Eliminating Pain Series – “Body Scanning yourself”
Posted on 14. Oct, 2009 by Keith Scott in Back to Health
Once you figure out how not to be stupid and refrain from getting into physical trouble in the first place, you are half way to living a pain free existence. However, stuff still happens and you are likely to have times when pain and injury creeps in no matter what you do.
Many times your physical pain is the result of faulty engineering, old injuries, biomechanical issues, imbalances, weaknesses, etc… The hard part is identifying those issues. We cannot correct or fix something that we cannot identify in the first place.
The 2009 “Body Scanner” – YOU!
It would be a much better world if we had the body scanners that you see on Star Trek…one or two swipes, we know exactly what the issues are, and then we can get to fixing them. While we wait for that technology to occur, the next best way to identify issues is to have a full evaluation or assessment done to you. If you don’t have access to a doctor, Physical Therapist, or other qualified person…then you can do it yourself! Yes, that’s right, you can “scan” yourself and get a great assessment of your issues.
Four components of a Self- Assessment or body scan:
· The Interview:
o Asking yourself important questions and answering them honestly. You need to take a “history” from yourself and really try to remember all of your issues throughout your life. Whether you had a surgery or two, old injuries, former issues, etc… go through each body part and write down anything that has ever happened to that body part. Even small issues will affect you more than you think.
· Seeing is believing:
o Find a full-length mirror and grab a notebook and a pen. Start by taking a good look at yourself naked. (Make sure the curtains are closed first!) Notice any and all things that look weird or different. Start at the feet and ankles, and work your way up.
o Jot down things that are asymmetrical, swollen, odd, etc… don’t leave anything out
· Range of Motion:
o Start with the ankles…”test” both ankles side by side. Look for differences in range of motion, pain during movement or other oddities when moving the joint around. Continue to the knee, hips, lower back, shoulders, arms, wrists and neck.
o Jot down any joint or body part that does not move in a normal range of motion compared to the other side. Write down any body part that hurts or feels uncomfortable during movement.
· Putting it all together:
o The final aspect of the self- assessment is putting all of this information together so you can not only understand it, but so you can also do something about it.
o Chunk body part assessments together. For instance, if you have a swollen right ankle, and it also hurts when you move it and it has a limited range of motion, you should place this all under one heading called “The Ankle.” It will be easier to go back and understand where your issues are if you do it this way. In fact, you can chunk all of the body part assessments together under specific headings anyway…whether you have issues or not. You might just find something you didn’t think about.
o Once you have all of your information together and analyzed, you can now find the help you need to get “fixed.” It will be much easier and better to go to a professional armed with this information first. Don’t assume that your doc is going to assess you even close to the way you just assessed yourself.
Once you have a grasp of what, where and why you have physical issues, you can be on your way to addressing them and making things better. You cannot reduce pain, or make progress until you know what the issues are in the first place.
If you still cannot find answers or need more help, my UNBREAKABLE system has a HUGE detailed physical assessment book included with the system that walks you through each body part. You are left with a detailed assessment for each area, explanations of why you might have the issues that you do, and corrective therapy to fix the problems.
Check it out. I offer a no questions asked unconditional 60 day money back guarantee.
