Manual therapists routinely use bones as levers to reduce tension and protective spasm in hypertonic muscles. For example, the femur and humerus are excellent tools for stretching tight hip and shoulder girdle muscles, and we commonly rotate and sidebend a client’s head to relieve neck tension.
A “crick in the neck” is a common complaint among clients seeking manual therapy. This informal umbrella term can refer to symptoms that range from general cervical stiffness to complete immobility and unrelenting pain. When assessing cricks…
Pelvic floor muscles such as levator ani, coccygeus and obturator internus attach to the front, back and sides of the pelvis and sacrum and form the bottom of the core. These muscles must be able to contract to maintain continence, and to relax allowing for urination and bowel movements, and in women, sexual intercourse.
A fundamental feature of the foot often missed in our assessments is first-toe mobility, specifically the metatarsophalangeal (MTP) joint. The first MTP joint should be
Both professional and recreational athletes depend on their hands, wrists and fingers for proper strength, grip and range of motion for optimal performance. Sprains commonly occur during active sports or household falls…
Addressing Postural Plasticity by Erik Dalton In the early 1990s, I had the opportunity to study with legendary neurologist and physiotherapist Vladimir Janda, M.D. He and
Everything designed to move has a built-in factor of “play” to promote efficient functional movement. For example, an automobile piston and cylinder, a wheel on an axle, and even a simple hinge all have calculated play between their moving parts to allow efficiency of movement. Why not in a human joint?…
The term Arthro (joint) Kinetic (motion) Reflex was coined by University of Pittsburg researchers to describe how sensory input from joint movement reflexively activates or inhibits muscles – and no other place in the body is this concept more applicable than in the joints and connective tissues of the shoulder girdle.
In the early 20th century, sacroiliac joint syndrome (SIJ) was the most common medical diagnosis for low back pain, which resulted in that period being labeled the “Era of the SI Joint.” Any pain emanating from the low back, buttock or adjacent leg usually was branded and treated as SIJ.
The femoral nerve is one of the largest neural structures in the leg. Its branches supply sensation to the upper thigh and control the quadriceps muscle, which is responsible for straightening the knee. Femoral nerve impingement can produce various symptoms. Numbness, tingling and shooting pain into the leg (and sometimes into the groin area) is common.
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