<span style="font-weight: 400;">Ever had a perfect client?</span>

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<span style="font-weight: 400;">You know the one who does everything you suggest, enjoys it and gets the results they came for?</span>

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<span style="font-weight: 400;">HOORAAYY!</span>

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<span style="font-weight: 400;">I had one of these perfect clients BUT at the same time, he had the most challenging of circumstances.</span>

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<span style="font-weight: 400;">We’re going to call this client Simon for this blog. I don’t know why, it just felt right haha.</span>

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<span style="font-weight: 400;">Simon gave me permission to use his information anonymously to share his story with you all, which I am forever grateful for!</span>

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<span style="font-weight: 400;">Now bear in mind, Simon had to fight to get a consultation with me in the first place, as I don’t usually take on clients in pain like he was. My usual clients are athletes looking for the performance edge. He lives in Brighton, my clinic is in Nottingham and yet even when I tried to point him the direction of a Biomechanics Coach nearer to him, he was not deterred. </span>

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<i><span style="font-weight: 400;">“You helped my wife a few years ago, I want to see you” </span></i><span style="font-weight: 400;"> he said adamantly. </span>

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<span style="font-weight: 400;">My initial email to him set up all levels of expectation as I explained what I do and don’t do, how I work, what I expect of him and what he should expect while working with me along with what to bring or wear, that would help me assess him easily. It also states very clearly that I do not promise pain relief. </span>

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<h3>Back Pain &amp; Shoulder Pain</h3>
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<span style="font-weight: 400;">Now the whole point to Simon’s reason for contacting me was shoulder and low back pain. </span>

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<span style="font-weight: 400;">So after he had read and agreed to my initial email, we spoke over the phone so I could clarify a few things in advance of us booking the face to face sessions. He was happy to discuss his goal and we agreed to address it upon meeting. </span>

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<span style="font-weight: 400;">We booked in 3 sessions over the course of 2 weeks, to give me a good grasp of his biomechanics, his adherence, how his body responds to the programme or whether there might be a need for the skills of a different professional for best duty of care to Simon.</span>

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<span style="font-weight: 400;">Also unusual to my practice, I actually collected Simon from the train station and it was like we had actually known each other for a long time already, even though we had never met or spoken before that week.</span>

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<h3><b>The Consultation </b></h3>
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<span style="font-weight: 400;">The initial consultation was a couple of hours during which we discussed his daily routine, working hours, home situation, previous injuries, training or sporting activities, sleeping habits, footwear and anything else that might influence his biomechanics.</span>

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<span style="font-weight: 400;">With a sick wife, a toddler and 9 month old baby, Simon was literally doing everything from going to work all day, cooking dinner and getting up through the night to help with the baby.</span>

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<span style="font-weight: 400;">It was clear there was no way I could suggest any kind of gym training or really even any banded resistance work. There needed to be a clear plan of things he could do within these very limiting parameters. </span>

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<img class="aligncenter wp-image-2963" src="https://www.biomechanicseducation.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/Screen-Shot-2017-06-30-at-08.23.34-1024x764.png" alt="screen-shot-2017-06-30-at-08-23-34" width="310" height="231" />

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<span style="font-weight: 400;">The full assessment I did on Simon included pelvic, spine and shoulder function screens, knee stability screens, foot function screens and I assessed for subclinical muscle spasm, nerve tension and joint immobility. There was a lot of common dysfunction present but nothing that concerned me, other than how we would fit in what was needed to help him function and move better. </span>

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<span style="font-weight: 400;">We sat down to discuss the results and I reminded him that I couldn’t promise pain relief BUT could guarantee teach him how to improve his own function and movement. So we started to discuss how his pain influenced his daily routine and quality of life. This gave us an opportunity to explore the real reason for his visit. </span>

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<h3><b>The Real Goal/s</b></h3>
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<span style="font-weight: 400;">He simply wanted to be able to get down onto the floor to play with his daughter and to feed his baby girl in the night, without his arm fatiguing. This is what became the goal but it also became a measurement. </span>

