Hello all,

I am working on my new programs helping people conquer chronic pain and wanted to get out some info I think will be helpful.

Often times when you experience an injury, you can have pain during your recovery or develop chronic pain, which can cause you to lose your Focus.  You get mired down in your pain and lose sight of what your goals are.  It is difficult “to see the light at the end of the tunnel”; to remember a time when you didn’t have pain.

As with many things in life, you have to Focus or re- focus what you think about or where you are concentrating your thoughts.

When I was battling my chronic pain as a result of a serious car accident,  I finally determined I had had enough and was going to change my FOCUS and I developed different thinking patterns.  Now Years after conquering my chronic pain I have crystalized my thoughts on how I accomplished changing my focus from being IN pain to BEING PAIN-FREE.

I will give some tips here about using your focus to improve your health & wellness and becoming pain-free.

Focus defined is state or condition permitting clear understanding or where we direct our attention.

Often times when you are in a state of Stress, anxiety or pain, we focus on the stress, anxiety or pain which, in turn, brings on more stress, anxiety and pain.

Our brain will give us more of what we focus on.  Focus on stress, get more stress, focus on pain, get more pain.

As budha wrote;  “We are a collection of our thoughts and our actions”.  If this is true and we are currently, in the present, a collection of our thoughts and actions up to this point, and we do not like where we are, then we must, change our thoughts and actions from this point on.  Whoa, that was a mouthful!

Sounds easier said than done, right?

In My CYP:  Conquer Your Pain Formula Program I go the steps that I used to conquer my chronic pain.

Here is a useful tool that I developed to get you started.  Use the acronym: F.O.C.U.S.

• F = Find yourself.

Be honest with where your are right now then, SET GOALS for where you want to be.  Do yourself a favor and do not limit yourself

• O: Out look.

This may be one of the hardest steps which is to always have a positive outlook and a positive attitude.  It can be a challenge but the more you focus on the having a positive outlook, the more things change for you.

• C: Commitment: “The achievement of your goals is assure the moment you fully commit yourself”

Once you have set your goals you must fully commit yourself and KNOW that you will reach them.

• U: Understanding:

This is about understanding yourself and realizing that we must focus on the present. Worrying about the past or stressing about what hasn’t happened yet takes away from our ability to focus on what is happening in the present

• S: Solutions:

Be Solution oriented.  When you focus on problems, you get more problems.  Try to see any difficulties you are having as challenges that you will overcome.

 

I have include just a few notes on each one.  I could go into much greater depth on each topic and do in my program but I wanted to get some info out to you so you can get started on your way to improving your focus and improving your health and wellness.

I will attach a FREE pdf in this blog:   A goals sheet.  You can use it to write down some specific goals for yourself.  DO yourself a favor.  Print this sheet out, sit down with a pen, take 5-10 minutes and write down 5 specific goals and then take your first goal and plan out how you will reach that goal.

Gatewell goals sheet pdf

 

Thanks for taking the time out to read through my blog and I hope you take away something helpful from it.

Have a great day and remember.

BE MOTIVATED, BE POSITIVE, BE FOCUSED & BE WELL

Mark C. Marino, MAPT, CFMT

Owner: North Island Physical Therapy, PC

Founder: GateWell Strategies

Hello everyone,

Happy New Year again!

I hope you have sat down and written out your goals for health & wellness for the year.  Remember that writing your specific goals down on paper is the first step in achieving anything you desire including becoming pain-free or reaching the fitness levels you desire.

 

You may have read about it on our website but I would like to tell you about The BodyClox Method TM that I have developed.  It has come from over 15 years experience as a manual physical therapist and my experience being a patient after being seriously injured in a car accident 15 years ago.

