This is a shoulder injury and neurolymphatic point stimulation case study. A 44-year-old healthy female came to me presenting a 5 ½ months-post fall that caused a fracture to her greater tubercle and dislocated the humerus posteriorly.
Intervention and Outcomes Before using Chapmans Reflexes
A variety of interventions were performed by her physiotherapist before commencing treatment with me and the application of Chapmans reflexes.Non-surgical relocation of the humerus was performed by her surgeon followed up with weekly rehabilitation therapy with physiotherapy using closed chain small exercises. To date, she has a humeral elevation close to 80 degrees. She was also seeing her regular chiropractor, Dr. Sandy [10 years +]. She has included acupuncture to try for more movement in the shoulder complex. Dr. Sandy referred her to me to address the still limited range of motion.
Interventions using Chapmans Reflexes and Various NMT
For the interventions using Chapmans reflexes, one treatment was applied per week for three weeks. Then one more 14 days later with follow-up in so that she could return to full ROM and strength. This also enables her to perform push-ups from a toe stance. The pain was significantly reduced to VAS less than 1/10. I also addressed her underlying chronic lower back pain complaint.
METHODS
INITIAL PRESENTATION
Mrs. W showed:
tension/hypertonicity
tight left lateral neck and shoulder
some altered sensation
numbness over the region of the lateral humerus. Her description of the region included "feels like a block" and
"has a heaviness when trying to reach overhead".
Over the last 10 weeks, she stated that the medial and anterior deltoid muscle "now finally getting the tone and feels like it is activating". She had actively been doing her home care as instructed by the physiotherapist assigned to her. The home care included the use of heat packs to alleviate the tight and tense soft tissue.
Assessment
Her levels of stress were reported were extremely high. She stated that she felt like she was holding everything internally. She was unable to take full diaphragmatic breaths and her thoracic range of movement was limited in all ranges.Strength testing was performed and showed moderate weakness on the diaphragm-supraspinatus isometric test. There is also a moderate weakness to the latissimus dorsi, the thoracic extensors, posterior deltoid/shoulder complex, and the external humeral rotators.
Treatments
Treatments for Mrs. W included the following:
Chapmans Reflexes – Commenced by stimulation of the neurolymphatic points feeding the diaphragm and then teaching her diaphragmatic breathing to elicit the “relaxation response” and trigger the parasympathetic nervous system. Chapmans Reflexes were applied to the neurolymphatic points for the latissimus dorsi anterior and posterior points and the Tx and shoulder extensors, where I followed the protocol of vigorous but not deep rubbing for 30 seconds in each region. Once these areas were stimulated her strength had improved to very strong isometric holds of the shoulder muscles and increased ROM of humeral extension and internal adduction.
Muscle Energy Technique - Following the neurolymphatic stimulation, I added a muscle energy technique to the humeral internal rotators. This will allow greater resting length in these muscles and increase mobility and ROM of humeral external rotation. During the post isometric relaxation phase, the resting length of the muscle will be greater. This technique has been found to effectively reduce capsular restrictions noted at the glenohumeral joint through ROM.
Low load muscle activation - She then performed a low load muscle activation of the subscapularis in its closed position. The action of the subscapularis is internal humeral rotation as well as adduction of the humerus. This allows the target muscle to contract independently from the other muscles used in the action of the primary muscle.
Neuromuscular techniques - Various neuromuscular techniques including glides and gentle cross fiber movements to the biceps, pec minor, posterior deltoid, and the fascial line between the triceps in supine were applied. Seated active movements of the head and neck in rotation to the left upper and mid trapezius and thoracic erector spinae, prone to the left latissimus dorsi, around the scapula, rotator cuff, and levator scapula were also applied. Mobilization of the bilateral Cx joints to address the left-sided stiffness. Both sides were painful but became less painful after 3 applications on each side.
Homecare - This included activating the neurolymphatic points of the diaphragm, 10 diaphragmatic breathing, and breathing full breaths often through the day.
Mrs. W had plenty of resentment issues over the fall and the lack of support with those around her during the incident. So, we also discussed ways for her to do self-anger management and let anger become less of an impediment to her treatment progress.
2ND TREATMENT
Mrs. W did her homework using the breathing exercises to manage her stress and chest restrictions. She also wrote her resentment issues down on butcher paper and stated that she was “feeling like moving forward a bit more”. Her shoulder’s range had improved but still with pain and some mild swelling for a few days post-treatment. She attempted to do toe push-ups (did 3 this morning) which she had been unable to do.
Assessment
There were still some weaknesses with thoracic and humeral extensors and latissimus dorsi. Also, there was still weakness in recruiting the neck muscles to assist in the strength testing with a note to actively retracting the jaw in every movement. Strength testing also included weakness in neck flexion so the neurolymphatic point for the region was included. Assessment of supine rotations of the lower limbs to assess the balance of the soft tissues of the trunk lateral flexors, obliques, and deep lumbar rotatores, multifidi, and intertraversii muscles were done. Looking at the Anatomy trains and links to the functional backline, lateral line and spiral line with the connections from the shoulder and pelvis have led me to include lumbar muscle energy techniques to address rotations or torsions of the sacrum and/or ilia.
