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Personalized Exercise Therapy
Exercise therapy is essential to healing,
recovery and prevention of physical injuries
and chronic pain.
At Integrative Health Care, exercises are taught on
an one-on-one basis and adapted to patients’ specific limitations,
needs and goals. The prescriptions of referring physicians or other
providers are followed carefully to prevent re-injury and ensure
coordinated care. Personalized instruction increases exercise
safety, speeds pain reduction, and promotes restoration of function
to injured areas.
Exercise therapy also has powerful mood-elevating
and stress-reducing benefits that compares well with the best
anti-depressive medications—with no side-effects or drug
interactions. Active exercise therapy is beneficial for the
depression and anxiety that often accompany chronic pain.
At Integrative Health Care, I draw upon years of
experience teaching exercise in physical therapy clinics, and
personal study and practice of taiji, bagua, and qi gong, as well as
yoga and Pilates, to develop a unique synthesis of these
approaches that is both safe and effective.
As in the West, Chinese Medicine includes a wide
range of stretches and therapeutic exercises. Daoyin
involves guided stretching and both static and dynamic
strengthening, similar to yoga and Western rehabilitative exercises.
Taiji and qigong,
derived from Chinese martial arts, complements physical
rehabilitation by emphasizing continuity, balance, relaxation,
and coordination in movement. The rhythmic relaxation and integrated
action of muscle groups of taiji/qigongi provides effective
neuromuscular re-training for activities of daily living, as well as
higher-level work, recreational and sports activities. The
effectiveness of taiji in preventing slips and falls and increasing
lower extremity bone density in elderly populations has been
well-documented. Taiji is a safe exercise to address health problems
such as generalized stiffness, poor balance and coordination,
weakness, and debility.
Breathing Exercises (“qi gong”)
The Chinese terms Qi means vital air or breath, and
gong means practice or exercise. Qi gong exercises are originally
derived from the ancient breathing, movement, and stretching
practices of monks and martial artists. The simplest techniques
require learning to breathe properly with the diaphragm; others
coordinate breathing with movement and meditation or visualization
to address specific problems and diseases.
Chinese exercise practices emphasize mindful
awareness. Daoyin, taiji, and qi gong may be practiced as moving
meditation, thus promoting sympathetic/parasympathetic re-balancing
and stress reduction concurrent with muskuloskeletal benefits.
Post-rehabilitation exercise
Post-rehabilitation exercise locks in the gains of
physical rehabilitation and prevents relapse and re-injury. As a
service to patients and the Santa Cruz community, I offer small
group outdoor health and fitness classes which include
post-rehabilitation exercises and strength, cardio- and endurance
training, on an on-going basis throughout the year at convenient
outdoor locations in Santa Cruz county. Outdoor exercise is a great
way to celebrate, maintain, and promote health and vitality!
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