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<span style="font-weight: 400;">I asked Simon to physically show me how he did these tasks at present. His cumbersome way of bending his back and not his knees to get to the floor was telling. His methods to lift his baby girl from her crib and then to hold her and feed her, also spoke volumes to me about his upper body positioning. I had even noticed the way he sat down and got up out of the chair with a huge forward lean, massively folding at the hip. All putting a lot of pressure and strain on his lower back particularly.</span>

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<span style="font-weight: 400;">So while all of this was based on my subjective judgements, it gave me some ideas on what more we might be able to do with Simon’s very limited time and equipment. </span>

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<h3><b>Links Man &amp; Screening Form</b></h3>
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<span style="font-weight: 400;">With my links man and screening form, I explained the screening results to Simon, where he was intrinsically dysfunctional was marked in green and what it might all meant to him. Breaking everything down into what it might mean with regards to his daily routine. Simon was very keen and eager to take on board everything I was suggesting. </span>

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<img class="aligncenter wp-image-3014" src="https://www.biomechanicseducation.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/sample-case-study-1-738x1024.jpeg" alt="sample-case-study-1" width="306" height="424" />
<h3><b>Prescribing Homework</b></h3>
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<span style="font-weight: 400;">His homework was just 2 simple pelvic anti spasm techniques Leg Press &amp; 4 Sign </span><b>&lt;&lt;see the 4 Sign muscle energy technique in this article&gt;&gt;</b><span style="font-weight: 400;"> to practice at least 4 times a day. As we discussed his usual day, I encouraged him to be involved in the decisions around his homework. So he suggested he could do it while sitting at work or at home with his family. I also taught him how to sit down and stand up and how to get down and up from the floor, while putting less pressure on his back. Everything was designed to fit in with HIS lifestyle and to be realistic and achievable, even with his circumstances. </span>

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<span style="font-weight: 400;">As I explained what this could do IF he did his homework and what the next steps might be, Simon nodded looking completely committed to what I was suggesting. We had already agreed his next visit would be in 2 days and so I dropped him back at the train station with his exercise sheet looking very hopeful.</span>

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<span style="font-weight: 400;">Over the next 48hours I texted him regularly … “</span><i><span style="font-weight: 400;">have you done your homework this morning…</span></i><span style="font-weight: 400;">?”. He would reply…</span><i><span style="font-weight: 400;"> “I have done 3 sets already!</span></i><span style="font-weight: 400;">” WOWZERS it was only 10am this guy was serious. So serious in fact, that he did his anti spasms 12 times a day!! Now please understand while the dosage we recommend is 4 x daily, they can be performed more which is likely to give a quicker, more effective response. Great start! I thought, excited about the re-screen.</span>

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<h3><b>The Re-Screen </b></h3>
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<span style="font-weight: 400;">Just 2 days later and Simon was back. He said he felt he could move a bit better, but the pain was the same. He had done all of his homework, and more, AND was using his body better in general with the sit/stand techniques and lifting of his daughters. </span>

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<span style="font-weight: 400;">The re-screen showed an incredible different in ares that weren't quite moving so well and looked like this on the Links Man screening form..</span>

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<img class="aligncenter wp-image-3015" src="https://www.biomechanicseducation.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/sample-case-study-2-741x1024.jpeg" alt="sample-case-study-2" width="298" height="411" />

<i><span style="font-weight: 400;">“WELL DONE!!” </span></i><span style="font-weight: 400;">I said and while he could see the difference on the 2 links men forms and he was pleased, I knew there was still some convincing to do. We added in some lumber mobility work and removed Leg Press as he felt 4 Sign was the one that made the difference. </span>

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<span style="font-weight: 400;">Off he went and this time for a week. So I continued to text or call regularly to check on how we getting on and feeling. He was still doing everything as prescribed and felt good but still had pain. </span>