Treatments
Chapmans Reflexes - These were applied to the left latissimus dorsi, thoracic flexors/humeral extensors, and sternocleidomastoid/deep neck flexors. Re-assessment of strength was markedly improved with almost complete full range of shoulder abduction.
Local cross-fiber friction and neuromuscular techniques - These were applied to the upper anterior humerus/anterior deltoid tendon, subclavius, 2nd/3rd ribs at the sternalis region - using forced inspiration and expiration; myofascial ringing of my hands across the lateral humerus/ interosseous membrane just inferior to the deltoids with active humeral rotation, compression/stripping into the thenar muscle. These techniques were chosen to include the fascial arm lines of the Anatomy Trains. Studies show that restrictions along these superficial and/or deep arm lines will alter the biomechanical efficiency of the shoulder complex and cervical ROM. Lumbar muscle energy technique and gluteal stretches were included in this treatment. [Shoulder Injury & Neurolymphatic Point Stimulation - A Case Study]
Homecare – A 30-second stimulation of the neurolymphatic points of the latissimus dorsi, thoracic flexors/humeral extensors, deep neck flexors/SCM, and diaphragm were prescribed including 2 minutes of diaphragmatic breathing. I started Mrs. W on the functional stabilizing activity of wall springing push-ups x 20 daily. This reduces the load of the shoulder complex and still offers eccentric and concentric contractions to any of the muscles with attachments to the scapula, humerus, or ribs.
3RD TREATMENT
Mrs. W had been doing the Chapmans activations each day. She has full pain free range of the humerus in all ranges, has been doing wall springing push-ups and today performed 15 toes push-ups for her physician. He has commented that her post-non-surgical relocation recovery has accelerated far greater than usual progressions. He is very happy with her outcomes.
Assessment
The latissimus attachment pain is finally settled and latissimus strength is 100%. Shoulder ROM was considered to be full range in all planes, though a painful taut band was noted on the left teres major. We are now focusing on an ongoing episodic complaint of lower back pain which is 6-7/10 on the VAS scale and can flare up with long hours standing at work. Strength testing showed the weakness of the left lateral sling including lateral trunk flexors, gluteus medius/minimus; weak right gluteus maximus, right hip flexor iliopsoas, right superficial front and back fascial lines with weakness in strength testing of the quadriceps, gastrocnemius, and tibialis anterior.
Treatments
Neurolymphatic points stimulation - This was applied to the weakened muscles tested listed above. Neurolymphatic points relevant to musculoskeletal dysfunction are found primarily on the anterior of the body, when there is chronic weakness/stress we also need to treat the associated posterior Chapmans Reflex points housed near the erector spinae of the relevant spinal nerves.
Low load activation - I added low load muscle activation to the left rhomboid to increase the stability of the left rotator cuff of the scapula which affects the spiral line of the anatomy trains.
Prone various neuromuscular techniques - These techniques were applied to the gluteus maximus, minimus, and medius, adding compressive mobilizing techniques to the sacral ILA, sacrotuberous and iliolumbar ligaments, complimenting with myofascial release/passive internal rotations of the deep hip rotators, also applied XFF to the tendon of the right quadriceps in supine with Mrs. W adding active femoral rotations.
Homecare – Mrs. W continued to apply her 30 seconds of vigorous but not hard rubbing to the neurolymphatic points associated with the latissimus dorsi, thoracic flexors/humeral extensors, deep neck flexors/SCM, diaphragm and continue her diaphragmatic breathing each morning and if she felt she was going into a stress state. She will also include the low load muscle activation of the rhomboid muscle to address any dysfunction of the spiral line of the anatomy train.
4TH TREATMENT
Mrs. W booked in 2 weeks later – she had increased her University assignment load and she works full time as a registered nurse which added more stress to the shoulder and back. One episode of neuralgia from the right side of the neck resulted in a silent migraine occurred with excessive hours in front of the computer. Her shoulders were still maintaining full range of motion but last week, a feeling like a band or pressure developed across the posterior deltoid and over the shoulder which is still present today. No complaints of lower back pain since the last treatment.
Assessment
Full strength when testing the shoulder muscles which was encouraging. There was also a full range of movement though a feeling of the band over the deltoid still present. The taut band and pain commonly referred to as a "Trigger Point" was no longer present on palpation of the teres major. Lumbar rotations in supine were equal and full range. Sacral hypertonicity and painful areas were no longer a concern.
Treatments
Local neuromuscular treatment - This was applied to the left shoulder commencing with positional release techniques to the external rotators of the humerus, glides to the pectoralis minor and major.
Prone neuromuscular techniques - These techniques were also applied to the full-back, latissimus dorsi, lumbosacral and thoracolumbar fascia, shoulder rotator cuff, upper trapezius, and levator scapulae.
