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add more movement to your daily life

September 17, 2024 · In: Habits for Healing, Holistic Self-Care and Sustainable Healing

Simple Strategies to Add More Movement to Your Daily Life

In this day and age in a fast-paced world, hours can pass as you are glued to screens or confined to a desk. The necessity of weaving in movement into…

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strength training for runners

September 10, 2024 · In: Movement, Strength for Resilience

Why Strength Training for Runners is Important

For all runners, muscular strength plays a crucial role in your running performance. Strength training, specifically designed for runners, targets the muscle groups that need strength and endurance when running….

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relative energy deficiency in sport (REDs)

September 3, 2024 · In: Pain Science and Healing, Science-Backed Education

Understanding Relative Energy Deficiency in Sport (REDs)

When an athlete’s performance begins to falter without an apparent reason, it’s essential to look beyond the physical injuries and consider other potential factors affecting health and performance. Relative Energy…

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shoulder warm-up

August 13, 2024 · In: Mobility and Restoration, Movement

The Shoulder Warm-Up You Need Before Lifting

Nothing sets the stage better than a thorough shoulder warm-up. Whether you do this before every upper body lifting session, as a quick shoulder burnout, or on rest days, there…

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foot posture

July 30, 2024 · In: Body Region Support, Foot/Ankle, Science-Backed Education

Understanding the Connection Between Foot Posture and Back Health

When you think about what affects your back health, foot posture might not be the first thing that comes to mind. However, the way your feet align as you stand,…

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rotator cuff strain

July 16, 2024 · In: Injuries and Surgeries, Science-Backed Education

The Difference Between a Rotator Cuff Strain Vs Tear

Rotator cuff injuries can be traumatic or atraumatic. Regardless of how your shoulder pain starts, it is important to consider what could be contributing to your discomfort. So how can…

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herniated disc treatment

July 2, 2024 · In: Injuries and Surgeries, Science-Backed Education

What to Know About Herniated Disc Treatment

So you find out you have a herniated disc. Now what? A herniated disc occurs when the softer material inside a spinal disc pushes out through a crack in its…

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achilles tear recovery time

June 25, 2024 · In: Injuries and Surgeries, Science-Backed Education

What to Know About the Achilles Tear Recovery Time

Finding yourself facing an unsettling injury like an Achilles tear can be daunting. Understanding the Achilles tear recovery time becomes essential for anyone looking to step back into their routine,…

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June 18, 2024 · In: Movement, Strength for Resilience

Best Gluteus Medius Exercises for Athletes

The gluteus medius (glute med) plays a pivotal role in the world of athletic performance. It sets the foundation of our hip stability, crucial for effective lateral movement, and important…

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importance of sleep for muscle recovery

June 11, 2024 · In: Holistic Self-Care and Sustainable Healing, Rest and Recovery

Why Sleep is Important for Muscle Recovery

When you dive into the realms of athletic performance, the focus is often placed on rigorous training schedules and thorough nutrition plans. Yet, an equally crucial aspect often gets overlooked…

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Meet Tera

Meet Tera
hi, i'm tera!

I'm a licensed Doctor of Physical Therapy and the founder of PT Complete. I built the Regulate and Rebuild Method because most people trying to get back into their body after chronic pain are told to either push through it or rest completely, and neither one actually works. I write from the clinic and from my own body, since I'm working through my own chronic pain story right now, too. When I'm not working, you'll probably find me managing the regular chaos of life or curled up with coffee and a dessert I can't seem to quit.

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Featured Posts

how to start exercising again after a chronic pain flare

How to Start Exercising Again After a Pain Flare or Long Layoff (Without Setting Yourself Back)

woman experiencing pain that moves around the body, chronic pain explained

Pain That Moves Around Your Body: What Your Nervous System Is Trying to Tell You

woman practicing real rest for chronic pain, calming her nervous system

What Real Rest Actually Looks Like for Chronic Pain (And Why Sleeping More Isn’t the Whole Answer)

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@teravaughn22

terasandona

Chronic pain coaching for high-achieving women
Licensed DPT • Regulate first, rebuild second, then layer
👇🏻 Free nervous system workbook

You don’t actually want to be pain free. You want You don’t actually want to be pain free.

You want to walk further without thinking about it. Get down on the ground with your kid and back up again. Sit through a full dinner without shifting in your seat. Sleep through the night. Say yes to the spontaneous thing.

Maybe the goal was never zero pain. Maybe it was a body you don’t have to negotiate with.

That’s the shift I want you to make, from tracking pain scores to tracking your actual life, whether you can do the things you want to do, not just how much it hurts while you do them.

The order still matters to get there. Regulate first, rebuild the strength, then the habits hold.

Send this to the friend who needs to hear it’s not just about the pain.
Honeymoon photo dump incoming!! 🏝️☀️🌊👙⛱️🍾💍❤️ Honeymoon photo dump incoming!! 🏝️☀️🌊👙⛱️🍾💍❤️
I stood in front of my fridge for an hour. Couldn’ I stood in front of my fridge for an hour. Couldn’t decide, not even sure I was hungry. Just stuck. And one decision felt like the hardest thing I’d been asked to do all day, even though I’d made decisions all day long without a second thought.

I kept wondering what was wrong with me. Turns out, nothing was.

Fight, flight, and freeze are all protective responses your nervous system reaches for under threat. Fight and flight speed you up. They give you the energy to push back or get away. Freeze does the opposite. It shuts things down because there’s nothing left to fight with or run from.

That fridge moment wasn’t a discipline problem. It was my nervous system running out before dinner could be decided and made.

Freeze doesn’t get talked about as much as fight or flight, but it’s just as real and it shows up in the most ordinary places…a kitchen, a closed laptop, a decision that shouldn’t be hard and somehow is.

If you’ve had a night like this, you already know exactly what I’m talking about.

If this sounds familiar, tell me in the comments, or text someone who’d know exactly what I mean.
I reached for the weights I used to lift before my I reached for the weights I used to lift before my brain caught up.

It took half a second in my garage. The half second was the moment I realized I couldn’t even lift the dumbbell. I registered the gap between the body I used to train and the body I have now.

I dialed back down. Instead of the 30s, I picked up the 10s, and I did the work that fits what my system can absorb right now.

Nobody warns you that the rebuilding work has these moments built into it. The half-seconds when your old identity reaches for a load your current capacity can’t carry, and you mistake the disappointment for evidence that you are failing.

Your current body is not a smaller version of the one you used to have. It is a different body, doing real work, on a different scale.

You can train this one.

Tag the woman who’s still reaching for the weight she used to lift. Remind her she’s not alone.
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