C7

In 2014, at age sixty-four, I began to experience pain in my left hip that eventually became quite debilitating. For the first time in my life, I went to a chiropractor, which resulted in relief that lasted a couple of years. By 2015 I had consulted first one, then a second orthopedic surgeon, who recommended a hip replacement due to osteoarthritis. 

The first clinic I went to, I felt like I was visiting a bone and joint factory…I decided to wait. The second place, they were reading another patient’s notes! That doesn’t give you a lot of confidence!! Not feeling completely comfortable with either of the surgeons, I began doing my own research. 

I longed to get back to hiking and walking pain-free.

I’m not one of those people who jump into things, especially surgery. So I went to a clinic where they did a lot of rehabilitative physical therapy and I asked one of the PT’s: of the people you work with who have success with their surgery, which surgeons do they use? And that’s how I found my hip surgeon. After a successful surgery in January 2016, as well as physical therapy sessions with the excellent physical therapist who recommended the surgeon to me, I recovered quickly and was thrilled to resume walking without pain.  

During the summer of 2018, while out shopping, I experienced both of my knees feeling as if they were on fire. My knees continued to bother me, but, afraid an orthopedic surgeon would tell me I needed surgery, I consulted a sports medicine doctor. He performed X-rays and confirmed that I had osteoarthritis in both knees. He suggested physical therapy and braces, as well as steroid shots (which I declined). Physical therapy helped to provide some relief as the muscles around my knees strengthened.

The following year, I read an article by Christiane Northrup, M.D., in which she shared information about the Gokhale Method®. I researched the method and learned that a one-day Pop Up course, one of the in-person ways to learn the Gokhale Method, would soon be offered in a nearby town, Boulder, Colorado. After the course, I did my best to focus on glidewalking, which did reduce the bone-on-bone knee pain.               

    
Everyday activities, such as bending, are taught in Gokhale Method group courses. Bending can be done in ways that align the bones well, use muscles appropriately, and spare the joints. Learning to hip-hinge benefits the knees, hips, shoulders and neck, and more besides.

I made it until June 2021, when I had successful bilateral knee replacements with the same surgeon.  I opted to do them both at the same time to get it over with, but recovery was challenging. After weeks of physical therapy, I was told to just do normal everyday activities. However, I did not feel I was making the progress I wanted.

My husband took these photos of my knee replacement X-rays at my 6-week post-operative follow-up appointment. Our joints are precious things to take care of!

Because COVID was still raging, I joined the new Gokhale daily online program. This enabled me to extend my recovery in a more enjoyable and focused way, and my knees became ever stronger. Even now, if I am unable to participate in the day’s live session, just receiving the email about the topic of the day is a great reminder and encourages me to focus on practice. And I regularly watch the replays if I miss a session.

Gokhale Exercise members receive a daily email outlining the day’s program, complete with an inspirational posture reminder image. This was May 7, 2024.

In February 2023 I began experiencing pain in my hands and my left shoulder. I was diagnosed with Carpal Tunnel Syndrome (CTS) and given exercises and braces for my wrists/hands to wear at night. While the shoulder responded and had some improvement, my hands were still an issue.

At a follow-up appointment six weeks later, it was suggested I could have “a little surgery” on both hands to fix the issue. I looked up information about CTS and the surgery, and learned the pros and cons of having that done. I lived with the pain off and on until this year, when in early 2024 a diagnostic nerve test was performed by a neurologist to check the severity and cause of my particular CTS. Even though C7 (the seventh neck vertebra where nerves to the back of the arm, wrist, hand, and middle finger exit the spinal cord) was mentioned to me during the nerve assessment, the hand specialist who ordered the test did not mention it at a follow-up visit. He suggested surgery on both hands. A day after this appointment, I called the doctor’s office to find out more about possible C7 involvement and to ask if that might be the cause of my CTS. If so, how would surgery to snip the ligaments in my hands fix the problem? Since I never received a response, I did not schedule surgery.  

Pain-free wrists and a mobile neck are important to enjoy my hobbies. Here I am on a painting course that my daughter and I took together.

An X-ray of my cervical spine in March did indicate osteoarthritis in my neck, which in our society would be regarded as “normal” for my age. I discussed this finding with my chiropractor, who uses the Gonstead Technique. She felt confident that regular, gentle adjustments of affected areas, found by palpation and the use of a heat sensor that indicates inflammation, could be successful in eliminating the CTS symptoms. She checked my grip strength and adjusted my hands and wrists. Because I had difficulty using my hands for so long due to pain and numbness, they had become stiff and weak. I was also given suggestions about what I might do to help with my neck after my appointment. This made me once again think about what more I could do to contribute to my own healing.

My neck X-rays showed several areas of degeneration and misalignment that would potentially cause radicular pain. 

It had been almost five years since I first attended the one-day Pop Up course. I would say that up until recently, I had been somewhat “dabbling” in the Gokhale Method, without a full understanding or commitment to change my posture. Although chiropractic treatments helped to relieve my symptoms, I recognized that a healthy baseline posture was lacking, resulting in repeated misalignments. Understanding that an issue with my cervical spine might actually be the cause of my CTS, I finally came to the realization that I had been overly relying on others to fix me, and that I also needed to do everything I could to help myself. Just the thought of yet another surgery became extremely motivating!

That’s when I decided to circle back to the Gokhale Method. During an Online Follow-up with Esther in January this year, I explained that I wanted more confidence about what I should be doing for my posture and wanted coaching. Shortly after, I began the one-on-one online Elements course with Esther, which ended in April. In the early sessions, it was difficult for me to even get into positions that required me to use my hands and shoulders. By about halfway through the course, my pain from CTS had subsided, as well as the stiffness and pain in my shoulders which had not been in the healthy place they should be. I used to change up my mattresses and pillows a lot, but now I realize it’s not all about these external things—good mattresses and pillows can help, but how you position your body makes a big difference. 

