Hampton: Postural restoration uses whole-body approach

Aug. 02--Fewer than 200 physical therapists and trainers nationwide hold a certification in postural restoration. "It's very different. It's a very systematic look at the whole body," said Julie Blandin, a licensed physical therapist and certified athletic trainer who specializes in sports rehabilitation at Bon Secours In Motion Physical Therapy in Hampton.

Blandin, 34, is the only one in the region to carry the credential from the Postural Restoration Institute in Lincoln, Neb.

"I've always been into holistic approaches. It helps objectively tie everything together," she said. Previously, she was frustrated at the number of people she saw who weren't getting better with traditional physical therapy. "It has been a missing link for me," she added.

Postural restoration draws on traditional orthopedic, respiratory and neurological teachings and addresses problems with underlying biomechanics that lead to pain or limited movement. It also encourages integrative treatment with other disciplines, such as orthopedics and orthodontists. It employs both manual and non-manual techniques to restore proper alignment and orientation to the body while considering respiratory dynamics, according to the website of Ron Hruska, founder of the institute.

Most postural restoration activities include breathing instruction to help influence diaphragm position and reset hyperinflated respiratory tendencies. The goals of the therapy are "to reposition anatomical relationships, retrain chains of muscles, and restore reciprocal alternating activity to promote neuromuscular balance."

Blandin qualified in 2010 after completing 25 post-graduate courses. "It's difficult to learn. It's a very complex technique. It's a lot of work," she said. She first practiced in Virginia Beach, then in California, before military orders brought her and her husband back to Hampton Roads last October.

Personal trainer Debbie Teller, owner of Busy Bodies studio in Newport News, who learned about postural restoration from Blandin and has referred clients to her, is working toward certification herself. She has used postural restoration with several clients over the past few years and has also traveled with them to the Cantrell Center in Georgia to consult with Mike Cantrell, a certified PRI trainer, who works with professional athletes.

Training process

Teller pointed to the investment of time, travel and money required as deterrents to more people becoming qualified.

"It's $450 to $700 a course. You have to travel to take the classes, and you're not going to make a dime more. We're just doing this to help our clients," she said. "We're passionate about doing the best for them."

Her clients attest to the passion. Sheila Gessner of Newport News, a nurse, sought treatment for herself for a painful neck, jaw and shoulder from Blandin, Teller and Cantrell. The latter also helped Gessner's daughter, Lauren, an injury-plagued college field hockey player take preventive measures and improve her speed.

"They're just incredible people and do everything to help clients. They made a big difference in both of our lives," said Gessner.

After Cantrell identified her mouth as the cause of her pain, he had an orthodontist develop a mouthpiece for her. She has been pain-free since. "It shut off the muscles that were over-active," she said.

Williamsburg resident Marsha Yocum, 65, had similar success for low-back pain that was slowing her down. "It just doesn't give me a problem any more. It's an amazing program," she said.

Patient assessment is at the core of the discipline.

"Clients go through biomechanical tests to identify where the impairment is, what the root cause of the pain is, and where the body is compensating in movement," said Blandin, as she manipulated a model of a pelvis.

"It's not a typical exercise regimen. There are special neuromuscular reprogramming exercises designed to turn off the over-active muscles and turn on the under-active muscles. We don't always treat where the pain is," she added, explaining how it's all about restoring symmetry in the body and trying to achieve "neutrality," so that one side of the body is not dominating the other.

The right side is naturally dominant -- even among left-handers -- because of the internal structures in the body, she said. "The goal is to bring symmetry back to central structures."

Who benefits?

While there are certain one-sided sports, such as baseball, whose players can particularly benefit from the training, pain patterns can also emerge from daily activities, such as sitting, driving, walking and sleeping. And in many jobs, such as cashiers, repetitive motions are always made in the same direction, she pointed out.

"What not to do can be as beneficial as the exercises," said Blandin. "I've had people with gastroparesis, dizziness and nausea -- it's the way their body is compensating from being so twisted and torqued up."

For Chesapeake resident Brian Sorce, 39, months of traditional physical therapy made his low back pain worse, and visits to a chiropractor and massage therapist didn't help either. He started treatment with Teller in May 2012.

"The whole ideology is totally out-of-the-box thinking. It fills in missing pieces," he said, crediting the postural restoration exercises and breathing techniques with relieving his pain. Since then, he said he has resumed his athletic activities, including martial arts and weight lifting.

"I was committed on the home front," Sorce said. "If not, you won't have any success."

Blandin concurred. "You have to be willing to put the work into it," she said. Her goal is to make clients as independent as possible and to educate and empower them by teaching them to do exercises at home.

"It has brought a whole new way of treating patients. It's a different approach than what we're trained to do traditionally, to include the diaphragm, to look at the entire body and how it's connected," said Julie Kosiorek, her supervisor at In Motion.

"High level athletes seek her out for her specialty."

Salasky can be reached by phone at 757-247-4784.

Postural restoration

-- In Motion takes patients referred by primary care physicians, sports medicine doctors, internists and spine doctors; also by personal trainers and fitness instructors. The services are covered by insurance. Julie Blandin is a physical therapist with a PRI certification. 5 Armistead Pointe Parkway, Hampton. 757-224-4601.

-- Debbie Teller, a personal trainer, owns Busy Bodies studio, where she offers Pilates and weight training. She is working toward PRI certification and has taken several courses; she uses the PRI assessment and exercises with some clients. 9963 Warwick Blvd., Newport News; 757-591-0915.

More information

Go to http://www.posturalrestoration.com

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