Author: Myodetox Team

2 min read

Dr. Kurt Hoverson

Posted on Apr 11, 2024

Avoid Hip Pain By Adding Three Exercises To Your Daily Routine

Many things can cause hip pain, such as previous injuries, prolonged periods spent sitting, hip/pelvis alignment, and decreased hip mobility.

Pain can be present anywhere around the hip, but the most common areas are the front or side. You might also experience a decreased range of motion in your hip due to pain and tight or weak muscles. You may even notice limping while walking and have trouble bearing weight on the painful leg.

You are most likely to experience hip pain if you sit for long periods, have recently picked up a new sport/ activity/ exercise (ex. running), or if you already suffer from back pain due to altered movement patterns.

In most cases, the treatment can also serve as a form of prevention for hip pain! The goal is to return as much range of motion as possible to the hip, then learn to control and keep that motion.

The following exercises are intended to be down 2-3x/day and prioritizing at least one session right before a workout.

Windshield Wipers

Start position Knees bent and upper body reclined back, with arms supporting.

End position Rotate knees to one-side, trying to keep your chest “tall and proud”. Then repeat on your other side.

You should feel tension on the side and back of your hip.

Complete 10 reps, 2x each direction.

Hip Flexor-Hamstring Stretch

Start positionHalf-kneeling position, squeeze glute of back leg and drive knee forward.

TIP: If you feel pain in your low back, you’re going too far.

End position Sit back on your heel and keep your front leg straight as you fold your spine forward.

You should feel a stretch through the front of your kneeling leg and a stretch through the back of your front leg.

Complete 8 reps, 3x each leg

Load

Start position Split-stance position, with equal weight between both legs; both feet flat.

End position Move your body forward over your front leg and shift your hip toward the side. Back foot is on your toes, with ~70% of your weight now on your front leg. Reach your front arm straight overhead.

You should feel a tension stretch through side of your hip.

Complete 8 reps, 3x each leg

Ready to improve your movement?

3 min read

Myodetox

Posted on Apr 11, 2024

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This Running Workout Is Designed To Build Endurance

We all want to run and get outside, but we must take the proper steps to prepare our body to run and help avoid any future pain and injuries.

Running related hip pain can come from a variety of sources. Some common causes are a decrease in hip extension, reduced ability to maintain proper alignment, and decreased load and force absorption in the foot/ankle/knee.

If you’re a beginner, you want to find a consistent schedule before trying to increase your weekly mileage. Instead of adding more miles to your runs, try to increase the number of days you run while sticking to the same amount of miles. You don’t need to improve your mileage or speed every week, and you want to keep your distance generally the same for two-three weeks to allow your body to adjust.

Incorporating a regular strength training and mobility program into your weekly schedule is an effective way to not only improve how you feel during your runs, but a great way to keep you running in the long term. Progressively strengthening your body will allow you to run further, run longer, and run faster comfortably. Additionally, the right strength training can even improve your mobility.

Without the proper preparation, you may experience hip pain while you’re running, which feels like pinching or burning in the front of the hip, or a dull ache in the side or upper posterior hip.

Additionally, the right strength training can even improve your mobility. Here are a few moves to try.

Split Stance Isometrics

Start position One foot forward, one foot back, and keeping your head over your hips.

End position Drop down into a lunge position. Shift your weight forward and allow your front knee to travel over your toes while keeping that front heel down.

You should feel a stretch in your Achilles’ tendon and in the front of your hips. Hold this position for 30 seconds on each side.

Complete 4 reps on each side.

Raised Front Foot Split Squat

Start position in a similar position to the split stance position, place a book or yoga block under your front foot with your toes over the edge.

Keep your head over your hips, shift your weight forward onto your front foot.

End position Drop down into a lunge. Keep the weight forward as you rise back up.

You should feel a stretch in your glutes, inner thigh and hamstrings of your front leg.

Complete 10 reps on each side

Wall Bridges

Start position Lay on your back with your feet against a wall and knees/hips at a 90 degree angle. Flatten your back against the floor and dig your heels downard (you should feel a lot of tension in your hamstrings).

End position Keep this position and then drive your hips up to the ceiling without arching your back.

You should feel this in your hamstrings and glutes. Your quads should be relaxed.

Complete 10 reps

Ready to improve your movement?

2 min read

Dr. Aimee Anagnostos

Posted on Oct 6, 2023

Breast Cancer + Pelvic Health

October is breast cancer awareness month. Breast cancer treatment requires a multimodal approach and involves working with an interdisciplinary team. Did you know that breast cancer survivors, upon returning or rebuilding their routine, may find symptoms of pelvic pain or dysfunction?

What may happen?

As a pelvic floor therapist, I often hear that pain and dysfunction with the bladder, bowels, and sex was something these breast cancer patients had not foreseen. Common bladder dysfunctions can be defined as incontinence, painful urination, urgency and frequency. Bowel dysfunctions include, but are not limited to, constipation, straining, and feeling incomplete when emptying. In terms of sexual dysfunction, pain with penetration, lack of lubrication, muscle tightness are common- given hormone changes, stress, diet modifications, and more.

What do the studies show?

In research, it can be found that 58% of survivors report difficulty with bladder control, 23% of women rated their symptoms as severe. Factors attributing to this loss of bladder control include: new medications, decrease in activity, stress, diet changes, altered hormone levels, and more. A pelvic physical therapist can conduct an evaluation to assess musculoskeletal or neuromuscular involvement in the lack of bladder control.

Constipation tends to be an under reported and long lasting side effect of chemotherapy. Depending on the medication, research states the incidence of constipation can be 50%-85%. Many people are unaware that pelvic physical therapy is a conservative way to optimize bowel movements. “Physical exercise facilitates bowel movement and is recommended for patients with chronic constipation or irritable bowel syndrome . Abdominal massage has also been emphasized as a non-pharmacological intervention to improve chronic constipation”.

Painful intercourse is also common, but not normal. 52 percent of women up to six months post-breast cancer treatment report sexual dysfunction and 19-26 percent continue to report sexual dysfunction five to 10 years after their diagnosis. There is evidence that pelvic floor muscle training with counseling and yoga or core exercises were beneficial for sexual function. A pelvic floor therapist can work with you to discuss position modifications, breathing techniques, work on pelvic floor muscle relaxation, and more.

Ready to take the next step?
I can help support your Pelvic Floor journey!

Reference List
1. Donovan KA, Boyington AR, Ismail-Khan R, Wyman JF. Urinary Symptoms in Breast Cancer: A Systematic Review. Cancer. 2012 Feb 1; 118(3): 582–593.
2. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10549-015-3652-4
3. https://lovelacecancercenter.com/blog/incontinence-pelvic-pain-constipation-and-sexual-dysfunction-associated-breast-cancer#:~:text=Pelvic%20floor%20dysfunction%20is%20a,bladder%20control%20or%20urinary%20incontinence.
4. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32367126/

3 min read

Myodetox

Posted on Sep 5, 2023

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Osteoarthritis 101

What do Jack Nicklaus, Shaquille O’Neal, and Dorothy Hamill have in common? Aside from being legends in their respective sports, they are all individuals who managed osteoarthritis while competinging in professional sports.

Modern medicine has deemed osteoarthritis (OA) as a “wear and tear” injury.Though it corresponds with previous injury and age, there are steps you can take to minimize your risk of getting OA, minimize the impact of OA, and maximize your mobility, if you have it.

The Facts

There are more than 100 forms of arthritis that affect our joints, but the most common kind is osteoarthritis. Here are the facts:

Nearly 10% of the US population experiences OA – that’s over 30 million people.

60% of cases are women.

OA costs the US over 130 billion annually.

Over 30% of people with OA experience depression and anxiety.

Often labeled the “wear and tear” disease, osteoarthritis leads to degradation of the cartilage and surrounding structures – bone, ligaments, and fatty tissue of the joint. The changes caused by osteoarthritis can deform the shape of the affected bones leading to inflammation, stiffness, reduced mobility, aches, and pain.

Typically, cartilage is a tough connective tissue that absorbs force and facilitates smooth movements between two bones. With osteoarthritis, this cartilage breaks down leading to rougher movement between two bones, and possible bone-on-bone contact.

OA is most often felt as stiffness in the morning, with pain further aggravated with activity. People with OA will experience movement restriction with daily activities such as walking, sit-to-stand, and going up/down stairs. The extent of damage is typically determined by a physical assessment, mobility screen, and X-ray.

Who Gets Osteoarthritis?

Osteoarthritis can happen at any joint. It typically occurs at the knees, hips, low back, hands, and neck. Note that these regions typically experience significant weight-bearing and movement.

Those most at risk for developing osteoarthritis are over 50 years old. If you’ve had a previous injury at a joint (e.g. meniscal tear or an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) tear), your risk of developing osteoarthritis increases. Moreover, if you are overweight or inactive, your risk for OA also increases.

What Causes Osteoarthritis?

There are several factors that may contribute to developing OA:

Age: risk increases if you are over 50 years old.

Previous injury: if you have injured a joint before via bone fracture, cartilage damage, tendon tear, or ligament tear.

Obesity: excessive weight leads to stress of the joints.

Overuse: repetitive stress to a joint may lead to OA.

Gender: women are much more likely to develop OA compared to men.

Musculoskeletal dysfunction: if you have misaligned joints, muscle weakness, or a tendinopathy, you may be at risk for OA.

