Do you struggle with joint pain that inhibits your ability to stay active? Conditions like arthritis, tendinopathy, and even just generalized inflammation in the joints can make everyday activities a challenge, let alone training or working out.
But, it’s still important — in fact, probably even more important — for those with joint problems to stay active. Staying sedentary and losing fitness due to pain can lead to other issues down the line, such as a weakened musculoskeletal system, a decline in energy, and decreased longevity.
The long and short of it? Joint pain does not have to stand in the way of staying active and fit. How is that so?
Enter: Personal Training with Soma. It’s one of the most effective ways to combine a workout with manual therapy to work specifically on the joints that cause you discomfort.
What is Personal Training with Soma?
Personal Training with Soma, or Soma training, is a method of exercise and manual therapy developed as a supplemental treatment to other therapeutic services. It specifically targets connective tissue — in addition to muscles, joints, or bones — by involving a combination of trainer-assisted stretches and actions. Through these exercises, a Soma trainer can analyze the balance of tension in the body and re-normalize the function of your body’s tissues.
Soma Training for Pain Relief
According to PALM’s Soma trainer, Eric Lentz, as the trainer applies tension to your body through these specialized movements, the connective tissue actually experiences an alteration of its chemical state that allows it to become more fluid and change its shape.
Over time, it relaxes enough to be able to readjust to new shapes. Essentially, you are slowly reteaching your body how to hold itself in the proper position to avoid pain.
What is unique about Soma training is that the trainer doesn’t necessarily have to work directly on the affected area to make a difference in pain level. Because the basis of this training is the interconnection of the entire musculoskeletal system, Soma trainers understand how to manipulate other parts of the body to encourage healing at the site of the pain through the connective tissue network.
For example, if you had pain in your hips, a Soma trainer could work on your ankles in a way that would stimulate fluid circulation back to your hips and relieve the discomfort there.
“I view exercise as medicine,” says Eric. “Where some stressors become the cause of pain, the right kind of stress through therapeutic manipulation becomes the solution.”
Detoxification Through Soma Training
Not only does Soma training help with realignment and joint centration, but it also reduces inflammation by improving circulation of blood, lymph, and other fluids in your body.
The movement of fluids is key: when fluid becomes stagnant in the connective tissue system, it accumulates toxins. Stimulating its circulation encourages turnover, which helps rid your body of those toxins and brings in resources to tissues that are crucial for healing and pain relief.
So how do the toxins build up in our fluids in the first place? The number one culprit is sitting still — especially with bad posture. Remember that stagnant fluid leads to toxin buildup. If you spend a lot of time sitting or have trouble getting out and being active, there’s a good chance that you have some toxin accumulation and static fluid in your connective tissue that can contribute to joint pain down the road.
That’s also one reason why it’s so important to work with a Soma trainer so you can stay active and treat your pain simultaneously.
Soma Training Versus Other Treatments
While physicians, chiropractors, and physical therapists are responsible for a more authoritative role in a patient’s recovery, Soma training can be used as more of a supplemental training. Think of it as a way to get back into physical activity while treating your pain with the support and assistance of a trained eye.
If you’re inhibited or restricted by your joint pain — or, similarly, if you’re coming off of a surgery or an injury but aren’t necessarily ready to resume all normal activity — this is where Soma training comes in as a bridge between rehabilitation and recovery.
Beyond that, Soma training can be a powerful tool for prevention and longevity.
“As I age, I notice things I used to take for granted. The things that came easy in my 20’s challenge me in my 40’s,” says Eric. “My personal goal is to continue with my activities, like mountain biking, into my 60s and 70s. I use Soma training in my own day-to-day life as a bridge to the abilities I want to have in the future.”
Movement with an understanding of your capabilities and needs is a key factor to your physical well-being. Conditions causing joint pain can feel debilitating, but Soma training offers an outlet that is preventive, therapeutic, and rehabilitative so you can continue working on your overall fitness while simultaneously treating the areas of your body that restrict you.
Interested in Soma training? Become a PALM member to get started with Eric Lentz.