Homecare - Activation of the Chapmans Reflexes three times a week and increase to daily if the range reduced in any of the humeral movements were advised. She would continue with the low load muscle activation of the rhomboid before stronger shoulder exercises. She would have to find strategies to add small breaks into the assignment writing tasks so that long hours working at the computer are broken up.
LAST TREATMENT
Two weeks further to follow up and all ranges are full, pain-free, and feel easy throughout the entire range. I added a bike exercise to help with stress management. She would continue with the low load muscle activation and Chapmans Reflexes point stimulation.
Treatments
Therapeutic management - She asked to have a more relaxed treatment so I removed any neurolymphatic point stimulation or exercises to the treatment protocol and gave a general treatment including glides, effleurage, petrissage, myofascial release techniques, positional release techniques, some active and passive stretches.
Homecare - She would continue with the physiotherapist's exercise routine adding the low load and neurolymphatic point stimulation before these rehabilitation activities.
I followed up 6 and 12 months later and Mrs. W had no further need to intervene on her shoulder.
For today’s article, "Hips and Backs NEED these TWO Stretches to Resolve Hip and Back Pains", we talk about all things hips. Particularly interesting are the two stretches that help resolve the common hip and back pains. This is especially advantageous to those who constantly sit for long periods of hours who may occasionally experience lower back and hip pain.And this is quite true also for people with occupations that require them to stay in a variety of uncomfortable positions for any length of time. Plumbers are a PERFECT example of having an occupation that leaves them flexed, rotated, side bent, back bent, crouching, and all manner of odd positions. When I see these clients, they almost ALL present with lower back pain especially in the morning.
Which Occupations Mostly Suffer from Hip and Back Pains?
So if you think about your clientele who you treat for back and hip pain, how many fit this demographic?? Occupations that put them in tight and awkward body positions will undoubtedly increase the risks of having them experience lower back and hip pain. These include plumbers, carpenters, electricians, mechanics not to mention those who sit for hours each day.The mechanism of injury is extended periods of forwarding flexion which loads the posterior chain of the body – excessive glute contraction, and also hamstring and the erector spinae fatigue. Our contralateral muscles often co-contract leading to tight hip flexors, tight adductors, and a restricted capsular hip joint.
The Two Powerful and Effective Stretch Techniques
Let’s address both lower back and hip pain using two powerful and effective stretch techniques.
Let’s start with the client supine.
Take the affected leg into hip flexion.
Now externally rotate their leg until you get the end feel of the tissues in the gluteal region. This can include glute Maximus, minimus and minimus, deep rotators, and/or piriformis. You may also feel the end of the range in the actual joint. Depending on the flexibility of your client, you should be able to externally rotate their leg till the ankle nears their opposite hip.
Then you apply a little bit of pressure using your body weight by leaning forward into the client’s raised leg while holding the adjacent hip using your other hand. Fixating the hip stops the pelvis from moving into counternutation or rotation.
While in this position, try to flex, externally rotate. Abduct the leg as far as they can manage while stabilizing yourself using your client’s opposite hip. Make sure that the stretch is deep but comfortable. They should be able to breathe through it.
You should ask your client for feedback, where they feel the stretch. Any pain felt is usually in the socket and the deeper hip rotators i.e. obturators and Gemelli.
Now reposition yourself into a position where you can grasp the full thigh with both your arms. Take the femur into a supportive hug and keep the external rotation and abduction.
From there, lean backward away from the table, distract the thigh putting the abductors under stretch. You hold each of these positions for 20 – 30 seconds to allow for some soft tissue ‘creep’.
Repeat these two manoeuvers twice more each time going much deeper into the stretches and distractions and leaning more of your body weight.
Watch out for Compressive Groin Pain
Now, this stretch is not applicable if your client complains of compressive groin pain. This can be a multitude of reasons including:
arthritis,
bony spurs,
bursitis in the lessor trochanter trochanteric tendonitis, etc.
We can address this by getting a pillow slip or hand towel, put it at the proximal medial region of the thigh i.e. the groin or crotch area. Further, distract the femur with the material. You are creating a wedge to encourage the head of the femur further into the posterior lateral region within the acetabulum. This should reduce pain when the client's leg is taken into flexion/adduction/external rotation.
Repeat the steps with the other leg and see the difference in the range in motion as you rotate the legs forward and backward.
Now that’s a stretch!!! It focuses on abduction and adduction restrictions, gluteal hypertonicity, tight hip flexors. It can give your clients great relief for both lower back and hip pain.That’s just about it for now with "Hips and Backs NEED these TWO Stretches to Resolve Hip and Back Pains". See you in the next article!
Are you one of the many people CONTINUALLY complaining of neck pain?Have you ever wondered why you usually feel pain in your neck muscles and what you can do about it?Answer this “What Can I Do To Get RID of this DAMN pain?”Let’s first talk about why you might be having this issue in the first place, why EXACTLY is your neck sore??
