One of the most disturbing comments I hear people say when I talk about the effectiveness of FutureGym is “If the formula is that good, my Doctor, therapist or personal trainer would already know about it”. I’ve heard this time and time again and yet I’ve never met anyone with a formula as effective as FutureGym. I’ve never seen a program that conditions the body’s so quickly, or delivers the same long-lasting multi-dimensional improvements.

When new clients visit my clinic I always get them to show me the exercises they’ve been performing and I explain what is causing a delay in results, and further harm. By the time I get to talk about FutureGym I have their full attention and this never changes.

The future of fitness and rehabilitation is to work smarter not harder, and this means working accurately at a comprehensive neuromusculoskeletal level. When you witness the difference in results from combining the brain, muscles and skeleton into the same activity you become hooked for life.

This recording helps explain why taking a direct ‘self-help approach’ is necessary:

 
I’m convinced it’s time to say NO to poorly-structured badly-designed exercise programs and practice techniques, and to choose only methods that are safe and effective at a scientific level.

Here’s what I want you to be aware of:

Therapists and Gym Instructors are Continuing to Teach Risky and Ineffective Exercise Methods

There’s a huge difference between pushing your chin in with your fingers in an attempt to realign it (mainstream therapy), and using your pelvic floor muscles for stable engagement while correcting the alignment of your skeleton and drawing the muscles at the back of your neck slowly away from your sit bones so your chin also returns naturally and safely into correct alignment (FutureGym).

The shortcuts I’m talking about can be seen in the exercise sheets most therapists hand out. Click on the exercise sheet (photo insert) and see for yourself that the exercises lack details and are wide open to misinterpretation. Sadly they also fail to address the body’s muscular engagement and skeletal realignment requirements and as a result in most cases will only promote further injury.

The wide-spread adoption of using exercise programs like Pilates, Yoga and the McKenzie Method for fitness and rehabilitation are three examples where important anatomy detail is missing. These exercise methods carry high-risk and are ineffective when compared with FutureGym.

At the bottom of this page I’ve inserted a results comparison between ‘FutureGym and the McKenzie Method for back pain relief’ (as an example). Take a look and come to your own conclusions.

There is a process which must be followed for reliable pain relief, rehabilitation, posture and movement correction, and body-sculpting, and none of these improvements are possible when instruction lacks detail and accuracy or leaves room for guesswork, misinterpretation and error. If you are not 100% clear on what you are doing, why you are needing to do what you are doing in a specific way, and the results that you will achieve by doing what you are doing in a specific way while using the full depth of your muscular engagement in symmetrical skeletal balance, you are taking the wrong approach towards your fitness and rehabilitation activity and are just wasting your time and money.

Products Do More Harm than Good

Instead of returning the pelvis and spine to neutral pain-free alignment by lengthening all associated muscles effectively and retraining brain-muscle response activity to repeat the improvement, most therapists are continuing to sell products which fill the ‘gravity cavity’ and keep the shoulders, spine, pelvis, and feet in a poor state of alignment.

When correct attention is given and accurate instruction is delivered there is no requirement for external supporting items like lumbar rolls, orthopedic pillows, foot orthotics and shoulder, hip, and back straps and braces. These items provide a band-aid only solution to the original problem which still needs to be corrected, and in most if not all cases these products will only keep the problem and its associated pain alive.

Trial and Error Approach

Four years ago people with back injuries were told by their therapist that it was best to keep moving after an injury. Prior to then, they were told they should rest to repair an injury.

Neither of these approaches alone can deliver reliable or effective results. Immediate and long-lasting pain-relief can only be achieved when you go into stationary positions that allow you to access your problem muscles directly and safely from a position of comfort, and use your pelvic floor muscles to engage your tightened muscles and apply full and proper breathing techniques to relax your tightened muscles while you move them just 1-2 millimetres in precise skeletal alignment to separate the thin fibrosis layer from the inner muscle layers to stop muscle spasm, release muscle tension, and move you with confidence into a new pain-free zone. Pulsing your pelvic floor while holding onto this muscular contraction sends gentle blood-flow surges directly into your problem muscle which contracts and releases your muscle, stimulates your nerve endings, and restores your muscles natural ON/OFF function. In repetition, this resets your automatic brain and muscle signal response activity so your muscles do not tighten and stay tight, or go back into spasm the second they are asked to solely perform again. The only way to relieve pain is to follow this logical biomechanical process.

