Most issues in physical medicine, outside of actively healing injuries, when it comes to pain, limitations and other dysfunctions are almost always described in terms of muscles being too tight/strong/over used, or too loose/weak/under used, joints being out of alignment, or bad posture causing problems being experienced. At the very least this paradigm is reductive and simplistic, when it is not patently wrong. The brain only allows the use of strength and range of motion that it can safely control. This means when the brain considers certain movements or positions to not be stable enough to be safe, you get functionally “weaker” or tighter, with joints and posture changing in immediate response to the context the body is living in. What this means is that the muscles may be acting like they are weak, the spine may be compressed, your hamstrings may be taut, among other similar changes, but it is because the brain has decided this is the safest way to approach the situation it’s in; both the demands being placed on the body and it’s previous history of injuries that it is even now looking out for in case they happen again. So when a therapist approaches stretching a patient, focusing on getting “stronger”, forcing their joints to a different position, or trying to coach their posture into changing, the therapist is trying to force changes in a protective compensation strategy, instead of dealing with the reason the body had to change in the first place.
My favorite expression is that if plan A isn’t safe, the body shifts to plan B. Less ideal, but that’s what we have to work with. When we force the body away from plan B, we don’t get it to return to plan A unless we show it’s safe by removing the reason why it went to plan B in the first place, we get plan C instead, which is even less ideal. This is where applied or functional neurology approaches come in. The brain is what decides how to use it’s parts for safe posture and movement. With a range of neurological based techniques we are able to assess how the function of the body has changed, leading to the symptoms at hand, and trace these changes back to why the body has changed it’s behavior so that we can deal with the actual problem, instead of just chasing symptoms. This may have been a previous brain trauma, a broken bone, a C-section or other surgery or injury that the body is protecting itself against.
In practice this means instead of seeing someone weekly or monthly for potentially years in a row to keep someone functioning day to day, we work towards concluding the source of their problem so they can return back to a safe and healthy, pain free life with their body. With this mixture of techniques and approaches we can help people with conditions and symptoms as wide spread as typical back pain to migraines, dizziness, sensory problems (vision and hearing deficits, etc.), stroke and brain injury recovery, heart burn, urinary incontinence, repeated injuries, fibromyalgia, Cerebral Palsy, Guillain Barre, and the list really goes on. How long it takes for symptoms themselves to change depends on the person, but I have never gone through our process fully and not had profound improvements in our patients. Most patients require 3-10 sessions, with rare cases requiring fewer or more (but it does happen).
We always offer a free consultation to go over your situation and health history, discuss our approach and methods, and do an initial assessment. We accept most insurance plans*.
To say Corey has changed my life might be an understatement. I've been battling chronic migraines for almost 10 years now, on top of TMJ pain, whiplash accidents and multiple concussions, my body was in a constant state of discomfort and pain. Exhausted of being pumped full of drugs for the sake of short term relief, doctors pretty much told me I was SOL unless I wanted to continue being a test subject to whatever pill came out next, or surgery for my jaw. I felt like I've tried everything; specialists, acupuncture, chiropractor, physical therapy, etc. I basically convinced myself that this was my life now and to buckle up for the challenging ride of living with chronic pain and accept it as normal, after all, there's nothing more that could be done, right?...
Corey has been the first person to tell me that I CAN and WILL be able to find relief (excuse me, what?!), he's been the first person willing to work with me and show me that I'm not a lost cause. I don't quite understand his line of work, but you can feel the passion he has for it, and the passion for caring for others. He is always willing to pause what he's doing and explain the "why" behind things. It's super fascinating and I learn so much each session.
I feel like a completely new person. Each day I'm in awe that I can live without pain, for so long I had no idea what that would feel like.
I recommend Thrive to anyone and everyone. In your session you can expect honesty, professionalism, care, and a few corny jokes from time to time ;) THANK YOU!
-Shayla Mauer
*Insurance coverage depends on establishment of medical necessity, which depending on your insurance plan may require a physicians prescription, referral, or a pre-authorization. Auto accident coverage has similar limitations and requires care to be for conditions or situations resultant from an auto collision. Additional policies or requirements may also apply, and care by Thrive does not take the place of other necessary medical care or assessment, from physicians or other appropriate practitioners.