The Power of Movement

Dr Sarah Mottram is a Physiotherapist and Movement Mentor from Chichester who’s passionate about showing people how to retrain the brain and body so they can move away from chronic pain. Here, she shares five daily healthy movement habits we can all make to help with active aging 

Around one in seven people in England will be suffering from chronic pain by 2040, according to research by the Health Foundation thinktank. And those affected the most will be aged 50 to 69. 

When we experience long-term back or neck pain, we usually contact our GP or see a practitioner. But while traditional treatments can often offer relief, for many they only offer a short-term fix.

Movement mentor Dr Sarah Mottram is pioneering fresh thinking in this area. A qualified physiotherapist, she’s developed an innovative way of dealing with chronic pain. Sarah is passionate about the power of movement to help people to retrain the brain, and move away from pain. “By the time people come to me, they’ve usually tried everything to deal with ongoing joint and muscle pain,” said Sarah. “But nothing has given them long-term results.

One client had already spent £10,000 over many years trying to find a ‘cure’ for her backache. “The problem is that many conventional approaches focus on the location of pain. But pain is a symptom – not the problem.

“It’s all connected with changing our neuro- physiology. Pain is reallya warning sign to show there’s an issue. Rather than just managing symptoms, we should look at what’s behind the pain, and find the underlying issue. We need a holistic view for long-term results.” 

It’s this unique approach which drives Sarah’s passion for empowering people to learn how to move away from pain, and the small daily changes they can make towards leading a pain-free life. 

Sarah previously had a successful career as a tutor for 30 years. She travelled the world, using her expertise to help thousands of therapists use movement to improve the quality of life in their patients and clients. She also consulted within elite sport to help athletes, including players in the English Premier League. But she could see the need for a different approach to movement and pain management. 

Sarah explained, “I had a lot of neck and back pain when I was younger, and it took me to a low place – with pain and stress triggering this. But movement was my saviour and fuelled my drive to help people in a similar situation. 

“I became fascinated by the mind-body connection with movement. However, my ideas about championing movement to improve quality of life were new and novel at the time; I had to swim against the tide. My academic mentor said that if I wanted to go forward with this, I’d need to prove it with science. So, I set about doing that.” 

When Covid hit several years later, Sarah reassessed her life. No longer able to travel or work, she was put on furlough – and took the opportunity to complete her PhD in Healthy Movement. Sarah now helps people with all types of chronic pain, including back and neck pain, many of whom have suffered with limited movement for decades. 

After gaining her PhD, she went on to develop The Healthy Movement Programme. She describes this as the culmination of her life’s work. A virtual programme, it incorporates live mentoring sessions, using the latest developments in neuroscience and movement science to help people to move away from pain by retraining the brain. 

“It’s a whole body and mind approach rather than a quick fix, which many people have not had the opportunity to explore,” said Sarah. “By being treated as an individual, we can learn to change our painful movement patterns – and rediscover healthy movement again.” 

SARAH’S TOP FIVE HEALTHY MOVEMENT TIPS 

1 Practise active sitting 

If driving or working at a desk, don’t slump or sink into the seat, or turn into a ‘c’ shape. Practise ‘active sitting’ and be mindful of your body; it’s about being more aligned. When you realise that sitting can be active, it’s a game-changer. 

2 Use it or lose it

Don’t stick to the same walk every day! Movement is complex and multi- directional, and variability is important. We need to walk on different types of ground and gradients daily to keep our bodies using different muscles and joints. If we’re not conscious of this, we risk losing movement variability as we age. Once this becomes a habit, it can lead to pain. 

3 Move in your chair 

Working from home? Sitting while relaxing or socialising? Being sedentary is the new normal but there’s nothing normal about it. Use atimer – approximately 40 minutes – to remind you to check your alignment and introduce small movements. You don’t have tostand up; movement itself is key. Simple exercises like reaching your arms overhead, twisting gently from side to side, or tilting your pelvis forward and back can keep you moving. 

4 And breathe...

How we sit influences how we breathe. Slumping compresses the diaphragm, making breathing shallow and inefficient. While you don’t have to sit bolt upright, sitting in a more open and active way allows for improved oxygen flow. 

Diaphragmatic breathing can be a simple yet powerful tool. Try placing a scarf or band around the base of your ribs and gently hold it. As you breathe in, direct the air into your lower lungs, expanding the back and sides of your ribcage. Inhale slowly for a count of four and exhale for a count of four through the nose. This mindful breathing technique can help reset patterns and encourage relaxation while promoting better movement. 

5 Awareness

The secret is putting all this together. Becoming aware of our mind and body, and how we move, think and feel, allows us to make better choices. 

When you feel discomfort, pause and check in with yourself. How are you sitting? How are you breathing? Make small adjustments and notice the difference. Pain influences movement, but movement can also influence pain. 

www.themovementworks.co.uk