Extension vs Flexion

Therapists are still arguing amongst themselves about whether extension or flexion is the better method for back pain relief. They have not been able to agree on whether moving the spine forward (flexion) or backwards (extension) is best for back pain relief.

Both flexion and extension practice techniques will promote further back pain when other essential elements are not incorporated and this might explain why this very important movement debate continues between therapists. Without a stable base platform from which to extend muscle safely from, a reliable and safe practice method to access whole of body muscular engagement, and sufficient attention to detail which shows the patient where to bend at the exact points of skeletal alignment, and what to do, so optimal muscle length can be achieved and relaxation and safety assured, that any movement forward or backwards carries high risk and pain will not be reliably relieved. The results from the FutureGym programme’s total muscular engagement method proves that flexion is the method which relieves pain and restores muscle length and function safely, effectively and reliably, however that these results are only possible when full and proper engagement from the pelvic floor is applied and the muscle is lengthened into correct alignment using FutureGym’s myofascial muscle techniques. Extension methods (curving the spine backwards) will only provide short-term relief and will create further harm when practiced in repetition. Applying pressure on any muscle through extension or pressure and release methods will make the muscle feel better when the pressure is released (as blood returns) however that relief through this method can only be short-lived as it teaches the brain to return the muscle to a tightened state as soon as it is asked to solely perform again. When people lean backwards to relieve a tight lower back (the common activity of placing two hands on the lower back while leaning backwards) they are actually keeping themselves in a cycle of continuously having to lean back to relieve their pain and in doing this they are prolonging their pain and creating further back problems.

Myofascial Massage – External vs Internal

Most therapists practice a form of externally applied myofascial massage which involves using their fingers and hands to manipulate tightened muscles to separate the outer muscle layer (the fascia) from its inner layers to encourage a release of muscle tension and promote muscle relaxation.

The thin fibrosis tissue that covers every organ, muscle and muscle fibre can be separated from its inner muscle layers more effectively when the patient holding their tightened muscle in contraction and using their pelvic floor to do this, performs their own tiny gentle movements no larger than 1-2 millimetres extending the muscle into correct skeletal alignment to maximize the full and available muscle length whilst realigning the skeleton. In order for reliable muscle functionality to the restored motor-relearning must be incorporated into the practice method and this is only possible when the patient is performing their own myofascial movements in repetition which is activating brain, muscle and nerve stimulation.

Core Strength or Core Destruction

Therapists tell their patients that the development of core strength will help relieve their back pain, however many are using practice techniques that strain and tighten muscles, compress the spine, and actually promote back pain.

The powerhouse method (the Pilates practice method used for accessing core abdominal muscles to develop core strength) is in practice, an anatomical disaster. This very dangerous and false method of developing core stability should never be used for rehabilitation. The Pilates powerhouse method actually compresses the spine, tightens the muscular system, and restricts muscle length and relaxation. This abdominal tightening and short/rapid breathing technique causes tension and restricts oxygen from entering the body which contributes towards anxiety and heart disease. When we inhale our diaphragm muscle move downwards which causes our abdomen to expand, and into this increased space our lung capacity also increases, especially in the lower lobes where most of the oxygen exchange takes place. Working with a relaxed belly is essential. When we are working effectively and our blood flow is at its peak, more oxygen is drawn into the body requiring our breathing performance to become even more efficient.

