GIM-CASE STUDY

WEIGHT MANAGEMENT

Donna came to me wanting some help and guidance on fat loss. She had been suffering with low back pain, knee pain and constant headaches for around 2 years and was now at the end of her tether. Upon the initial assessment it became obvious that Donna was suffering from structural issues that may be contributing to or directly responsible for her pain. After a postural and movement assessment I came up with the following conclusions:

1. There had been a rotation and a ‘slippage’ of the pelvic bones in opposite directions that had altered the relative length of her legs – making the right one relatively shorter. This created tension in the right calf as the right foot now has to ‘reach’ for the floor.

2. This then created a weight shift to the right to compensate for the now shorter leg sending a wave of contraction from the right ankle up the spine to the skull.

3. To maintain the body’s centre of gravity her deep back and pelvic muscles (quadratus lumborum) compensated by being pulling her over to the left.

4. This triggered subsequent tension in the right shoulder as the large latissimus dorsi muscle tried to again maintain equilibrium. This leads to tingling sensations in the hand as a result of a displacement of the shoulder complex and the nerves surrounding the area. Impingement can later develop due to the lack of upward rotation available at the scapula.

5. This then created tension in the left shoulder and neck. The sterno-cleido-mastoid tugs on the bottom of the skull (mastoid process) and displaces the cranium and often the jawbone.

6. This cranial displacement leads to tension in the opposite temporalis muscle which locks the right side of the cranium and restricts cranial movement during respiration leading to headaches.

Note:
However traumatic Donna’s case may seem, it represents a common pattern of compensation as a result of disruption at the pelvis. The ailments identified can be present in many people with a similar condition, however usually less exaggerated.

GIM-approach
So in order to have any chance of easing her back, knee and head pain, I needed to get to the very foundation (and possible cause) of the dysfunction – the pelvis.

I focused my efforts on attempting to reposition the pelvis through manual manipulation of the pelvic bones and adjustments in the tension of the muscles that surround the pelvis, with muscle release techniques and stretches.

This would give us a small window of opportunity to strengthen Donna’s kinetic chain in this ‘ideal’ position. This would then over time re-educate the nervous system to control the muscles to then control the bones in this ‘ideal’ position.

GIM-weight management
To kick-start the fat burning process I had to manipulate Donna’s food intake. As like most clients that struggle with their bodyfat, she was not eating enough! Remember obesity is a condition of under-nourishment so we needed to increase the amount of nutrients that Donna received.

I started off with increasing Donna’s protein and fat intake for breakfast to kick-start her metabolism. Then we moved onto her other meals, slowly but surely getting her up to 3 meals per day.

Also if we consider that the body is a hanging basket that houses all of our internal organs. If we are in poor posture then the viscera (organs) get compressed, which subsequently reduces their blood flow and therefore their function. So as Donna’s posture improved she received a proportionate increase in her digestive function and toxin elimination. This can have massive implications on your ‘fat-burning’ potential!

With regards to actual inch loss, the first month was a little slow, as expected. However after the second month things started to snowball and not only did Donna get stronger and improve her ability to control her body’s segments dramatically, but she also become more efficient at burning fat and the long-awaited inch loss started to happen.

After a period of 6 months Donna’s posture had improved so much that she no longer suffered headaches and her knee pain was almost a thing of the past. She also had lost an amazing 5 dress sizes (10“ off her waist, 8” off hips and 6” off chest)! All of these benefits were gained from an hour training session a week and sensible increases in her food (nutrient) intake!