Environment: at the end of the day, modifiable risk factors may contribute to your OA such as occupation, physical activity levels, hormones, movement patterns, and bone density.

What Can You Do About It?

The most severe cases of osteoarthritis restrict specific patterns of movement, and limit daily mobility. Depending on the extent of damage and activity limitation, some cases require surgical intervention e.g. total knee replace, total hip replacement, and joint fusions to name a few.

Thankfully, there are several interventions you can do with your physical therapist to reduce the impact of osteoarthritis:

Lose weight: did you know that for every 1lb in the body, 3-4 lbs of weight are placed on the knee when you walk and go up/down stairs? Losing any weight can reduce stress to the joints affected by OA.

Stretch: OA typically leads to muscle tension at the corresponding joints. For example, knee OA may lead to quadriceps, hamstring, hip flexors, and glute tightness. Having a stretch routine dedicated to improving range of motion and mobility can protect against OA, even if you already have it.

Strength train: OA can lead to muscle weakness, further contributing to muscle tightness, immobility, and pain. Having a strength routine under the guidance of your physical therapist can improve mobility and reduce pain. This may include full-body workout such as swimming, cycling, and compound movements performed safely e.g. weight-lifting.

Manual therapy: joint mobilizations can be performed to maximize available movement at a joint. Treatment of the muscles contributing to movement restriction and pain may involve massage techniques, myofascial techniques, cupping therapy, acupuncture, and dry needling.

Medication and alternative therapies: your physician can help determine other forms of treatment to manage pain while you maintain mobility such as over-the-counter medications or prescription drugs.

Let us help support your OA journey

3 min read

Myodetox

Posted on Aug 18, 2023

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Protect Your Hamstrings

If you were to ask any individual to show you a stretch for the body, there’s a 99% chance they would bend over to reach their toes with their hands. This universal flexibility exercise is known to stretch the hamstrings.

But what do the hamstrings do, and why are they prone to strains? Here, we’ll dive into why you should be aware of hamstring strains and what you can do about them.

What Are the Hamstrings?

The hamstring muscles are three muscles found at the back of the thigh. Their main function is to bend the knee, otherwise known as flexion. An easy example of their movement is bringing your feet to your buttock. Though they function to bend the knee, they’re also stabilizers for walking, running, and absorbing impact from a jump.

The hamstrings are made up of the biceps femoris (the outside hamstring), semitendinosus, and semimembranosus muscles. All three muscles attach at the hip and knee, essentially crossing two different joints. Therefore, they not only contribute to bending of the knee, but extension of the hips (working alongside the glutes).

During walking and running, the hamstrings play a role in the heel phase in which the leading foot makes initial contact with the ground, absorbing the energy from the ground to protect the knee and hips. Furthermore, it helps pull the center of mass forward, propelling forward motion.

However, when your feet make initial contact with the ground (often starting with the heel), the hamstrings are placed in their most stretched position underload. This leads to an eccentric contraction, where the hamstrings undergo load in a lengthened position, risking strain if the force is strong enough.

What Are Hamstring Strains?

Strains to the hamstring muscles are the most common muscle injury in athletes and everyday people. They are sometimes known as “pulled hamstrings”, and most prevalent in sports like sprinting, track & field, soccer, and basketball. Hamstring strains make up 12-16% of athletic muscle injuries, and have a reinjury rate of 22-34%. They are typically seen in males more than females.

The mechanism of injury is often associated with overload placed on the hamstring in a lengthened position, followed by a quick contraction, such as the initial contact and shock absorption at the heel while running.

Severe strains can lead to partial or complete tears of the hamstring. These are graded from 1 to 3:

Grade 1: mild pain with some swelling, with minimal loss of range and strength. These typically take 2-3 weeks to fully heal and return-to-sport.

Grade 2: moderate pain, inflammation and bruising, with tears to the tissue that lead to a loss of range and strength. These typically require 4-8 weeks to fully heal and return-to-sport.

Grade 3: complete tear of the muscle, or musculotendon point with severe pain, swelling, and a complete lack of function. These are typically surgically managed, and may require 3-6 months for full healing and return-to-sport.

Who Is Most at Risk of Hamstring Strains?

Those most at risk of developing a hamstring strain show:

Decreased flexibility and range of motion.

Decreased strength and endurance.

History of previous hamstring injury.

History of low back pain.

Poor lumbopelvic stability and control.

Heel striking with running gait.

Improper or lack warm-up.

There are many factors that may relate to the development or recurrence of hamstring strain. Males aged 16 to 25 years old, with asymmetrical differences in function, are at most risk. Identifying areas of opportunity is key, and should be done with your physical therapist, chiropractor, or massage therapist.

What Do Hamstring Strains Feel Like?

Those experiencing hamstrings strains may have:

Pain and cramping at the back of the thigh with bending of the knee and extension of the hip.

Pain, muscle cramps, and dysfunction with walking and sitting.

Decreased range of motion at the knee into flexion.

Bruising 24-48 hours after injury.

Grade 2-3 strains and tears may have a palpable rupture, with significant muscle spasms.

Your physician, physical therapist, chiropractor, or massage therapist can help differentiate your hamstring strain, review the involvement of the sciatic nerve, and help start the first steps into rehabilitation or prevention. Your physician may order imaging to determine the extent of damage, if necessary.

How Do You Treat and Manage Hamstring Strains?

Thankfully, the majority of strains can be managed conservatively. Grade 1 and 2 strains will usually require rest, ice for 10-20 minutes at a time, activity modification, and pain medications directed by your physician. Grade 3 strains may require surgical intervention. In the early stages, rehabilitation is meant to focus on protecting the tissue, and minimizing any loss of motion and strength.

Early on, your physical therapist should guide you through progressive and safe exercises focused on strength and re-establishing movement. Though some pain is expected, each exercise progression into further mobility and functional strength should be as pain free as possible. Exercises will not only focus on range of motion and strength, but trunk stability and movement retraining specific to your activity. This is key for reducing other extraneous factors that can contribute to hamstring injuries (e.g. lumbopelvic instability, poor strength at the glutes and quadriceps).

Hands-on therapy, such as myofascial techniques, acupuncture, and dry needling may complement therapy by reducing muscle spasms and pain along areas of the body experiencing overuse. Once tissue is healed, further application of hands-on therapy may help improve range of motion at the hamstring, and bring further input to the body for functional movements.

Protect your hamstrings this season!

3 min read

Myodetox

Posted on Aug 4, 2023

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What Is A Rotator Cuff Tear?

It’s the summer season, you’ve been asked to pitch for an upcoming pick-up softball game. Heck, you’ve been playing for over 20 years: this should be fun.

When you go to throw your first pitch, you suddenly feel a sharp pain at the top of your arm. You try to fight through the pain, but it’s hurting more and more to move your arm. What was that? Did I not warm-up enough? Did I hurt my rotator cuff? You’ve hurt your shoulder before, but not like this. This time…you can barely move! And all you were doing was something you’ve done for years.

Sadly, this isn’t an uncommon occurrence. And you may have a rotator cuff tear to blame.

What is Rotator Cuff Tear?

Hearing the word “tear” is never fun, especially when it comes to your body. Nearly 70% of people will experience shoulder pain at some point in their life, and this pain often involves the rotator cuff muscles and tendons. The worst of this is rotator cuff tears.

The rotator cuff muscles consist of four muscles: the infraspinatus, supraspinatus, teres minor, and subscapularis. All these muscles have tendons that attach to the top of your arm. These rotator cuff muscles surround your shoulder blade to do two things – initiate and stabilize your shoulder movement. They bear the brunt of responsibility when it comes to shoulder movement, and we take them for granted until we get injured.

The tendons are often injured when we do quick movements with load, or when we’re challenging our shoulder beyond the capacity it can handle. But, time can work against your shoulder, too. Many partial rotator cuff tears are a result of degeneration i.e. wear and tear.

What Does It Look Like?

Tears of our rotator cuff tendons are either incomplete (e.g. partial) or complete. The most common being the partial rotator cuff tear.

Partial rotator cuff tears can limit your shoulder range of movement and strength. Everyday tasks like putting a bra on, opening the fridge, or pouring a cup of coffee can become irritating. Suddenly, lifting overhead or getting into downward dog can be a pain. And that itch on your back? It will be nearly impossible to reach!

Immobility and compensating movements are often seen with partial tears, followed by pain with movement. But this isn’t always the case. In fact, there are people with partial tears that have no limitations in movement and no pain.

Who Does It Affect?

What makes partial rotator cuff tears interesting is that many of them can go unnoticed over the years. We typically start to develop rotator cuff weakness as we enter our 30’s, and this weakness tends to progress as we age – unfortunately, this weakness is more prominent in women. As we age, partial and complete rotator cuff tears become more common.

The exact mechanism of this weakness is not known, but this much is true – tears do not always lead to pain, and tears are not always the direct result of injury. Time and our biological make-up can play a significant role in developing a partial tear. Of course, injuries and trauma can lead to partial and complete rotator cuff tears. But this does not mean you’ll never be able to move your shoulder the same way again.

What Can Be Done?

Surgery is rarely done for partial rotator cuff tears. It is encouraged to manage rotator cuff tears conservatively with physical therapy prior to considering more invasive interventions.

