Erik Dalton’s Myoskeletal Alignment Techniques are partly based on the reflexogenic relationship between muscles and joints.  By releasing ‘tight’ deep 4th layer muscles, Myoskeletal Therapists help open ’stuck’, or ‘out’ joint spaces, reducing irritation in the articular receptors, chemo receptors, and nociceptors.  Specific joint positions are reached and some type of activator, client movement, is used to release spasm, and the cycle of movement/pain reduction/movement begins.

Occipitoatlantal Alignment

The charts below demonstrate the pain patterns that are produced by cervical facet joint dysfunction.

For more in depth information of facet joint dysfunction, please visit

http://emedicine.medscape.com/article/93924-overview

Forward head posture can have ill effect through out the body, from the upper cervicals, to the plantar fascia.

Here are a few simple movements you can use during the day to assist in pulling the head back.

Strengthen Deep Neck Flexors (Img. 1)

Drape a resistance band over the base of the skull, just above the ears.  Find a comfortable place to hold each end of the band.  The closer to the body you hold, the more resistance you will feel when preforming elbow extensions.

As seen in image 1 above, perform elbow extensions, slowly.  Come slowly back to a start point, ending with elbows flexed.  By completing this movement you must contract the deep head/neck flexors, longus capitus and longus coli, in order to keep the head from flopping forward.  You may experience an ‘opening up’ of tissue at the cranial base, the occipitoatlantal joint, and a release of tight tissue in the back of the neck.  Repeat a few times a day, start with sets of 5, then 8 and so on.  Be sure to maintain proper breathing during this movement.

Deep Neck Flexors (Img.2)

Image 2 is the same movement cue without the resistance band, and is easier to do while driving to work, sitting at the computer, or on the dance floor.  In the image I use my finger as a guide, not a force pushing on the chin.  Simply glide the cranium posterior, keep the eyes looking forward.  Many people will have a tendency to look up toward the sky a bit.  The point is to open the posterior cervicals and strengthen the anterior, deep head/neck flexors.

These simple techniques can ease neck, shoulder & upper back pain and may help reduce the formation of Dowager’s Hump at the base of the neck/upper back.

Break Time

Having just received more than 2 feet of heavy snow, with more to come, there are good times on the way for residents of Northern Arizona.  But before the good times roll, there is a lot of hard work to be done.

At Stay Tuned Therapeutics, when it snows, we see an influx of patients with sciatic nerve irritation, leg pain, rotator cuff impingement, arm pain & low back pain.  Mindful shoveling techniques will keep you safe, saving your low back, legs, hips and shoulders for the fun to come.

The most operated on disc in the back in L5-S1.  This is the very lowest disc in the back, between Lumbar spine and the sacrum.  Repetitive motions can wear this disc out, cracking the annular fibers…a simple one time movement of forward bending and rotation, with a heavy load, may be what finally lands you in the emergency room.  Forward head postures and rotation of the shoulders inward will lead to pinching and possible damage in the shoulders.

Here are some tips for preventing injury.

• Warm up, stretch some, and take breaks.  Dress accordingly, don’t get too hot!
• WATER IN THY BODY.
• If you must bend over to shovel, come to a standing position before twisting the trunk to unload the snow.
• Bend at the knees, at least every other effort.
• Take small scopes of snow, start with the top layer. (A 12 lb load can translate to 586 lb compression to L5-S1 disc w bad body mechanics)
• Push snow down hill when you can.
• Alternate sides.
• Bring your head back and shoulders blades down before pitching the snow to save shoulders.
• Keep the shovel close to your body.
• Take a break.
• Plan on taking a while.  Don’t rush!

Follow these steps, enjoy the day.  Save your body for the snowshoeing, CC skiing, and get to the mountain when you can!

Holiday packages are now available at Stay Tuned Therapeutics.

Give the gift of Touch to your loved ones this holiday season.

Gift certificate packages are transferable, customizable, and thoughtful.  The recipients may choose from massage, Myoskeletal Alignment, skin care, facials, structural integration, manicure, pedicure, steam treatments, and any combination of the above.

From now until December 22, 2009 take an additional 15% off already discounted packages.  6 hour treatment packages of $375.00 are marked down to $319.75.  That is a total savings of over $120.00.  Individual gift certificates are 15% off as well.

Click here for massage service list.

Click here for skin care and body treatments.

Call Missy at 928-699-1801 with questions and consultation.

A variety of techniques that may be administered at Stay Tuned Therapeutics.  Checking joint ROM, manual manipulation, fascial “bagging” techniques.  Commonly used is a combination of Myoskeletal Alignment Techniques and AIS.

Call 928-699-1999 for more info and scheduling.

When you do well upon others, it makes you feel well, and it comes full circle.

From now until Dec. 17th, 2009 when you donate a pair of shoes or boots at Stay Tuned Therapeutics, you will receive $15.00 off of a one hour massage and a homeless man, woman or child gets a pair of shoes for the holidays.

Drop off location is Stay Tuned Therapeutics, 403 West Birch Ave., Flagstaff, AZ. 86001  Between 10 am and 5 pm, Monday-Friday.

