Shine is the absolute best as far as Physical Therapy goes.  I trust Emily and her team to see our patients from Pohala Clinic.  Every time people get better!  Integrating Cranial Sacral Therapy with their Postural Work I believe is the key to healing compared to other forms of PT.  I personally had the opportunity to work with Shine when I had a MVA Whiplash over a year ago. I am one healthy girl and was surprised that after 4 months I was not improving with Chiropractic, massage therapy, yoga, and acupuncture (mind you, all of which did provide much healing). Still I was left with a post-concussion syndrome of dizziness, nauseous, blurred vision, and recurring neck pain.  Shine was able to clear this for me.  They also treated my daughter after falling off a horse and fractured arm with great results.  I've been sending Shine patients for over 5 years and will continue. Love, love!
-Julie Foster, FNP www.pohalaclinic.com

I am an acupuncturist here in Portland, and have sent many of my patients to Shine PT.  In my previous life as a dancer, I had opportunity to experience all kinds of PT, and I have to say those at Shine are the most unique and gifted practitioners I have experienced.  They have an incredible body of knowledge, and the Postural Restoration focus, as well as the hands-on work and CranioSacral abilities make them stand out.  I look for a PT who is not afraid to do the manual work and get to know your holding patterns and unique physicality through touch; in my mind ultrasound and electrical stimulation (e-stim) with a few exercises just doesn't cut it.  I find the therapists at Shine to be people who keep learning and evaluating and growing and refining, and I cannot recommend them highly enough.
Kate Pagliosotti, LAc www.innercourtacupuncture.com

I wanted to send you a personal "Thank You" for introducing me to PRI. I learned so much at the two PRI courses I have attended at Shine and already my teaching is changing so much! People are feeling better and less stuck. I feel so fortunate to have found you and your wisdom and knowledge. Thank you for being so generous with it!
-Lucy Yim, Gyrotonics Instructor, Professional Dancer

Shine Team: thank you so much for the opportunity to come in and observe. The incredible knowledge, patient rapport, and experience I observed was awesome. I am so glad to have found such a great referral source and look forward to working with the two of you in the future.
-Dr. David Chang, ND, LAc

I went into Shine with the longest-term injury I have ever sustained; a torn hamstring tendon attachment aka "yoga butt," from an accident in 7th grade that has haunted me ever since, and I am now 40. It has caused me sacro-iliac Joint pain for my whole life, in one form or another. I had tried every therapy available, from acupuncture to chiropractic to prolotherapy to massage to bee stings, you name it. I quit practicing yoga for an entire year. Nothing made a difference. My butt hurt all the time, and my pelvis and low back ached constantly.

I went to Emily at Shine and she saw my injury in a new light,one that no one had ever looked at before, which was my posture and body type. She assessed me through that filter and began to address my underlying patterns immediately, and things began to change for me. I will not say it was easy, or that it happened overnight, but I will say that today I have NO pain in my low back or SI joints (and a set of 3 exercises to do when I do have pain there which fix it immediately). My hips are stable and solid.

Emily is a dedicated and extremely skilled therapist that looks at the whole body from the ground up. Hers is a comprehensive solution to body pain, a re-structuring that simply cannot happen in one visit. What else can I say? The woman has serious, mad skills in the department of the physical body, and she gets the job done. I trust any therapist she hires to be of equal caliber in terms of integrity and skills.

Being out of pain on a regular basis has changed my life and my ability to engage with it, and she has taught me an enormous amount about how to stay clear of pain on my own. I have referred literally dozens of people to Shine P.T. with similar results. 
- Lisa Mae Osborn, LAc, RYT  http://sassyneedles.com

Running Mindfully's Featured Profile

Nagging Or Recurring Injuries? Visit Shine Physical Therapy To "Re-Align Your Tires" With The Postural Restoration Institute (PRI) Approach November 2012   

Have you experienced a running- or walking-related injury despite diligent attention to your form and a conservative approach to your training?  Have you noticed postural anomalies that frequently crop up when your attention wanders?

Consider seeking treatment at Shine Physical Therapy inNW Portland.  The therapists at Shine incorporate the Postural Restoration Institute (PRI)  approach.  After assessing initial alignment, strength, flexibility, and range of motion, they prescribe targeted exercises and administer hands-on treatment to improve alignment, restore balanced movement, and eliminate pain.

