My Professional Story
In 2000, I left the profession of physical therapy because of a deep dissatisfaction with traditional management of disease, pain, and dysfunction. Few physicians or therapists were willing or able to treat in a holistic manner. I fell into a very rewarding job, after a 13 year professional hiatus, when I began providing physical therapy to babies (birth to 3yrs).
A chance discussion with Jennifer & Chris Poulin, Postural Restoration practitioners, directed me to their clinic. Through the years, I had developed pain that forced me to give up running and other activities that I loved. Other therapies only provided temporary relief. No one seemed to have a clear understanding of the mechanics driving my pain. My progress with Jen and Chris, and their Postural Restoration (aka PRI) based therapy, was rapid, and I was so impressed with its science that I began to study it. I joined Jen and Chris in their growing clinic, Sandhills Sports Performance, as their third physical therapist and became fully immersed in Postural Restoration. In 2016, I earned the designation of PRC (Postural Restoration Certified). I am honored to provide peer review of PRC applications annually for the Postural Restoration Institute.
In 2019, I became a Certified Pregnancy and Postpartum Corrective Exercise Specialist (PCES) out of a desire to more fully understand the pelvic diaphragm. Concurrently, I began studying classical osteopathy at the Upledger Institute (Craniosacral Therapy), Barral Institute (Visceral Manipulation), and D’Ambrogio Institute (Total Body Balancing and Lymphatic balancing) - all participating members of the International Alliance of Healthcare Educators. My more complicated patients needed more than Postural Restoration to balance their asymmetrical patterns and autonomic nervous system. This opened yet another new and exciting chapter in my education. I have come to fully embrace the osteopathic philosophy that we don’t fix anything - we improve the environment to enable the body to heal. Meanwhile, I realized how perfectly classical osteopathy and PRI fit together. They enhance one another greatly.
My husband and I have raised 4 independent, adventurous children with our youngest in undergraduate school - Go HEELS! In my free time, I am active mentoring young single adults in our church. I helped to create a ballroom dance program in Moore County Public Schools in 2012. For several years, I designed fun, educational opportunities for almost 100 young women, ages 12-18, in the areas of First Aid, Survival Skills, Outdoor Recreation & Fitness at summer camp. On a regular day, our rambunctious Chesapeake Bay Retriever keeps my husband and me busy on the lake. We also enjoy sailing, scuba diving, mountain biking, hiking, experimenting in the garden/kitchen, and traveling.
My Personal Struggle
Nothing is ever simple! Even though I was doing PRI constantly, I was not able to completely rehab and return to sports and deep, restful sleep. Our dental occlusion and airway can be a huge barrier to successful rehabilitation, and mine was a problem because of childhood bicuspid extractions, braces, and headgear that left my temporomandibular joints (TMJ) and airway compromised. In addition, I had a tongue tie. Lingual tethering, or tongue tie, is a hotly debated medical topic. What integrated medical practitioners know is that fascial limitations influence tissues far from the source. Practitioners who understand Craniofacial growth patterns know that the tongue fully resting within the palate stimulates proper growth of the maxillary arch. Without this gentle but constant force, a palate grows tall and narrow. Maxillary growth guides mandibular growth, so if the maxilla is underdeveloped, then the mandibular growth is typically stunted as well. Research also indicates that when the disc cushioning the temporomandibular joint dislocates forward or backward within the joint, growth of the mandibular ramus ceases. My palate was shockingly tall and narrow and my mandible underdeveloped.
Poor dental occlusion is also a function of cranial bone position since the teeth grow and live within cranial bones (the maxilla and mandible). In addition to trauma, cranial asymmetries can be acquired in utero or during the birth process. If these cranial strain patterns are not balanced by strong breastfeeding or manual intervention, the teeth growing within those cranial bones will not “fit” together symmetrically. Born in the 60’s, when mothers were taught that formula was best for their babies, and without manual intervention, my cranial patterns had persisted.
Jen Poulin recommended I see Dr. Michael Hoefs, a general dentist in Lincoln, NE, specializing in craniofacial pain and airway dysfunction. The plan was for Dr. Hoefs to start my ALF/twin block treatment and then be followed by a local dentist/orthodontist that he would guide remotely. This, unfortunately, never worked for my fragile neurological system and airway. Luckily, during this time, I was studying a great deal in Lincoln, and Dr. Hoefs was teaching us in Pinehurst, so my travel was minimized. We are led where we need to be, and the pain that I experienced trying to be seen locally catapulted me into the office and healing hands of Mary Alice Farina, LMBT, who introduced me to classical osteopathy. These adventures have gifted me a very personal understanding of the effects that chronic pain and compromised breathing have on the body, mind, and spirit.
