Started an exercise therapy program
When NAKO first began, pain was alleviated by teaching people to adopt correct posture. This is called exercise therapy. To correct posture, we adopted a program that combined exercises with strength training. What made this program so great was that the exercises were simple and could be done without the need for any special equipment. Aside from sudden triggers like accidents, pain is often caused by lifestyle habits, so regular exercises were also an excellent way to change the body into one that is less prone to recurrence.
Changes are required on the spot
Eventually, an opportunity arose to provide a program to relieve lower back pain in a location other than Japan. Although there are differences in the length of bones and ligaments, the structure of the body is the same, so those who received the exercise instruction saw improvement. One man who was suffering from lower back pain was facing surgery, but he began the exercises hoping to find a solution without surgery if possible. After continuing the exercises for a few days, the pain disappeared, and he was delighted that surgery was no longer necessary. Word of these positive results spread, and he decided to stay in the local area for a while to continue teaching the exercises.
Three problems that emerged
After providing gymnastics instruction on-site for a while, problems began to become apparent.
One is that the severe pain prevents you from doing gymnastics.
Because medical technology differs from that in Japan, I often have the opportunity to meet people with serious symptoms that I would never encounter in Japan.
Up until then, when symptoms were severe, I would tell people to move their bodies as much as they could, but that didn't work here. Even the slightest exercise was impossible without enduring the pain.
This is a program that only requires exercise, so if you are unable to move your body, there is nothing we can do to help.
The second reason is lack of time. Gymnastics consists of regular exercises and training, so it takes time to notice the pain disappearing.
However, due to visa restrictions, the length of stay is limited, so we cannot suggest things like, "If things aren't improving as you hoped, let's review the program content."
Some visitors travel several hours from neighboring towns to visit, so we cannot make suggestions that assume we will meet again.
The third is the language barrier.
Even if you can do the exercises, the longer you continue, the more difficult it becomes to believe that you will get better and continue until the pain goes away. Even encouraging someone to continue by explaining the importance of persistence becomes difficult when it is a foreign language.
In addition, there is a time limit. Until now, we were able to maintain the feeling of continuity every time we met, but now we don't have the chance to meet again as often as we used to.
These three problems necessitated the immediate relief of pain, and so we began research to find a solution.
Find ways to get results in a short amount of time
If we could relieve the pain on the spot, we thought it would be easier for patients to engage in exercises, even if they had severe symptoms, limited time to stay, or language barriers. We also hoped that this would lead to greater understanding of training aimed at preventing recurrence.
Acupuncture, chiropractic, and osteopathy are some of the options that have been suggested as ways to quickly relieve all symptoms.
Acupuncture and moxibustion has the advantage of being easy to move around with fewer tools, and can be performed anywhere. However, because needles are inserted into the body, preferences vary. Furthermore, it was anticipated that it would be difficult to accept in areas with different cultures and environments.
Chiropractic is well known and therefore easy to accept, but we decided against it because it requires X-rays before treatment and a special bed.
We thought that bodywork has a similar image to massage and would be easily accepted. Furthermore, the fact that it can be performed anywhere with just one mat is also an advantage when traveling between countries.
This is how we came up with a three-step plan that combines chiropractic and exercise.
●Step 1: Reduce pain with chiropractic treatment. ・Removing pain lowers the barrier to starting exercises. ・The experience of feeling better helps people understand the benefits of exercises.｜
●Step 2: Perform exercises and training. Once the pain is gone, you can perform exercises with less strain.
●Step 3: Propose exercises to prevent recurrence, continue training, and new lifestyle habits to maintain good condition
The next thing I did was research which chiropractic techniques to learn from the many available.
What I wanted as a whole
When selecting the techniques we needed from the many types of chiropractic treatment available, there was something we were particular about.
Committed to reproducibility
One of the things I focused on when exploring my chiropractic techniques was high reproducibility, meaning that the same good results can be achieved no matter who I treat.
This is because we treat people in multiple countries and regions, and the people's races and lifestyles vary greatly. However, we must still achieve consistently good results every time. This is why we use techniques based on anatomy.
Anatomical bodywork is a treatment based on the structure of muscles and bones. Even the same muscles function differently when standing and when sitting. It was developed to reflect this structure.
Therefore, we do not perform treatments without any particular reason, or relax muscles just because it feels good.
I participated in a human anatomy training in the United States and learned how osteopathic techniques function within the body. This anatomical-based osteopathic treatment has produced consistent results regardless of gender or age, regardless of region.
Focus on change on the spot
The second thing we focused on was change in a short period of time.
This is because if the symptoms are so severe that you cannot do exercises, there will be limitations to what you can do unless you relieve the pain on the spot. If your body is stiff and your movements are restricted, you will not be able to do the exercises as you would like. Furthermore, if the pain is severe, you will not even be able to teach the exercises unless you relieve the pain.
Due to the limited time we had to stay there, we needed immediate pain relief.
Committed to safety
The third thing I focused on was safety and security.
It goes without saying that treatments must be safe, but even if safety is guaranteed, there is still some anxiety about what kind of treatment you will receive. If there is a language barrier, this may make you even more anxious.
Therefore, to put your mind at ease, we have adopted a method of treatment that does not touch the area where the pain is occurring. For example, if you have neck pain, we will relieve the pain without treating the neck. This is an essential step, as many people do not want their sensitive areas like the neck touched.
We do not use techniques that involve twisting or cracking joints with excessive force.