3 E Strategy – Part 2: Educate with Biomechanics

Last time we talked about crafting unique encounters for patients through “The Experience” – the first “E” in the 3E Strategy. This process of getting people to “Wow!” starts with retraining subjective perception to objective reality (P2R) and continues when we educate to spark attention cognitively, as well as somatically.

Which brings us to Education… the 2nd E of our strategy for building a successful Posture Practice.

Mind-Body & Body-Mind: 2-Way Streets

The power of StrongPosture® rehab is focusing mental attention to be congruent with physical motion. Along with physically re-training motor control patterns, building posture awareness and understanding as personally salient creates a memorable experience.

Doctors, therapists and staff in successful Posture Practices consistently enlist the 5 Posture Principles. Bite-size educational concepts for memorable explanations of why posture exercise is important.

5 Posture Principles

Motion – Bodies are designed to move
Balance – Posture is how you balance your body
Patterns – Your body moves in patterns of motion
Compensation – Functional changes, e.g. short term and more quickly shifted
Adaptation – Structural changes requiring longer term action to shift patterns and remodel tissue

We designed StrongPosture® exercises to tightly integrate bio-mechanic concepts and tell a story. Sharing a nugget of knowledge becomes kindling for feeling forgotten proprioception from the physicality of a focused motion exercise. It’s an experiential spark that ignites a body and mind connection. In other words, the explanation rings true and the exercise feels right.

Educate with Biomechanic Concepts

Each of the 5 Posture Principles are biomechanic concepts that expand from a single bullet point to a sentence, and from a sentence to a chapter in my book, Stand Taller Live Longer: A Posture and Anti-Aging Strategy. Operationally in practice, the companion posters and handouts further illustrate and expand on the concepts to communicate congruent credibility for you and your team.

Words are ‘handles’ to understanding, so each step of the way use Posture Principles to connect patient’s unique problems and questions with your solutions and explanations.

An Example Using StrongPosture® Stork

While a patient is performing Stork, you might observe that “Your balance appears to be weaker on the left”. Pointing to the balance poster, say “Your Posture is HOW you Balance your Body”, and then connect this observation with the patient’s posture picture, clinical concern, or treasured hobby (e.g. pickleball).

Compliance Even After the Pain is Gone

Though a patient may feel a lot better after seeing you, after a while the memories of repeated visits blur together. Systematically aligning exercise and explanation (education) fosters the creation of implicit knowledge – things we know, but don’t necessarily remember how we know it.

Implicit knowledge is behind the conviction that posture is important, and the reason someone does exercise even after the pain is gone.

Exercise: Bolster Positive Experience with Education

Meaningful experiences become what we remember. Education with 5 consistent and easy to understand concepts like the Posture Principles is a strategy to congruently communicate credibility. Plus, when people understand the WHY in simple concepts, and they’ve been positively impacted, they’re hyper motivated to continue to act on your recommendations, and share their discovery with others.

This week, level up the effectiveness of your posture exercise rehab program by backing up the positive Experience you’ve been providing with biomechanic Education.

Next time, we’ll talk about the 3rd E – Empowerment, and how empowering people to change behaviors becomes a spiral of action.

*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.