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PT Complete

Promoting fitness and wellness for the mind, body, and soul.

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stress and pain

neck pain and tension

April 15, 2025 · In: Nervous System Regulation

How to Relieve Neck Pain and Tension

In the modern age of long work hours and constant screen time, neck pain and tension have become all too common for us. Developing from various sources, such as poor…

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gut brain axis

January 21, 2025 · In: Pain Science and Healing, Science-Backed Education

The Important Connection Between Exercise and the Gut Brain Axis

The gut brain axis refers to a communication pathway between the gut and the brain. More specifically, it refers to the communication between the central nervous system and the enteric…

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vagal tone

November 12, 2024 · In: Nervous System Regulation

What is Vagal Tone and How to Improve It

Your physical and mental health are intimately intertwined. How so? Through the vagus nerve. The vagus nerve is a part of the parasympathetic nervous system (PNS) and orchestrates responses that…

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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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tension headaches

May 14, 2024 · In: Mobility and Restoration, Movement

5 Great Stretches and Exercises to Alleviate Tension Headaches

In the hustle and bustle of daily life, tension headaches have emerged as a frequent unwelcome companion for many. Affecting a significant portion of the population, these headaches manifest as…

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exercise and mental health

November 28, 2023 · In: Pain Science and Healing, Science-Backed Education

Exercise and Mental Health: Positively Improve All Aspects of Life

Most people are aware of the physical health benefits of exercise. What most people are not aware of is the other benefits that come from physical exercise. It can even…

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Meet Tera

Meet Tera
hi friends!

I'm a practicing physical therapist based out of sunny SoCal who loves to educate others and share information and knowledge. You can typically find me hard at work trying to manage normal life or cuddled up under a blanket enjoying coffee or desserts I can never seem to get away from!

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teravaughn22

I help high-achieving women stuck in pain & burnout
โ†’ build strength, regulate, & heal deeper
๐Ÿ’Œ Join 100+ women reclaiming their strength ๐Ÿ”—

If you sit most of the day and still work out, you If you sit most of the day and still work out, you might feel confused.

You are doing โ€œall the right things.โ€ But by 4PM, your hips feel tight and your neck aches.

Here is the part no one talks about.

A single workout does not offset prolonged static positioning. Your body adapts to what it experiences most. If eight to ten hours of your day are spent sitting, that becomes the dominant input.

This does not mean you are damaged. It means you need movement variability.

Mobility is not about aggressive stretching, or even long spurts of stretching. It is about restoring range and control in the areas that do not move much during the day. You have to be intentional about it. Work on the areas that are prone to tightness from the sitting position.

I put together a realistic 10 minute mobility routine for desk workers that:

- Restores hip extension
- Improves upper back mobility
- Reactivates circulation
- Supports postural endurance
- Can be broken into 60 to 90 second pieces, sprinkled throughout your day

If you work at a desk and feel stiff by the end of the day, this will help.

Full breakdown is live on the blog. Link in bio or comment โ€œDESK WORKERโ€ for the direct link.

#deskwork #mobilityroutine #neckandshoulderpain #lowbackstiffness
Just when I started feeling better after my very b Just when I started feeling better after my very bold 15 minute jog, I decided to try a simple bodyweight leg workout.

And when I say simple, I mean squats and stationary lunges.

Two sets in, my left hamstring cramped so hard I could not fully straighten my knee. The next day, I also realized I had strained my quad.

FROM BODYWEIGHT LUNGES.

It would be funny if it were not so informative.

What this actually shows me is that my left side is still significantly behind my right after my major back flare two years ago. I never fully rebuilt it. I would start, flare, lose consistency, then life would happen. And I would stop completely. The cycle only repeats.

And this is how deconditioning quietly accumulates.

Not because you are lazy or because you donโ€™t care. But because healing is rarely linear and inconsistency compounds just as much as consistency does.

This was not a catastrophic setback. It was feedback.

My body is showing me exactly where my current baseline is. And apparently that baseline still requires patience, even with bodyweight work.

Rebuilding strength after pain is not about what you used to be able to do. It is about what your system can tolerate today.

So for now, bodyweight it is.

Humbling, necessary, and temporary.

More to come.

#chronicpainjourney #returntostrength #muscleimbalance #stronglooksdifferentnow
I really did start this series off by doing exactl I really did start this series off by doing exactly what I tell my clients not to do.

A 15 minute jog on a body that was already irritated, all because I felt good that morning.

And this is the nuance of chronic pain that people do not talk about enough. Motivation does not override tissue tolerance. Energy does not cancel out load capacity. And feeling good for one day does not mean your system is ready for more.

This is especially hard when you have been waiting years to feel motivated again. That is the part that caught me off guard.

For so long, I did not have the drive to strength train the way I used to. Now, I finally feel ready. And my body still needs gradual rebuilding.

If you live with chronic pain, you know this tension:
Mentally ready. Physically limited. Emotionally frustrated.

Instead here is the reframe I am sitting with:
A flare is information..not failure. It tells me my baseline is lower than my motivation. It reminds me that strength is not built on one good day. It is built on consistency that my nervous system can tolerate.

So this series is not about getting back to where I was. It is about rebuilding in a way that lasts. Strong looks different now. And that is okay.

If this resonates, you are not behind. You are adapting.

I will soon share how I am adjusting my training accordingly.

#stronglooksdifferentnow #returntostrength #strengthtrainingjourney #chronicpain
February ๐Ÿ’•๐ŸŒฎ๐Ÿช๐ŸŸ๐Ÿณ๐Ÿ“๐Ÿ““ February ๐Ÿ’•๐ŸŒฎ๐Ÿช๐ŸŸ๐Ÿณ๐Ÿ“๐Ÿ““
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