Frances

A Feldenkrais practitioner's case study of back pain.

"Frances" came to see me complaining of back pain. She had suffered with it for over two years and had tried physiotherapy, chiropractic, acupuncture and massage with little success. Finally she had been referred to a neurologist and was booked in for a spinal block to see if that would help.

She had been a horticulturist for 20 years, doing a lot of heavy lifting and later began to work at an airport, checking in luggage . She was left handed but was working in a right handed situation, continually lifting and twisting. Her back pain was so severe that she had to give up work. She could not vacuum, dig in the garden nor wash her two dogs. She was unable to go out socially because she never knew when the pain was going to disable her.

She applied for Worker's Compensation but was awarded only a small fee as no damage showed up on X-ray. Her life was miserable which affected her family life. Fortunately her husband was very supportive, but she still often experienced the humiliation of people believing that because there was no damage showing on an X-ray then pain must be "all in her mind"!

When Frances walked came to see me for a hands-on Feldenkrais lesson (Functional Integration lesson) , I noticed that she was taking most of her weight on her left leg and her head was tilted to the right. Her knees were locked. I suggested that she scan her body whilst standing, noticing if she took more weight on one leg than the other, and perhaps felt other differences between her left and right sides.

Later whilst lying on the Feldenkrais table on her back, I again asked her if she experienced any differences between her left shoulder and her right shoulder, her hips, ribs and so on. This was in order to help her begin to feel what her habitual postural patterns were and how they might influence her movement and functioning.

I then gave her a "Functional Integration" lesson to allow her to sense some alternative ways of moving. I explained that over the years we all gradually lose or cease to do many of the movements of which we are capable and that she may have had "lost" some parts of her body image. She would be able to learn about the ways she might be limiting herself and by manipulating her gently with small and non-invasive movements, she could begin to sense how she could incorporate more of herself in her daily activities. We had another two lessons just to clarify more of her body image and to make sure the new information would be well-integrated.

Her pain decreased enormously and she learnt many new ways of moving in order to forestall any recurrence of her problems. She has attended Feldenkrais "Awareness through Movement" weekly classes to further improve her posture and breathing. She decided to cancel surgery and now feels she is pain-free and more in control of her life again.