Knots in Knead Massage Therapy

01/01/2024

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12/25/2023

10/24/2023

🔈 SERRATUS POSTERIOR INFERIOR - OVERLOOKED CAUSE OF LOWER BACK PAIN

You have a client who tells you this:

'I reached for something and suddenly I felt a sharp spasm in the lower part of my back, slightly to the side of the spine, at the bottom of the ribs, and when I breathe in really deep I can feel it'.

Based on the above description you should suspect that you might be dealing with the Serratus Posterior Inferior muscle.

💡 Where is the Serratus Posterior Inferior muscle?

The Serratus Posterior Inferior muscle connects the lower 4 ribs to four vertebrae (T11, T12, L1, L2) in the low back.

💡 What movements does the Serratus Posterior Inferior muscle control?

✔️ Forced expiration (breathing out when breathing hard)
✔️ Assists with twisting at the waist
✔️ Assists with straightening the trunk (standing up straight)

💡 Activities that cause Serratus Posterior Inferior pain and symptoms:

✔️ Twisting the body when lifting
✔️ Overreaching overhead or to the side of the body
✔️ Lifting something heavy using the back muscles instead of leg muscles
✔️ Sleeping on a sagging or too soft mattress

ℹ️ Trigger Points

Trigger points in the Serratus Posterior Inferior may cause an uncommon local ache radiating over and around the muscle.

This may extend across the back and over the lower ribs, even continuing through the chest to the front of the body.

This discomfort is typically described by clients as a nagging ache.

In many cases this pain remains after other trigger points have been inactivated. This should be a good indicator for the therapist to recheck the Serratus Posterior Inferior for undiscovered trigger points.

👩‍🔬 Stretching for self-release of the Serratus Posterior Inferior

Cross your forearms just above the wrist, at about chest height. Inhale deeply as you slowly raise them up until the area where the arms cross is level with your forehead. Now lower the arms as you exhale.

Do this once or twice, allowing for a brief rest (a few breaths) before repeating. Do this exercise set several times a day.

10/24/2023

🔊 RHOMBOID MUSCLE PAIN

Each one of us has had muscle pain at some point in our lives. Some people, however, experience worsening and commonly occurring muscle pain in certain areas. Among this is rhomboid muscle pain which is more common and worse than other pain and is one of the most frustrating pains. There are many people who don't know where exactly is rhomboid muscle situated, but they have felt pain in that region at some time or other for sure.
Pain of the rhomboid muscle is the pain, which is present in the upper back region, just beneath the neck and between the upper shoulder blades.

CAUSES OF RHOMBOID MUSCLE PAIN
Bending over awkwardly or twisting the body, or lifting too heavily at the gym.

TREATMENT FOR RHOMBOID MUSCLE PAIN
Rest is important in healing of the sprained rhomboid muscle. You should try to relax and rest as much as possible. The tear in the muscle occurs as a result of the body's straining against resistance. Rehab with gentle stretching exercises will help in gradually providing relief from rhomboid muscle pain, but be sure not to overexert. Having a professional massage will also be beneficial and may speed up the recovery process.

EXERCISES

Exercise 1 - Scapular squeeze
While sitting or standing with your arms by your sides, squeeze your shoulder blades together and hold for 5 seconds. Do 3 sets of 10.

Exercise 2 - Thoracic stretch
Sit on the floor with your legs out straight in front of you. Hold your mid-thighs with your hands. Curl your head and neck toward your belly button. Hold for a count of 15. Repeat 3 times.

Exercise 3 - Mid-trap exercise
Lie on your stomach on a firm surface and place a folded pillow underneath your chest. Place your arms out straight to your sides with your elbows straight and thumbs toward the ceiling. Slowly raise your arms toward the ceiling as you squeeze your shoulder blades together. Lower slowly. Do 3 sets of 15. Progress to holding soup cans or small weights in your hands.

PREVENTION OF RHOMBOID MUSCLE PAIN
Always warm up before any type of exercise, as warming up and stretching help in loosening the muscles and improving blood circulation and flexibility.

04/01/2023

🔊 SCIATICA

WHAT IS SCIATICA?

💡 Sciatica is the result of a neurological problem in the back or an entrapped nerve in the pelvis or buttock. There are a set of neurological symptoms such as:

➡️ Pain (intense pain in the buttock)
➡️ Lumbosacral radicular leg pain
➡️ Numbness
➡️ Muscular weakness
➡️ Gait dysfunction
➡️ Sensory impairment
➡️ Sensory disturbance
➡️ Hot and cold or tinglings or burning sensations in the legs
➡️ Reflex impairment
➡️ Paresthesias or dysesthesias and oedema in the lower extremity that can be caused by the irritation of the sciatic nerves (the lumbar nerve L4 and L5 and the sacral nerves S1,S2 and S3)

CAUSES OF PAIN

💡 Pain is a result of irritation of the sciatic nerve. it can be constant or intermittend. The pain may be worsened by certain movements like coughing or sneezing (these movements increase the intra abdominal pressure). Sitting, bending, prolonged standing or rising from a sitting position can aggravate or increase the pain.