Managing shoulder dysfunction is simple in theory:

1. Work needs to be done to optimize shoulder range of motion. This can involve hands-on therapy and corrective exercises dedicated to mobility optimization.

2. Strength needs to be gained so that your shoulder can handle the load needed to carry-out everyday tasks, as well as participation in the sports and activities that make us happy.

For those experiencing incomplete rotator cuff tears, try these exercises below to get you started: CARS

The work that needs to be put in is the hard part. The shoulder joint is complex in that its movement and stability relies heavily on our muscles, joints, ligaments, and nervous system. Thankfully, having the right therapist by your side ensures you have the right tools needed to address this. The evidence fully supports the use of non-surgical interventions to manage partial rotator cuff tears.

Ready to play ball?

After the pain that was felt trying to throw a ball, you decide to see your physician who orders imaging for the shoulder. A week later, two things happen: your shoulder feels better with movement, and your imaging finds a partial rotator cuff tear. How can this be? Your shoulder movement has improved within a week, but a partial rotator cuff was found. Turns out, the physician points out that the rotator cuff injury appears old – you’re only feeling some of its effects now. It’s time to see a Physical Therapist.

When we have damage to the shoulder, the body is amazing at adapting to the given circumstances. Identifying areas of weakness is identifying opportunity – strengthening and stabilizing the shoulder can re-establish movement and ensure you’re getting back to doing the things you love.

Consulting your physician is never a bad step, but what’s found in imaging doesn’t always correlate with how a damaged shoulder moves and feels. A rotator cuff tear can be overcome with the right therapist and team by your side.

2 min read

Myodetox

Posted on Jul 21, 2023

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The Key To Managing Sciatica

2022 was supposed to be the summer that Iggy Azalea would be touring with Pitbull. No doubt, the “Fancy” singer and her fans were beyond excited for this concert series. But in the middle of touring, she had to suddenly stop. On July 30th, she Tweeted: “So, I have sciatica. So fun!” She had to abruptly stop touring and manage this debilitating nerve pain.

What is Sciatica?

80% of people experience low back pain at some point in their life. At any given moment, nearly 9% of people are experiencing back pain right now. Yet, navigating back pain is often frustrating and confusing. The causes of back pain are numerous: nerve, muscle, joint, ligament, weakness, instability, trauma – all of which further branch out into other conditions.

When it comes to low back pain, sciatica has become a household name in the medical community and public alike. Sciatica is pain or irritation of the sciatic nerve. It typically happens down one leg. The sciatic nerve is the largest nerve of the body. It stems from the spinal cord, and runs down the back side of the buttock and leg, and branches further into the calf and feet.

The sciatic nerve can become irritated in three main regions: the low back, the buttock, and the back of the thigh. People with sciatica often experience the following:

Pain or irritation along the low back, buttock or thigh.

Numbness and tingling down the leg.

Pain aggravation with sitting, standing, or walking.

What Can Be Done?

Navigating sciatica can be scary. Having the right guidance is key. Our therapists at Myodetox can help determine the source of sciatica, and dedicate treatment specific to your needs.

Full-Body Assessment

Our therapists are trained to identify the easing and aggravating factors associated with your sciatica. A proper full-body assessment ensures that nothing is missed, and that clarity towards your pain and movement concerns is provided.

Hands-on Therapy

Sciatica is often associated with movement restriction of the sciatic nerve. This means that a structure in the body may be pinching or impeding movement of the sciatic nerve, causing irritation and even pain. Whether it is joint, fascia, or muscle, taking a hands-on approach can provide alleviation of pain and freedom of movement.

Examples of hands-on therapy include joint mobilizations, myofascial techniques, muscle mobilizations, cupping therapy, acupuncture, and dry needling.

Exercise

Sciatica can significantly reduce your mobility. However, there is strong evidence supporting specific movements and exercises to regain your overall mobility. Finding a way to move safely requires a healthcare professional by your side. Our therapists will ensure you can progress your movement so that sciatica becomes a thing of the past.

Examples of exercises include sciatic nerve sliders and tensioners, mobility drills, and strength training. Your therapist will ensure that the appropriate treatment plan is clearly laid out so that you can get back to living your life, and doing what you love.

Want support with your Sciatica?

Our team of expert therapists can help you get back to doing what you love!

2 min read

Myodetox

Posted on Jul 14, 2023

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How to fix IT Band Syndrome

If you’re an active individual, you may have experienced discomfort or irritation at your IT band a.k.a. the iliotibial band.

IT band syndrome is pain along the outside of the knee that is typically felt while the knee is slightly bent during movement, and can become so bothersome that it sidelines you from activity. It is the second most common cause of knee pain.

Who Is At Risk of IT Band Syndrome?

IT band syndrome typically affects people that run, cycle, hike and participate in sports that require significant power and strength from the legs. Those that experience IT band pain often present with some form of dysfunction with one of the muscles that attach to the IT band – that is, the gluteus medius, gluteus maximus, tensor fasciae latae, or vastus lateralis. Dysfunction in these muscles can include muscle tightness, weakness, and overuse.

What Are the Symptoms of IT Band Pain?

IT band syndrome is felt along the outside of the knee joint. This pain tends to worsen with activity, and ease with rest. IT band pain is sometimes known as “IT band friction” in that clicking may be heard when the knee is moving from a bent to straightening position (flexion into extension). The most intense pain is often present when the knee is bent at 30 degrees (a position typically seen in running). Other symptoms can include: clicking on the outside of the knee; warmth and tenderness to the touch along the outside knee; tension and pain along the hip and thigh.

You may notice more prominent IT band syndrome symptoms if you’ve:

Increased training volume

Changed surfaces while training e.g. trail running vs. road running

Present with muscle strength and length differences at the hip and outer thigh.

What Can Be Done to Address IT Band Pain?

Immediate resting, icing, and stretches are typically prescribed when treating acute IT band syndrome. This may be followed by gradual changes to volumes in training, and specific treatment catered to your needs.

Your licensed therapist at Myodetox can provide a thorough assessment to determine what structures and movements may be contributing to your IT band pain. Discomfort and tension along the IT band is often the result of dysfunction of the muscles that attach to it along the hip. In fact, some evidence suggests that IT band pain may be muscle weakness at the hips(1). Your licensed therapist can also help with differential diagnosis of your pain, carefully reviewing other structures that may or may not be contributing to your pain.

Interventions that can help IT band syndrome include:

Hands-on therapy e.g. myofascial release along the hips and thigh.

Exercise e.g. corrective movements for muscle lengthening, strengthening, and movement coordination.

Education & Self-management e.g. load changes, foam rolling, ice vs. heat.

Two Home Exercise Tips:

Foam roll: the video below focuses on foam rolling the entirety of the leg, and not just the area that hurts. Remember, the IT band connects multiple muscles!
Click here to watch the video

Leg strengthening: the following exercise incorporates the entirety of your leg. You want a strategy that can focus on getting your hips and thigh involved so that you move pain free!
Click here to watch the video

Ready to take the next step?

Your licensed therapist at Myodetox can provide a thorough assessment to determine what structures and movements associated with the IT band may be contributing to the symptoms. They can help you figure out which movements, muscles, joints, or even nerves may be contributing to the IT pain. And most importantly, they’ll devise a plan with you to treat and manage your pain so you can get back to doing what you love.

2 min read

Myodetox

Posted on Jul 7, 2023

Strengthen Your Ankle Tendons

If you’ve ever rolled your ankle, you have felt that pain along the outside of the foot – it’s sharp, swells up, and makes walking incredibly difficult.

But sometimes pain occurs at the outside ankle area, and you have no idea where it came from. You’ll ask yourself “what did I do to cause that? I didn’t trip, I didn’t fall, and I didn’t roll it.” If you’re experiencing mysterious ankle pain, the peroneal tendons may be to blame.

What Is Ankle Tendon Pain Called?

A peroneal tendinopathy is dysfunction of the peroneal tendon. These tendons connect the peroneal muscles to the outside and base of the foot. They’re responsible for plantar flexion and eversion movements of the foot.

When there’s increased load to the tendon from an increase in running, training, or sports that require significant amounts of sharp movements, function of the peroneal tendon group will be disrupted. Depending on the severity of the tendon irritation, an injury can manifest as inflammation, pain with movement, weakness, and range of motion restriction. This makes getting back to your sport and everyday activities difficult to participate in.

Who Gets It?

This injury is typically seen if you’re a high volume and intense training athlete. It’s also common if you have chronically rolled your ankle(s). Having a history of rolled ankles weakens the supportive ligaments, and stresses the peroneal muscles and tendons that provide structure and protection. This ultimately increases the demand on the peroneal tendons, furthering risk of injury.

The pain tends to be gradual at first, and most people ignore the pain until it becomes chronic and aggravated with common activities like running.

What Can You Do About It?

Education – Don’t Go At It Alone

Like all tendon injuries, it’s important to seek education on load management from your therapist. Your tendons need sufficient time to heal, but this doesn’t mean a full stop in using your muscles. You’ll want a progressive plan focused on regaining full range of motion of the ankle, strength, and stability. That often means knowing what your limits are, respecting limitations, and having a goal specific approach to regaining function.

Manual Therapy

People with a peroneal tendinopathy typically show reduced movement in the joints responsible for eversion of the foot. Your therapist at Myodetox can work on any restrictive muscle and joint that may be contributing to movement restriction and pain.

