1) They are usually the result of muscle imbalances, such as reactive and frozen muscles. Muscle are either too tight, creating unnatural pressures on the body structures, including joints, tendons, and nerves, or too weak, leading to more of the same.

2) Most people with these kinds of pains will find that the muscles supporting their pelvic girdle are weak and must be strengthened before any lasting relief can be achieved.

Note: As a first step it is important to consult a physician to determine if the pain is due to a pathological problem (such as a bone fracture or blocked blood vessel). Then do the exercises if there is no pathological problem or once any pathological problems are being appropriately cared for medically. On the other hand irritated nerves and tendons usually heal themselves in a day or two after the out-of-balance muscles have been corrected.

Usually the pain can be released in a few minutes with the use of simple neuro-muscular balancing exercises These exercises work because they release the over energized (hypertonic) muscles and strengthen the weak (hypotonic muscles) that create the structural imbalances causing the pain. They make use of the body-mind intelligence to balance the appropriate muscle groups. We generally use a 2-step balancing procedure:

1) Strengthen the pelvic girdle.
2) Balance other muscle groups for the specific problem.

These unique exercises, developed by us from the principles of Touch for Health, are described and taught in our books, classes, and lectures.

Attempting to fix back pain, or knee pain, or shoulder pain, etc. without first strengthening the pelvic girdle, is as futile as patching cracks in the walls of a house with an unstable foundation. Cracks will continue to recur in the wall until the foundation is stabilized and stops moving. The pelvic girdle acts as the foundation for the human structure. We have found that stabilizing this pelvic foundation is often crucial to getting satisfactory long term pain relief throughout the body.

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LOW BACK PAIN 1: Our first experience with releasing stubborn low back pain occurred about 12 months after Hap had multiple knee surgeries to remove cartilages torn from running. He suffered a painful sacro-iliac joint separation and could not find any practitioners that could provide any relief. Chiropractic adjustments would not hold. He wore a therapeutic belt around his hips to hold the joint together, but after 6 months, the pain was still as bad as ever when he removed the belt. Finally he found a chiropractor who was using Touch for Health techniques.

The chiropractor did a standard Touch for Health (TFH) muscle testing procedure and found 3 muscle groups were weak. These were strengthened using neurolymphatic reflexes, a standard TFH technique, and Hap's hip pain disappeared. He learned how to stimulate these reflex points for himself and eventually how to balance out frozen and reactive muscles. Since that time (16 years ago) he has had no further problem with back pain or knee pain, even though he regularly lifts heavy book cartons, does heavy yard work, and goes on strenuous hikes (at age 68) with no problem.

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LOW BACK PAIN 2: In a recent evening demonstration session, an older lady complained of severe back pain. When we asked her to come to the front of the room, the audience could clearly see that her side-to-side posture was uneven and that she walked with a pronounced limp. 5 minutes later after completing our standard balancing routine for back pain, she walked down the aisle once again with symmetrical erect posture, no limp, and pain free. The beautiful thing about this is the balancing routine is simple to do for herself whenever she feels the onset of back pain. Probably she will find that the more she repeats the routine, the less likely she will experience backpain.

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KNEE PAIN: After another demonstration session, a gentleman asked if we could help his wife, who was scheduled with knee surgery. We scheduled a private balancing session. She arrived on crutches, and after a balancing session that focused on pelvis, back, legs, and feet, she walked out without pain and without the crutches. Now several years later, she did not have the knee surgery and never used the crutches again.

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SPRAINED ANKLE: These methods are admirally suited to field conditions. Do them any where, any time. For example on a recent visit to Shasta Lake Caverns in northern California, a tour that required a large amount of stair climbing, we worked with several people with problems. First we worked with a man who had sprained his ankle several days earlier and was having considerable difficulty getting around. In a few minutes we were able to release his pain and improve the range of motion for the injured ankle so that he could complete the tour without further pain or difficulty.

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STAIR CLIMBING: A young women who had been watching this demonstration then said that she had had severe back pain for the last 6 years and that it acted up when she climbed the stairs. After a few muscle tests to demonstrate the pelvic muscle weakness at the source of the problem, we showed her how to restore the muscle balance in her pelvis and back. Again in a few moments she was free of pain and completed the cavern tour without further difficulty.

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SHOULDER AND KNEE PAIN: The tour guide, a young college-aged fellow, then asked if there was anything that could be done with his shoulder, which had a painful catch when he tossed a basketball over his head. This was quickly by using our Basic Balance routines. Then he asked about his knee, which also bothered him when he went up and down the stairs in the cavern. In a few minutes that was fixed, and he confirmed after completing the tour that the knee was no longer bothering him.