causing moderate to intense low back pain that walking and stretching can only help temporarily. Bad posture leads to constriction in the hips, which can actually aggravate knee pain too as the person’s gait and weight distribution is altered. But surgery is not the first or only option for either, as thanks to FMT at VARDAN, joints and muscles can be mobilised to banish pain.
In fact, VARDAN’s hands-on approach goes beyond its now famous no-machines philosophy to alleviate pain, through specific evaluation tests and specialised manual mobilisation techniques. As Jane Lucas, certified functional manual therapist (CFMT) now in India at VARDAN from the US explains, when patients describe the nature of their pain, they are also informed about what aggravates their symptoms and how they can modify their alignment during those activities to prevent pain.
For example, if someone has chronic pain in the morning, VARDAN’s physical therapists tell them about sleeping positions, types of mattresses and pillows and how to support the body in different positions. These are specific to each patient so therapists make detailed assessments and then educate. Research shows that poor sleep quality contributes to pain so a proper sleeping alignment means less stress on the body through the night so it can heal itself. People should never wake up in pain; they should wake up refreshed.
To get the recommended exercise of 30 minutes a day at least 5 days a week many people take up running to maintain cardiac and pulmonary health. But chronic or acute knee pain due to improper techniques or muscle usage can hobble that option. VARDAN’s physical therapists are trained to analyse gait and running mechanics and can help patients return pain-free to their exercise routine.
“We methodically test patients to ensure we fully understand the deficits of their mechanics,” says Lucas. “By adjusting their alignment, we can immediately increase core muscle activity and make patients stronger. By utilising proper biomechanics, they will be less likely to develop pain from overuse of knees or calves.” Other common overuse injuries like patellar tendonitis, hamstring strains, and shin splints can also be treated by improving the patient’s posture while running.
Whether it is back or knee pain, apart from the manual mobilisation and strengthening of dysfunctional joints and muscles through FMT—including ones that have not been used for so long that the body often forgets they are there!—patients are taught appropriate ways to position and strengthen themselves for their daily work and leisure needs. Don’t kneel to pain—turn your back on it by opting for FMT at VARDAN!
Dr. Jane Lucas
(PT, DPT, CFMT)
is a Certified Functional Manual Therapist at VARDAN, a wellness initiative by The Times Group in association with the Institute of Physical Art, USA
Functional Manual TherapyTM (FMT) is a comprehensive approach to physiotherapy, which identifies and facilitates your existing potential through an in-depth examination and treatment of your mechanical capacity, neuromuscular function and motor control. Discover your potential to have less pain and function better with FMT!
To schedule your appointment at the VARDAN Centre (New Delhi):
SMS: VFMT to 58888
Call: 011-43580720-22
(9am to 6pm, Monday to Saturday)
Email: vardan@timesgroup.com
For more information, log on to
www.vardan.in