Exercise Management

Your therapist will work with you and provide the correct exercises to regain your ankle movements. If you’re unable to access a therapist immediately, give some of these exercises a try.

Ankle CARs: Click here to watch the video

Foam Rolling: Click here to watch the video

Strength Training: Click here to watch the video

Stability Training: Click here to watch the video

Ready to take the next step?

Book your session today!

2 min read

Dr. Aimee Anagnostos

Posted on Jun 16, 2023

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What is Pelvic Floor Physical Therapy?

The less we know about something, the easier it is to ignore. The pelvic floor is a group of muscles with attachments to your pubic bone, tailbone, and pelvis. However, it isn’t something we see everyday (or ever), so many people don’t understand its role in relation to the rest of our bodies.

Before we get into Pelvic Floor Therapy, let’s first understand…

What Is The Pelvic Floor?

The pelvic floor is a general term used to describe a group of muscles, ligaments, and fascia that creates a natural ‘hammock’ for the pelvis.

The functions of the pelvic floor include:

Supporting abdominal organs

Stabilizing the low back and “core”

Controlling bladder and stool function

Maintaining positive sexual stimulation

Pelvic floor issues can include pelvic pain or bowel/ bladder issues. The pain can be described as burning, stinging, painful sitting, and more. Bowel/ bladder dysfunctions include leaking, dribbling, constipation, urgency, and frequency- to name a few.

How Does Pelvic Floor Physical Therapy Help?

At Myodetox, our Pelvic Floor Physical Therapist will evaluate the extent to which the muscle, nerves, and fascia affect the issue.

Pelvic Floor Therapy can include;

Trigger point release

Neural/visceral/ myofascial release

Digital biofeedback

Soft tissue mobilizations

Education

Therapeutic exercises, and more.

This conversation can be difficult to have, but our trained staff empowers you to seek the proper care for pelvic floor dysfunctions.

What To Expect At Your First Session

Seeking pelvic floor therapy can be intimidating. Our hope is that this blog can help you navigate your first Pelvic Floor Physical Therapy Session and make your visit as comfortable as possible.

Our pelvic physical therapist will gather as much information regarding your condition. Too often we hear that pelvic pain is dismissed. Therefore, it is important to us to create the time and space to understand your pelvic pain. That is why our initial evaluation is 60-minutes long and conducted in a private treatment room for patient privacy.

Depending on your history and symptoms, our pelvic therapist can perform an external evaluation of the spine, hips, pelvis, and abdomen- an exam which is very similar to an orthopedic physical therapy exam.

You will then have the option to proceed with an internal pelvic exam. (No spectrum is used, only one gloved finger.) Our pelvic therapist is certified to treat both female pelvic floor and male pelvic floor dysfunctions internally. If consent is given, the therapist may evaluate vaginally or rectally, while explaining the procedure every step of the way.

After the assessment is complete, the pelvic therapist will explain their findings and what is needed in your future treatments. Your treatment may include visceral mobilization, soft tissue mobilization, trigger point release, stretches, strengthening, breathework, and more.

We hope this serves to put any hesitancy at ease. If you have further questions you can contact Myodetox Brentwood at (925) 430-6630.

Interested in trying Pelvic Floor Physical Therapy?

3 min read

Myodetox

Posted on Jun 9, 2023

Find your nearest location

How to come back from runner’s knee

Rafael Nadal is a legend in the tennis community. With 22 Grand Slam wins (to date) and many other tennis accolades, Nadal has solidified himself as one of the greatest tennis players of all time (in fact, he was No.1 for 209 weeks!).

Unfortunately, in 2005 during the Wimbledon final, he suffered a knee injury. This injury wasn’t a tear or dislocation, but it was enough to interfere with his play. His knee troubles continued for years, even forcing him to withdraw from the 2012 US Open. Rafael Nadal has since been able to recover and continue his astonishing career, but it hasn’t been without hard work.

So what is this knee injury that set him back?

What Is Runner’s Knee?

If you’re a runner of any level, you’re likely familiar with “Runner’s Knee.” This condition, medically known as patellofemoral pain syndrome (PFPS), is pain at the front of the knee caused by dysfunctional movement patterns of the patella (i.e. kneecap) and femur (i.e. your thigh bone) that can lead to pain at the patellar tendon (i.e. the thick tendon at the bottom of your knee cap). As you can tell from Rafael Nadal’s injury , PFPS doesn’t only affect runners.

There are a number of reasons for knee pain, but patellofemoral pain syndrome is the most common. This injury, though common in running, is also seen in sports associated with running, jumping, and other high load demands. People with PFPS are able to reproduce their pain with squats, going up stairs, jumps, and of course – running.

What Are The Main Causes?

Everyone’s experience with PFPS is different, but the most common causes are:

Overuse injury: this can be an increase in volume, or introducing a challenge to the knee that it may not be ready for (e.g. under training for a challenging run, or hiking for the first time in years)

Muscle: deficits like weakness at the quadriceps and hips can contribute to PFPS

Injury: previous injuries (e.g. dislocations) can contribute to PFPS

Movement Coordination: the joint angle to the knee may stress the tendon, leading to pain.

Mobility Impairment: you can be excessive movement or lack flexibility of certain muscle groups, which further contributes to PFPS

What Are The Main Signs and Symptoms?

The signs and symptoms of patellofemoral pain syndrome may not all be applicable to you, but be mindful of the following:

Pain with lower leg exercises e.g. cycling, running, weight lifting.

Pain with walking, stairs, kneeling, and squatting.

Pain at the knee with sitting too long e.g. watching a movie or sitting on a plane.

Aggravated pain with increased use e.g. walking or cycling longer distances.

Who’s At Risk?

Age can play a big factor when it comes to PFPS. This is typically seen in teenagers and young adults. When we age, problems with the knee tend to be more joint related e.g. arthritis

Sex differences are also present with PFPS. Unfortunately, women are twice as likely as men to experience PFPS. The common causes of PFPS are often related to women more than men e.g. joint alignment with the hip and muscle imbalances.

Activity specific – as said before, runner’s knee is commonly seen in sports that involve running, jumping, cutting, and any other sport that stresses the knee.

What Can Be Done?

There are a number of things you can do to alleviate pain at the knee. Try these below:

Foam Rolling helps release your muscles from any myofascial tension caused by poor flexibility, overuse, or muscle weakness. Though temporary in affect, it can be a very helpful tool to use in the rehab arsenal.

Taping at the knee can temporarily help alleviate pain, especially with movements like getting up and down a chair or a set of stairs.

Mobility is key to addressing knee pain. This can include dynamic whole body movements, as well as specific stretches to alleviate tension at the knee. Here are some examples of movements that alleviate tension of the quadriceps, hamstrings, hip flexors, glute muscles, and calf.

Strength training has the highest level of evidence for alleviating “runner’s knee.” This should be incorporated into a rehabilitation and maintenance routine. The research supports exercises that target the quadriceps and hips to facilitate the proper mechanics for the knee. Here are some examples you can try at home: glute bridge, stork, and squat.

It’s important to note that mobility and strength exercises will serve you best under guidance from a healthcare professional. Even professional athletes and therapists alike benefit from coaching, cues, and progressions for the knee exercises under safe conditions.

Ready to start managing your Runner’s Knee?

Though there are many things you can do to immediately help your pain, seeing a healthcare professional sooner rather than later can offset any gaps in treatment. Your therapist will provide the needed guidance for pain management, progressions, and ultimately working with you to help reach your goals.

Therapists have other tools up their sleeve – manual therapy, gait/movement retraining (biomechanics), blood flow restriction therapy, taping, education Alternate

It is important to see a licensed healthcare professional if you’re experiencing PFPS. It’s not uncommon for people to push through the pain. Unfortunately, this ends up lengthening your recovery time. By seeing a healthcare provider sooner rather than later, you can prevent any further damage ensure that you’re given the tools to address the causes of your pain and FutureProof your body.

1 min read

Myodetox

Posted on May 30, 2023

4 Moves Every Cyclist Needs

Whether it be on the road, dirt, snow or track, we demand a lot from our bikes, but how do we demand more from our bodies? These cyclist exercises will help you ride faster, longer, and more comfortable on any bike for those epic days in the saddle.

1. Aero Tuck ||

10 reps

Step 1: Start with feet hip width apart.

Step 2: Squat down. Bend your trunk forwards, bring your arms away from your sides. Reach back behind you while straightening your elbows and rotating your thumbs down and back.

Step 3: Stand up and bring your elbows in front of your face while reaching upwards with palms facing you. Look up.

2. Neck Opener

15 reps

Step 1: With the shoulders over wrists, hips over knees, gently push the chest away from the floor. Focus your sights on a target on the floor between your hands. Dip your chin down towards the floor, moving only your neck. Hold for 3 seconds.

Step 2: Reverse the movement by tucking in your chin fully. Hold for 3 seconds.

3. Shoulder + Backline Opener

10 reps

Step 1: Start in a push up position with shoulders over wrists and legs fully extended. Drop your chest down towards the ground, squeeze your shoulder blades together. Elbows stay straight. Hold for 5 seconds.

Step 2: Push your chest away from the ground, round your shoulders forwards. Elbows stay straight. Hold for 5 seconds.

Step 3: Keeping knees relatively straight, hinge through the hips and form an inverted V shape, finishing with your eyes looking past your feet. Drop back to start position.

