Fusion Physical Therapy

An explanation for your pain.

Whats happening to you?

Ok here's the deal you bent over to pick up one of your shoes and whammo, you felt something give, pain shot through your body and you found it very hard to straighten up, oh my god whats happening to me?, will I ever walk normally again? and what about the gym or playing footy with the kid?. These are all things that race through your mind when your back muscles go into spasm.

You struggle into the car and down to the Doctor, you're sitting in the waiting room looking around at all the doom and gloom posters on the wall, rheumatoid arthritis, type 2 diabetes, parkinsons disease, dementia and even STD's are displayed with all their ominous warnings and treatments. By the time you get into your consultation you're convinced that your life is on a fastrack downward spiral and then the doctor starts his spiel "Ahhhhh, your'e in your thirties, you're getting on a bit, it's around this time that your body starts breaking down" and sends you off for all the obligatory scans and prescribes a course of anti-inflammatories.

Xrays, CT scans and if your'e really lucky an MRI, days off work, voltaren, panadol, you can't sleep because of the pain and discomfort, it's too painful to even get in the bath. it's around this time that you start feeling a little bit despondent even depressed, stuck in front of the TV feeling helpless, eating potato chips, lollies and biscuits, replacing life giving water with fizzy soft drinks, caffeine and chemical filled diet drinks, comfort food that makes you feel a little bit better but really does nothing to help your condition. sugar is a poison to your body filling it up with toxins that makes your muscles tighter, more constricted and unable to get all the proper blood flow and nutrients they need to function, combine this with lack of movement and it's a wonder you can even muster up the strength to get up and go to the toilet.

Next few days back to the doctors for the results and that's where the next phase starts, you see doctors have to put a name to everything, its a disease, condition or a syndrome, nothing is easy, they bamboozle you with names like degenerative disk disease, prolapsed or sequestered disk, ligament dysfunction, facet syndrome, facet joint disease, spurring, arthritis, spinal stenosis, nerve impingement syndrome. sciatica, piriformis syndrome the list goes on and on and now the medical merry-go round starts.

First of all it's off to the physio who will give it some ultrasound or electronic therapy for 10mins, prescribe some stretching exercises and then tell you it wont get any better without pilates, which surprisingly they do right there at their clinic, just hand over the cash and we'll get you right.

Six weeks later the pain and discomfort has backed off considerably and you can now stop your twice weekly physio appointments, your core feels a little stronger but somethings still not right, you still feel tender and afraid to do anything that might aggravate your once indestructible body. You convey this fear to your doctor and he suggests you go back to the gym telling you that weights will strengthen you and your body and will also get rid of some of that weight you have put on over the last few months. So you go back to the gym and the young newly qualified gym instructor gives you a program of the same old isolation machine exercises that helped unbalance your body in the first place. Before you know it you're back to square one, can't sleep, can't get comfortable and in constant pain.

A friend suggests the chiropractor they know, another an osteopath that they saw, then an acupuncturist that helped someone else with a skin problem. Three months later and hundreds of dollars out of pocket and nothing has changed so it's back to the doctor and he refers you to the orthopedic surgeon who wants to operate. Sound familiar?

Stop right there!!!!

Numerous studies have show that a very high percentage of people with back pain have nothing more than feet and foot bones that don't move as they should, tight unbalanced (contracted) muscles and a rotated or twisted pelvis.

That's right a simple "Muscle Imbalance", "Pelvis Rotation" and "Feet and Foot Bones that don't move as they should"

This muscle imbalance can be the cause of any number of postural pain dysfunctions and syndromes.

When these tight muscles are left untreated these imbalances can and do lead to “degenerative spinal conditions”  These tight unbalanced muscles unevenly exert pressure on the spine’s joints, ligaments, tendons and discs.

These same tight muscles force neighboring vertebrae together closely enough to cause pinched nerve roots which exit the spinal canal, causing pain and numbness in the extremities. They can also cause the vertebrae and pelvis to “twist” out of alignment. When the vertebrae are pulled closely together, discs between the vertebrae may get “squeezed” and eventually break down (bulge or rupture) from these long-term compressive pressures.

These powerful forces will also alter the movement of all the other joints in the body like hips, knees and ankles leading to further injuries and compensations that will eventually cause these joints to break down as well.
 
To make it really, really simple to understand:-

(a) The muscles on the right side of your body are the same as the muscles on the left side of your body and they have to be the same tension and length, if they are not you will have imbalance problems.

(b) The muscles on the back of your body although they are different to the muscles on the front of your body they still have to work together and have equal strength and tension if some are stronger than the other you will have imbalance problems.

This will affect every joint in your body.

And here are some of the reasons these imbalances happen there are more we can cover on this site but here are some of the most common. See if you can relate to any of them.

1. A lack of good nutrition, water and good clean air. This is paramount to good muscle health you cannot hope to get back to 100% without these elements.

