spinal stenosis
85% of people suffer from some kind of back pain, with numbers rising every year. Australians spend a staggering $9 billion/year for back pain related costs - treatments, medication, loss of productivity etc. I used to be one of them, not here in Australia, but in Germany where the problem is similar. Until I found out about a German farmer who had developed a technique called Dorn Spinal Therapy.
Having studied Natural Therapies in Germany of course I was open to alternative approaches to treat back pain. Although I must say I didn't really think of having the pain treated as it just lived with me. It wasn't anything really really bad, I just couldn't stand or walk comfortably for prolonged periods of time. And I didn't give it much attention as I knew so many other people with back problems not finding any relieve.
And just because back pain is so common many people tend to believe it is normal to have it, to live with it. Back pain is not normal, it is your body's cry for help!
Then a friend told me about this new treatment that she had experienced and with her history of back pain, being excited about a treatment must be something worthwhile taking a closer look at.
The workshop I attended showed me an easy to learn and to apply way to approach and resolve back pain, neck pain and headaches. Although I felt a bit sore and stiff after the weekend workshop it took only 3 days before I realised that my pain had gone and that I now could stand and walk without feeling my lower back aching. It took a while to sink in but I knew this was a treatment I definitely wanted to make my main focus in my work.
Back pain, particularly lower back pain, is often related to a difference in leg length. Many people have some kind of leg length difference without knowing about it or they get their shoes built up or simply inlays to balance the difference. But instead of a mechanical solution Dorn Spinal Therapy uses a manual approach by bringing the joints back into their optimal position, reconnecting them, and by doing so regulating the leg length difference. The idea behind this approach is that due to what ever we do, exercises, walking in a funny way, sitting with crossed legs, sitting in soft chairs or in cars for prolonged periods of time, the joints become "unconnected". This movement in the joints then creates a little gap in the joint which ultimately leads to different long legs. Reconnecting the joints of the longer leg with easy exercises helps in most cases, where the difference is not due to a measured bone length difference.
What happens when you walk on different long legs? The longer leg pushes against the hip and the hip consequently moves either forward, backward or up which creates an instability in the entire hip area and therefor an unstable base for the spine. This instability will lead to lower or upper back pain, even to neck pain and/or headache.
When I heard all this it made my head spin but eventually I understood the concept behind it - and found it quite simple. Just as simple as working with the technique for the leg length balancing which anyone can do. And sometimes it might just be that little movement that helps relieving back pain.
When the legs are balanced the hip sometimes will balance itself out as well. But if not there is a simple way for the practitioner to do so. And then of course there is the spine itself and the individual vertebrae that need attention. And when I felt my course buddy working along my spine I couldn't believe how many spots there were where my vertebrae were not exactly in the position they should be in - all contributing to my general back problem. Every time I felt such a sore spot, I was asked to swing my opposite leg or arm whilst my buddy massaged this deviated vertebra back into alignment. He explained me that the movement relaxes and distracts the muscles and the spine and that then it is much easier for the deviated vertebra to make its way back into the right spot. And that it could not move too far as the muscles on the opposite side were working with the movement and therefor presented a natural barrier. Seemed very logical and nearly too easy to be true. But again - reality proved the technique right and that is what in the end counts: losing pain, the easier the better.
The last part was the neck, no major problem in my case, but in many people it is a big problem and again, Dorn Spinal Therapy offers a simple and very effective approach as I could learn later in many many life cases in my own clinic.
The alignment procedure finished, we finally got to the relaxing part of the treatment which is the Breuss massage. A spinal stretch massage after the famous Dr. Breuss to nourish and relax the spine and support the manual work that had been done prior. Very nice, very relaxing and it takes off the memory of the fact that there might have been a few sore moments during the alignment treatment.
Dieter Dorn, the founder of Dorn Spinal Therapy is a very simple man and found this technique by accident when he himself suffered from a terrible back. But he didn't leave it there, he was curious enough to go ahead and find out how it worked to spread the word and make it available to more and more people, practitioners as well as non practitioners. But as successful as the treatment may be, it still is the individual that has to look after their body, take responsibility for their own wellbeing. A good posture, healthy diet, enough water, good night sleeps, exercise and emotional balance are just as important in treating back problems as the actual treatment itself. Dorn Spinal Therapy includes a number of easy to do exercises, which support the work a practitioner has done and hands back responsibility to the client. In the end we cannot fix anyone who does not take on their own part in the getting better process.
Today Dorn Spinal Therapy is available in more and more countries around the world and therefore more and more clients can benefit from it. In Australia there are around 100 practitioners but this is only the start of a big change in addressing back and neck pain treatment. For more information on treatments and trainings please go to http://www.dornspinaltherapy.com
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