5. Diver

10 reps

Step 1: Stand with toes pointed forwards. Drive left knee up while keeping knee bent. Drive right arm forwards left arm back with elbows at 90 degrees.

Step 2: Keep your left foot off the ground as you extend your left leg backwards. Lean your trunk forwards. Drive your left arm forwards with palm facing up and right arm back with thumb rotating down and back.

Want to take your cycling to the next level?

Join us for a session! Our expert physical therapists and chiropractors will optimize your movements, reduce pain and increase your longevity. They’ll create an individual plan that will include cyclist exercises like these!

2 min read

Myodetox

Posted on May 20, 2023

Find your nearest location

What Is Frozen Shoulder?

If you’ve experienced a serious injury to the shoulder, like a rotator cuff tear, you may have been warned about developing adhesive capsulitis, otherwise known as “frozen shoulder”.

This condition gets the name “frozen shoulder” due to the stiffness and pain it causes.

What Is Frozen Shoulder?

Frozen shoulder is significant shoulder mobility restriction and pain that develops slowly, and can sometimes last for 1-2 years. It typically develops during long periods of rest (e.g. post-fracture and post-surgery).

The shoulder joint has connective tissue surrounding it. This tissue typically serves to stabilize the ball-and-socket joint of the shoulder, and acts as a support structure. With this condition the connective tissue becomes immobilized and inflamed.

Who Gets Frozen Shoulder?

Frozen shoulder affects up to 3% of the US population. Of all the shoulder conditions that cause immobility and pain after the age of 40, adhesive capsulitis is the leader. The major risk factors for developing it include:

Non-dominant hand/arm.

Rotator cuff pathology.

Glenohumeral fracture.

Systemic diseases such as diabetes mellitus, thyroid dysfunction, cardiovascular disease, and Parkinson’s disease.

What Causes Frozen Shoulder?

There are two primary causes for frozen shoulder, but the mechanism of development is largely unknown. Primary adhesive capsulitis is idiopathic – pain and immobility gradually develop without any specific cause.

Secondary adhesive capsulitis is associated with systemic issues of the body such as diabetes mellitus, hormone issues, rotator cuff injuries, shoulder injuries, calcific tendinitis, cervical spondylosis, and strokes to name a few.

What Are The Symptoms?

The main symptoms of adhesive capsulitis involve movement restriction and pain. There are three stages involving these symptoms:

Freezing stage: shoulder range of motion begins to diminish, and general movement (particularly overhead and behind the back) movements become painful. This stage ranges from 1-9 months.

Frozen stage: shoulder movements become even more stiff, though pain begins to reduce. Functional use (e.g. reaching overhead, putting a coat on) becomes much more difficult. This stage ranges from 4-12 months.

Thawing stage: this is when movement and pain begin to improve, and previous loss of functional movements slowly return. This stage ranges from 5-24 months.

How Do You Prevent and Manage It?

Most cases of adhesive capsulitis develop during long periods of immobility such as healing from a shoulder break, stroke, or a post-surgical rotator cuff tear. For some it will develop without any associated cause. Regardless of cause, once safe, movement will be key.

Maintaining health movement, strength, stability, and facilitating appropriate muscle recovery of the neck-back-shoulder complex is key.

The physical therapy interventions that are most favorable focus on manual therapy, progressive stretching, and myofascial techniques to maintain optimal shoulder movement and strength. This is most important in frozen and thawing stage.

Myofascial techniques: focus on the muscle and fascial tension that builds with frozen shoulder, providing stimulus to aid in movement and recovery.

Progressive manual therapy: mixing joint mobilization, deep tissue massage, progressive stretching, and muscle energy techniques.

Exercise: focused on challenging and progressing range of motion, scapular stability, and strength for functional movements.

Frozen shoulder is a long road for many, but the right treatment can get you back to moving at your best.

Ready to start managing your shoulder mobility?

0 min read

Myodetox

Posted on May 12, 2023

Meet Your Liberty Village Team

These experts are ready to
FutureProof Your Body.

Physiotherapists

Optimize your movements + reduce your risk of injury

Erica Brown + Jason Khan

Erica is our Clinic Director and Physiotherapist who’s passionate about building relationships and educating her clients on how to achieve their goals.

Jason is our Regional Director and Physiotherapist. Within his sessions, he’ll create a comprehensive treatment plan combining manual therapy and custom exercise programs that drive results.

View his full bio

Natasha Minas + Kristen Ho

Natasha is a Physiotherapist that ensures her clients are included in the whole process of treatment with a personally developed exercise and manual therapy program that target their goals and expectations.

Kristen is a Physiotherapist passionate about holistic health education and creating self-management practices so that her clients can thrive and become the best versions of themselves.

Chiropractors

Improve your posture + maximize your performance

Korina Gov + Sarah Hunter

Korina is a Chiropractor that believes in catering her treatment to each individual patient, utilizing a variety of techniques in her treatment that could include chiropractic adjustments, soft tissue mobilization, and active care.

Sarah is a Chiropractor that ensures that each session involves a comprehensive assessment, education, manual therapy, joint manipulations, and therapeutic exercise to bring out the best in her clients.

Registered Massage Therapists

Release tension + relieve pain

Lisa Wood

Lisa is a RMT with a Foundations in Functional Acupuncture under the Advanced Therapeutic Programs, which allows her to take a unique approach to how she provides treatments.

They’re looking forward to seeing you soon!

2 min read

Myodetox

Posted on May 4, 2023

View her available sessions

5 Exercises For Moms

Written by Dr Natalie Lopez and Jasmine Choi

‘Strong like a mother’ really is true when you take into account all the changes a mother goes through during pregnancy and all they do while healing in that early postpartum period.

These 5 exercises for moms are to help you or a mother in your life reconnect with their body after having a child. They will help to retrain core and back muscles after childbirth; whether that was recently or years ago.

It is never too late to help retrain these muscles and get them to help you rather than hinder you from doing what you love!

1. Inner Core Breath

3 sets of 10 breaths

Start by laying on the ground with your knees bent and feet flat on the floor. As you inhale, relax your pelvic floor (imaging dropping a marble from your pelvic floor, or passing gas sensation), while allowing your belly to fill with air. Follow with an exhale as you engage your pelvic floor (lifting a marble with your pelvic floor, or stopping the flow of urine). Make sure to fully relax your pelvic floor in between reps.

2. Core Heel Taps

3 sets of 10 taps/side

Lie on the ground with your back flattened against the ground, no arch between your low back and mat. Start with both of your knees bent, with your feet hovering in a tabletop position. Slowly alternate tapping your feet to the ground, lowering each foot with control. Exhale and engage your core as you lower your foot, and inhale to bring it back up to tabletop.

3. Banded Rows

3 sets of 10 reps

Secure a resistance band to a sturdy object in front of you. Pull the band back with both hands, elbows driving back behind you. Lead the motion by squeezing your shoulder blades down and back. Hold at end range for 5 seconds. Keep your shoulders away from your ears.

4. Modified Childs Pose with Upper Back Rotation

2 sets of 10 reps per side

Begin in a tabletop position with your hands below your shoulders and your knees under your hips. Spread your knees out to the side of your mat while keeping your feet close together. Move your hips back until your belly is touching your thighs and your forearms are resting on the ground. From here, put one hand behind your head (while the other remains on the ground) and rotate your mid-back, and neck upwards. Return to centre and repeat on the other side.

5. Kneeling Squat With Band Pull-a-parts

3 sets of 10 reps

Start by holding a theraband with your arms out in front of you, in a kneeling position. Exhale (lifting and engaging your pelvic floor) as you rise up into a high kneeling position while pulling the band apart into a ‘T’ position. Inhale (relaxing your pelvic floor) as you return to the starting position.

Interested in Pelvic Floor Physiotherapy?

These exercises for moms came from our expert pelvic floor physiotherapy team. Book your session with them today! They will assess your movements and body to set you up on a plan to increase your mobility, reduce pain, and prevent injury.

Jasmine Choi
is a level 3 pelvic health certified therapist and she specializes in helping women in both the pre and postpartum periods, along with many other pelvic health issues.

Dr. Natalie Lopez
is a GrowCo and acupuncture certified therapist specializing in pre and postpartum care and pediatric care.

View her available sessions

4 min read

Myodetox

Posted on Apr 21, 2023

Low Back Pain 101

Tiger Woods is one of the greatest golfers of all time. But one thing prevented him from further greatness, a history of low back pain. L.B.P. affects so many of us and its symptoms can be severe.

Learn what L.B.P. is and how to manage it.

What Is Low Back Pain?

It is pain at the lumbar spine, which is the area of the back sandwiched between the thoracic spine, pelvis, and sacrum. Think about those dimple bones near the buttock. The low back is where our body weight is most supported, and protects the portion of our spinal cord responsible for important organs and function of the legs, as well as the generalized movement of our trunk (like bending forward and back).

Pain here is incredibly debilitating, making the most mundane body movements near impossible. In severe situations, it can affect the spinal nerves, bringing pain down the hip and leg.