Some time ago I was involved in a very serious car accident that resulted in multiple fractures of my lower leg, hip and back and multiple surgeries including metal rods, pins, screws and plates.  As you can imagine, there was significant physical therapy treatment over a period of time.  While I was a motivated patient at the time and consider myself a motivated person now, I had to deal with issues of chronic pain over a period of years.  It was this experience of being a patient while also being a physical therapist allowed me to approach physical therapy from a different perspective.  This perspective allowed me to see what worked best for me as a patient and what worked well with the patients I was seeing in the out-patient population.

The BodyClox Method TM is both my system and philosophy of physical therapy treatment.

It is not a complicated system but is very efficient and successful.

Our system integrates:

• One on One Manual Therapy
• Body/Mind Awareness Training
• Individualized BodyClox Home Exercise System

Our BodyClox system is goal oriented and function driven.  Our primary focus is to have the individual meet their health & wellness goals.  It combines the most important aspects of a successful treatment program, that allow for a more efficient, successful outcome and empowers the individual to improve his or her wellness.

Our one on one functional manual therapy treats the whole person and will help to normalize musculo-skeletal dysfunction, enhance neuromuscular control and improve a person’s body/mind awareness.

Our body/mind awareness training focuses on enhancing the patient’s body awareness through the use of specific exercises that are developed to improve overall coordination of movement, core stabilization, balance and control that will lead to a more balanced musculoskeletal system and improved levels of health & wellness.

Our focus on you as an individual will also including setting goals for your physical therapy as well as your overall health & wellness.

My own experiences as both a physical therapist and a patient have fueled a desire to create a functional system that focuses on the patient as a whole and helps to facilitate their return to normal function and promotes improved health and wellness for everyone.

This post was to give you a little background into why I developed The BodyClox Method.

I wish you a great day, week and year & Be Well.

Mark Marino

 

 

Welcome to North Island Physical Therapy and our New Blog space.

Everyone at North Island would like to wish you a Happy & Healthy New Year for 2012!!

We believe that wellness originates in our attitudes, our choices and our actions.  It is my philosophy the every individual has the potential to achieve a pain-free life once they commit to personal wellness.

In this New Year of 2012, I want to remind you that the potential for you to have and extraordinary year including attaining your desired level health & wellness is unlimited.

Now, as you sit here and read this, you may be in pain whether it is from a recent injury or a chronic problem and say, “I just don’t see that happening any time soon”, or “It’s been a long time since I have felt good about myself”.

Well, being a Physical Therapist and a person that has sustained and rehabilitated from severe injuries resulting from a car accident, I would like to tell you that YOU CAN DO IT!  You can achieve anything that you set your mind to.

 

One of the primary keys to improving your Health & Wellness is to SET GOALS.

Set goals for where you will be with respect to your Health & Wellness.  We need to set goals because without goals we lack direction and without direction we lack focus.  The focus that allows us to achieve the goals that we set for ourselves.  There are a few rules that will help you when you set your goals for Health & Wellness.

Rules for Setting Health & Wellness Goals:

• Set specific goals:  Remember, specific (Not, I’d “like” to lose weight this year).  Some days, mights and maybes don’t count.  Use specific measurable quantities so that you can see your progress.
• Set a Time table
• Write down your goals:  Many people have New Year’s Resolutions but never write them down and they have a tendency to stay wishes that float away.
• Write your goals in the present tense as if they have already happened.  This allows you to focus on the actions that will help you attain your goals.  You are much more likely to reach your goals if you write them down.
• Visualize yourself achieving your goals
• Plan out what will it will take to reach your goals.
• Take action!  Start by doing small tasks or activities that will get you closer to your goal.

 

Whether you are recovering from and injury, have chronic pain or trying to improve your overall health & wellness, setting goals is the key to getting you to your desired level of fitness.  Start out 2012 by setting your goals for your Health & Wellness and writing them down.  Your will be on your way.

If this is your first time on our website, feel free to explore and see how we may help you reach your health & wellness goals.

Wishing you a Happy & Healthy New Year.  Be Well

Mark C. Marino, MAPT, CFMT