2. A lack of exercise or incorrect exercising and even a lack of simple functional movement.

3. Too much stress both physical and emotional just think how we react with our defensive attitudes, confidence, embarrassment, shyness, anger and aggression. These immediately affect our muscles and it shows up in our body’s posture.

4. A lack of good deep regenerative sleep

5. A lifetime of poor posture which gets poorer as we age. Poorly designed furniture, car seats and devices such as play-stations and computer games

6. Jobs or activities that require a lot of forward bending (flexing) and/or lifting or twisting from that forward bend such as bricklaying or floor tiling.

7. Jobs or activities requiring long or excessive use of extension (bending backwards) such as plastering or painting.

8. A job that require static position or repetitive motion such as computer work,process work or cashiering.

9. As a result of an accident or injury such as a fall or a whiplash incident.

10. And did I mention stress? Stress is a big factor in our aches and pains.

So why should you come and see us?

Wayne Stafford has been established as a specialist Myotherapy and Musculoskeletal Therapy practitioner offering a distinctive treatment for a range of spine and pelvic dysfunctions while applying an integrated and holistic approach to treating other muscle and bone disorders.

We FIX the problems that other practitioners have given up on, before you consider surgery, dangerous drugs or any other invasive form of treatment you must visit us.

We Cure Back Pain & Sciatica Quickly & Permanently

But don't just take our word for it, see what some of our grateful patients are saying:-

It was the physical demands of training intensively 5 days a week over several years that served to highlight my physical weaknesses, which I now understand were caused by a prolonged postural imbalance. Initially I only suffered sporadic back & shoulder pain but the frequency and intensity of the pain progressively got worse as my back muscles strengthened. Over a number of years I had consulted various health professionals & practitioners all of whom were unable to offer me a logical explanation, a correct diagnosis or more importantly, a viable solution. It was therefore, a huge revelation when I first consulted Wayne: he gave me a cause (which intuitively made sense) and, he gave me a solution. I can honestly say that the pain dissipated even after my first consultation.
• Michele Forgione - Sth. Melbourne, Victoria

I feel absolutely fantastic and cannot believe the strength and balance that is back in my body. Before attending the clinic I never achieved lasting results with any practitioners - something would always niggle or come back again - now when I have a niggle I find that because you have a 'whole body approach' everything seems to straighten itself out. No more pain. Thanks a million!
• Kasia Wrzesinski- Mt Waverley, Victoria

Making the decision to see Wayne to treat my back pain was one of the most important decisions I have ever made.

Wayne explained everything to me in a way no other therapist ever has. The treatment he provides is also unlike any other I have ever experienced. I have seen more results with the treatment he has provided than any other practitioner I have ever seen before and I will never go back to any other form of treatment.

Wayne is also so friendly and down to earth and he makes you feel completely comfortable and I highly recommend that anybody with any sort of pain whether it be back, hip or any other part of the body go and see Wayne and see for yourself. He is an absolute legend and I tell everyone I know about him.
• Paula Richards - Hoppers Crossing, Victoria

"Years ago I thought the worst thing that could happen was to break a bone, well that naive opinion changed when seven years ago I had a 500 kilo horse flip over and land on top of me leaving me pinned underneath.

I was rushed to hospital and diagnosed as having been very lucky to only suffer a fractured shoulder blade, muscle and deep tissue damage. Looking back I was very fortunate to not have been more severely injured.

As part of my rehabilitation I attended conventional physiotherapy and hydrotherapy, it definitely helped initially but then I was left with chronic pain and limited mobility of my shoulder and neck. I saw many different specialists in quite a few conventional and non-conventional fields to try to relieve myself of the pain that just wouldn't ease.

I was on a lot of different pain killers and anti-inflammatory medications to try to mask the symptoms but I didn't like to have to rely on them.
After seeing yet another specialist and being told that my neck would end up becoming fused and I would be unable to have normal mobility within the next ten years, I panicked not wanting that to happen. I sought help from different surgeons but they were unable to clearly diagnose specifically what was causing the chronic pain so they began to conduct tests to put me into the category of a Fibromyalgia sufferer which for those who don't know basically means a pain disorder.

It was then that I met Wayne and was convinced to give him and his treatments a go. I haven't looked back!

I have been seeing Wayne for over five years now and at the beginning was on heavy medication, unable to lift my arm above my shoulder or get through an hour without pain. I began noticing benefits after the first couple of sessions and gradually over time I have become pain-free! I am now able to do every thing without pain restricting me, I can even do cart-wheels again!

I am forever grateful for all the time and effort that Wayne has put into helping regain quality of life as he has been integral in my recovery. I cannot believe I was considering going under the knife to attempt to feel like this when all I needed was a few good treatments from Wayne.

I recommend that anyone suffering from any form of pain or anyone just wanting to get back on top of the world again give him a call. What have you got to lose? "
• Thea Williams- Melbourne, Victoria

Wayne is located at 7-9 Bardolph Street Glen Iris 3146 and we are available 7 days a week.

See what Kay Ford has to say about Wayne Stafford

See what John Young has to say about Wayne Stafford

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