Even worse, they are the very observable sign of a weakened physiology. Said otherwise, they represent a weakness of a very simple mechanism: blood needs to go back to the heart once it has delivered its nutrients and oxygen to tissues.
Varicose veins have become enlarged and tortuous. And if it is true that veins in the legs are made up of valves that help with this task, the role of the leg muscles to do this effectively is definitely most important.

Leg muscles work against gravity to return blood to the heart. So what if these leg muscles do not function optimally? Can that affect the blood return? Can that be the cause of varicose veins?

My patients are often told they are old… and that this is why they present with varicose veins. What’s worse, these are often asymmetrical. So I tell them, if age is the main factor, why is it that one leg looks worse than the other? Are both legs 64 years old?

This is where addressing mechanics comes in! 2 major postural imbalances are responsible for the development of varicose veins:
-    An anterior scapular plane.
-    A pelvic tilt.

The anterior scapular plane patient presents with a thorax that is in front of the pelvis, when seen from the side. This postural imbalance increases the tension on the calf muscles and decreases their effectiveness to pump blood back to the heart.

The pelvic tilt will create a compression of the hip joint and tightness in the muscles of the hip, thigh and leg. This will lead to the asymmetry in the development of the varicose veins.

Luckily, to remedy both these postural imbalances, a revolutionary technique entitled Posturology manages and fixes these imbalances, often in a few weeks. Therefore, visual results are easily observable on patients presenting with this condition.

For more information on Posturology, feel free to contact me at info@MatBoule.com.

Weak knees, sciatica, degenerative joint disease… name it… I have seen it and often have had great results in resolving the issue.

Recently, I am noticing that, when individuals are aligned physically, a lot more than bones seem to line up!

In French, we say un esprit sain dans un corps sain which translates to a healthy mind in a healthy body. The topic of this article is then: can good posture mean good spirits.

Think about having to sit still, quietly. Let’s even go as far as to say you want to meditate so as to find yourself. If sitting quietly isn’t so quiet because your lower back tightens up and your neck locks up… how in tune with yourself can you really get?

Posture is our body’s best attempt at resisting the pull of gravity. Every day, we wake up and get out of bed. We make the conscious or unconscious decision to brave the world. To accomplish this, we need to resist, manage, and buffer a constant force that acts on us permanently.

It’s in the efficiency of HOW we do this that we are either a force or a victim. Life is an endurance event… it’s not a race.

I have found, in my practice, that individuals that are aligned seem to be more patient, more efficient physically and cognitively. Think off all the energy they save from not having to overwork at resisting… the pull of gravity.

Look around you at work. Around 10:30am, people are smiling, productive, and sharp. Look at the same folks at 3:30. They are different people. Is it really the fact that they have been active for 5 measly hours? I don’t buy it!

I know individuals that pull of 12-14 hour days… most everyday… and they are thriving. So what gives? Is motivation a component? Absolutely! But being physically able to do it is a part of the equation.

To learn more about Posturology and its benefits for mental health, feel free to contact me at (514) 880-5424 or email me at info@matboule.com

Feet are very interesting organs. They represent our base of support. Compare the feet to the foundation of your house. You want your feet to stand symmetrically on the ground. You want your feet to be strong and stable. You want your feet to react quickly in case of increased need for balance.

Standard orthopedic insoles were developed over 100 years ago. 100 years ago, scientists could not explore the realities of the foot the way they have been doing recently.

In 1980, a neuroscientist by the name of Bourdiol demonstrated that any insert in excess of 3mm would be felt as an aggression by the muscle and skin receptors of the foot.

These receptors are extremely sensitive. Namely, the muscle receptors are sensitive to tension modifications of 3-24 grams and the skin receptors are sensitive to deformations of 0.1mm.

This means that even a conventional arch support in a shoe is an aggression and it modifies the way the foot functions. It forces compensations from the foot to the knee, from the knee to the hip… These compensations eventually lead to neck issues.

Think of a cast. In the case of an elbow fracture, we apply a cast for consolidation. We remove the cast a few weeks later and the joint is stiff and weak. If we forget the cast and leave it on for 1 year or 2 or 3 years, what happens? The joint is extremely stiff, the muscles have atrophied immensely and the loss of function in the elbow is not 100% recoverable.

WHY WOULD IT BE ANY DIFFERENT FOR THE FOOT?

Foot blindness is the resultant of orthotics worn for long periods of time. The body actually feels it is walking on a sheet of ice permanently!

In Europe, for the last 30 years, insoles that actually stimulate the skin and muscles of the feet have been developed and they successfully recalibrate the posture of the entire body! This is a significant component of Posturology. For more information on this topic, feel free to contact me at info@matboule.com.

Simply answering this question gives us a lot of perspective on what to look for when evaluating the function of the human body!

3 motor functions are purely human:

What is even more interesting is that it is the ability to perform activities of locomotion in a true cross-pattern that leads to the development of cognitive abilities such as talking and writing!

For example, the capacity of coordinating the movement of both your eyes to read these very words comes from the capacity of your left and right brain to connect.

There are a few organs responsible for this connection. The main one is called the corpus callosum. The connections provided by the corpus callosum can be trained by performing movements that mimic the crawling pattern.

Exercise:

1. Sit in a comfortable position.
2. Rest hands on knees.
3. Reach for your ear and nose by crossing your hands in front of you.
4. Repeat by reaching for the opposite ear.

Try this simple exercise anytime you want to perform in speaking or writing!