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.
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.
Clients with nonspecific low back pain may be experiencing mechanical wear and tear of the zygapophyseal joints, located in the posterior…
Any time an internal body part pushes into an area where it doesn’t belong, it’s called a hernia. When we eat, food travels down the…
Coccyx pain was first documented in 1588, and Simpson coined the term coccydynia in 1859. The word coccyx comes from the Greek word for “cuckoo” due to its resemblance of a cuckoo bird’s beak…
The femoroacetabular is one of the largest, strongest and most flexible joints in the human body. During gait our hips give us power and…
The second cervical vertebra, the axis, is considered the most important of all the neck’s bony structures partly due to its unique dural membrane attachment and also because of the powerful myofascial structures…
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…
The primary role of the iliolumbar ligaments is to prevent excessive lumbar sidebending, but these ligaments can contribute to sciatic nerve entrapment when injured. A traumatic event such as a bending and twisting maneuver while attempting to lift a heavy object, may strain the iliolumbar ligaments and their multifidi neighbors. As the ligaments weaken, they lose the ability to
The three scalene groups derive their name from the Greek word skalenos meaning “uneven.” Although anatomists depict the scalenes as individual muscles, most touch therapists are aware of how they work together as a functional unit during neck sidebending and rotation
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