I was working on a client, helping her legs get ready for the Grandma’s Marathon in Duluth, when I told her, “Be careful of the elephants”. She gave me a puzzled look and asked, “What elephants?”
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It’s that time of year in Minnesota when we all look forward to doing various activities. No matter the activity, whether it’s leisurely gardening or strenuous biking, most of us develop some kind of problems in our journey.
Performance problems.
Anatomists love to separate and name things. Despite their different names and identities, an understanding of three muscles is essential to understanding one of the most common Myofascial pain patterns of the upper back and neck. The three muscles are the Levator Scapulae, the Rhomboid complex, and the Serratus Anterior.
In the last post, I mentioned a few things about foam rolling. It began a series of questions, one of which I would like to address.
Foam rolling because you have an area that is painful may be a waste of your time.
In the Myofascial world, it is important to know about a few painful areas, especially the ones referred to as trigger points. A trigger point can develop in a muscle and fascia. It is a painful “hot spot” usually accompanied by a pain pattern. (more…)
People often ask … “what do you know about foam rolling?”
Foam rolling is currently being marketed as Self Myofascial Release (SMR). I have seen articles on how it can reduce cellulite. Trainers are saying it can enhance performance. PT’s and Chiro’s tend to like them. A lot of people find them helpful.
Right now we are in a hyper ‘latest and greatest’ marketing phase. The truth, if it sounds too good to be true, it usually is.
Here are a few things I know about foam rollers.
Recently I have been writing about myofascial syndromes. The last two blogs have been about Thoracic Outlet Syndrome. Today I would like to discuss Piriformis Syndrome.
Often a client will come in with a pain in the heel. They have seen Doctors who have said something about plantar fasciitis and their Chiropractor has been working the lower calf to relieve tension on the achilles tendon. However the pain persists. Sometimes the source of that obnoxious heel pain is further up the leg, all the way up to a very small but significant muscle named the Piriformis, located deep within the butt, underneath the large gluteal muscle.