Posture Specialist Keeps Tech Industry in Motion
Dr. Christian Cho, DC, CPEP®, has been a practicing chiropractor and sports physician since 1998, working with patients and professional athletes alike. His interest in muscle and soft tissue function helped him to shape his practice around a comprehensive understanding of biomechanics and human motion. When he learned about the CPEP® posture specialist program (Certified Posture Exercise Professional) in 2010, he enrolled for the courses and became certified in December of that year.
Working in the greater-Seattle area, Cho sees many patients whose careers are in the field of technology. Naturally, they come to him for relief of neck and shoulder pain that result from long hours spent working at computers. He utilizes StrongPosture® exercises in conjunction with adjustments and other therapies to help these professionals work pain-free – with the understanding that the process of feeling well demands patient accountability.
Cho tells his patients, “If you want to feel better, you need to do the ball stretch, you need to do the wall angels, and you need to do the stork exercise. You need to do all these things to maintain proper function and give you the edge at work.” While he says that asking patients to work on these exercises outside of scheduled appointments raises some apprehension, he explains that more often patients feel empowered to strengthen their posture and improve with the exercises.
“When they begin the exercises, they’re super weak. All of a sudden, after a couple weeks combined with treatment, they’re able to do a full set [of the posture exercises] and feel great. Their mood changes, their pain is less, their function is better – they’re just so much happier.”
Since obtaining his posture certification in 2010, Dr. Cho finds it has provided him a greater ability to bring focused attention to each patient, as well as better confidence to help patients take health into their own hands. Cho has worked hard to make his practice a “Posture Practice,” in which 75-80% of his patients engage in some form of posture exercise.
“The CPEP® certification has really helped me to gain knowledge and broaden the way I look at patients now, how I treat and how I speak to them – it has really given me the confidence to say this is more than just what I’m going to do for you, you need to do all these other things [to improve your posture and movement],” Cho says.
Because he teaches the posture exercises on an individual basis, he has earned a local reputation of doing something “new” and “different” at his practice. Patients tell their friends, coworkers, and family that he provides more than the usual adjustment – he works directly with you to help you live pain-free. People are drawn to this idea, and he has had many new referrals because of his CPEP training.
Cho strongly believes that his CPEP training is preparing him for the next generation’s healthcare needs, and he urges other professionals to take note. “The amount of time we sit in front of computers and play video games is staggering. More and more people are going to have issues with ‘hunched back’ posture,” he says. “It is the epidemic of the next generation. Get as much knowledge and understanding of posture and how it relates to the kinetic chain of movement, and really be able to treat all of those things.”
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