CASE STUDIES

Health issues

Dave came to see me concerned that, at 6 foot 2 inches, his height may create problems with his posture as he got older. He did not want to be a stooped old man. Dave also enjoys gardening and was consistently getting back pain when he had been working in the garden.

Dave previously had a disc bulge in his cervical spine following a motor bike accident many years ago.

Protocol

After a full postural assessment where I measure the length tension relationship of al major muscles in the body, and a full movement screening, I was ready to create a corrective exercise programme for Dave.

We started with stability and mobility and found areas that were tight and those which were weak.

We worked on this specifically for the first 3 -6 months. There is no point in trying to build strength on weak, unstable foundations.

We began building strength in to Dave’s programme and by the end of the first year he was competently lifting weights in all of the main movement patterns, including dead lifting and squatting.

Results

Dave has an excellent upright posture to be proud of and no longer gets back pain when he is working in the garden. We have worked together for 2 and a half years.

Dave says…

I was impressed with the progress that my partner who was recovering from Breast Cancer was achieving with Jill, so I joined her at Tribal Health and Performance in Chertsey as I had a history of Pyrotherapy and Chiropractic Sessions owing to a weakened lower back.

I enjoy gardening and found that I had back pain after an afternoon in the garden. I was also concerned that my posture could do with some improvement, at 6 foot 2 (?) I tended not to stand up straight and was concerned that things could only get worse with age. I had a motor bike accident years ago which caused damage in my upper spine which I felt was not helping my situation.

Jill and the Tribal team have been hugely supportive and careful in their approach to developing my strength and overall movement, beyond where I would expect it to be, especially as I had not done any formal strength training previously. Attention to detail is part of the TRIBAL protocol examining each of the major muscle groups to make sure that they are in balance. As part of my programme I use miha bodytec electro muscular stimulation training, which is unique to Tribal.

I no longer have back pain when I am gardening, am able to carry out most DIY jobs with relative ease and all without having had a Chiropractic or Physiotherapy session in the last two and half years, thanks to my new found strength, mobility and stability.

Trudy suffered breast cancer just over 3 years ago. When she had finished her treatment she came to me for help with moving around, and to get her fitness back. As a result of the cancer, she had her left lymph nodes removed and suffers from Lymphedema.

On Trudy’s first visit, she was unable to walk up the steps to the gym and carry her hand bag at the same time.

We worked on her walking by using the indoor pool which has a treadmill in it allowing us to take the pressure off her joints and concentrate on the walking gait.

We also have blow up boots that are used to increase flow in the legs, which Trudy used and eventually bought her own pair to use at home.

We worked on all of the basic movement patterns - squat, lunge, bend, push, pull, twist, bend and gait, and developed more mobility along with stability through body weight strength training.

Some days, fatigue is too great to do too much and so we will go to the forest and do some Tai Chi or other gentle movement barefoot outside to help with grounding.

Trudy is now able to move more easily, and certainly get up the steps carrying her own bag!

We continue to work on strength, stability and mobility to help her feel more energised and move more freely without so much pain.

Trudy says…

I came to see Jill on recommendation as I had difficulty walking. I have Lymphedema as a result of breast cancer and removal of Lymph nodes, which means that I often find it difficult to move freely without pain. I also had a lumbar spine disc bulge and get recurrent back pain, and consequent knee pain.

When I first visited Jill at Tribal health and Performance in Chertsey I could not walk up the steps to the front door without someone helping me with my bag. Jill worked patiently and methodically with me creating a tailor-made plan to help me walk again and improve my overall movement. I also used the endless swimming pool at Tribal, in which there is a treadmill, which I used for walking and eventually swimming. Initially I had to use a stick to get in and out of the pool. I now go for walks and have got feeling back in some muscles which had become dormant.

Jill has taught me exercises to do at home to help my back, knee pain, and other lifestyle interventions to improve my overall health. I am also a member of the Tribal swim squad which meets every Monday.

Holly is a highly competitive mountain bike racer and a British Cycling coach. However, she needed some motivation and help with her competitive edge, and that was in the form of strength training.

Following the usual postural assessment, stability and mobility, strength training commenced in Ernest! As well as the basic olympic lifting, it is a great challenge designing specific exercises appropriate to the sport. Thinking of grinding up big hills, on unstable surfaces, pulling on the handle bars, and then standing up on the pedals moving your centre of gravity to suit the course requiring a strong stable core, mobile hips and strong arms and wrists, supported by a stable shoulder girdle. This is before you carry the bike over gates, push it up hills and run with it on a steep unstable surface!