On a regular basis, non-genetic scolioses/asymmetries tend to diminish with standard Gokhale Method training—that is, without any special focus. In my case, it reduced the strain on my neck. This surprised and delighted me.

Now for the really great news! I have not experienced CTS at all since completing the Elements course. While I practice healthy posture with my whole body, as everything interrelates, my main focus has been on my neck, head, and shoulder placement. Chiropractic appointments have gone from bi-weekly, to weekly, and now, only occasionally. For weeks now, C7 has not needed an adjustment and it makes my heart so happy when my chiro tells me the instrument that measures heat and inflammation in that area is clear! She has seen how my improved posture is making a difference and has been extremely supportive of the Gokhale Method.  

My exercise and walking had greatly diminished over the years after the onset of osteoarthritis, pain, and then surgeries. My upper body has been my main concern recently, but other techniques, such as glidewalking, have greatly improved my mobility and stamina. I would like to take the Advanced Glidewalking course in the future. I am working my way back to a healthy weight and an active life—thanks to the Gokhale Method.    

In this video I share how glidewalking has enabled me to travel and walk longer distances in comfort.

Best next action steps 

If you would like to improve your joint health, get started by booking a consultation, online or in person, with one of our teachers. 

You can sign up below to join any one of our upcoming FREE Online Workshops…

Yes, you read that correctly. Not only do you not need to damage your neck every time you use your cell phone, but instead, you could be improving it!

Most of us use our cell phones quite frequently. If you train yourself to adopt a healthy stance every time you use your phone, you will have a built-in posture practice that repeats throughout your day. 

Identifying the problem

Cell phones are unfairly regarded as the inevitable cause of neck problems and slouching. It’s not that you use a phone, but how you use it, that matters. Images from Clare Chapman, Pixabay and Pexels

Most people tend to let their head be drawn towards their screen when they use their cell phone. That’s why social media and wellness features are full of warnings about “text neck,” including graphics about how the head gets effectively heavier the further forward it is, and how that puts increasing strain on the neck. This is certainly true. The advice to avoid text neck is often to hold your phone straight ahead, rather than downward. Since this is physically and socially awkward, most people don’t do it.

Common advice to hold a cell phone straight out ahead feels awkward to most people.

Fortunately, there is a better solution…

Neck Saver #1: Adjust your head, bring your phone to your face, and look down

I like to use an analogy with eating...You may have been trained to bring your food to your mouth, rather than your mouth to your plate. Your mother was right! Following the code of table manners, she was teaching not only a more elegant, but also a more healthful way of dining which avoided squishing your neck.

Infants instinctively like to keep their neck tall and head well aligned. Pexels

Similarly, when you use your phone, you want to first establish a healthy head and neck position, and then feed yourself your information by bringing the phone towards your face, rather than your face to your phone. We recommend you get started by watching this free video, which will teach you the basics of how to glide your neck back and up to a healthy baseline position. 

Next, you will want to look down. Blaming a downward line of vision for neck problems ignores the reality that for tens of thousands of years our ancestors have looked downward, without any ill effects, and that we are fully adapted to do this. We’ve looked downwards to track animals, avoid snakes, find food, avoid thorns, make tools, prepare food, nurse infants, and more—these activities were essential, often for many hours at a time.

It may be enough to just move your eyes to look down. To look down further, you may need to do a combination of angling your chin down, and/or angling your neck from its base—where the bump of your largest neck bone (C7) may protrude at the back of your neck. No matter how you are looking downward, with your eyes, neck, or head, be sure your neck maintains a good baseline length. 

The aim is not to avoid looking down, but to improve how we look down. This teenager has his eyes down, his chin down, and has maintained a tall, spacious neck which remains centered over his body. Image from Pixabay

Neck Saver #2: Get some new wallpaper!

It’s true that a picture is sometimes worth a thousand words. Our species has a very large visual cortex—by choosing a home screen on your cell phone that inspires and reminds you to reposition your neck, you will be reinforcing healthy neck posture every time you pick up your phone. 

A little posture know-how turns your cell phone into a smartphone! Image from Freepik

We have put together a selection of downloadable images for you to choose from below. 

Smartphone image #1. Image from Pixabay
Download image #1 

Smartphone image #2
Download image #2 

Smartphone image #3
Download image #3 

Neck Saver #3: PostureTracker™

If only you could be reminded instantly every time your neck migrated forward or your chin jutted upward. Well, we have your back—and neck! Our recently released PostureTracker™ device uses a pair of sensors you can place in many pairs of locations on your body. Via an app on your phone, it gives you real-time feedback (visual, sound, or vibration) every time you depart from your calibrated ideal. No more over-contracting your neck muscles and compressing your cervical discs! 

When your chin lifts, compressing your neck (left), PostureTracker will alert you and guide you back to your healthiest calibrated posture (right).

We are often asked why we do not sell the PostureTracker as a stand-alone device. It’s because without training, the device would likely be used to reinforce common misconceptions about good posture; people would use the device to “sit up straight,” for example, and likely do more harm than good. So PostureTracker is available only to our students, past and present. For people who understand what good posture is, the device is invaluable—it helps close the gap between knowing what to do and doing it as a habit. You can sign up here for our next Alumni PostureTracker Course, starting Thursday June 27, 7:00 am PT.

Best next action steps 

If you have had trouble with your neck and would like to improve it, get started by booking a consultation, online, or in person with one of our teachers. 

You can sign up below to join any one of our upcoming FREE Online Workshops…