Of all the conditions and physical pains we face in life, L.B.P. has a high likelihood of impacting our lives at some point. In fact, nearly 80% of people will experience low back pain at least once in their lifetime. Here are some insane statistics concerning low back pain:

80% of people experience L.B.P. at least once in their lifetime

25% of people have experienced L.B.P. in the last 3 months

It is the most common cause of job disability

It is the #1 health issue amongst Americans – over 100 billion dollars annually through insurance and lost productivity

Low back pain can be acute or chronic. Acute L.B.P. is when your pain comes on suddenly – maybe through a lift or movement that stresses the tissue of the lower back. Acute low back pain usually lasts for a few days to a few weeks. Chronic low back pain is pain that lasts for 3 months or more. People with chronic L.B.P., unfortunately, manage it for a longer period of time. Both acute and chronic L.B.P. is best addressed with a healthcare professional.

Though this pain afflicts nearly all of us, it typically resolves on its own. But identifying the cause, getting the right treatment, and having a plan can drastically reduce its effects on you.

What Causes It?

The most common cause of L.B.P. is mechanical. This involves stress to the low back’s ligaments and muscles. Overloading these tissues can lead to strains of the muscles and sprains of the ligaments, resulting in pain and movement impairment. You’re definitely at risk of this if you’ve: lifted too heavy at the low back; weak musculature at the low back and hips; twisting with load, especially at work or playing a sport; poor posture; overweight.

Other causes of L.B.P. include muscle weakness over time, degenerative disc disease, disc herniations, joint dysfunctions (facet joint dysfunction or sacroiliac dysfunction), osteoarthritis, trauma (e.g. compression fracture), scoliosis, spondylolisthesis, and spinal stenosis.

There are numerous causes to low back pain, and all are best verified through a healthcare professional. You especially need to see a healthcare professional if you experience bowel or bladder problems, numbness or tingling down the feet, and weakness through your legs and feet corresponding with your low back pain.

Who Gets It?

This type of pain is seen as early as our 20s, and progressively increases in prevalence as we age – the longer we live, the more likely we are to experience it. It’s safe to say that L.B.P. affects every age group. Unfortunately, women are more likely to experience low back pain, particularly during menstruation, after pregnancy, and menopause – all influenced by hormonal levels in the body.

You’re more likely to experience back pain with sedentary lifestyles. This includes sitting too long, not getting enough movement and exercise, and gaining weight over time. On the other side of the spectrum, if you have a job that requires bending, twisting, and lifting, you’re also at risk for low back pain.

Finally, though exercise is encouraged, certain types of physical activity will put you at risk if your form is not reviewed. Everything from a golf swing to running, to a deadlift requires the appropriate form to minimize the risk of low back injury.

Risk Factors

Age: progressively vulnerable after your 30s

Occupation: movements with repetitive high levels of bending, twisting, and lifting

Lack of movement: sedentary lifestyles and sitting all-day

Lack of exercise: weakness at the hips, legs, and core

Smoking

What Can You Do

Most L.B.P. will resolve on its own, but it’s important to know your options for treatment to get you back to yourself as quickly and safely as possible.

Education
Knowledge is power when it comes to managing your symptoms. Knowing what to do, and what not to do, is key to getting better. Your therapist will guide you through movements that are safe for you, regardless of the cause of your low back pain. Movement strategies do’s and don’ts, and pain management can provide immediate clarity and peace of mind.

Excercise
The thought of movement while dealing with L.B.P. can be scary, but exercise is truly the best medicine. Guided movements and exercise help both acute and chronic patients. Your therapist can guide you through movements that strengthen your core, pelvic floor, glute muscles, and general compound movements. Check out some of the preventative exercises below!

Hands-On Therapy
Last but not least, the use of hands-on therapy can work well for reducing muscular and joint pain, as well as aiding with movement and exercise. Used in conjunction with movement, joint mobilizations, myofascial release, massage, dry needling, cupping, and thrust manipulations can all help re-establish movement and manage pain.

Exercises To Prevent Low Back Pain

Make sure you try these exercises to help with your low back pain.

1. Core activation + 4-Point Plank

2. Core activation + glute bridge

3. Core activation + Good morning

4. CARs for hips

5. Lateral hip openers

6. 3D Hip Flexor

Find your nearest location

Want to start managing your low back pain?
Book a session with one of our expert therapists! They will assess your movements and set you up on a FutureProof plan to increase your mobility, reduce pain and prevent injury.

1 min read

Myodetox

Posted on Apr 16, 2023

What are Tension-Type Headaches?

Whether it be today, this week, or this year, chances are – you’ve experienced a headache.

Did you know 50% of people experience a headache every year?
The most common form of headaches is tension-type headaches.

What Are Tension-Type Headaches?

Tension-type headaches (TTH) are headaches associated with muscle tension and stress. They can appear at any age and generally affect women more than men. The time experienced with them varies from a few hours to several days. They can occur sporadically throughout the month or chronically for many days.

People that experience TTH report feeling pressure and tension around the eyes, head, and neck. For some, it can feel like a tight band around the forehead.

Tension headaches differ from migraines. Migraines tend to be throbbing, affecting one or both sides of the head. Migraines tend to have nausea and vomiting associated with them. You can experience migraines and headaches simultaneously.

What Triggers Tension-Type Headaches?

TTH is associated with a trigger that leads to stress and excitability to specific neurons that relay information between the body and brain.

Several external and internal factors trigger headaches:

Stress

Poor posture

Muscle tightness or weakness

Fatigue

Poor diet

Poor water intake

Eye strains and dry eyes

Jaw clenching and grinding of the teeth

Alcohol

Poor sleep

How Do You Manage Tension-Type Headaches?

Managing your mental health and addressing stressors can dramatically improve tension-type headaches.

Self-care methods to reduce stress:

Physical activity

Breathwork

Dietary changes

Practicing mindfulness

Sufficient rest and sleep

Physical methods to reduce tension-type headaches:

Focusing on postural awareness

Reducing muscle tension

Improving range of motion

Strengthening the supporting muscles of the neck and shoulder

Manual therapy techniques to reduce muscle tension includes:

Deep tissue massage

Myofascial therapy

Muscle energy techniques

These will help release the sternocleidomastoid, upper fiber trapezius, and neck muscles that lead to TTH. We also see mobilizations, acupuncture, dry needling, and cold therapies to help manage TTH. Remember to discuss these methods with your physician and therapist.

Want to start managing your headaches?
Book a session with one of our expert therapists! They will assess your movements and set you up on a FutureProof plan to increase your mobility, reduce pain and prevent injury.

2 min read

Dr. Angad Ahluwalia

Posted on Apr 6, 2023

5-minute Exercise Routine for Office Workers

Are you sat down for most of the day?
Do you get tension in your neck?
How about stiffness in your mid-back?
Hips tired of sitting?

Ready for some relief?

Try this exercise routine for office workers!

All you need is a chair, a doorframe, and your favourite walking shoes.

1. Trapezius stretch
(3-5 reps on each side, every 2-3 hours)

Sitting upright with your arms relaxed, tuck your chin in slightly, and slowly bend your neck towards one shoulder. Hold for 10-15 seconds, and repeat on the other side.

Where to feel the stretch: Along the lengthened part of your neck and upper shoulder.

Want an added stretch? Gently using your opposite hand, get the desired stretch by bringing your head just a little closer to your shoulder.

2. Pectoralis stretch
(3-5 reps on each side, every 1-2 hours)

Standing at a door frame, bend your shoulder and elbow up to 90 degrees and rest your forearm and hand along the doorframe.

Position the leg closest to the door frame slightly forward, with your opposite leg slightly behind you, as if you are getting into a lunge position.

Slowly lean forward into a lunge position as you hold for 10-15 seconds – you only need to go far enough to feel the stretch.

Where to feel the stretch: Along the front of the chest and shoulder.

3. Scapular retractions
(10 reps, twice daily)

Sitting upright, tuck your chin in slightly, bend your shoulders and elbows to about 90 degrees.

Now, slowly bring your shoulder blades back towards each other as if you were trying to squeeze the muscles between them – try not to shrug your shoulders!

Hold for 5-10 seconds.

Where to feel the contraction: between your shoulder blades.

4. Figure-4 stretch

Sitting upright, bend one leg so that your ankle is now resting just above the opposite knee. Your legs should look like the number ‘4’ in this position.

For an added stretch, gently lean your body forward as desired.

Where to feel the stretch: Along the backside of the hip, and inside of the thigh, on the leg that is bent.

5. Walk, walk, walk!

Your body is designed to move, which is why walking is a great way to keep your blood pumping, joints moving, and your muscles active! We know it’s hard to plan for a walk during a busy work day, so here are some helpful tips to get started:

Taking the elevator? Try getting off one floor earlier, and taking the stairs the rest of the way

Long drive? Try parking a little further away from the office door, to get some extra steps in!

Catching up with your work bestie? Why not walk at the same time!

Working from home? Enjoy the new warm weather with a walk outside!

Regardless of how you choose to exercise, the most important part is that you’re moving freely, safely, and happily. Talk to your healthcare professional to see whether these exercises are right for you, especially if any other symptoms or conditions are present.

Why these 5 exercises?

When you’re sitting at a desk for hours, the muscles that try to keep you upright often get fatigued, and the ones that compensate end up tight.

This exercise routine for office workers lengthens tight muscles and strengthens the ones that keep your posture upright. All these exercises should only be performed within a comfortable range of motion, without causing any pain or aggravation.

Want a more individualized plan and assessment?

Book a session with me! I will assess your movements and body to set you up on a plan to increase your mobility, reduce pain, and prevent injury.