Why is your neck sore?
People usually experience neck pain for several reasons. But most of the time, one feels pain or stiffness of their neck muscles due to poor posture or overusing your neck. Sometimes, a bad fall or an injury causes neck pain. In our industry, we say ‘misuse’, ‘disuse’, ‘abuse’ or ‘overuse’.Actually most of the time, the pain usually subsides if left for a few days, the body simply self-heals. Neck pains lasting for more than a week needs some serious attention. Especially if accompanied by other symptoms which might include burning pain down the arms, weakness of the muscles of the neck and arms, severe headaches, etc. You should consult a doctor or therapist for further investigation and treatment.But if you feel that your neck is due to your posture or more like the muscles are always TURNED ON, then there a few self-stretching activities that you can do at your home.Do you suffer headaches that feel like they are coming from your neck or shoulders?Can you turn your head sideways properly when reversing your car?Do you get shoulder pain or eye tension?
SCM is the Culprit
If you answered yes to some of these then perhaps, we need to look at a neck muscle in the front of your body. The SCM is quite often the culprit that causes many of those problems.If your SCM or sternocleidomastoid muscle, which is attached to the skull just behind the ears and then glides in a long sweep to the center points of your collar bone. The role of the muscle is to:
turn your head
to help tilt it to the sides
and when STRESSED it pulls your chin forward into a chin tuck position.
This is a protection position but if left untreated will compress the back of your neck. Symptoms of this shortening and compression of the suboccipital muscles are:
headaches,
eye strain,
vertigo (sometimes), and
tinnitus with lots of general neck pain
in chronic states also upper back pain
By making the SCM muscle longer, it encourages our head placement from chin poke into a more healthy “normal” head position and neck alignment.The stretch that I’m going to teach you is pretty easy and you can do this anytime in the comfort of your home. Here are the steps that you should do to do this stretch.
Go to a mirror because you need to look at your SCM muscle and get an idea of what it does. You will see the SCM muscle when you turn your head sideways, it is that strong thick muscle at the front of your neck, it may or may not be visible but you can generally feel it with your fingers.
Next, we shorten and therefore soften your SCM muscle by turning your ear to the front and lowering your head so the ear is dropping down to your collar bone.
Now take hold of that softened muscle and gently starts to bring your head back up to normal and then extend the head so that the opposite ear is directed to the shoulder blade. You’ll feel your fingers sliding down your SCM muscle every time you repeat this shortening and lengthening movement. This promotes a stretch that is also called an active stretch or a myofascial release technique. Shorten your muscle then come up and gently pull your muscle down to get a really good neck stretch muscle. And you need to do these steps three times for each side of your neck.
Once you completed on one side, you need to do the same steps on the other side of your neck. So again, do the head movements into neck flexion with an ear to the front and then back into neck extension with the opposite ear to the shoulder blade. You might feel a few lumps, bumps, painful spots along with the SCM muscle. That’s perfectly NORMAL for someone with neck issues. Over time these will ‘iron’ out and your head position return to one your therapist will be happy with. You’ll also feel a nice long stretch all the way along with this overused muscle group. Now repeat these steps again 3 times.
So there you have it. I hope you find this article useful for you. These stretches are simple, easy to apply, and can be done pretty much anytime or anywhere. The tip is whenever you feel neck pain or any symptoms related to SCM muscles you know the first of many options is to apply this stretch.
Today, let's focus on hook hip lift! Do you complain of tight hamstrings or been told you have weakness in your lower back? Do you want to strengthen those glute muscles? I mean you should! They are the big drivers when we sit to stand, push ourselves forward, and need more balance than we probably give credit to.If you are and you do, then this article is right for you!This is perfect for people with short and tight hamstrings which correlates quite strongly to a feeling of a weak or unstable back, and those who want to strengthen their butt muscles in order for more back health. You can easily follow the steps I’m going to share with you.
Why this tightening of hamstrings and weaker backs happen?
But before we dive into anything, you may be wondering why you experience tightening of hamstrings and weaker backs or why you would want to get more power and strength you’re your buttocks.Your muscles can weaken from a few causes, the most common being poor posture, repetitive movements, and sitting for long periods of time. This can be due to work at home or the office or because of a sedentary lifestyle; the result is a weak butt and hamstring group that tighten up to protect and support an unstable pelvis. What happens is that when there is a limited range of motion, your hip flexors find themselves in a continuous-shortened position. Though genetics can be another factor i.e. genetically you are born with short hamstrings.This goes the same for weak backs. Sitting at your desks all the time or lack of physical activities causes all your core muscles to weaken which often leads to lower back pain. This situation does not only cause you pain but also affect your posture, making your back sore, weak, and stiff.
Why Suffer?
You don’t have to suffer from this postural anomaly – we don’t HAVE TO live with tight hamstrings and poor strength in the glutes and lower back. I will teach you what you can do and how to do this exercise correctly so you can alleviate those imbalanced muscles.