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<span style="font-weight: 400;">His 3rd appointment we met after a workshop I had delivered in London and I was REALLY excited to see the results. Simon showed even more improvement and explained how he could now get down easily to play with his daughter and can hold his baby girl all night with much less fatigue. However his pain/discomfort wasn’t really much different.</span>

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<img class="aligncenter wp-image-3016" src="https://www.biomechanicseducation.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/sample-case-study-3-746x1024.jpeg" alt="sample-case-study-3" width="301" height="413" />

<span style="font-weight: 400;">Now I knew Simon trusted me and when I asked him to be patient and persistent I knew he would. This time we integrated thoracic mobility and also some low grade supine core bracing that he could do while lying on the floor with is little girl.</span>

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<span style="font-weight: 400;">What I also did was teach him some shoulder anti spasms but I asked him not to do them yet, we would talk over skype and I would let him know when he could introduce this technique. </span>

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<span style="font-weight: 400;">Because of where we had got to and the vast improvement he had achieved, I explained we didn’t need to meet for 4 weeks now. He had his homework and I felt his schedule was so hectic that now we had built our relationship and I knew he did his homework, we could for now work together via phone or skype etc. </span>

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<h3><b>Pain Relief</b></h3>
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<span style="font-weight: 400;">Over the next few weeks he did his homework religiously, committed to generally moving better now that he was more body aware and finally in week number 6 he called. </span>

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<span style="color: #ff0000;"><i><span style="font-weight: 400;">“MY PAIN HAS GONE!”</span></i></span>

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<span style="font-weight: 400;">He was so happy and relieved and to be honest, so was I. He explained that he thought it was when he introduced the shoulder anti spasms. We created an action plan for him moving forward and I advised him that this would probably be a long term maintenance programme now. BUT rather than 4 times daily (or 12 in Simon’s case!) he could reduce the dosage to 2 x daily and see how he got on. </span>

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<h3><b>Summary</b></h3>
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<span style="font-weight: 400;">Here I have listed all the messages this ‘perfect’ client experience showed me;</span>

&nbsp;
<ol>
 	<li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Never promise pain relief</span></li>
 	<li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Trust an evidence based system</span></li>
 	<li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">The body is an integrated system</span></li>
 	<li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Empower your client to take control of their own body</span></li>
 	<li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Offer MORE than the session for success</span></li>
 	<li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Never promise pain relief</span></li>
 	<li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Include them in their homework design</span></li>
 	<li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Helping clients move better with less pain doesn’t have to be in a gym</span></li>
 	<li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Explain in detail only what the client cares about in relation to their goal.</span></li>
 	<li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Convert their goal if necessary to be a more realistic one</span></li>
 	<li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Offer realistic solutions based on the individual's lifestyle</span></li>
 	<li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Never promise pain relief</span></li>
</ol>
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<span style="font-weight: 400;">Remember had I done this, not only would the goal have been a negative one, Simon may not have returned or listened when his pain wasn’t changing. Had it not, I would have referred him to a colleague for some further tests but nothing gave me a red flag.</span>

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The screening system and exercises I used with Simon were from the Biomechanics Coaching Diploma.

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<h3>The benefits;</h3>
This evidence based system has been tried and tested over 25 years on over 4.5k subjects.

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It is amazingly easy to perform without any special equipment other than a chair or step.

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You can assess the results immediately!

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Each screen comes with the relevant iMoveFreely exercise techniques like the ones I prescribed to Simon to improve his movement.

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If you are like thousand of other PT's out there and you face doubt when trying to work out where your clients movement limitations are actually coming from <a href="https://biomechanicseducation.clickfunnels.com/biomechanics-coach" target="_blank" rel="noopener">CLICK HERE</a>.

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<p style="text-align: center;"><span style="text-decoration: underline; color: #ff0000;"><a style="color: #ff0000; text-decoration: underline;" href="https://biomechanicseducation.clickfunnels.com/biomechanics-coach" target="_blank" rel="noopener">I WANT TO FIND OUT MORE!</a></span></p>