3 E Strategy – Part 3: Empowerment

Experiential Exercise + Cognitive Education = Engaged Empowerment

The Posture Practice 3E framework is a strategy for practitioners to blend a unique exercise experience with education using understandable bio-mechanic concepts to systematically empower patients.

The goal is shifting behaviors by intentionally building a virtuous cycle so that over the course of care we mindfully empower people to making positive choices for their unique physicality, clinical history, personal limitations, and environments.

Empowerment begins when a person discovers self-efficacy (the ability to help themselves). As we discussed in Part 1 of the 3E Strategy, this focuses attention on neglected links in the kinetic chain. In turn, the Must vs Try cueing of StrongPosture® exercise delivers incremental improvements in motion that people can’t deny.

Clear Expectations Inspire Action

In practice, the feeling of “I did it” is empowering!  Which is why using MUST vs TRY cueing is so important.  We want people to leave the practice with a win and feeling the edge of mastery. Even when pain relief is not yet complete, people remember the success of finding stronger balance with StrongPosture® Stork or improving core engagement with StrongPosture® Pelvic Tilt.

On the flipside, failing and hearing “Just do the best you can” is discouraging to the person in pain who may feel they’ll never get to a place a pain-free function again.

Strengthening bio-mechanic function to the degree that there’s a perceivable improvement is what chiropractors, therapists and other motion-based healers strive to deliver. Especially with today’s epidemic of distractions, messaging and short attention spans, healing is about mind as well as body.

Is it Magic or Biomechanic?

Unless you’ve delivered education that’s perceived to be relevant, and is completely understood by the patient, and as importantly… is acted upon you, will find that once the patient’s pain is gone, more often than not, so is the patient.

Telling the biomechanic story of someone’s body and unique issues along with delivering actionable rehab is what makes correcting subtle patterns of recruitment and stabilization relevant. It’s truly addressing mind and body. Linking feeling and understanding to create a narrative and build memories.

Understandable, relevant education that aligns with these progressive wins builds a cycle of action and attention.  By connecting cognitive and somatic we can empower people for self-efficacy and self-care, while also encouraging them to value our care and share a message of hope to others in pain.

Especially for those suffering with chronic pain, reviving forgotten movement patterns can reduce nociceptive mechanical stresses, and the spark of being in control builds hopeful excitement.

In other words, a Posture Practice is about crafting a journey to functionally strengthen posture for everyday life.

7SSP Subscribers Posture Practice TIP 1:

Rather than telling people what to do, offer engaging choices.

Introducing patients to 7 Steps to StrongPosture (7SSP):

• GIVE out the appropriate StrongPosture® exercise handout
• ASK if they’d like access to 7 Steps to StrongPosture® home care videos
• PROVIDE the flyer with the 7SSP access code
• SUGGEST they watch the Strengthen Balance with Stork video
• OFFER next steps to strengthening posture by progressing to Balance Awareness videos

7SSP Subscribers Posture Practice TIP 2:

Train your staff with 7 Steps to StrongPosture® – from basic BAM to building a StrongPosture® spiral. Delegating the “what to do” lets busy professionals focus on delivering high quality care. The 7SSP Pro training empowers everyone on the team to understand the why strengthening posture is the foundation of effective rehab. The best part of our patient rehab and staff training modules is we’ve done the work for you!

*Do you need guidance improving patient experience with your rehab program?

• Are you hands-on, providing a boutique experience? DO THIS –> Join our network of CPEP Certified Posture Specialists.
• Too busy to teach? DO THIS –> Subscribe to 7 Steps to StrongPosture, plug-n-play rehab for busy practices This online video-based program will guide patients through their rehab, one step at a time.