Many people have asked me about The Egoscue Method therapy and how i incorporate it into my sphere of practice. For those that have read Pete Egoscue’s books The Egoscue Method of Health Through Motion and Pain Free are a step ahead of the rest, however more general info can be found on the website www.egoscue.com.

In a nutshell, The Egoscue Method therapy is a way for others to seek pain-free movement and eliminate movement limitations by restoring their body to it’s designed posture. The body, regardless of individual differences, has an optimal alignment, and when there are deviations in this optimal alignment, muscles start compensating for others and, over time, dysfunction, limitation and pain are the result. In a perfect world, we wouldn’t sit for 8 hours a day at a desk job. Our bodies are designed for movement, and the most high-quality and variable movement possible. However, this just isn’t the case. We sit more now than we ever have, and it shows in our lack of function and posture. Slouching shoulders, duck feet, rounded upper backs, forward heads are just some of the postural deviations that keep people from realizing their true health potential. Even breathing, circulation, fatigue, digestion, etc. are affected negatively by poor posture.

From the outside, the exercises may seem too simple, however they are remarkably effective at restoring imbalances and helping others achieve pain-free movement. Think of it as a movement vitamin, providing vital movement nutrients that we don’t get in our everyday lives. It also provides others with a simple and effective way to fix themselves and understand the reason for why they are in pain. It’s a way for others to self-correct themselves without the use of drugs or hands-on therapy (although there is a place for those, as well, and Egoscue is not always a replacement for the aforementioned methods of treatment).

For athletes, i see it as an essential component to recovery and efficiency which will provide the necessary framework for long term gains in strength, power, speed, agility, and all the other fun stuff that comes along with training athletes. In fact, i believe that athletes nowadays should focus less on strengthening and lifting and more on harboring general movement skills. A great way to do this is with a program that Egoscue developed called “The Patch”. More info can be found on www.patchfitness.com. Also, Frank Forencich’s Exuberant animal site has some stellar ideas on where our industry needs to be headed towards (high-quality varied movement in a play-like format).

For those that have more questions, i will not have answers for you, however i will have more questions to help guide you in the right direction should you require it. Achieving greater movement is a journey, a process that needs mindful awareness, and somatic forms of therapy like Egoscue are a great way to do that.

Charlie Reid Uncategorized