1 min read

Myodetox

Posted on Mar 31, 2023

What’s been happening?

We started 2023 with tons of events.
Here’s a recap of all the fun!

Dare to Dream

Dare to Dream was a fantastic community event where we invited like-minded physical therapists and chiropractors to learn, share and connect.

We’re currently hiring therapists, if you’re interested in joining the team, apply today!
Together, we can make movement health a daily habit for every body!

Apply here

Our Members Love Moving!

Our members really brought their A-game these past few months. From classes at P.volve to workshops and hikes, we had a great time! Thank you to all who came out and joined us, you really make this a one-of-a-kind community.

If you’re interested in becoming a member, you can sign up today!

Learn more here

We’re Crazy For Run Clubs!

We came, we saw, we ran! Wow, what a great turnout we’ve been having for our Myo Run Clubs recently. A huge thank you to our partners Equinox, Barry’s, and Pause. It’s been so much fun tracking our miles and sharing smiles with you all.

If you want to catch us at the next one, sign up below!

Join the Myo Run Club

Are you a local business looking to partner with us on an upcoming community event?
We’d love to hear from you!

Email us here

1 min read

Dr. Nicole Chambers

Posted on Mar 24, 2023

3 Types of Shoulder Instability

Learn the 3 types of shoulder instability to help prevent pain!

Shoulder injuries are very common. Your shoulder is a highly mobile joint, imbalances in its stability and strength can easily lead to dislocations.

3 Types Of Shoulder Instability

Shoulder instability occurs when your muscles and ligaments are challenged to the point of pain and discomfort.
There are three major types of instability: anterior, posterior, and multidirectional.

1) Anterior
Anterior instability occurs when the humeral head (e.g. the “ball” of the shoulder joint) translates forward. Primarily seen in athletes and males aged 15-30. Dislocations generally occur with an outstretched arm. Anterior is the most common form of instability.

2) Posterior
Posterior instability is less common but typically seen in overhead athletes like football, tennis, baseball, lacrosse, and water polo. Posterior instability is usually aggravated with the arm forward and across, under load.

3) Multidirectional
Multidirectional instability is not associated with trauma. This type of instability occurs when there is general instability in all directions of shoulder movement. People with this type of instability are typically “double-jointed”, hypermobile individuals and/or have developed chronic dislocations of the shoulder.
Learn more about hypermobility here.

How Do You Manage Shoulder Instability?

Exercises dedicated to stabilization and neuromuscular control yield the best results. Managing shoulder instability requires specific strengthening and stabilization exercises that become natural to the individual.

The progression of your exercises should train you up to positions in which the shoulder was previously vulnerable. The reaction time for your shoulder stability needs to become second nature, which will require significant work and time.

Exercises should focus on the rotator cuff muscles, and the global movers of the shoulder. Training should focus on both open movements (e.g. overhead, unloaded movements like throwing), and planted movements (such as weight training, specialized push-ups, and core strengthening).

Want To Work On Your Shoulder Stability?

Book a session with me! I will assess your movements and set you up on a FutureProof plan to increase your mobility, reduce pain and prevent injury.

3 min read

Gopi Kang

Posted on Mar 10, 2023

3 Ways to Prevent Shin Splints

We’ve all had them at one point.
Shin splints can be the downside to a new workout regime.

As we come into the warmer months, our time spent being active increases and so does the risk of shin splints.

It’s estimated that 20% of the population experiences shin splints, increasing as we age. Preparing your body and understanding the causes of shin splints is the key to preventing pain.

3 Ways To Prevent Shin Splints

If you’ve been increasing your walks and runs, you may need to reduce or break up your volume. Do your best to not increase distance by more than 5% per week. Having an appropriate warm-up, mobility, strength, and recovery routine will do wonders for your shins.

Mobility: Ensuring minimal tightness at the Achilles tendon, posterior calf muscles, and anterior shin muscles is key to minimizing shin splints. Focus on exercises to maximize your range. Try maximal rotations of the ankle, as well as calf stretches.

Strength: Weakness with the posterior calf muscles may lead to overuse of the shin muscles. Focus on strengthening the soleus, gastrocnemius muscles, tibialis posterior muscles, and tibialis anterior.

Warm-Up and Recovery: Foam rolling along the back of the calf muscles and front of the shin can provide stimulus to these muscle groups. This allows relaxation and nourishment to the muscle group with increased blood flow, pain relief, and improvement in range of motion.

Finally, hands-in therapy involving joint mobilizations along the ankle, tibia, as well as myofascial treatments can provide relief of surrounding tissues contributing to shin splints. Using these ways to prevent shin splints will ensure you stay active all season long!

What Are Shin Splints?

Shin splints are an overuse and repetitive stress injury at the shin. It happens when the muscles surrounding the tibia (the larger lower leg bone) cannot recover or heal in response to repetitive contractions like walking, running, or hiking. Shin splints are medically known as medial tibial stress syndrome (they can also exist as anterior tibial stress syndrome).

They are a common complaint amongst runners new and old – nearly 70% of runners experience them. Those experiencing it will often complain of dull, aching pain during and after activity. What makes shin splints odd for many is that they can be experienced and eased during activity, only to persist as a dull achy pain for days. People that walk for leisure and exercise can also experience shin splints.

What Do Shin Splints Feel Like?

Shin splint pain is either felt at the front, middle, or side of the shin. This means you either feel pain along the thick muscle along the outside of your shin bone or around the large ankle bone along the side of the foot. Most commonly the pain is felt at the bottom third of the shin.

For many, pain along the shin will increase at the beginning of a new activity, and ease with movement. Pain also tends to be the worst for most people after their activity. 24-48 deep dull aches are the average symptom.

How Do Shin Splints Happen?

It’s thought that shin splints occur due to repetitive microtrauma to the muscle or tendon. This leads to a point where the ability to recover and heal is outpaced by stress and inflammation of the muscle group.

Increased walking or running volume, speed, and surface changes like concrete or trails, can all lead to these microtraumas.

Need Help With Your Shin Splints?

Book a session with me! I’ll assess your movements and set you up on a FutureProof plan to increase your mobility, reduce pain and prevent injury.

3 min read

Janny Chan

Posted on Mar 9, 2023

Test Your Hip Mobility

How tight are your hips?
Test your hip mobility with these simple exercises.

Stiff hips may be an early indicator of arthritis.
Here’s what you need to know.

It’s estimated that roughly 10% of the population experiences some form of hip pain, increasing as we age. Hip stiffness is often the first sign of impending hip pain.

Understanding the characteristics of tight hips and what you can do to help is the key to preventing pain.

5 Ways To Test Your Hip Mobility

Here are a few movements you can do to test your hip mobility.

These movements are best reviewed with a physical therapist, chiropractor, or massage therapist. Doing the tests yourself will give you an indication of your hip’s mobility and stiffness.

Squat Test: sink into a squat, and attempt to shift side-to-side. You may find one hip feeling more tension than the other.

Internal Rotation: lay on your back, bring your knees to a 90 degree angle, and rotate the feet outwards. This is the internal rotation of the hip. Compare range and feel side-to-side.

External Rotation: lay on your back, and bring one knee to a 90 degree angle. Keeping the thigh still, rotate your foot inwards. This is the external rotation of the hip. Compare range and feel side-to-side.

Flexion: lay on your back, with your legs flat. Bring one knee towards your chest. This is flexion of the hip. Compare range and feel side-to-side.

Extension: lay on your stomach, legs flat on the ground. Keep your knees straight, bring one leg off the ground. This is a hip extension. Compare range and feel side-to-side.

3 Common Reasons For Hip Stiffness

The hip is a highly mobile joint that relies on cartilage, bone, muscles, and nerves to work together. Each one of those components may contribute to feeling stiff in the hip.

Nerves: the ability to rotate the hip, and move it into adduction and abduction is limited by the mobility of the major nerves of the hip and thigh. Issues with major nerves of the hip build up over time due to movement, postural habits and/or a lack of mobility.

Muscles: your muscles and tendons are the most common sources of hip stiffness. Many office workers and athletes may complain of “hip flexor” stiffness or “glute stiffness”. The stiffness here may coincide with weak muscles, decreased range of motion in certain directions, and pain with use.

What starts off as stiffness and a pinch can become a chronic issue if not appropriately addressed. Hip pain can often feel like a pulling, cramping, or sharp pains at the front, back, and side of the hip. These will often be aggravated by general movements like sit-to-stands, side-to-side movements, running, or even walking.

Joint: cartilage damage (e.g. labrum of the hips) or surface degeneration of the articulating bones, “wear-and-tear” at the hip joint leads to significant reductions in the range of motion..

With joint issues, hip stiffness and pain are often felt deep in the groin. This pain is not palpable, meaning massage (or any other similar intervention) brings no temporary relief. There may be clicking, locking, or a feeling of “catching” at the hip. Athletic movements and stair climbing get more and more difficult.

Those with arthritis feel stiffness in the morning, continuing with aggravation and groin pain throughout the day, making a simple walk very difficult.

What Can I Do About My Hip Stiffness?

Regardless of the causes of your hip stiffness, understanding which movements are restricted or painful and what activities are limited is important to know moving forward. Thankfully, movement and exercise routines deliver amazing outcomes for hip stiffness.

