Book Review: A Guide to Better Movement

One of my New Year’s resolutions was to build a better morning routine to help me use my time more optimally during the day. Part of that morning routine includes reading for 30 minutes over breakfast…and I have to tell you, it’s my most favorite part of the day. My first book of the year was Todd Hargrove’s  A Guide to Better Movement, and I really really loved it. So much so, that I just needed to share it with you!

Guide to Better MOvementI was first introduced to Todd Hargrove through his blog post back in October, “Why do muscles feel tight?” I loved it, was hooked, and ordered his book the same day. Todd is a pretty smart guy, and has a unique background being a prior attorney and current Rolfer and Feldenkrais practitioner. I love learning from people who are not physical therapists because I find it challenges my viewpoints and helps me to see my clients from a different perspective. Todd’s book did not disappoint.

Who should read it? 

  • Anyone who likes moving, should move, and wants to move better
  • Athletes (yes, this includes any of you who exercise regularly) who want to make sure they are caring for their bodies
  • People experiencing persistent pain
  • Practitioners working with humans who move
  • (Is that broad enough for you?)

What are the details? 

  • Available on Amazon.com for $17.95, paperback  (Click hereA Guide to Better Movement: The Science and Practice of Moving With More Skill And Less Pain)
  • Length: 277 pages, broken into the following sections:
    • Introduction
    • Part 1: The Science of Moving Better
      • Defining Better Movement
      • Learning Better Movement
      • The Brain Maps the Body
      • Motor Development and Primal Patterns
    • Part 2: The Science of Feeling Better
      • The Science of Pain
      • Movement and Threat: Central Governors
      • Movement, Thinking and Feeling
    • Part 3: The Practice of Moving Better and Feeling Better
      • Strategies to Move Better and Feel Better
      • Lessons in Better Movement (pgs 149-277)

What’s so great about it? As you may know, my studies recently have sent me deep into the world of neuroscience, so I love reading books that integrate the whole body rather than just focusing on specific tissues. Hargrove does an excellent job of not only teaching the science related to movement and pain in a way that is easily understandable by clinicians and patients alike, but also offers strategies and lessons for improving movement and shifting away from a pain state. He uses excellent analogies throughout his book that all people will be able to relate to and understand. On another note, his book is full of great quotes… and I’ve always been a sucker for a good quote… so you’ll see some of my favorites here :).

In the first part, the science of moving better, Hargrove discusses the essential qualities of good movement (coordination, responsiveness, distribution of effort, division of labor, position and alignment, relaxation and efficiency, timing, variability, comfort and individually customized). I especially love his section on relaxation and efficiency as I believe this to be a huge factor for the men and women I treat experiencing chronic pelvic pain. So often, these people end up in states of chronically over-activating musculature to perform tasks, and I believe changing this can make a big difference for them. “Efficient movement requires skill in relaxation… thus developing movement skill is often more about learning to inhibit the spread of neural excitement rather than extending it.” 

Next, he goes on to explain the process for learning better movements diving in to the motor control system, and then explains how the brain maps the body and the ways in which those maps can change over time. “The current organization of [a person’s]  sensory  maps already reflects a lifetime of effort to organize them in an optimal way to perform functional goals.”  He uses a great analogy here of a skiier going down a hill. The first trip down, the person has endless options on the path to take down…but after going again, and again, deep grooves in the snow are formed and it can be difficult to take alternate paths.

downhill skiing

Lastly in this section, he discusses motor development and primal movement patterns and the importance of training foundational movements with large carryover into a variety of functional tasks.

Part two, the science of feeling better goes into our favorite topic–pain science. Hargrove does a fantastic job of explaining pain and gives a plethora of examples and analogies to help the reader understand very advanced topics. Two of my faves from this section are,”Although nociception is one of the most important inputs contributing to pain, it is neither necessary nor sufficient for pain to exist,” and, “Pain is an action signal, not a damage meter.” This section also explores different options for moving past pain and discusses how the central nervous system responds with threat in order to protect the body. The last chapter in this section looks at movement and emotion and explains the way we now understand the mind to relate to the body. (Hint: the mind and the body are ONE).

The last section of this book, the practice of moving better and feeling better discusses strategies for improving movement and key components of training movement variety. Hargrove summarizes his thoughts on this in the following way, “Move playfully, experimentally and curiously, with full attention on what you are doing and what you are trying to accomplish. Focus on movements that are the foundation for your movement health, and have a lot of carryover to many activities, as opposed to movements that are specific and don’t have carryover. Move as much as you can without injury, pain or excess threat, wait for the body to adapt, and then move more next time.” 

Hargrove ends the book by providing 25 lessons to help improve movement. These are based on the Feldenkrais Method (which I liked as I currently use some of these principles and movements within my clinical practice.). Each lesson offers options for progressing and provides guidance for attention and variations.

