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 […]
During the treatment of Melinda W., suffering from years of chronic headache pain, she told me that one of the most important things she learned in her healing process was to “touch the places that hurt.” That’s a hard thing to do when it causes more pain, but holding pressure on places that hurt will […]
As a Neuromuscular Therapist, how do I think about chronic headache pain? If medical reasons for headaches have been ruled out, the cause is probably muscular Trigger Points. Examining the muscles in the neck and shoulders usually turns up at least one cause. But finding unhealthy muscles with Trigger Points is only targeting the symptoms. […]
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 […]
A 38 year old fit mother of two little ones was referred by a professional acquaintance to my Neuromuscular Therapy center near Boston for treatment of twelve years of chronic headaches. There had been no accident or initiating event. They had come on insidiously and had grown steadily worse to the point that the quality […]
People with foot pain usually think of the condition called plantar fasciitis, but there is another source that is easier and less painful to treat. It’s caused by Trigger Points in the calf muscles. Two of those muscles, the gastrocnemius and the soleus have referred pain patterns into the foot, one to the underside of […]
In the case of Joelle G., Neuromuscular Therapy treatment at our clinic near Boston proceeded as follows: The quadriceps muscles that straighten the knee were the first to be treated to release tension in these overworked muscles and to work on Trigger Points referring pain to her knee. Walking on bent knees, the quads were always working, […]
As a Neuromuscular Therapist, how do I think about knee pain? First, I think about which Trigger Points refer to the patient’s pain location. Second, with any joint pain, when medically treatable conditions have been attended to, I treat all of the muscles that cross the knee to release pressure on the joint. Third, I […]
Joelle G., a woman in her 40s, was referred by her doctor to my Neuromuscular Therapy Center Southwest of Boston for help with her knee pain. She was limping badly and couldn’t completely straighten one leg. It hurt too much to climb stairs, so working in a building with an elevator was a good thing! […]
Practice body awareness. Here are 5 things to check: Are you clenching your jaw or holding the muscles in your jaw tightly? Open your mouth as wide as you can for a few seconds then let it go, relax your jaw. How does it feel different? Are you squinting or scrunching up the muscles around […]