How to Strengthen your Glute Maximus?
You’re going to need a tennis ball to perform this technique, we focus on and target strengthening the Glute Maximus during this exercise. Next, follow the steps below.1.The first thing you need to do is lie down on your back and bend your knees and rest your feet on the ground. Take the ball in your left hand and settle it on the lower ribs directly below your breast tissue. Let’s do this on the left side to start with.
Now that ball is resting there, bring the left knee up to hug the ball and secure it from moving during the exercise.
Let’s make the RIGHT glute do some work! You are about to do a one-legged bridge pose which we know really works the butt efficiently. We need to tweak this up a bit before you start.
Keep the heel down but lift the ball and toes off the floor. This encourages a small heel dig which gives more power to the buttock.
Let’s start the bridging pose now! Your hips will lift up towards the ceiling by contracting the right Glute Maximus, squeeze at the top, hold it for 2 seconds before going down.
Then, pull your hips up and hold it again for 2 seconds before going down. Repeat this again for 8 times the last time before doing the steps again for the other leg. A total of 10 sets for each leg every day to get the full benefits of this exercise. You will feel dramatic changes in the strength of your glutes, your hamstrings are less active in this exercise and overtime should feel less need to help keep the pelvis stable. When that happens their length improves oh yes and your lower back will also benefit from this exercise because a strong bum means a happy back!!
How to address your compressive hip issues?
For those who have compressive hip issues where you can’t bring the legs all the way up to your chest, here is an alternative exercise for you.
First, cross your leg over on top of the other.
Then, press the leg that is crossed over, applying a little bit of pressure. If you notice that your hip rolled to the side of your raised leg, press your hip using your other hand so that you stay on your back while doing this exercise.
This exercise is nice for people with arthritis that want to get a glute stretch and eliminate tight hamstrings and weak backs.So that’s it for now. I hope you found this exercise helpful. See you again in another article.
When doing any physical exercise at home, your main goal is to strengthen and tone your muscles. But after those activities, you always need to do stretches to allow your muscles to return to their normal resting tone. The 5 BEST Stretches to UNRAVEL Back and Hip Pain is what we will be discussing here in this article.But why is it important to make sure that after you have a full program or workout, you need to do stretches?In our previous articles, we have talked about the different benefits of doing a stretch especially on affected areas when you constantly sit down or in a stationary position. For today’s article, we will talk about why stretching is important after physical exercises and the 5 MOST beneficial ones that that TARGET regions that can cause back pain.But first, let me answer our previous question.
Why stretch after a workout??
Stretching is an important phase not only done before any physical exercise in the form of movement through full range to warm the tendons and joint capsules but more so after your workout or any strenuous activities that you did. This is crucial because it not only helps in boosting your flexibility but also helps you avoid the risks of injuries. It also decreases the muscle tension you create when you work-out and keeps your muscles in their preferred resting tone. What’s great about stretching after is that once completed, you’ll feel much more limber, movements more fluid, your joints will have better motion range, and you will be able to move through the balance of the day/evening feeling UNRESTRICTED.Now let’s get into our 5 powerful stretches i.e. "the 5 BEST stretches to unravel Back and Hip Pain" that you can do to keep your muscles flexible and in their normal tone. This is most especially applicable to those office workers, sedentary workers, drivers or anyone who works from home.
Quadriceps and Hip Flexor Stretches
So let’s start with the first two stretches on quadriceps and hip flexors.1.The first thing you need to do is to lie down on your side, grab your top ankle and pull it toward your buttocks, try to get your heel as close to your buttocks as possible.
If you feel tightness in the hip region then focus more on pushing the hip further forward to target the upper portion of your thigh muscles.
Hold that position for a minimum of 20 to 30 seconds. And if you have chronic tightness, hold that leg for a good 1 minute.
Do these steps for the other leg for 20 to 30 seconds or up to 1 minute if needed.
Glutes Stretch
Once you have completed both sides, now in your sitting position, you can now proceed to the next type of stretch for your Glutes.
From your initial sitting position, lie down on your back and cross your right leg over the other.
Bring up the left leg (so that it carries the right one up) towards your chest, grab that leg behind the knee and pull them both as close to your body as you can. You should feel a deep and wonderful stretch in your butt (Gluteus Maximus and Gluteus Minimus).
Repeat these steps starting by crossing the left leg over the right and really spend time exploring the tight areas of the buttocks any loosening those fibres.
Hamstring Stretch
The next set of stretches is for your hamstrings.
Go back into a sitting position. This time straighten out your legs but make sure you don’t LOCK the knees. This needs to be a muscle stretch and not targeting the nerves.
Then reach your arms out towards your ankles or toes with your both hands.
Try to keep your back as straight as you can simply pivoting from the hip joints. You want to feel the stretch along the back of the upper leg, your hamstrings, and possibly your calves and avoid feeling too much in your lower back.
