Here is a simple and effective stretching routine for knee pain originating in muscles that move the knee joint from the thigh and lower leg: quadriceps, hamstrings, popliteus and gastrocnemius. 1) Stretching the quadriceps in the front of your thigh: Standing on one leg (hold on to something for balance) bring your other knee up […]
For anyone with piriformis syndrome, restless leg syndrome, low back pain, hip pain, buttock pain, sciatica pain, thigh pain and back leg pain, these 5 specific stretches will help. If you feel discomfort or pain when you stretch, that’s the place that needs it. You won’t harm yourself even if it hurts if you stretch […]
Limbering up your back first thing in the morning gets the blood flowing to feed your muscles, moves lymph to remove waste products that cause pain and softens the connective tissue that restricts movement. This is the toning and stretching routine I give out at my Neuromuscular Therapy center near Boston. Best done in bed […]
In osteoarthritis (rheumatoid arthritis is a different story) there is inflammation in a bony joint with pain and swelling, sometimes resulting in changes to the bone. Joints have nerve endings that tell the nervous system what the joint is doing. Those nerves activate when the pressure in the joint is excessive. Prolonged pressure compromises the […]
Here are 6 tips for treating your painful thumb and wrist that I teach in my Neuromuscular Therapy center near Boston. There are two basic stretches, three tips for self-applied pressure and one strengthening exercise. Stretch for thumb tendonitis (deQuervains tenosynovitis): Enclose your thumb in your fist and cock your wrist till you feel a […]
These 5 stretches help open and balance the shoulder girdle, decrease rotator cuff pain and increase range of motion for athletic pursuits. Doorway stretch: Stand in a doorway with one foot straddling the threshold and your hands on the door jamb, elbows at your side. Shift your weight onto the forward foot until you feel […]
The first treatment of rotator cuff pain in the case of Ben B. targeted five muscle groups and treated them with Neuromuscular Therapy techniques. First, the four rotator cuff muscles needed to be treated to loosen up the shoulder joint. This is usually the heart of the problem. When they hold the top of the […]
As a Neuromuscular Therapist, how do I think about these rotator cuff and shoulder pains? The shoulder has only one small joint holding it to the skeleton at the inside edge of the collar bone where it connects to the breastbone (sternoclavicular joint). The stability of the shoulder depends on strong ligaments and on balance […]
These five stretches target the most important muscles that cause headache pain. Forward flexion for the suboccipitals: Sitting up straight, bring your chin in toward your throat and try to tuck it in the notch between your collar bones. Clasp your hands behind your head and gently pull so that you feel a stretch at the […]
In the case of Melinda W., I found a scoliosis and lower limb length inequality (LLLI) that were tilting her shoulders, causing tension in the jaw (TMJ) and neck musculature and giving her chronic headaches. I recommended trying a heel lift to level her out, and she scheduled a TMJ evaluation at a major Boston […]