Julie Donnelly is one of the founders of the Focused Flexibility Training System. I was just reading a blog she wrote on another website of hers and I had to share bits of it here on the Flexible Athlete blog.

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Awhile ago Julie was reading a back issue of Reader’s Digest and found an article titled “50 Secrets Your Surgeon Won’t Tell You”.

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One of the secrets had to do with back pain relief and surgery; here’s what was shared:

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Kevin B. Jones, M.D., an orthopaedic surgeon and scientist at the Huntsman Cancer Institute and Primary Children’s Medical Center at the University of Utah states, Some problems just don’t fix well with surgery, like many cases of back pain.  My advice?  Grin and bear it.  Some surgeons vehemently disagree.  They say, ‘Oh, you have a degenerative disk and that must be the culprit.  Let’s fix it.’  But many people have a degenerative disk with no pain.  There isn’t a lot of evidence that we’re helping very many people.

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I can see Julie’s frustration rising now!!!  She is continually amazed how doctors, massage therapists, physical therapists and anyone searching for the cause of low back pain relief overlooks how the quadricep muscles of the anterior thigh interact with the lumbar vertebrae of the low back.  To Julie, it’s so logical and it is ignored! (Probably because it’s so simple and doesn’t cost a lot.  If you’ve been paying attention Big Pharma likes to keep us needing them!)

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‘Grin and bear it’ just isn’t acceptable especially when Julie’s proven over and over again with her hands-on experience that surgery should be a last resort.  Julie has helped thousands (THOUSANDS) of people by releasing muscles as directed in the Julstro Protocol (the Foundations DVD in our system includes the Julstro method!)  Finally there’s an answer for back pain relief without surgery!

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Julie has files upon files that are filled with testimonials.  And each testimonial is important and meaningful to her because it is from someone whose life has been changed by her work!

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One is particularly special to her; a testimonial from Allen Woodard, an athlete who really made her heart sing.  Allen’s life and professional sports career totally changed.  Here’s what he had to say:

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About 20 plus years ago I was a talented young track star with dreams of one day competing in the Olympic Games.  Suddenly that dream was cut short due to chronic hip and low back pain, which no one at the time could diagnose.  I went to see several top notch doctors in my area but they still were unable to figure out the source of my problem.  I even went to see one of the doctors who treated the famous Michael Johnson, the former World and Olympic champion in the 200 and 400 meter and still had no luck.

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Amazingly, 20 plus years later the grace of God lead me to muscular therapist Julie Donnelly who was holding a seminar on self-treatment (muscle release techniques).  In this seminar she demonstrated self-treatment techniques using rubber balls, foam rollers and things of that nature.  Not only did she demonstrate the proper therapy techniques, she also made us aware of how often we only treat the irritated area and in many cases, it’s really not the true source of the problem.  In other words, it hurts in one area, but the source of the pain is in a whole different area.

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I have to admit at first I was a little skeptical.  I figured after all of this time of living with this chronic muscle tightness and pain, I had tried everything.  But to my surprise, after I started to apply these techniques to my daily routine. I noticed a difference, instantly.  The feeling was overwhelming!  To be able to take a full stride again without overbearing pain was incredible.  I have to thank God for directing my steps to the right place at the right time.

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What’s really incredible is the fact that after 20 plus years, at the age of 42.  I’m back on the track competing again with people 20 years my junior.  Now, that is truly a blessing and what’s even more amazing – in 2011 at the USA Masters Track and Field, I ranked #4 in the world in the 200 and 400 meters and ranked #2 in the USA in both of these events.  I just want to say I owe a great deal of thanks to Julie Donnelly for sharing these awesome self-treatment techniques.

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These techniques played a big role in my accomplishments.  I strained my hamstring three times and each time I used the techniques Julie taught and because of this (applying the techniques) I was never out more than two to three days before I eased back into training.  Every athlete on every level can benefit from these techniques.  I believe Julie’s teaching can help other athletes like it helps me.  –Allen Woodard, USA Masters Track and Field, Houston, TX

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It’s testimonies like these that inspire Julie daily and inspired her to co-create Focused Flexibility Training for athletes!

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These muscle release techniques (self-treatments) can make a huge difference and yet too many people stay in pain or take to the knife.  The fact that you are reading this blog shows that you want to stay pain-free and flexible, I hope you’ll share the information with other people you know who feel the same way!

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