Functional Anatomy or Postural Alignment therapy is one of the most effective methods to stop chronic musculo-skeletal and joint pain. Often the pain you feel in your body is because you have moved away from your natural alignment and balance. If you address the root cause of your pain, it will stop.

When the muscles of your body are balanced, the major joints – the ankles, knees, hips and shoulders – are aligned vertically and horizontally as in the picture above. This natural alignment gives you strength, stability and allows you to function most efficiently - pain-free.

Postural alignment therapy helps bring your body back to natural alignment through simple but targeted stretching and strengthening exercises many of which are derived from Yoga and Pilates. Unlike other therapies which only go after the site of pain, postural alignment therapy targets the whole body - the postural misalignments and muscular imbalances. The aim is for a permanent solution and one that allows you to do the activities you love doing pain-free. Once your body is in alignment even cartilage will grow back making hip and knee operations superfluous.

After an initial conversation I will take a series of pictures of you from different angles. This will be followed by a series of functional exercises testing your posture, balance and weight distribution. I will then sit down with you and explain your misalignments and design an exercise plan for you, which I will do with you during the session so you feel confident doing the exercises at home. You will also get sheets or links to videos explaining how to do the exercises.

When muscles are chronically overworked, misaligned or the wrong muscles are used by you to carry out daily functions, they are more likely to become injured and you might feel pain. Misaligned joints do not function properly leading to abnormal wear and tear, impingement, joint degeneration and pain. Typical symptoms of misalignments are calluses and corns, heel spurs, degenerative hip and knee, golfer and tennis elbow symptoms, bursitis, frozen shoulder, herniated discs and headaches. Treating the symptoms of pain through the use of painkillers, surgery, straps or changing sports will not help in the long-term if you have not addressed the root cause. Eventually the pain will return in the same location or somewhere else nearby.