G.Z. worked hard because he loved his job. He was a single man who emigrated from Brazil six years before and loved his new life in Australia.

He had a busy social life and did plenty of exercise including soccer twice a week and windsurfing every weekend.It was bemusing to him that he should get shoulder, neck and head pain so regularly, especially on his right side, his dominant side. He had read that fear and stress could contribute to these things but didn’t feel this to be a problem for him. He was rarely anxious. But what else could be happening to cause this annoying pain?

During health and safety week at work he attended a two hour workshop from Positive Health, incorporating David's Move Well and Ergonomics workshops. He found it full of insights about his posture at work and physical wellbeing overall. G.Z. was surprised to discover what importance lay in pelvic position when sitting, and on returning to his desk discovered the advantage of tilting his chair forward when typing, he had never thought of this before.

Other insights from the seminar included the levels of strength Gonzalez had in his shoulder blade muscles. He had always been quite well built and muscular, but the seminar revealed to him that his shoulder blade muscles were not as strong as they could be, which would explain why he had felt more hunched forward these past few years.He was active with his soccer and windsurfing, but found adding more targeted exercises aimed at his shoulder blade muscles quite beneficial.

Another insight was that G.Z. used his right hand for nearly everything, the mouse, the phone, writing notes, etc. On returning to his desk he resolved to share the load more evenly and started using the left side for the phone and the mouse occasionally. This was awkward initially but the left side slowly became more co-ordinated at using the mouse.

The most difficult thing G.Z. found to implement after the seminar was the taking of regular breaks. He agreed it was important, but was in the habit of putting his head down and working solidly until a job was done. His focus on the tasks made him oblivious to the need to get up and stretch the legs occasionally.

The final, but perhaps most important insight G.Z. gained from the seminar was the realisation that maybe the lighting in his office was not adequate for him. He had reasonable eye sight, but being quite tall, often caught himself slouching forward to read a document or written message.He arranged to have a reading lamp on his desk and used that to good effect.

He was more aware of his posture now and found that by installing an alarm on his computer he was reminded to take breaks regularly.G.Z. was confident these changes would make a difference to his regular pains and was pleasantly surprised to find the changes almost immediate. His pains became less frequent, especially in his right side where he had felt the most pain previously. He also found the breaks helped him to better focus his thoughts so that his productivity levels actually increased despite spending a fraction less time at the desk.

G.Z. encouraged those around him to make simular reviews of their work routines and enjoyed telling others about the changes he had made, and how much better he felt for it.

Discussion

G.Z. needed only the slightest bit of insight to make a huge difference to his wellbeing at work. Pelvic awareness, a well designed work station and good habits are the key to successful pain free office work.

Only slight changes were required in his routine, but these were only possible through better understanding of his body.

Some time after this period he got into salsa dancing which he found improved his body awareness and fitness even more. He found the benefits of this were immense on a physical, psychological and social level.

After two car accidents within a few months of each other in early 2004, Miss H became caught in a cycle of chronic pain.
Her pain had started in her right hip (the point of impact), and around her neck area, which was put down to whiplash.Over time the pain spread to her shoulders, head and back.
She felt as though she was “falling apart”.

Miss H knew that exercise was good for her recovery but was never sure how to go about it and how hard to push. Her attempts to exercise only seemed to make her pain come on stronger.Inevitably Miss H started restricting her activity levels to reduce her pain. She found she could no longer work in her old job (nursing in a busy central Hospital).

Miss H was off work, in constant pain, on daily strong analgesic medication, and very restricted in her physical activities when first introduced to David in late 2004. The whole experience was making her increasingly frustrated and depressed

The turnaround…

Late in 2004, Miss H met David Hall. Their initial contact was a series of one on one sessions, and a series of educational sessions run by David at this time, based on the Positive Health Understanding and overcoming pain program (part of the Move Well series). She also attended some stress management sessions (part of the Training program at Positive Health).

Miss H supplemented this educational input by reading a number of books recommended by Positive Health team  including “Explain pain” by David Butler and Lorimer Moseley.

The increased understanding and renewed positive belief gradually had effects for Miss H, who commenced a home exercise program and learned to slowly progress it over time.Her biggest challenge during this period was pacing. Her keen approach to recover needed to be tempered with persistence and patience!

Miss H progressed from this home program to gym work and eventually swimming. Each step was hard fought, but her confidence grew steadily. She has learned to meet challenges with persistence and confidence of eventual success.

By June 2005 Miss H was not taking any analgesic medication, had little or no physical restrictions to her lifestyle, and looked forward to a bright future. Her positive mood and optimism of old had returned. She still feels pain from time to time, but feels it is “manageable”. She continues daily exercises and stress management strategies taught to her by David.

At the time of writing she was re-entering the workforce again.


Discussion

Misunderstanding and fear led Miss H into the persistent pain cycle.

Miss H had been set onto the right path by way of education aimed at understanding pain and creating positive belief systems

David’s influence has simply ignited a spark within that led her towards her own self earned recovery! Positive Health is about giving insight and direction for self-empowerment. Not about fixing your health problems for you!

Mrs S worked hard in a production factory in Melbourne’s northern suburbs. She also had an elderly father who she cared for in the evenings, as well as being a busy housewife.

She started to develop neck and back pain towards the end of the day. This pain was initially a background ache, but was worsening over time, and spreading down her arms and legs. Eventually her doctor referred her for Physiotherapy management, but she found the treatment of no benefit.

Her pain began to worsen, until her doctor eventually had to request a restriction in work duties.

With this change in work duties, and the knowledge among her colleagues that she was "compo" client, Mrs S became increasingly dispondent. Was this her life from now on?

She had been on light duties and restricted hours at work for eight months when eventually referred to see David Hall in late 2004. At this time she had constant pain and her social and family life had been greatly affected. She was on daily analgesic medication and felt that the pain was “controlling her”.

The turnaround…

Mrs S was initially apprehensive when David first suggested that exercise was to be part of the solution. She had found that to only flare her up in the past. But she tried it, and initially her pain did worsen. It is at this point, Mrs S attended a four part education session conducted by David based on the Positive Health programs of Manual Handling and Move well.

This increased understanding gave Mrs S the insight and confidence to persist with the exercise program. After 3 weeks her pain settled down to the same levels as before meeting David. After 6 weeks the pain began finally to reduce.

As her confidence grew she became more consistent with the exercises and functional strategies suggested by David, and her pain steadily decreased. After three months her pain was approximately 50% of its original levels. It was a tough daily battle, but one she was winning slowly. Diet modifications (as outlined in Belinda's Eat well series) also helped around this point in helping Mrs S feel trimmer and fitter.

By March 2005 she was off all analgesic medication, gradually increasing her work duties and hours. She was again able to face her social and home life.

By May 2005 she was back on full hours and duties at work and felt pain very rarely. She was still continuing her home exercises to maintain the improvement. She now feels as well as ever.


Discussion

Three specialist had told Mrs S that she had to learn to live with the pain, as there was no apparent cause, and therefore no solutions.

Mrs S had overcome her fear of exercise, and addressed important work/life balance issues. While, like all of us, she will continue to get occasional aches and pains, her overall improvement is very much permanent, as it is her beliefs and attitudes that have altered.