The Body Fusion Therapy

You may be wondering how working on the bladder and prostate can help a male’s mobility and strength but in this episode, Dr. Heather Demirci talks about the amazing effects it can have on your low back pain and core function. The mobilization of this area is more profound for men than women due to some anatomical differences which also means that when it’s not working well, it can cause quite a f...

If you’ve listened to the podcast in the past, you’ve heard Dr. Heather Demirci mention the liver on multiple occasions. On this episode, she dives into more specifics about the liver and the interesting effects a gallbladder restriction can have on the musculoskeletal system. Heather also discusses how you can start to treat these areas yourself to improve function and mobility.

If the stomach and esophagus are altered, there can be more than just stomach problems. Did you know stomach adhesions can cause limited left shoulder and neck mobility as well as SI joint pain? Dr. Heather Demirci talks more about what issues you can see if you have restrictions around your stomach and esophagus and how you can start to treat it yourself.

Moving around organs might seem like a strange concept and that doesn’t apply to you but you’d be surprised how affecting change of the soft tissue around the organs can improve the aches and pains you’re struggling with. Dr. Heather Demirci will be starting a series of episodes on mobilization of specific organs but she wants to first discuss why you would treat them in the first place. In this e...

You may not realize there is more than one type of Physical Therapy practice and choosing which one is right can seem daunting. In this episode, Dr. Heather Demirci breaks down what questions you need to ask yourself, what are potential PT sites and what type of PT practices are out there. There are pros and cons to all of them and finding the right one for your needs will make for a better outcom...

The demands of sports lead to different demands on the body that can be seen in how the athletes stand and move. These adaptations to achieve greatness in the sport can also lead to injuries. In this episode, Dr. Heather Demirci discusses some of the hallmark postures of the different Summer Olympic sports and how they can lead to or be indicative of injuries.

After finishing a series of posture episodes, Dr. Heather Demirci thought it was important to address how infant developmental milestones and posture can be organized properly. Why not learn it properly the first time rather than having to untrain the brain how to move? Heather talks about the importance of different postures, when they should occur, and how to encourage proper motor planning.

In this bonus episode, Dr. Heather Demirci discusses the importance of finding a mentor rather than a coach. After the passing of Dr. Mary Hickey, a beloved teacher at Northeastern University, Heather reflects on the impact a mentor can have. There is one big difference between a coach and mentor and hopefully you’re lucky enough one day to experience it for yourself.

Efficient standing posture is more difficult to find than you would think. In this episode, Dr. Heather Demirci discusses why changing your standing posture can be so hard, what efficient standing posture means, and finally how to achieve it. Standing should be relaxed and be automatically connected to your core. It may take some time to make it a habit, but it’s worth it when you hear where to fo...

Countless people complain of pain with sitting but don’t know how to make it better. In this episode, Dr. Heather Demirci focuses on key areas to pay attention to make efficient sitting posture, how to pick out the perfect chair and how to make modifications if that perfect chair can’t be found. Ergonomics don’t have to be so complicated and learn in this episode how to be a better sitter.

We spend about 33% of our lives sleeping but we don’t put the work in to achieve that 33% of our life to be of quality. In this episode, Dr. Heather Demirci discusses sleep hygiene, how to pick the best mattress and pillow, and finally how to position yourself in the different sleeping postures. Sleep is a crucial part of healing and recovery from injuries and ensuring better overall health. Getti...

The number of different workout shoes out there seems endless. How do you know which one is the best? Is there a difference between shoes? Why does the same style feel different from the last pair? Dr. Heather Demirci discusses how to pick up the best shoes and the importance of testing each individual shoe to find the perfect pair. This episode will start to take some of the guesswork out of pick...

Running is a great physical activity, accessible to almost everyone and anywhere, but there is more to the sport than meets the eye. Dr. Demirci discusses the coordination pattern of running and the importance of the shoulder blades and pelvic motion. She discusses what common injuries are associated with specific dysfunctions of this coordinated motion as well as the proper posture of efficient r...

Flat Feet Many people are led to believe they have flat feet but they actually have high arches and their ankle compensates by collapsing inward. In this episode, Dr. Heather Demirci discusses how to assess for this compensation, how this compensation can affect the body, treatments for it, and when to use orthotics. Learn more about how foot alignment and the importance of efficiency.

Today’s episode is a little different. Dr. Heather Demirci selected 4 questions asked on Instagram for a listener Q&A. “Tight hip flexors and where the problem could be,” “How PT can help with Parkinson’s Disease and some tips for people at home,” “Her tips and tricks for people pre and post surgery,” “Why you would treat the tongue and how to mobilize it.”

Dr. Heather Demirci is talking about poop today, or the lack thereof. Gut health is a critical part of overall health as more is coming to light with the gut-brain connection. Dr. Heather discusses what is an efficient transit time of food in to food out, what efficient poop looks like, where it all goes wrong after infancy, why it’s important, and how to get more efficient bowel movements. Dr. He...

The patient interview is a crucial part of finding the root cause of their pain. Patients are half the equation. Patients need to know their history and specifics. Practitioners need to know how to ask the right questions and get the pertinent information out of their patients. Also, practitioners need to learn how to keep the rapport with their patients. If you want to get the most out of your se...

Scar tissue and adhesions can wreak havoc on the body by intertwining through the organs, tissues, and joints. These extra connections are troublesome when they inhibit motion and proper function. In this episode, Dr. Heather Demirci discusses what is the difference between scar tissue and adhesions, how they are formed, why they can cause problems, and how to get rid of them. Don’t just think bec...

In a time when going to be a specialist is the best course of action, a person thinks they can take, Dr. Heather Demirci questions that theory. Specialization can force a practitioner to miss the bigger picture. In this episode, Heather discusses why it’s important to look at the whole body, the power of critical thinking, and why the medical diagnosis is only a small part of the journey to healin...

1 in 5 Americans suffers from chronic pain according to a 2016 report from the CDC. Chronic pain has a large effect on the mental and physical health and complexity of the sufferer and can lead to addiction to opioids. In this episode, Dr. Heather Demirci discusses the different categories of treatment chronic pain sufferers can fall into, how stress has a physical effect on your pain, and finally...

If you want to truly fix the problem, you need to find the root cause. In this episode, Dr. Heather Demirci discusses the idea of hypomobilities in the body causing areas of hypermobility which become the painful area. These hypomobilities can be caused by the joints but also the nerves and the viscera. Heather gives multiple examples of each of these areas in the hope that maybe one of them helps...

You’ve had the baby. Now what? The aches and pains you might have felt during your pregnancy may not have subsided or possibly some new ones have popped up. In this episode, Dr. Heather Demirci talks about why you might feel loose, low back pain, SI joint pain, pelvic floor dysfunction, diastasis recti, posture, and the key structures to treat to resolve the dysfunctions.

Dr. Heather Demirci breaks down the trimesters of pregnancy to explore what the focus of Physical Therapy can be in each trimester and what the female could be experiencing. She explains the different treatment focuses of each trimester and how you can help yourself to alleviate pain, including what you should get treated prior to getting pregnant to help avoid developing diastasis recti.

This episode is for anyone that has had or knows someone who has had Covid-19. In this episode, Dr. Heather Demirci discusses treating patients post-Covid and not just those experiencing Long Hauler Symptoms (PASC) but people that are having pains and dysfunctions elsewhere in the body where their usual treatments are no longer solving the pain.

Ever feel like no matter how much you stretch, you never seem to get more flexible? This episode discusses the different reasons for inflexibility, how to test yourself, and how to effectively improve mobility after the cause has been determined. Stop wasting hours trying to touch your toes and start stretching more effectively.