Holly was 2nd in her category in a four day mountain bike stage race in Lanzarote after working together for 5 months.

Holly says…

Mountain bike stage racing requires strength, power and resilience so I approached Jill confident she would be able to support me and improve my racing performance. Jill's detailed knowledge, holistic approach, encouragement and support have been invaluable and I am stronger than I have ever been.  

Sue asked for help with her weight and recent diagnosis of being pre diabetic as well as poor sleep and snoring.

After completion of a health questionnaire, which helps identify organs in the body which are under most stress, a food diary, a primal pattern eating analysis, which identifies the best ratio of protein, fat and carbohydrate for her biochemical type, and a lifestyle questionnaire, we addressed Sue’s overall health.

We discussed the food diary and how to change the foods she was eating to loose body fat and be less inclined towards diabetes.

We began a simple exercise plan to help ease her shoulder and arm pain and to help with fat loss, build lean muscle mass and increase her energy.

We arranged a food intolerance test which identified foods which may have been contributing to her snoring as well as other health related issues.

We monitored sleep and organised a pre bedtime regime to help her have a better nights sleep.

Sue has lost her target weight over the last 9 months, has stopped snoring and is no longer pre diabetic.

This gentleman specifically sort out a CHEK Practitioner to help avoid surgery on his hip and shoulder.

We identified muscle imbalances with postural assessment and work on overall muscle strength to keep him in good posture which helps his shoulder and hip, as well as working on their strength and alignment specifically. I photograph the exercises as he does them and email them over with notes after our session so that he is clear on what to continue with during the week. We discuss overall health including diet, sleep, water consumption and general movement activities which he manages extremely well, all of which contribute to a longer healthier life and general well being.

This in turn keeps him young and recently identified as having the fitness of someone 16 years younger. His exercise programme continues to keep him off the operating table and out of pain.

He says…

I have previously had two CHEK trained trainers and I found them to be extremely good and when one of them had to leave due to personal problems, we searched the internet and hence we found yourself. It was important to me to have continuity of CHEK training.

I think the phrase ‘you look how you feel’ amply sums up the benefit of a CHEK Practitioner such as Jill. I certainly don’t want to look like an old man with hip and shoulder work- arounds. I have to try very hard to keep myself from the operation table.

The results have been excellent working with Jill. I have found her to be very conscientious and precise, which makes me take the whole thing a lot more seriously 

The results I would say is that I tend to be standing up straighter and am quite surprised I am still at the fitness level which enables me to run up the tube station stairs and go for hour long local walks and be hardly out of breath including coming up quite a steep hill on the return leg.

The way I would summarise your support in one sentence is ‘friendly, encouraging and sympathetic approach to training that leads me to look forward to the next session, very much, and the training is no longer a chore’. 

I found it very helpful that when Jill shows me a new exercise or stretch, she photographs it and emails it through to me together with notes, which I then put into my binder so I can practise them regularly between our sessions. 

Pippa is a keen amateur cycle racer and Managing Director of her own business. She approached me for help with weight loss and better movement to help her with her racing and overall lifestyle. Pippa also had gut issues that were causing discomfort as well as a back injury from a horse riding accident.

After completion of the health questionnaire, food diary, primal pattern eating analysis and lifestyle questionnaire we worked on various potential food intolerances which may be causing the gut issue and potentially preventing weight loss. We also used a gut cleanse.

With regards to movement, we did extensive mobility work for her back and neck as well as strength in all of the primal pattern moves, particularly back extension, Gluteus activation and lower back and leg strength. We match the sessions to how she is feeling, whether it is pre or post race and how busy she is at work which can involve several days working away.

Pippa can get in to a much more aerodynamic position on her racing bike which will potentially help her to go faster, as well as the strength she has developed.

Her gut issue has been identified and her weight continues to go down in the right direction as she continues with other lifestyle interventions.

Michelle sought out a CHEK Practitioner having worked with one in the past.

She had constant back pain controlled by medication and lacked confidence in moving and exercising due to the pain she had experienced. Consequently, she was gaining weight.

We completed a full postural assessment and identified the muscle imbalances that we needed to work on through a corrective exercise programme.

In 4 months her mobility and flexibility has improved to such as extent that we have started working on a strength programme, which she is achieving with great results.

Her back pain has gone and she is no longer on the medication.

Michelle’s new found movement confidence is allowing her to lose the excess weight.