Breathing is Kinda Important....

This next anatomy post is going to be a little different. It may be one of the most important structures for everyday life, as well as moving, feeling, and functioning to the best of your ability.
I'm going to discuss the diaphragm.

The diaphragm is a dome shaped sheet of muscle that is positioned at the base of the thorax and right above the abdomen. You can find it by placing your fingers right around your lower ribs. The diaphragm is a breathing muscle. During normal breathing, the diaphragm contracts downward creating a vacuum in the thoracic cavity so the lungs will inflate and when it relaxes, you breathe out and air flows out of the lungs, similar to when a balloon deflates. 
 

The Diaphragm, like any other muscle can become tight, overworked and dysfunctional. When that happens it can be felt in a variety of ways often throughout the entire body. We do a lot of breathing everyday, so if we are breathing into our chest, instead of our belly, dysfunction can occur. Stress is also a huge cause of problems with breathing. If you think you're having issues with your diaphragm, get assessed! It's amazing when your body can do when it's functioning properly!

Breathing is imperative to healthy movement! I encourage you to notice how you breath today, is it shallow and into your chest? Do your shoulders move when you take a deep breath? Slow down and let your diaphragm do it's very important job!
Have a healthy Sunday friends!

Taking the Blame For Low Back Pain Everyday!

I'm going to finish up my series of commonly abused muscles today with this big one. As a massage therapist i get people on a daily basis who come and see me looking for relief from their low back pain. They want me to punish their low back because it hurts, and maybe if i'm mean enough and use enough pressure the pain wont come back, i'm here to say that almost never works! Especially long term!

So, today i'm going to talk about a big player in low back pain, it's called the Quadratus lumborum or affectionately, the QL.

The QL is a muscle of the low back that is located on either side of your spine. It's the muscle between your lowest rib and your hip bones or illiac crest and It attaches to lumbar vertebrae 1-4 in between.
The QL is a very important muscle in creating stability for your lower spine. It helps extend the spine as well as assists in lateral flexion or bending to the side. When the ribcage is fixed the QL also hikes the hip.

The QL gets blamed and abused all the time. Sometimes it is the problem, but not without a reason. A common problem i see is when the erector spinae muscles aren't working correctly. The erector spinae muscles are largely spine stabilizers, if they aren't pulling their share of the weight, the QL has to start working overtime to keep you upright.

Another very common problem is when the glutes decide to take a nap. With no stability in the hips, the QL will be forced to do the job that the much bigger and stronger glute muscles should be doing!

I love the QL muscles, especially when they are working correctly. Sometimes abusing these muscles isn't the answer for helping your body move the best way it can. Get assessed and find out whats going on before poking and stretching. :)

IT Band

My next abused muscle post is going to be on something that is not actually a muscle at all. However it's a common structure that every massage therapist, personal trainer, and physical therapist has struggled with at one time or another. It's a pretty familiar term for athletes and it can be a real pain. We are going to spend some time talking about the IT band.

Chances are if you have used a foam roller, you have been told to roll out your IT band. Rolling out your IT bands is painful, and probably hasn't helped you a whole lot. It's time to stop abusing your poor IT bands. The iliotibial band is a thick band of connective tissue on the outside of the knee, extending from the outside of the pelvis, over the hip and knee, and inserting just below the knee. The band is crucial to stabilizing the knee during running and walking. A lot of times runners will develop tight IT bands that can irritate the knees and hips. 

The IT band's fibers blend into a small muscle called the tensor fascia latae or the TFL. The TFL can cause lots of problems with the IT band. Sometimes the TFL is overworking for lazy hip flexors, if that's the case the TFL will pull on the IT band and cause it to be tight and painful, even if that isn't where the problem actually is.

If you are having issues with the outsides of your knees and your IT band is tight and painful, get assessed and find out WHY. Stop the abuse of muscles that don't deserve it!

Scapegoat Muscle #1

I am going to start a new series of muscle posts. I'm going to call it the scapegoat muscles. These muscles are common muscles to beat on. They get stretched, poked, rolled, and punished, and often they aren't the problem, but taking up the slack for muscles that aren't functioning to their full potential.

My first scapegoat muscle is one that gets blamed for lots of different pains, mostly in the hips and legs. Our muscle today is the PIRIFORMIS.

The Piriformis is a deep hip muscle. It's a relatively small muscle, compared to other muscles in the area, but when dysfunctional, can cause big problems. The sciatic nerve runs under the Piriformis, so a tight Piriformis can pinch the sciatic nerve causing lots and lots of hip, and low back pain, numbness, and tingling. The Piriformis attaches on the sacrum and runs to the greater trochanter of the femur. 

It is responsible for lateral rotation of the hip and abduction when the hip is flexed. In other words, if you rest one ankle on the opposite knee, you will feel your Piriformis. The Piriformis is imperative to stability of the pelvis, so, we use it everyday when we walk and stand.

I find the Piriformis overworking all the time in my practice, most commonly, i see the large glute muscles underworking, causing poor little piriformis to have to pull the slack of a much bigger muscle. It's no wonder it hurts! Instead of punishing Piriformis, i like to find the cause and correct that.

Have a great day everyone!

Literally A Pain in the Neck

Hi, i have taken a break from my muscle posts lately, because, honestly, i just wasn't feeling them. I was annoyed by it and decided to work on other things for a while. Needless to say i have come around, and i'm back now!

I have a super exciting muscle to talk about today, and a muscle that lots and lots of people have problems with. This trouble muscle is called the splenius capitis.

The splenius capitis is a broad muscle located at the back of the neck. It attaches at the base of the skull and runs down to C-7 or that hump at the base of your neck down to the first couple thoracic vertebrae. When one of these muscles work it makes the head turn and bend towards one side, and when they both fire, it brings the head upright.

In my practice i see the splenius capitis overworking a lot for the front neck muscles! In a good majority of whiplash cases this is the case! Poor Splenius capitis is carrying your noggin around, maybe we shouldn't punish it, but find the muscle that isn't working as well and strengthen them!

Dysfunction in the splenius capitis muscle can cause lots of havoc with the neck and shoulders, but also cause headaches and sometimes pain into the face. If your neck has been bothering you, get assessed and a massage! You're body will thank you!

Nut Shell

I am the worst blogger.
I will claim the reason is being busy and move on.

I'm super excited to start learning a new modality in my body work practice. I have started a lymphatic drainage course and i am so excited about it. I have always been interested in the gentle, yet drastic work of MLD and it's super exciting to finally be able to dive in. As always my NKT work is ever growing and learning. There are always cases that stump me, but i believe i continue to learn and grow everyday, and that is what is important to me.

I feel very lucky to have found a Elements Massage and wellness center. This place is awesome and i am going to be working on promoting it and my own practice there. It's nice to be able to believe in where you are working. Networking has never been a strength for me, but i have acquired a kick in the ass lately that I needed, and i feel excited and ready!

Personally, I have been going through challenges. Family is tough to handle sometimes, however, i do have an support system, they know who they are. I don't think i would have survived the last couple months without a select few people.

So, That's my life in a nutshell. I will be posting a new anatomy post soon!

MS 150

On Saturday i had a great time working on the bicyclists of the MS 150 event. I tried to keep any big changes at a minimum due to the athletes having to ride another 75 miles the next day. I did have great results with a man who was having spasms in his left hamstring, we found his left hamstring under working and his right lumbar erectors overworking. Some quick work and he got off the table with no pain or spasm in his hamstring. Because his hamstrings were offline they were probably seizing up to protect themselves during his 75 mile bike ride. I was very satisfying to see this high level athlete feel the differences in his body as we tested and especially feel the relief when we were done.