So, in summary…. I loved this book. I have already recommended it to clients, and plan to use some of the movement lessons within my practice. I hope you love it too!

Have you read any other great books recently? I’m looking for my next one to read! 

~ Jessica

TBT: 4 Children’s Books to Improve Your Child’s Bathroom Health

I know it’s been a while since I had a good throw-back for you of an old post— this one was written just last fall about books I love for the kiddos I treat! If you are new to the blog, you may now know that along with treating adults, I also treat children with bowel and bladder problems in physical therapy. I had a great meeting yesterday with a local pediatrician. Along with talking about treating children for constipation, bed-wetting (enuresis) and other bladder problems, we also talked about children’s books! I promised I’d share some of my favorites with him, so thought you might as well benefit too! Hope you enjoy! 

First, let me say that I LOVE children’s books. I love the photos, the stories, the fantasy–I have many wonderful memories of my mother and father reading classics like Goodnight, moon!, The Rainbow Fish,and  Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day. Maybe that’s why I loved seeing all of the children’s books specifically written to help kids with bathroom health. Regardless, here we go– 4 books to improve your child’s bathroom habits (in absolutely no particular order).

1.) Everyone Poops by Taro Gomi

Everyone Poops

What child doesn’t love a book with the word “poop” in the title? Everyone Poops is perfect for the child who is embarrassed of having to have a bowel movement. Although embarrassment may not seem like a big deal initially, it is important to recognize that for some children, embarrassment could be the start of a pretty big problem. Often children who are embarrassed to have a bowel movement will develop chronic holding patterns which can create painful hard stool, bowel leakage, and difficulty having bowel movements. I love Everyone Poops because it’s funny, fun, and normalizes having a bowel movement to take away the fear. Plus, it only costs $4.99 on Amazon.com–who can say no to that?

2. Look Inside: Your Body (Usborne Look Inside)

Look Inside

Ok, I will be honest with you– this may have recently become my most favorite children’s book ever! How could it not be? It literally has over 100 flaps to open inside! When this arrived to my clinic I forced my poor student to listen to all of the fun little facts under each flap in this book. It is filled to the brim with excellent information on the body and even has a beautiful 2-page spread on the digestive system. Plus, it’s interactive–your child can lift a flap and see how the bicep muscle works…lift another flap and see how our ears hear!  My only beef is that they really did not include much information on Urinary function…but other than that, it is amazing! It may have just become my book I give all of my pregnant friends for their new kiddos. Amazon.com $10.48 and worth every penny!

3. It Hurts When I Poop: a Story for Children Who Are Scared to Use the Potty, by Howard J. Bennett

Hurts to Poop

Back to the poop– Constipation is the worst! And fear related to using the bathroom can be equally as bad as embarrassment in creating holding patterns and constipation in children. This book was written by a physician who provides a relatable story for children fearful of using the bathroom. The story follows a young boy Ryan as he goes to see a doctor to help with his constipation. Dr. Bennett also does a great job at providing great recommendations for kids and parents to help improve bowel function! I especially love his page on “foods that make poop hard” and “foods that make poop soft.” This book is an absolute must for children dealing with constipation. The reviews on Amazon.com really say it all, and this book only costs $8.96.

4. Sammy the Elephant and Mr. Camel: a Story to Help Children Overcome Bedwetting, by Joyce Mills and Richard Crowley

Sammy and Camel

How could you not love the sweet story of an elephant who struggles with carrying water, is mentored by a camel, and goes on to save the town by putting out a fire? This wonderful story not only provides a powerful image for children having difficulty with enuresis (bedwetting), but it also is great for improving self-esteem in children and decreasing feelings of guilt or low self-worth. This book also includes information in the back for helping parents take the next steps to improve a child’s bladder function. An excellent read for kids and parents alike! And only $8.96 on Amazon.com!

I hope you will consider picking up some books if your child is having bowel or bladder problems! Do you have any other great books for this? Let us know in the comments!

Have a great Thursday!