PAIN PATTERNS

💡 In regards to relief the pain, the supine position decreases the pressure on the herniated disc and will subsequently decrease pain. Pain is located along the distribution of the nerve and can be felt in the back, buttocks, knee and leg. It only radiates to one side of the leg and can result in reduced power, reflexes and sensation in the nerve root. Also gait dysfunction (toe walking, foot drop and knee buckling), paresthesias or dysesthesias are frequent neurological symptoms.

SYMPTOMS BASED ON NERVE COMPRESSION

💡 Sciatica can be caused by the compression or irritation of nerve L4, L5, S1, S2 and S3. The sciatica symptoms depend on which nerve is compressed or irritated.

◾ L4: When the L4 nerve is compressed or irritated the patient feels pain, tingling and numbnessiIn the thigh. The patient also feels weak when straightening the leg and may have a diminished knee jerk reflex.

◾ L5: When the L5 nerve is compressed or irritated the pain, tingling and numbness may extend to the foot and big toes.

◾ S1: When the S1 nerve is compressed or irritated the patient feels pain, tingling and numbness on the outer part of the foot. The patient also experiences weakness when elevating the heel off the ground and standing on tiptoes. The ankle jerk reflex may be diminished.

source: B.W Koes, M.W Van Tulder, W.C Peul. Diagnosis and treatment of sciatica. BMJ.

12/14/2022

🔈 REDEFINE YOUR SPINE - BREATHE INTO YOUR BACK

Most people do not pay enough attention to their daily posture and everyday movement habits, and it can have long-term health consequences if left unimproved. Your breath and posture are undeniably intertwined. Good posture cannot happen if the breath is trapped, restricted, or underused.

What’s more, your posture directly impacts the way your body breathes. Excess pressure on the body’s respiratory diaphragm and intercostal muscles alter the ability of those muscles to dynamically contract and lengthen to their fullest. Ever heard the term “chest breather”? This implies that a person is not fully using their diaphragm and has limited their breath’s movements to the rib cage, neck and shoulder muscles that kick in to help the body breathe when the diaphragm fails.

A chest breather’s posture will alter over time to accommodate the habit of “bad breath.” Bad posture follows you around like a shadow. It shows up in the way you stand while cooking breakfast, waiting in line, or working at your desk, in your form while you exercise, within your yoga routines and even in the way you sleep. Our physical structure begins to adapt to our inefficient position and over time we can develop chronic aches and pains that are directly related to how we carry ourselves in the world.

The spine is intimately connected with the respiratory diaphragm, and understanding their symbiotic relationship will help steer your posture improvement in the right direction. The diaphragm is a parachute-shaped muscle that lines the lower six ribs and the last six vertebrae of thoracic spine. (The thoracic spine has 12 vertebrae, all of which attach to ribs.) The diaphragm also hooks into the front side of most of the lumbar (low back) bones.

Organizing these bones and toning the diaphragm helps rearrange the tension patterns of the spine from the inside-out and provides a more efficient lattice for the diaphragm to elongate and contract upon.

The following exercise targets the back of the diaphragm and the spinal bones and joints that connect with this most important breath muscle.

RIB ROCK

1. Lie on your back and place two tennis balls along the left side of the spine in the mid-back region.

2. Breathe slowly into the ribs and rock from side-to side and allow the balls to massage in towards the rib joints. Do this for 1-2 minutes on left side of spine, then switch sides. Next, move the balls slightly lower or slightly higher along the thoracic spine and ribs and repeat.

HOW IT WORKS:

This exercise uncorks tension along the upper back and spine so that the spinal bones regain fluidity and mobility. This frees up trapezius, rhomboids, erectors and intercostal tension, mobilizes rib joints, spinal joints, and posterior diaphragm rib connections, and massages deep back musculature.

09/05/2022

Happy Labor Day!

09/02/2022

09/02/2022

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09/01/2022

Hello September...

08/10/2022

CARPAL TUNNEL SYNDROME

What is Carpal Tunnel Syndrome?

Carpal tunnel syndrome is a condition in which the median nerve, a major nerve in the upper extremity that travels down the arm and enters the hand through a very small gap called carpal tunnel located in the central part of the wrist, gets compressed in the carpal tunnel. This causes irritation of the nerve leading to tingling or pain. Typically, this disease affects the thumb, index, and middle fingers.

