7/15/16 Conditions I’ve Treated Recently With Massage Cervical Dystonia, or Spasmodic Torticollis, a painful condition in which muscles of the neck contract and rotate the head and neck to one side and do not relax. Medical science does not yet have a reason to explain why this happens, and offers little treatment protocol. Massage therapy can sometimes provide temporary relief from...

6/20/16 Remodeling Basement Stairway The wood stairs going down to the basement were covered with old peeling and chipping blue-grey paint. I decided last summer to remove the paint and then stain and finish the wood if it was in decent shape. After determining the paint was lead based, I bought a respirator, took necessary precautions and stripped the paint over the course of 5 or 6...

6/16/16 Tibialis Anterior, Shin Splints, and Drop Foot Tibialis Anterior is a long muscle of the lower leg that sits up against and just outside the shin bone, or tibia. Its origin attachment is the proximal lateral surface of the tibia and interosseous membrane. It travels down the lower leg, crosses over the front of the ankle and inserts at the medial cuneiform and base of the first...

5/29/16 Acupressure For Travelers It’s the end of May, early June. This summer I will be traveling (driving) long distances, and a lot of you are frequent travelers, so let’s look at several acupoints that will come in handy as we make our way to distant places. When I travel, whether by plane or car, I typically have issues with 1) My Head – like headaches, disorientation, fogginess,...

5/16/16 The Challenge of Choosing Continuing Education Classes Choosing continuing education classes has been a challenge for me. I never know quite what I’m getting myself into. My hope is to find classes that will teach techniques that I’m interested in learning about, or that will complement what I’m already doing in my clinic. I typically do focused and somewhat deep myofascial work...

4/28/16 Biceps Femoris Location and Pain Patterns Biceps Femoris is one of the hamstring muscles on the back of the upper leg. Like the Biceps Brachii of the upper arm, the Biceps Femoris has two parts. The long head attaches to the ischial tuberosity, or sit bone; the short head attaches to the back of the femur, and they join together to cross the outside knee joint and attach to the head of...

4/20/16 Beginning Yoga I injured my back carrying heavy boxes of books to my wife’s school classroom in 1996. An MRI revealed several compromised intervertebral discs as well as the inevitable degenerative disc disease that we all manage. That was my official beginning of what has become a lifelong journey of pain management. Twenty years on I still suffer from chronic back pain, but rarely...

3/30/16 Rectus Femoris Trigger Point Patterns and Pain Rectus Femoris is one of the quadriceps muscles and is located superficially on the central anterior aspect of the upper leg. It helps to extend the leg at the knee and to flex the thigh at the hip. It’s the only quadriceps muscle to cross both the hip and knee joints. Its origin attachment is on the anterior inferior iliac spine (AIIS),...

8/26/15 Vastus Medialis Trigger Point Patterns and Pain Vastus Medialis is one of the quadriceps muscles and is located medially in the upper leg, or on the inside of the thigh along the femur. It helps to extend the leg at the knee. The distal fibers of this muscle help to keep the patella (knee bone) in position, countering the influence of Vastus Lateralis on the outside of the leg. This...

©figshare.com 8/26/15 Vastus Intermedius Trigger Point Patterns and Pain Vastus Intermedius is one of the quadriceps muscles and is located deep in the thigh on the large bone (femur) of the upper leg. It helps to extend the leg at the knee. This muscle is deep to the Rectus Femoris, and can be accessed if the superficial muscle is shifted medially to the side. This is necessary when it is...