Shoes (any kind-any size) must be in decent shape, as winter is upon us.

We are in discussion at this time with area shelters on how best to distribute the shoes and boots, along with a 15 minute foot massage, to those in need.

This is our gift to the Flagstaff community this holiday season, please help us out, and it will come back to you full circle.  Please call 928-699-1999 for more information and to get involved.

Free the Hips (fig. 1)

Prolonged sitting, hip flexor tightness, overuse and misuse can all cause hip problems.  Often when the “soft tissue” i.e., muscle, becomes tight the deeper layers of the connective tissue surrounding a joint will become short, stuck and glued down.  The hip capsule is unique in that it has a sort of rotatory arrangement of its fibers.

One commonly seen pathology, is the head of the femur (ball) becoming fixated into the posterior portion of the acetabulum (socket).  A pain generator to be sure, as the bone grinds on the inside of the joint space.    This may occur as a result of a dropped arch, internally rotated leg, and rotation of the femur.

One way to address the issue at the hip, is to position yourself or client/patient as shown in (fig.1).  This external rotation of the femur causes the head of the femur to migrate into external rotation, stretching the iliofemoral lig., which attaches the hip to the thigh and visa versa.    (The one that gets all glued up during bouts of great hip flexion and approximation of muscular origin-insertion.)  If you are a therapist using this technique position hands just inferior to greater trochanter.  Gravity will help those who help themselves.  To add an enhancer to this position, you may try pelvic tilts…tuck the tail bone under and back out.  Some people may feel a bit strange about this enhancer so I recommend pushing the knee into the floor for a count of 6-8 seconds, release and repeat 3-5 times.   You may also feel a bit of increase in ROM in adductors, sometimes that feels great.  DO NOT use this technique if you have to great a range of motion already.  In my opinion loose joints are more dangerous than tight joints.  Enjoy!

For more info or to book a session with Geoffrey Bishop, LMT in Flagstaff, AZ…call 928-699-1999.  e mail at staytunedaz@gmail.com

Hip ABduction Test

In part one of this discussion I introduced a common injury that may present in a clinical setting.  Injury, weakness (inhibition) or tightness (facilitation) of the adductor group of the thigh.  I’d like to now introduce you to a test that may be administered by the clinician or as a take home assessment of recruitment and compensation patterns in hip abduction.

In a side lying position I simply ask the client to raise a straight leg toward to ceiling.  In doing so glute med and min should “fire” at approximately the same time, lifting the leg straight laterally, toward the ceiling.  In the presence of inhibition of glute med., min., and potential facilitation of the adductor group, there may be a variety of substitution patterns.  Normal range of motion should be at least 45 degrees of abduction (toward the ceiling).   Try this on yourself and see what you find.

Lie on your side, raise top leg toward the ceiling.

Compensation patterns that may present are as follows:

Tight Adductors = ROM below 45 degrees abduction.

Piriformis Facilitation = External rotation of femur, evident by the toes pointing toward the ceiling.

Tensor Fasciae Lata Facilitation = The hip will come into flexion, draw the thigh anterior (toward the front).  Also may be seen that the trunk twist posterior (back) still creating hip flexion.

Quadratus Lumborum Facilitation = In an attempt to raise the leg, the hip will hike toward the shoulder, creating a slight side bend in the low back.

Any of these conditions may create or add to low back and hip pain, and may be a contributing factor in dysfunction of the rest of the kinetic chain.  Try this test, and let me know what you find.  In future installments we will look at what you find, and discuss treatment options from a clinical standpoint, and what you can do at home in self treatment.

Winter is upon us.  With the changing of the seasons there come change in the body.  A variety of muscles, that may have been in some state of hibernation, are called upon to get us through the new conditions, when the air gets cold, the snow falls and the stressors of the holidays build.  Without proper preparation and awareness, it may be easy to become fatigued and possibly injured.  Let’s discuss a few of the common concerns we see at Stay Tuned Therapeutics.

Leg, Groin and Pubic Bone pain.

Weakness or tightness in the adductor muscle group of the thigh may play a major role in the development of groin “pulls”, SI joint dysfunction, pubic bone pain, medial knee pain, etc.  Stabilizing the legs under our body in the slick conditions after a new snow fall is one of the responsibilities of the adductors.

The attachments (origin) coming from the periosteum of the pubic and ischium bones of the pelvis are common locations of strain.  Commonly noted in athletics where there is a forceful abduction during an internal rotation and adduction movement, such as soccer, we can imagine the reverse to be true as well when slipping on unstable surface such as ice. Hip adductor injuries occur most commonly when there is a forced push-off (side-to-side motion). High forces occur in the adductor tendons when the athlete must shift direction suddenly in the opposite direction. As a result, the adductor muscles contract to generate opposing forces.  We have all taken a bit of a slip, during running, walking to the car, lift line etc., leg shoots out, and we suddenly contract our adductors forcefully to bring the leg back under us.  This opposing action is a major cause for injury.

In the next entry we will look at, strength, flexibility and balance, in an attempt to prevent hip/groin injury in the winter season.  Also, we will also look at other common injuries and stressors as the holidays grow near.  Stay Tuned.