Inner Thighs Stretch
Now, let’s proceed to our adductors, these are the muscles of your inner thighs and can get extremely tight. Many people forget to stretch them but in my EXPERIENCE these groups can cause a lot of issues to the hips, buttocks and back. In fact when was the last time you stretched your inner thighs?????
Now again in your sitting position, spread your legs apart as wide as you can, try to keep the feeling of your sit bones on the floor so you don’t roll into a low back curve. If it’s too difficult perhaps sit up against a wall to keep the back straight. You want to feel your adductors stretching.
Reach out with your arms, hands, and with the straightest back you can manage try to get your elbows and possibly your chest to the floor. We can increase the effectiveness by targeting one leg at a time, grab one foot with both hands, lean your body down towards that leg. Rest into the stretch for 30 seconds. In this way you are also working on the deep rotator muscles around the hip joint.
Repeat these steps into the other leg.
Pectoral Muscle Stretch
For our final stretch, we are going to focus on our chest. Our previous 4 stretches focused on the lower body but our chest muscles are so often tight from inactivity or post bench press types of weight training. We want to open up the chest region, stretch the pectoral muscles and underlying smaller rib stabilizers by using a foam roller.
Lie down place your foam roller along the line of your spine, you should feel a little unbalanced because you are only one the roller and very little of your back is in contact with the floor.
Open your arms wide and rest them on the floor, this will stabilize you, now you can feel the stretch, your chest is fully open. Feel the extension of your back as well and enjoy that wonderful stretch of opening up the chest and front of your shoulders.
So there you have it, the 5 BEST stretches to unravel Back and Hip Pain, in less than 5 minutes you’ve set yourself up for happy muscles.
Being an office worker can be a REAL hazard to how your muscles naturally align, how strong they are, and in too many cases how SHORT they can become!!We tend to think of upper body strains e.g. that tight NECK and SHOULDERS but we need to address your lower body as well. This is especially true if you’re sitting for long hours and to be fair who isn’t RIGHT??What happens is that your hip flexors tend to shorten, this in turn creates tightness of your quadriceps, and to make matters WORSE this causes your hamstrings to pull up feeling stiff and short.We now have tight and shortened hamstrings that have close links to weakened buttocks and tight deep hip rotators. The remedy is to take the time to stretch your upper body which is our necks, shoulders, and chest, AND include stretches to your lower body - butt, hamstrings, quads, and calves.So, when you’re waiting for those files to download or just taking a well-earned break, you can apply these two stretches in an easy seated position. I mean what could be EASIER!!Stretch number ONE is for your buttocks or gluteus. But let us first have a little background about this muscle group. The gluteal muscle group is composed of three muscles-- gluteus maximus, gluteus medius, and gluteus minimus. This team of muscles creates the shape of your buttocks and work together when you sit to stand and walk, run, sidestep, the list goes on.The gluteus maximus is one of the strongest muscles in our body and is mainly responsible for the backward movement of the thighs and legs, aided by the two remaining gluteus muscles. Let’s unpack the damage long periods of sitting does - your gluteus minimus tends to weaken and some people complain of the feeling of a “numb-bum”. This can be caused by restriction to the blood supply to the muscle or it can be that the shortened muscles impact some of our nerves. The sciatic nerve is deep in the gluteal group but we will talk about that in a separate article. Stretching the buttocks region (as shown in this small video) is one way to alleviate this feeling of pain or numbness.To do this while sitting down, first, you need to swing one leg over the other in a crossed position, while making sure that you are not crouching forward. The KEY is that your back STRAIGHT sits as tall as you can and just bend forward from the hips. What you are actually feeling is a stretch in your glutes and not a curve in your back. Again, most people get this stretch wrong by doing a curved crouching position. You need to keep in mind that you're doing this stretch for your buttocks and NOT for your BACK. This is a good glute stretch and tries to stay there for about 20 seconds, repeat for the other leg to definitely reap its benefits.Now, after the glute stretch, we want to do the hamstring stretch. Again, let me tell you about the hamstring muscles. Hamstring muscles are located in the posterior compartment of our things. This muscle group consists of three muscles: biceps femoris, semitendinosus, and semimembranosus. These muscles help in movements of the knee, hip, and legs while running, walking, bending your knees, and squatting. So the most common injuries in the hamstring muscles come from a sports injury. While this holds true, sitting for long periods of hours can make your hamstrings tight so it's best to stretch those muscles to avoid tightness.We stretch the hamstrings in the seated position too! All you need to do is to move a little further forward on your chair. Straighten out one leg but don’t LOCK the knee, we want to focus on the muscles and NOT the nerves in this manoeuver.Now just lean forward as far as you can.Again, you need to make sure that your back is straight and not curved so that the focus of the stretch is not on your back but on your hamstring muscles. Your ankles can be more relaxed here too so you can focus on your hamstrings and NOT the calves. Yep, that will be in another article for you to focus on! You can do this stretch for about 15 to 20 seconds for each leg.Both glute and hamstring stretches are easy to do and can be managed into your workday without disruption. Work time, break time – really anytime within your day.I hope you find these stretches useful. Try to apply them especially if you suffer from lower back pain and watch out for my next article in my journey to keep you balanced, stable, pain free and self-managed in work, rest or play.[/et_pb_text][/et_pb_column][/et_pb_row][/et_pb_section]
The Major Problem About Having Lower Back Pain. Have you ever wondered why your body feels older and achier than you’d like? Recurring lower back pain? Neck pain, headaches or migraines?You think about the things that you have been doing recently and realize that you’re not really doing anything particularly wrong. You’ve been stretching at your desk in the office, getting up from the chair and moving around if sitting for too long in front of the computer but you just don’t know why you feel like you do.But you know what!