In 2008, at the request of the NZ Manipulative Physiotherapy Association, Dr Stuart McGill (a recognised USA Biomechanic) attended a Rotorua Conference advising therapists that the Pilates method compresses the spine and is bad for your back. I’ve been pointing this out since 2001. The general population has been told by therapists and the media that Pilates is the best exercise programme to perform and they follow like lambs to the slaughter. Joseph Pilates own body remained out of alignment through years of practicing his own discipline. For those who do not yet understand the relevance of this it can be summed up in one sentence:

REGARDLESS OF HOW MANY HOURS YOU EXERCISE, YOU CANNOT RESTORE OPTIMAL LENGTH, MOVEMENT AND FUNCTION IN THE BODY WITHOUT RETURNING THE SKELETON TO ITS CORRECT ALIGNMENT AND YOU CANNOT RETURN THE SKELETON TO ITS CORRECT ALIGNMENT WITHOUT ADDRESSING THE WHOLE BODY FROM THE INSIDE OUT – SYMMETRICALLY AND BIOMECHANICALLY!

If you need more proof google ‘Mari Winsor’ and check out the strain Pilates exercise has placed on her neck! Also if you get to see an original photo of Joe himself you will see how twisted his body was from his so-called ‘miracle’ formula. Pilates should NEVER be used for rehabilitation.

Inaccurate Pelvic Floor Instruction

Many therapists teach inaccurate pelvic floor access and strengthening methods making whole of body engagement, safety assurance and motor-relearning impossible. Most therapists teach the Kegel’s ‘pretend you’re holding pee midstream’ method (proven ineffective by the incontinence industry’s $19billion annual turnover) or they tack pelvic floor talk onto the Pilates Powerhouse method like a McDonald’s ‘do you want fries with that’ addition, and sadly neither of these methods are accurate or effective.

I teach a precise, accurate and reliable method for pelvic floor engagement. You know exactly which muscles are working and which bones are moving as a result of the correct muscle engagement. You are able to recognise the engagement because you feel every muscle in your body being drawn into this central core, and simple activities like blinking an eyelid, moving your fingers, or talking (using throat muscles) take you deeper into full body engagement, and you can really feel the difference. The belly must to be completely relaxed or this engagement is not possible. If the pelvic floor muscles are not being used correctly the body is at risk of injury regardless of the activity being performed because its muscular system is completely unsupported.

Tipping or Tilting vs Curling the Pelvis

Returning the pelvis into correct alignment is an important element of posture correction and pain relief. Most therapists teach a method of tipping or tilting the pelvis to return it to neutral alignment but this method is dangerous because it actually tightens lower back muscles and aggravates back pain.

The only way the pelvis can return to neutral alignment is by using the pelvic floor muscles to fully engage and extend the length of all back muscles by practicing a slow, precise and specific pelvic curl movement which can take up to 15 seconds to complete, and to practice this fully-controlled curling movement in repetition. Like a pendulum, when you practice my slow fully-engaged pelvic curl and release process, the natural resting position of your pelvis newly centralizes, safely and accurately. No other method produces the same result and there are no shortcuts of tipping or tilting.

Painkillers Are Dangerous

Therapists who recommend painkillers need to recognise that all they are doing is creating further ‘more alarming’ problems for you. Pain is a natural process. Your body is telling you that something is wrong and needs to be addressed. By masking pain and stopping the message process (which is all painkillers do) you are creating neuro-pathway related complications that well exceed any of the milder now publicly mentioned dangers associated to painkiller use like acid reflux and kidney and liver failure. To learn more, click on the insert about painkiller warnings.

I find it appalling that many pharmacists and therapists openly say they will continue to sell painkillers instead of recommending effective motor-relearning program solutions like FutureGym because of the margins they make selling painkillers and that they DO NOT CARE about the damaging effects painkillers have on their patients and customers, and that their primary focus is profit. I believe this very short-term approach will see many businesses fail over the coming years. Especially since health care is moving towards a more service-driven approach due to regulation changes in drug sales.

Wise Up to the Services You Choose

Type the words ‘back pain’ into Google or YouTube and see for yourself that there is no consistent stable methodology foundation in the practice direction or reference to essential rehabilitation elements like muscle fascia release and motor-relearning. Many Chiropractors for example continue to force the spine back into alignment with no consideration to muscle fascia separation, muscle memory or the motor-relearning aspects of the body in relation to what they are doing.

