Enterprising Ideas

BodyWise Therapy

Release Your Pain

By Vicki Jo Walsh

Pictured: Shanna Paopao, PT, owner

What do you do when you feel recurring pain in your body? Do you shift and stretch, hoping it will just go away? Do you take pain relievers, hoping to mask your discomfort? These strategies may help for a while, but pain that isn’t truly addressed is more than likely to return. If you’re ready to try something different, call BodyWise Therapy and get help with true healing.

Owner Shanna Paopao earned her physical therapy degree in 1999 from the Nebraska Medical Center. She worked in skilled nursing facilities, hospital settings and home health before she decided to practice as an independent therapist at BodyWise Therapy. She has the knowledge and experience to find the source of your pain and help alleviate it. Most of Shanna’s clients seek her help for ongoing or recurring pain.

At your first visit, Shanna assesses the history and source of your pain. This is not a quick question-and-answer session! Shanna delves into your concerns, analyzing your gait and posture, measuring your range of motion, and obtaining a history of your significant injuries and surgeries. After she has gathered all the facts she needs, she develops an individual treatment plan. Treatment begins on your very first visit!

Shanna specializes in a handson technique called myofascial release. After years of treating patients with standard therapeutic techniques, such as tailored exercise regimens, electrostimulation, and massage therapy, she saw a need to look for other options, especially for those who have recurring chronic pain that doesn’t respond effectively to standard remedies.

Shanna heard about a pain relieving technique called myofascial release while she was a student in physical therapy that helps patients with continuing pain. She annually travels to various locations in the country (with the exception of this past pandemic year) to take advanced John F. Barnes courses, who is a leading authority in myofascial release.

We’ve all heard of massage therapy, which is a fantastic treatment that helps with many conditions. However, you may not have heard of myofascial release. As Shanna explains, the fascia is a web-like structure that runs throughout the body, supporting the bones, organs, and body systems. Injuries, scarring, trauma, inflammation, or even just poor posture can cause restrictions in this structure. Those restrictions can cause not only tightness and pain but even seemingly unrelated symptoms like digestive issues.

Sometimes the real source of the pain is not the area you would expect! Fascia interconnects our body parts, and the source of pain in one part of the body can be a result of restriction in another part of the body. Myofascial release does just what it says—it releases the painful fascial restrictions, restoring flexibility and promoting healing.

Myofascial release can help during post-surgical rehabilitation, can address acute chronic pain, and can help with chronic conditions like frozen shoulder and fibromyalgia. These therapeutic treatments have been proven effective with problems as varied as back pain, neck pain, digestive problems, and balance issues. The technique is often used to treat injuries sustained during sports, on the job, or in a vehicle collision. After initial treatments, patients often return once or twice for tune-ups.

Emily is one of Shanna’s patients. For years, Emily has suffered from migraine headaches so severe that they kept her from doing her job. After treatments at BodyWise Therapy, Emily’s migraines have lessened significantly. She can now sit upright at a desk for sufficient time to maintain her employment. Emily describes the experience of myofascial release as a slow, gentle taffy pull. She feels very comfortable with Shanna and describes her as accepting, kind, and non-judgmental. Emily’s experiences at the clinic are always helpful and are also very pleasant—an appointment with Shanna is something that Emily looks forward to.

In these hectic times, Shanna believes, we need to take time to listen to what our bodies are trying to tell us. Too often, we try to silence that message with self-medication, distraction, or avoidance. Being mindful, however, helps us to identify the true source of our pain. Shanna can help with this, too! With many of her patients, the source that Shanna identifies is not at all what the patient expected.

If you think your body is trying to tell you something about your pain, don’t just sit and suffer! Wise up and call Shanna Paopao at BodyWise Therapy. You can reach her by phone at 402-709-0803. Shanna is an independent therapist, and BodyWise Therapy is not a franchise. The office is located at 2504 South 119th Street, in the Arbor Professional Building. For more information about the treatments that Shanna offers and the safety precautions she has implemented during the pandemic, please visit bodywiseomaha.com.