The "Secret Culprit"
There is a “secret” culprit that can be responsible for a majority of the pain your experiencing in your pelvis and all the way to your spine and neck.Want to know what it is?It’s actually your wallet or iPhone that you put on your back pocket while sitting in your car or just sitting all day in front of your computer.
Don't Get Surprised!
Surprised?Well, a lot of people are SHOCKED when I tell them that this little culprit continuously in your back pocket can be the main reason why you’re having so many pain issues, especially your lower back.A lot of people don’t realize the damage caused by consistently sitting on your phone or wallet for lengthy periods of time. Especially when it’s full of credit cards, ID’s, coupons, and receipts that you don’t even need.Imagine doing this every single day! You’re unknowingly causing yourself back and neck pain because the wallet causes you to elevate one part of your hip, distort your posture, and put continuous pressure on your spine, causing misalignment.Try this now, put your wallet, purse or phone in your pocket and sit down, one hip is now elevated and your hip or sacro-iliac joint is higher than what it ought to be. You have created a scoliotic curve in your lower or lumbar spine. This scoliotic curve is the start of small changes all the way up through your spine.I see clients presenting to my clinic complaining of pain in the lower back pain, pelvic pain, and spinal pain anywhere along the mid back all the way to the shoulders and the neck. Not only that but migraines and headaches too. We treat to balance the muscles that have been tightened, shortened, lengthened and stressed in my clinic and your homecare plan is take that NASTY object out of your back pocket when sitting. Again, that major problem about having lower back pain strikes!
Important Note
*If you're long driving and sitting with a bag under one of your hips, especially in the case of cab drivers and those who do regional driving as well, you’ll realize that one of your legs is sitting longer (or shorter) when driving. Having overstuffed purse or wallet can put pressure on you piriformis muscle that seriously affects your sciatic nerve, causing you to have sciatica-- a pain that radiates along the sciatic nerve and into the buttocks, hips, and the lower back all the way down to each leg.So always be mindful of the way you're sitting in the office or in your car.
So the answer to that Major Problem About Having Lower Back Pain...
Make sure that you create the HABIT of removing things from your back pocket before you sit down, the outcome is even and balanced pelvis. You’ll definitely see and feel the difference of having to sit without anything on your hips.Let’s reduce the incidence of back and neck pain, migraines or headaches, and even scoliotic spine because of that single culprit: your stuffed wallet.There you have it! I hope you learned about the great tips I shared with you so you can avoid having a lot of pain issues on your hip, back, and neck.
Whenever we spend LONG hours at work in front of our computers, we tend to strain our necks. Depending on the position and how long we keep our neck in that same position will determine where your neck will feel worse. In this article, we will talk more about Muscle Energy Technique your therapist does for you.Imagine you’re sitting down all day with your head in a forward position straining your eyes as you peer at the screen. This will not only strain your eyes but would also tighten your neck muscles and any sudden movement can definitely trigger strain which can both hurt and affect your neck.This is almost related to the previous article I shared with you about stretching your muscles to help ease the pain in your neck and back as well as in your hands and arms, but this time, we’ll focus on the neck area and how you can do the simple neck stretching and exercises to make sure that you prevent misaligning and straining your neck while working from home.There are a lot of exercises that you can do at home for your neck. Depending on what exercise you do, with proper procedures and movements, you would be able to loosen those tight neck muscles and improve your neck position and posture.And there are just simple exercises that you can do within a few minutes during your break or before you get back to working on your computer again. Watch the video.For this purpose, I’m going to share with you ‘one of the BEST’ options and that is using muscle energy techniques!! These are easy ways to self treat to relieve neck pain, balance straining neck muscles, and improve your neck position.
More about Muscle Energy Technique
So what do I mean by Muscle Energy Technique your therapist does for you?Muscle Energy Techniques (METs) are used by physical therapists, manual therapists, athletic trainers, chiropractors, massage therapists, and even osteopathic physicians for the purpose of improving the state of musculoskeletal functions or even joint functions of the body to improve posture, loosen muscle and joint tension as well as relieve pain.MET's work by carefully positioning a specific area in our body and resisting movement or contracting your muscles followed by stretching your muscles to loosen and lengthen your target or opposite muscle group. This technique is usually applied to your body by licensed professionals, therapists, physicians, and should not be practiced at home without consulting your therapist or physician.However, there are a few simple exercises from METs that you can actually try and do in the comfort of your home while working and sitting in your home office.