~ Jessica

Book Review: Why Pelvic Pain Hurts

I love books. I love picking out a new book, flipping through the pages, and escaping for a small time into a different world. My love of reading translates so easily into my clinical practice in women’s health and pelvic floor physical therapy. Clients who have worked with me know that I keep a shelf of related books in my practice for them to look through and enjoy. I find books are so helpful for my clients experiencing related problems. Often times, men, women and children with pelvic health problems feel alone and so isolated. The reality is that these issues are private ones–I will often treat clients whose own spouses are not aware that these issues are occurring! And there are SO many great pelvic health books out there! The biggest thing I love about my clients reading books is that it helps the to realize they are not alone. So many other people have these problems too–so many that there are books written about it! I also think that reading information helps the learning process for many so much more than just hearing information spoken by me! My hope in “book reviews” is to share some of those awesome books with you, so you can read them, recommend them and learn from them! Whether you are a patient seeking information, a health care provider, or just an interested individual, I hope these reviews will be helpful!  Enjoy! 

from amazon.com
from amazon.com

I am so excited to introduce you today to a wonderful little book called, Why Pelvic Pain Hurts by Adriaan Louw, Sandra Hilton and Carolyn Vandyken. These authors are all physical therapists and both Sandy and Carolyn are Pelvic PTs. To be honest, I’ve followed Adriaan Louw for quite some time now. I have read some of his other educational books such as Why do I hurt? and I have even listened to his online educational seminar via Medbridge called “Teaching People About Pain.” He’s brilliant–so I knew I would love this book from the moment I heard it was being published! Who should read it? 

  • Men & Women experiencing chronic pelvic pain
  • Clinicians working with men and/or women experiencing chronic pelvic pain
  • Families & friends of people experiencing chronic pelvic pain

What are the details? 

  • Cost: $15.69 on Amazon.com
  • Length: 67 pages with great illustrations, broken into 5 sections.
    • Understanding your body’s alarm system
    • Understanding your extra-sensitive alarm system
    • Understanding your pelvic pain
    • Understanding your Lion and how it impacts you
    • Understanding your treatment options

What’s so good about it?  As you may know by reading my blog, I love how the current understanding of pain is so much more than just tissue damage. Our nervous system is powerful and incredible, and is significant in the pain experience. Often times, clinicians run into difficulty when they start talking with clients about the neuroscience related to chronic pain– mostly because these people have had bad experiences in the past with people thinking their pain is “all in their head.” Louw does a great job of emphasizing that pain is a real experience no matter what situation it occurs under, but that pain does not always correlate with tissue damage. Hurt does not always correlate with harm. This book uses fantastic metaphors and stories to help drive home key points. The book begins in the first two sections by describing the nervous system’s involvement in the pain experience, and goes into detail as to how these systems become overly sensitized in a person experiencing chronic pain. I especially love the pages where the authors highlight all of the situations that contribute to a more sensitized system (such as failed treatments, family concerns, fear/anxiety, ongoing pain, etc.) as I think this is such a big piece for people to understand. The next section focuses on pelvic pain specifically, initially beginning with highlighting one of the major problems in overcoming pelvic pain (the “taboo”). They then go on to utilize a wonderful analogy of a measuring cup being “filled” by the 400 nerves in the body passing information to the brain. This measuring cup “overflows” when a large volume of information is being sent or when emotions/stressors surround the experience (like a flame heating the water in the cup). This metaphor is used throughout the book with treatment focused on helping the water to stop boiling over.  The rest of this section goes through various diagnoses related to pelvic pain, but also emphasizes that the pain experience (from a neurological perspective) is the same in most diagnoses despite the differences in the symptoms. Lastly, the authors describe the difference between tissue problems and a sensitive nervous system.

Your metaphorical pain "cup"
Your metaphorical pain “cup”

Section 4 utilizes a fantastic metaphor of being under attack by a Lion and describes in detail how the body feeling under a constant threat of danger and in a strong protective response can contribute to experiences such as tender areas in the body, mood swings, appetite changes, fatigue… and much more! They also describe the other areas in the brain that are involved with pain and the overlap with different tasks (such as sensation, movement, and even memory!). They also maintain compassion and understanding for the experience unique to people with pelvic pain, and beautifully state, “At the core of being human, being alive, there are certain bodily functions that should not only be pain-free, but enjoyable…when you have pelvic pain, you’re not only robbed of pleasure, but the pleasure is replaced with pain. How unfair is that?

lion

Don’t worry- the book does not end here :). Section 5 discusses treatment options emphasizing that treatment should be aimed at stopping filling or emptying the “cup” or extinguishing the “fire” under the “cup.” Then, the authors systematically go through current treatments including knowledge/education, manual therapy, soft tissue treatment, specific exercises, graded motor imagery, aerobic exercises, medication, sitting posture, breathing/relaxation, sleep, stress management, and activity pacing/graded exposure. Under each of these categories, clear explanations are given as well as recommendations to get started! I could write a whole other blog post on these recommendations…but then you wouldn’t be thirsty for more, would you? So, all of that to say– this was a wonderful book! I strongly recommend it for men and women experiencing chronic pelvic pain– it’s an easy read, cheap, and offers clear recommendations to get started toward pain-free relief. Knowledge truly is power when it comes to recovering from chronic pain. Do you have any questions about the book? Have you read it yet? What books do you love and want me to review next? I would love to hear from you in the comments below! ~ Jessica