As explained in an overview of Shine's PRI-based treatment philosophy, "Just as you would expect your car mechanic to address an alignment issue that was wearing down your tires, rather than repeatedly replace the tires, we seek out and treat the root cause of your symptoms first.  We work to improve your alignment right away to empower your body to heal as best it can.  In this way, you will experience lasting results and not wear out your 'tires' - your muscles and joints." 

For the past year or so, I have taught yoga classes and hosted some of my Chi Running and Chi Walking workshops at Shine Yoga.  I became a patient at the adjoining Shine Physical Therapy in August 2012, after experiencing intermittent calf pain and tightness for several weeks.

I've often told my Chi Running and Chi Walking clients that practicing the techniques will help reduce their likelihood of injury.  When aches and pains do arise, they will develop the ability to discern whether they can resolve the issue independently by working Chi Running and/or Chi Walking focuses, or whether it would be wise to seek professional advice.  In this instance, I knew it was time for me to get professional help in reversing some long-standing postural habits.

In my initial visits, the physical therapy team at Shine adeptly recognized my known postural anomalies - plus a few more.  They prescribed a series of home exercises, refining them with each visit as my strength, flexibility, and range of motion improved.  Now that my treatment program is nearly complete, my "default" posture is more balanced and symmetrical.  The combination of home exercises and treatment sessions has also heightened my body awareness and muscle control, giving me more tools to adjust my alignment when it needs it, whether I'm running, walking, standing, or sitting.

Best of all, my calf pain and tightness largely resolved within the first couple of treatments.  I was quickly able to ease back in to my typical running routine.  I even stepped up my training in order to join some friends in the Columbia Gorge Half Marathon in late October.  I enjoyed the race, was pleased with my result, and my calves kept very quiet before, during, and after the race.

Emily Soiney, PT, DPT, PRC, CST, RYT owns Shine Physical Therapy and Shine Yoga.  Her first exposure to PRI was as a patient, while she was a doctoral student at the University of Minnesota.  Ever since a collegiate cycling injury and subsequent right knee surgery, she had suffered chronic right knee pain that left her unable to run or bike.  Traditional physical therapy approaches only seemed to exacerbate her symptoms.  Finally, she consulted a physical therapist who had done a clinical rotation at the Hruska Clinic in Nebraska, where Ron Hruska originated PRI.  Soiney recalls, "As soon as she taught me my first PRI exercise, I was hooked! The right knee pain that so many sports medicine physicians told me was from weak quads actually resolved almost immediately from the PRI treatments that strengthened my left hamstrings and inner thigh muscles."  She adds, "The PRI approach appealed to me not only because it worked so well after years of pain, but also because it was exactly what I saw was missing from PT approaches in general - a genuinely holistic assessment of the whole person."

The PRI approach emphasizes recognizing asymmetries in the body.  "This emphasis really resonates with our patients who - after one or more injuries - just don't feel balanced in their bodies," Soiney notes.  She adds, "When the normal balance of bodily systems is thrown off from injury, less-than-ideal posture, or even poor breathing, it can cause strong patterns to emerge.  Unless these patterns are treated as a whole - such as by working with chains of muscles to restore balance - many people don't find lasting relief from traditional therapies. "

PRI techniques can benefit anyone, and the physical therapy team at Shine treats patients of all ages and abilities.  However, Soiney believes the approach can be of particular benefit to athletes, who tend to be active, motivated, and in touch with their bodies.  The PRI approach may especially resonate with those who practice Chi Running or Chi Walking.  Like Chi Running and Chi Walking, PRI assessment and treatment integrate posture, breathing, and balanced muscle activity.  Soiney, who attended one of my Chi Running workshops a couple of years ago, notes, "Anyone who has attended a Chi Running or Chi Walking course will immediately recognize many similar concepts that PRI also teaches, such as inhibiting/relaxing the calves and lower back while utilizing the abdominals and hamstrings." 

A typical course of PRI treatment begins with repositioning the pelvis and ribcage to a neutral state through home exercises and perhaps hands-on treatment.  Next, focus shifts to retraining tight, overactive muscles to encourage them to let go, while learning to activate weaker muscles.  Soiney explains, "We progress our clients by integrating all of these muscles into functional movements while ensuring that diaphragmatic breathing is maintained.  Soon, our clients are ready to return to their active lifestyle."  "Runners and walkers of all types are welcome, especially those with back injuries, leg injuries, breathing issues, neck strain, or stress urinary incontinence,"  Soiney concludes.

www.runningmindfully.com