How to align and loosen your neck muscles
Here are the steps that you should do to align and loosen up your neck muscles.
While sitting down, drop your head and tuck your chin close to your chest.
Placing your hands on the back of your head to add a gentle weight will give traction to the back of the neck.
Hold your head down in place with your hands while inhaling for the count of 10. (What’s actually happening at this moment is that you’re contracting the muscles in your neck.) Remove your hand and slowly relax and breathe out.
Take the pressure off after those 10 counts and bring it back to upright for 2-3 inhalations.
Repeat this process 2 more times and take the opportunity to really enjoy the feeling of muscle contraction in your neck as you press into your hands and the sensation of relaxation as it slowly loosens up.
Doing this will help stretch those irritated neck muscles as a muscle in an isometric contraction usually lengthens once OFFLOAD. This one works well with your trapezius and your mid-back.
This gentle yet simple application of a neck MET is one that you can definitely do without the supervision of your physical therapist. You can do these every day before working or even while you're working or taking your break. BUT if you do have a pre-existing injury, disc bulge issues, nerve pain, or unstable/recent bony fracture then make sure you get the TICK of approval from your clinician of choice.Well, that’s just about it. I hope you learned a lot and enjoyed our topic for today. Let me know what you think in the comments below.
In today's blog post, we will talk more about stretching the chest in the office to help relieve neck pain. With our STRANGE new WORLD, I have to ask these questions to my patients so often now…Are you working from home? Always in front of your computer for hours and hours each day?When we’re NOT at our regular work station with the ergonomic chairs and desks we seem to experience back and neck pain much more commonly.If that sounds like you then it’s a sign that you need to do something about it!Find strategies to help ease that pain.One of the most effective and easy ways to do that is to stretch the muscles in question. Well, at least it will help until you get to your therapist for their treatment skills!But before we dive into that, let me first talk about why stretching your muscles is important.
Let's begin knowing about Stretching the Chest in the Office to Help with Neck Pain...
This encourages the muscle’s ability to stretch (increased elasticity) it also allows for a better resting tone for your muscles. That means they can feel softer when you’re not doing anything. Feel them now for me – grip your upper trapezius (neck/shoulder muscles), do they feel tight when you squeeze them? That can indicate poor resting tone, yet another indicator that they could do with a stretch. (Stretching the Chest in the Office to Help with Neck Pain)With this in mind, we need to make sure that we regularly stretch those muscles to keep them strong, flexible, and healthy even when you’re just sitting around all day or have that cardio workout in your focus. Without stretching your muscles first, they would be short, less elastic, and tight. And when you make sudden, unmeasurable movements or do immediate heavy physical exercises, those activities can increase the chance of muscle strains and tears. This is why athletes and people who would do physical exercises go through full ranges of movement to warm the muscles and joints before workouts and take the time to stretch after their activities. They are trying to avoid injuries.
So below are some of the benefits of stretching in our body:
Improve posture
Decrease back pain
Improve and prevent loss of range in motion
Prevent injury
Alleviate muscle tightness and tension
Decrease muscle soreness
Improve blood circulation
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More on Stretching the Chest in the Office to Help with Neck Pain...
Stretching also makes you feel good because this taps your parasympathetic nervous system which is responsible for the rest and digest system in our body. This system helps slow our heart rates, improves the motility of the gastrointestinal tract, and increases the production of the “good” hormones that repair the body.Pretty amazing, right? So before you LAUNCH down in front of your computer or perhaps even now while you're sitting and reading this article, why not make the decision and stretch those tired and exhausted tight muscles.It literally takes only a few minutes; come on - I invite you to stretch and follow the steps that I’m gonna share with you on the video link or read and follow below!For this purpose, we’re going to focus only on stretching your chest muscles to alleviate your neck and back pain.Chapmans Reflexes Courses
So here are the steps you need to do to keep your neck and back healthy and free of pain.
When you’re in front of your computer, place your hand palm on the side of your computer screen, twist your whole body to the side and place your other arm on the top of your chair. You would feel the tension in your chest muscle at this moment. Then finally turn your neck to the side away from your computer to stretch your neck and back.
Repeat the first step but this time instead of the palm, use the back of your hand and do the same. At this moment you not only feel the tension in your chest muscle, neck, and back but also in your arms. This is perfect if you have been typing on your keyboard all day and your arms and hands are just sore.
Use your other hand and repeat steps 1 and 2.
After these steps, you would feel that your chest muscles, arms, neck, and back have been stretched and loosen a bit of tension that has grown over you while continuously working in front of your computer for hours.For better results and relief for your neck and back pain, do these stepsonce or twice daily. That’s it for this article. I hope this helps give you RELEVANT tips to feel better and healthier while working from home.
