This is a series on low back pain. If you missed the summary of causes, go back to Part 1. For those of you who consider your low back the part below your waist across your sacrum and into the top of your buttocks and the back of your hips, the piriformis muscle could be […]
This is the second in a series of posts on groin pain. If you missed the case study on which this series is based, go back to Groin pain Part 1: The case of Enrique L. When a patient comes to my Boston area office with groin pain, what do I think about as a […]
When a patient presents with neck pain, what are the possible muscular causes and what can help relieve the pain? What was important in the case of Sukie B? Neuromusclular Therapy teaches that there are 6 factors to consider in discovering the reasons why muscles have become dysfunctional. The first is Trigger Points that refer […]
When knee pain is of muscular origin, the quadriceps, hamstrings, popliteus and gastroc muscles are the most common causes. If treatment of those muscles doesn’t relieve pain, therapists might think about these tips for solving the pain puzzle: Pes anserinus, short adductors, ITB/TFL, a Baker’s cyst, or chondromalacia. Remember this odd name from your therapy […]
Knowledge is power. The better you understand the muscles of your knee the more empowered you will be to keep them out of pain. The last post discussed the quadriceps in the front of the thigh. The “hamstrings” are in the back of the thigh. Guys refer to them affectionately as “hammies” at the gym. […]
As a Neuromuscular Therapist practicing in the Boston area for nineteen years, how do I think about the causes of pain in the shoulder and arm when patients lift their arms or reach for something? With everyone on computers now, it is a common problem to have a work station that is too high and […]
According to Travell & Simons in their Trigger Point Manual, “In patients with chronic myofascial pain, attention to perpetuating factors often spells the difference between sucessful and failed therapy.” Perpetuating factors in the case of Krystal S. were an important consideration in reducing the need for continued treatment for restless leg syndrome at my Neuromuscular […]
When muscle tension and hyperactivity from Trigger Points are the cause of RLS, Neuromuscular Therapy is very successful in relieving symptoms and sometimes eliminating this disturbing condition. When an initial series of appointments works, but symptoms return, underlying or perpetuating factors need to be discovered. Treatment in the case of Krystal S. in my Neuromuscular […]
So how do I think about RLS? What jumps out at me is the “restless” part. The muscles are hyperactive. What can cause that? Well, I’m a Neuromuscular Therapist and when you’re a hammer everything looks like a nail, so I go right to Trigger Points! Trigger points are hyperactive. They are working 24/7. They […]
When patients come to my Neuromuscular Therapy center near Boston with undiagnosed muscle pain and weakness, I always think about what causes there might be other than the two most recognized by medical professions: underuse (or deconditioning) and disease process. In light of the news story on ABC June 5, 2009 about muscle weakness caused […]