#80 - Q&A - Applied Neurology for ADHD, One-Sided Chronic Pain, Vision Deficits, Challenges with Strokes and Brain Trauma, Sore Feet and More...

What happens when a manual therapist with more than 20 years of hands-on experience starts looking at pain and movement through a neurological lens?

What if a quick drill could reduce your pain, increase your mobility, and let you perform at your highest potential? In this episode, Alisha returns to the podcast and joins me as we speak with our producer, Tony, to talk about our high payoff drills and exercises and analyze the underlying neurology and strategies behind them.

In this episode, I speak with my producer, Tony, to answer questions from the listeners and we discuss:

What if you could train your body and nervous system to be more resilient? In this episode, I speak with my trusty podcast producer, Tony, all about building resilience. I discuss how resilience and threat are deeply intertwined, why traditional conditioning approaches can sometimes backfire, and how a holistic approach allows us to take someone from feeling pain to moving well and building strength, endurance, and tolerance. I also talk about the anatomy of the thalamus and its role in passing or inhibiting threat signals to the brain, history findings that could indicate issues with the thalamus, and why the thalamus may be a key factor in understanding and overcoming chronic pain. I also share strategies to improve resilience through threat reduction, targeted exposure, and thalamic conditioning. This episode touches on topics such as the threat bucket, threat inoculation, the thalamus, chronic pain, air hunger, ice baths, saunas, strength training, training specificity, plasticity, interoception, the frontal cortex, joint mobility, bone rhythms, obstacle courses, and more.

What should you actually do once you've found a professional in applied neurology? In this episode, I speak with my trusty podcast producer, Tony, all about what you can do as a client to take control of your own health and performance. I discuss common mistakes and misconceptions, what to share about your health and fitness history, why your mindset matters, the importance of doing your homework, how to find a good practitioner, the invisible effects of metabolic health, how much education you really need, and more. I share stories of an athlete that couldn't fix his tight hamstring, a first session where a 45 minute history-taking led to a 5 minute breakthrough, and of how my own experience with mold toxicity has informed how I think about being in the client's shoes. While this episode is geared towards those seeking or working with a practitioner to help with their pain, mobility, and fitness, there are also a ton of valuable takeaways for the professional on how to best serve your clients.