To understand the nature of this, compare the spine to a row of threaded beads. Rotate one end of the beads away from the other when the beads are tightly pressed together and notice that movement is restricted. Now lengthen the string of beads to open space between the beads and notice how the rotation not only becomes effortless, but all of the beads follow the rotation in its natural spiral realignment. This more natural and safer way of achieving spinal realignment is used in the FutureGym program. Force is ineffective and dangerous and should not be applied at any time – other than in an accident emergency situation where the risk of not performing the action outweighs the damages caused by the action (completely different to the occupational role and environment of the Chiropractor).

Learn to be cautious about any service that has you returning for ongoing treatment

Recognise that there are people in existence who’s income solely relies on your repeat visits who may not consider methods that eliminate the need for your return. As ridiculous as this sounds, it’s going on all around you so please WISE UP AND ‘CHOOSE SELF-HELP EDUCATION’ every time, over traditional repeated therapy practice sessions.

Ensure your fitness and rehabilitation advisor teaches you how to help yourself, addressing your whole body ‘from head to toe’, and incorporates posture and movement correction at a neuromusculoskeletal level, AND reliable motor-relearning techniques.

Your teacher should be an educator and technique instructor, not someone who performs work on you.
 
 
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FutureGym vs the McKenzie Method

I am consistenly asked to make comparisons with other programs which isn’t always easy because I have so many components built into FutureGym’s single practice method, its like asking me to compare an orchestra to a violin which is a little ridiculous you’ll agree. I am however extremely results driven so I’m happy to show position outcomes achieved through different practice methods.

In this section I compare two methods with no similarities whatsoever when it comes to practice approach, attention to detail, methodology, activity or process. I compare the results between a method discovered by accident that requires everyday practice for potential yet uncertain pain-relief (the McKenzie Method), with my method designed for the purpose of restoring optimal physical condition at any age level with confidence.

If you want to relieve back, neck and shoulder pain, these are the things you must take into consideration:

• Achieving maximum muscle length is only possible when the practice principles used access your deepest muscle layers with certainty. This means your pelvic floor must be involved and your skeleton must be in correct alignment. Correcting the alignment of the skeleton is a process which involves 8 or more postural correction checkpoints. It does not occur as a result of experimenting with unsupported forward and backward movements, using lumbar or neck rolls, or attempting to simply sit up straight.
• Retention of muscle length is only possible when the tension release method used is safe and effective. If it’s not safe your muscles will only tighten further as a means of protection and pain will continue.
• Relief from back, neck and shoulder pain is only possible when full and proper muscle length has been restored, allowing the natural space between the vertebrae and in the hip and shoulder sockets to return, extending freedom of movement and an improvement in range of motion.

Click on the images to read the result differences.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Clinical Study CONCLUSIONS copied from PubMed:

• The orthopedic manual therapy and McKenzie methods seemed to be only marginally more effective than was one session of assessment and advice-only.
• A treatment programme based on the McKenzie method does not produce appreciable improvements in pain, disability, function, global perceived effect or risk of developing persistent symptoms in patients with acute low back pain receiving recommended first-line care.
• This review provides evidence that McKenzie therapy results in a decrease in short-term (<3 months) pain and disability for low back pain patients compared with other standard treatments, such as nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, educational booklet, back massage with back care advice, strength training with therapist supervision, and spinal mobilization. No statistical differences were found between McKenzie therapy and other therapies at intermediate-term (3-12 months) follow-up. Data are insufficient on long-term (>12 months) outcomes or outcomes other than pain and disability (eg, quality of life). To date, no authors have compared McKenzie therapy with placebo or no treatment. Also, few data are available on the McKenzie method and its effect on neck pain. Future researchers should focus on these issues.

 
If anyone has any information that proves the McKenzie Method is effective, I would like to hear from you as neither I or any of my researchers have been able to find any evidence that supports the broad claims being made about this programme’s effectiveness.