Imagine that when you look upon the world, the ground seems to be sloping away from you. Subconsciously, your brain perceives, through your visual sense, that you are always going downhill. This is an optical distortion. And this is how I see the world. 

How do you think your body reacts and positi...

Take a look at the photo above. The person has taken a posture of stress and pain. The body is in an extended position. They have overly-arched their lower back. Also, they have pulled their shoulders so far back that they are behind the hips. Finally, their diaphragm is overly stretched, reducing b...

Should I be wearing foot orthotics?
Will they help my joint pain?

You may have asked yourself these questions. And to be honest, I did. After my third knee surgery, I pursued orthotics with my orthopedic surgeon. Although he didn’t seem convinced they would help, he did write me a prescription, and ...

Many of us judge the success of our day by how much we accomplished: “How many things did I check off my to do list today?” This is because our society places great value on busyness. Since we have these ingrained beliefs, you might feel guilty or lazy when you are idle. When this happens, the vo...

Guest Blog by freelance writer-editor and Friend of The Pain Free Athlete, Denise Sessions.

When I heard that prolonged sitting, such as at my desk job, put me at risk for certain diseases, I was surprised. I thought I was doing what I needed to do. I worked out every day, not only to maintain endu...

Has someone told you to do Kegels? They're supposed to fix many issues, right? Actually, more and more people are telling both women and men to do Kegel exercises in order to strengthen their pelvic floor (pelvic diaphragm) musculature. But does it really work?

For many years, people have been pres...

Did you see it? Professional golfer Tiger Woods pulled out of the first round of the Farmers Open last month due to back pain. Why? Because of a lack of glute activation. In an interview, he actually acknowledged it.

“My glutes are shutting off and they they don’t activate and then hence you know i...

What movements do running, hiking and classic cross-country skiing have in common?

Very simply, the legs move from in front of the body to behind the body in the sagittal plane. The sagittal plane divides the body into left and right sides. You can see this in the image of the dancer to the righ...

Within your body, you have a powerful source of self-healing. To illustrate, think of the many bruises, cuts and blisters you’ve had that your body has repaired. Additionally, think about the colds, injuries and infections that you’ve overcome. This self-repairing biological system has also been pro...

In my last blog, The Secret Role of Your Abs, I disclosed the vital role your abdominal muscles play in breath and deep core alignment. There, I explained how this part of your body provides the base of your posture. Additionally, I emphasized that if the ribs and pelvis are not stacked, pain and dy...

Have you ever wondered what your abdominal muscles actually do?  Most of us are concerned with the look and strength of our abs. But what is their purpose? If you read anatomy books, most list actions such as flexing the lumbar spine to bring the chest towards the pelvis, performing side bends, rota...

My last blog, Why do glutes shut off?, outlined the three main reasons your butt muscles stop working - pain, position and lack of use. In this blog I am going to provide more information about this powerful muscle group and demonstrate isolating exercises to facilitate their activation. Once you ca...