There are many worthwhile things about living in Dunedin. Most of these are well publicised and widely enjoyed by those of us who live here. But there is one asset this city has that you may not know about. It has the potential to radically alter your health, your physical performance and your general wellbeing. I am referring to The Body Synergy Gym, its director Rowan Ellis, his staff and his treatment / strengthening / education program. Rowan is not just someone you would go to for your back, neck or muscle pain though there is no finer facility in Dunedin for this purpose. He can offer you the opportunity to prepare your body for any physical activity you engage in - work, leisure, recreation, sport up to the highest level.

His programme will enable you to sit, stand, walk, run, lift and carry without accelerating the wear and tear your skeleton and especially its joints are exposed to throughout life. What Rowan and his team have discovered is that both strengthening and re-educating your brain to fully utilise certain key muscles is an effective solution for correcting and preventing a wide range of spinal and muscular problems. This sounds simple, even simplistic, but the treatment of these common problems is an area that has become over complicated by the plethora of healthcare providers that purport to cure your bad back or stiff neck, their myriad of treatments and their often speculative theories. Many of these treatments are not based on sound scientific evidence. So how is Rowan's approach any different? For a number of years Rowan offered Dunedin residents his expert skills in massage therapy, well before this became a recognised treatment option in this country. He treated everyone from the sporting elite (including All Blacks) to ordinary folk whose experiences with other treatment specialists had left them without significant improvement or even worse off.

He treated my wife, an avid runner who developed a critical problem in her leg that threatened to curtail this valued part of her life. He found and cured the problem that other health professionals had failed to identify let alone treat effectively. A later MRI scan confirmed his diagnosis. I was deeply impressed and began seeking his expertise for various spinal and muscular problems that had plagued me for years. Despite his widely acknowledged success, Rowan became frustrated by the recurrence of problems that he had successfully but temporarily relieved. Rather than seeing this as an opportunity for revenue gathering he asked the one obvious question that so few in the treatment area seemed interested in: what is the underlying cause of this musculoskeletal breakdown? If the cause could be identified and treated then the recurrence would be eliminated. His observations over many years had shown him that certain musculoskeletal patterns were commonly present in his clients and he postulated that these could be that elusive underlying cause. For example, many had poor vertical alignment in their everyday postures - sitting and walking. This placed their spines under high loading that could conceivably contribute to accelerated deterioration and thus recurrent injury. This situation was frequently aggravated by poor muscle development in certain key postural muscles, especially hip extensors which resulted in inadequate support for their spines. Opposing muscles such as the hip flexors were often overdeveloped and over utilised pulling the spine out of vertical alignment and exacerbating the problem. Rowan set about testing his theory by developing both a computerised video measuring tool that could quantify spinal alignment as well as tests of muscle output that could identify under-performing muscles. I helped him by providing electrical measurements of muscle activity (EMG). Next he devised a set of strengthening exercises that would both target weak muscles and train the brain to start using those muscles in everyday activities.

There is much that could be said about this exercise programme but let me assure you that there is nothing comparable to it anywhere in the world as far as I am aware. In contrast to so many exercise programmes, especially those offered in gyms, it protects the spine whilst performing the exercise and it does not just build up useless muscle bulk for the sake of it. It is therefore both safe and effective. The goal is to achieve strong balanced muscles acting across joints thus supporting and protecting them. We tested the validity of the exercises with EMG to ensure that only the muscles we wanted to strengthen were actually being targeted. This is in stark contrast to normal gym exercises and a number of other treatment exercise programmes which are almost exclusively built around untested assumptions. Some of these commonly prescribed exercises can actually exacerbate the underlying problem by increasing the muscle imbalance and in some cases place unacceptable loading forces on the spine. Most people would not deliberately subject their bodies to a potentially damaging exercise regime but if the exercises are not designed or performed correctly, short or long term injuries are a real possibility. In recent years, Rowan has systematically gathered data from his clients that clearly shows the long term effectiveness of his approach. He has used this data as well as the research findings of Dr Stuart McGill (Professor of spine biomechanics from the University of Waterloo, Ontario, Canada) to modify and further develop his programme. He has recognised that the "one size fits all" approach is inappropriate. Each individual needs a personalised assessment and treatment plan based on their specific musculoskeletal problem and lifestyle. He continues to use massage therapy as a vital adjunct to the Gym based programme but the key to his approach is not to massage, mobilise or manipulate the spine until the underlying muscle strength needed to support the freely moving spine has been achieved. Failure to understand this principal is one of the biggest mistakes made by some physiotherapists, chiropractors, osteopaths and other treatment providers and can have disastrous consequences in individuals who receive manipulation whilst lacking the essential musculotendinous support. Why should you come to see Rowan? To obtain treatment for an existing spine, joint or muscle problem that addresses the root cause of the problem rather than merely its symptoms and is effective in the long term. To learn how to strengthen your body safely and provide the necessary muscle power and technique to tackle any physical task you choose. To protect you from future spinal injury, one of the most common medical conditions in the community. To reach your full potential within your physical domain be it top level sport or that ambition you have been harbouring to complete a physical challenge but have lacked the confidence or physical condition to tackle it.

You will without doubt enjoy the family atmosphere that Rowan and Kylie have created in Body Synergy and the personalised treatment you will receive. You will always be fully supervised in your exercise programme because we have shown that slight departures from correct technique can have major deleterious effects on the exercise outcome. Finally, Rowan knows his boundaries. He will not try to deceive you by finding problems that don't exist or promise outcomes that are unobtainable. If your condition is one best dealt with by another health professional Rowan will not hesitate to tell you so. Rowan has taught me a great deal about the way musculoskeletal problems can be traced back to their preventable origins and avoided altogether by a simple commitment to a personalised well researched exercise programme. He continues to keep my middle aged frame in excellent physical condition and it has been particularly rewarding for me to see the way he has radically transformed the lives of so many others including people I have specifically referred to him. We are indeed fortunate to have his skills so readily at hand.

Dr Peter Taylor Clinical Neurophysiologist