Signs and Symptoms of Carpal Tunnel Syndrome

Carpal tunnel syndrome causes numbness, weakness, pain, or tingling in the hand or fingers. Some individuals experience pain in the arm between their elbow and hand.

▪️Symptoms generally may occur in the thumb, index finger, middle finger, and half of the ring finger.
▪️Pain in the other fingers except little finger may be a sign of carpal tunnel syndrome.
▪️Hands and fingers get weak.
▪️Slight pain in forearm and wrist.
▪️Pain will be severe at night.
▪️Feeling of relief just by shaking out the hand.

Treatment for Carpal Tunnel Syndrome

Carpal tunnel syndrome is first treated by conservative method. The general treatment includes complete rest for the wrist by wearing a splint. Cold therapy helps a lot to relieve the swelling and inflammation.

Surgery is performed in severe cases. Carpal tunnel release is a very simple operation in which carpal ligament is cut in order to enlarge the carpal tunnel and relieve the pressure on the median nerve. This is done either by open technique or endoscopic technique.

Physiotherapy for carpal tunnel syndrome is important in speeding up the healing process and to get the optimal results. Physiotherapy also decreases the likelihood of recurrences in the future. Physiotherapy may include:

▪️Soft tissue massage.
▪️Electrotherapy.
▪️Joint mobilization.
▪️Heat and ice treatments.
▪️Bracing or splinting.
▪️Exercises to improve strength and flexibility.
▪️Activity modification and training.
▪️Appropriate plan for return to activity.Soft tissue massage.

Exercises for Carpal Tunnel Syndrome:

Stretching and strengthening exercises are really helpful for the prevention from re-occurrence of symptoms. Pain free exercises are recommended. Aim for a full, pain-free range of motion before moving on to strengthening exercises.

Wrist Flexor Stretch against a chair

Method:

Starting Position:
Stand next to a chair. Lean forward and place your outstretched hand on top of the chair’s sitting surface with the palm facing and in contact with the surface of the chair.

Action:
In a slow and progressive manner push the wrist against the chair’s surface until you feel the resistance of the end of range. At end of range, hold the position for 15 seconds whilst breathing slowly and deeply. Ensure you keep the elbow fully extended throughout the exercise.

07/14/2022

HEADACHE BEHIND THE EYE, CAUSES AND HOW TO GET RID OF IT

There can be many causes resulting in headache behind the eye which may range from cluster headaches to migraines to even cranial nerve palsies. Headache behind the eye is usually sharp, throbbing, or explosive pain behind the eye.

Some of the common causes of headache behind the eye are:

TENSION HEADACHE

This is perhaps one of the most common causes for headache behind the eye. An individual with tension headaches will have pain in band like fashion behind the eye and it is often associated with increased stress and extreme fatigue.

MIGRAINE DISORDER

This is also one of the most common causes for headache behind the eye. Pain caused due to a migraine is mostly unilateral and is intense and throbbing in character. The individual may have phonophobia and photophobia and would prefer to lie down in a dark quiet room and take a medication till the headache behind eye resolves.

CLUSTER HEADACHE

Cluster headache is a type of headache disorder which results in excruciating headache behind the eye. This type of headache is seen more in males and people who have a family history of cluster headaches. Such headaches may stay around for a while and may come and go in cycles causing headache behind the eye.

SINUSITIS

Inflammation of the sinuses is yet another cause for headache behind the eye. There are multiple sinus cavities around the eye region and thus inflammation in any one of these sinus cavities may result in headache behind the eye.

CRANIAL NERVE PALSY

There are multiple cranial nerves that emanate from the brain and provide vision to an individual. Whenever there is an inflammation of the cranial nerves providing vision or if there is injury to these muscles it results in cranial nerve palsy causing headache behind the eye. Additionally, the individual may have symptoms of double vision and drooping of eyelid. Diabetes is one of the most common causes of cranial nerve palsies causing headache behind the eye.

HOW TO GET RID OF HEADACHE BEHIND THE EYE?

REGULAR EXERCISE

Regular exercises boost the production of endorphins which is a natural pain reliever of the body and hence it is always recommended to exercises regularly so as to get rid of headache behind the eye.

SUPPLEMENTAL OXYGEN

This type of treatment is for those people who have cluster headaches as a cause of headache behind the eye. Supplemental oxygen is extremely effective in alleviating cluster headaches and helps in getting rid of headache behind the eye.

OTHER REMEDIES

Apart from the specific treatments mentioned above, there are other alternative treatments available like acupuncture, massage therapy, and chiropractic therapy which have been shown to be very effective in treating headache behind the eye.