Physical therapy can guide your hip mobility, and start creating movement goals. Along with massage therapy and chiropractic treatment, manual therapy techniques such as joint mobilizations and myofascial techniques provide relief for hip stiffness.

Want To Have FutureProof Hips?

Book a session with me! I’ll assess your movements and set you up on a FutureProof plan to increase your mobility, reduce pain and prevent injury.

2 min read

Myodetox

Posted on Feb 24, 2023

How to Treat a Pinched Nerve in Your Neck

Cervical Radiculopathy Explained

Have you ever had numbness or tingling going down your arms or fingers? You may have experienced cervical radiculopathy, also known as nerve compression or a pinched nerve in your neck. This unassuming injury occurs in nearly 2 out of 1000 people.

What Is A Cervical Radiculopathy?

Cervical radiculopathies are the result of compression and inflammation of a nerve at the neck. There are various conditions that may lead to nerve compression:

Degenerative disc disease of the neck (spondylosis)

Disc herniation at the neck

Osteophytes of the neck

Stenosis at the cervical spine

Muscle tightness at the neck

Who Gets Nerve Compression?

The population most at risk for developing pinched nerves is the 50+ age. Women are more at risk than men, though the difference is mild.

Symptoms Of A Pinched Nerve In Your Neck

The nerves from the neck connect to your trunk, shoulder, arm, hand, and fingers. Symptoms of nerve compression can radiate to any one of those regions:

Numbness

Tingling e.g. “pins and needles”

Muscle weakness

Reduce reflexes (tested by your healthcare professional)

Pain

Radicular symptoms like pain and nerve sensations are often felt down the arm. Moving the neck becomes incredibly painful. Performing certain movements may change your symptoms – for better or worse.

Many cases will present with reduced reflexes and muscle weakness. The most common region affected is the C7 nerve root, the C6 nerve root, and the C5 nerve root. Common movements affected by a pinched nerve in your neck are pushing, pulling, and gripping.

Cervical radiculopathies typically occur on one side of the body. If you’re noticing nerve symptoms down both sides, see your physician immediately.

How Do You Treat It?

Treatment of cervical radiculopathy will involve your physician and physical therapist.
Your physician can perform tests to identify the cause of your nerve compression. Your physician and physical therapist can perform tests to determine the extent of the compression and provide treatment options such as:

Postural training: nerve compression may be aggravated by a forward head posture. This requires postural awareness, education, and exercises.

Exercise: strength training of the muscle can dramatically improve symptoms.
Check out our IG posts dedicated to neck strengthening.

Manual therapy: traction, myofascial techniques, and joint mobilizations dedicated to improving posture and reducing muscle tension can provide relief.
Check out this post about manual therapy for the neck.

Immobilization: temporarily providing a soft collar to reduce nerve symptoms. Be aware, there is minimal evidence supporting this.

Medication: provided under the guidance of a physician.

Surgery: when conservative management fails, and serious nerve symptoms are present.

There is good news for those with a pinched nerve. Your symptoms will nearly fully resolve in 4-6 months. Up to 90% of people with nerve compression maintain recovery for 4 years. This shows that degenerative changes in the neck do not lead to permanent nerve damage.

Worried You May Have A Pinched Nerve?

Give us and your physician a call. We’ll book you a session with one of our expert therapists. They’ll assess your movements and set you up on a FutureProof plan.

1 min read

Myodetox

Posted on Feb 16, 2023

Watch our Founder’s Interview to find out

Our Founder’s Interview

“There’s no such thing as a company, it’s a shared belief.”
-Scott Marcaccio, Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer

Who started Myodetox?
What was it like at the beginning?
How has it evolved?
Where will Myodetox be in 25 years?

Discover the founding vision behind Myodetox.

What’s the Founder’s Interview about?

During this interview, our Head of Purpose + Communications, Kevin Marryshow dives deep into the grounding vision of our co-founders, Vinh Pham and Scott Marccacio.

Vinh and Scott walk us through their journey from starting with one clinic in Toronto to opening 13 in just 8 years. They get real about the struggles, doubts, and triumphs they encountered along the way. What started as a crazy dream became a mission-driven company with a lofty ambition to teach and inspire the world to make movement health a daily habit.

“Back in the day, it was a dollar and a dream. Truth is… it was no dollar and a dream.”
-Vinh Pham, Co-Founder

A lot has changed at Myodetox in 8 years. This interview uncovers the evolution the company has taken and the expansion our Founders see for the future.

Did you know Myodetox is the first-ever physical therapy clinic to expand internationally?
How did they do it? What drove them then and what keeps driving them now?
Where do they envision Myodetox being in 25 years?

Inspired to join the Myodetox team?

We’re currently hiring in Los Angeles, Toronto and Vancouver. Our team is dedicated to making movement health a daily habit for everybody. If this mission sounds like one you’d like to join, apply today!

See our current opportunities

1 min read

Myodetox

Posted on Feb 9, 2023

Myo Run Club

Your best run yet.
From beginner to elite, we welcome all runners.

Los Angeles . Toronto . Vancouver
Join the Myo Run Club today!

Myo Run Club is led by our expert therapists. You’ll be guided through dynamic warm-ups, active-recovery cool-downs, and incredible running routes. Along the way, you’ll receive tips and tricks to make each run stronger than your last.

Amongst the feel-good endorphins, every runner gets to connect at our run club socials and win some giveaways! Running in a group provides support, education, and great vibes. The runs are completely free to join and designed to build a community of like-minded individuals.

Should I do any exercises before I run?

Yes! Performing movement health exercises before and after a run will help prevent injury and strengthen your stride. From mobility training to static stretches, ensuring you properly warm up and cool down is key to running your best. During the run club, you’ll learn exercises to help transform your movement health.

Take a look at this article, it highlights a few of our favourite moves.

View article here

How to become a better runner?

Come in for a run assessment! A running assessment can minimize your risk of injury, and identify areas of opportunity for your body to perform its best. Our expert therapists will assess your movements and set you up on a FutureProof plan.

Learn more here

Ready to join our next run?

We can’t wait to start tracking some miles and sharing some smiles with you. Let’s make 2023 the year we run faster, longer. Join our community of people dedicated to feeling their best!

2 min read

Myodetox

Posted on Feb 3, 2023

Hypermobility Explained:
More Than Just Party Tricks?

When does a party trick turn into a pain?
Understanding hypermobility and when it’s time to seek help.

We all have that friend who moves their joints in strange ways. Their classic party tricks include twisting their body into all sorts of shapes like hyper-extended elbows, knees, and thumbs.

These wildly mobile individuals are often labeled double-jointed when in fact, they have hypermobility. But what does that mean? And what, if any, are the risks?

What Is Hypermobility Syndrome?

The main risk of being hypermobile is developing hypermobility syndrome. The syndrome manifests when you have excessive joint mobility combined with debilitating symptoms. There is no issue with having joints that move beyond “normal”. Just ask dancers, yogis, musicians, and gymnasts – many will attest to benefiting from an increased range of motion. But when problems begin to arise, then it becomes a syndrome.

Increased “laxity” in the joints is often associated with other hypermobility disorders such as Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome, Marfan Syndrome, and Rheumatoid Arthritis (this list is not exhaustive). These disorders tend to appear due to genetics, affecting the strength of collagen in our body. When collagen becomes weak, our ligaments and joints become loose and stretch, leading to hypermobility.

What Are The Risks And Symptoms?

Though being hypermobile in itself is not bad, it becomes a problem if you present:

Pain or stiffness at the joint and muscle group.

Dislocations and subluxations at the joint.

Weakness at the muscle or muscle group.

Poor balance and movement coordination.

Generalized fatigue e.g. extremely tired throughout the day.

Dizziness and fainting.

Constant muscle strains and ligament sprains e.g. ankle rolling.

Thin and stretchy skin

Digestive issues.

Who Is Most Affected?

Children and adolescents, specifically females, tend to present with the syndrome more than adults. In fact, hypermobility tends to reduce as we age. It is believed that hormonal changes over time affect collagen strength in the body and reduce hypermobility symptoms.

What Can You Do About It?

You can think of hypermobility syndrome as over-indexing on the amount of space a joint can move within. The more range of motion (or “space”) you have at a joint, the more you need to strengthen and stabilize the area to reduce the risk of overuse and injury.

Compound weight lifting and stability training can significantly improve symptoms. Speaking to a physician and physical therapist will be your main source to help create a plan for managing hypermobility.

Worried You May Have Hypermobility Syndrome?

Give us a call! We’ll book you a session with one of our incredible therapists. They’ll assess your movements and set you up on a FutureProof plan.

2 min read

Kevin Marryshow on Developing His Team

Posted on Aug 20, 2019

News

Kevin Marryshow on Developing His Team

If you asked Kevin Marryshow what’s the most significant thing he learned while working at Myodetox, it would be one thing – his personal development.

His career has evolved as a Chiropractor, Clinic Director and now a Regional Director, overseeing the entire Toronto Region. While it was a curvy road in the beginning, learning all the nuances of the business has helped him develop a clear roadmap to fast-track his team’s career much quicker than it took him.

Since he began his career at Myodetox, his goal as a therapist was always to empower his clients. But today, that idea has evolved to helping his team realize their potential to fulfill their broader aspirations.

What about the Myodetox culture do you enjoy the most?
What I enjoy most about our culture is that there is this mutual feeling across the company that truly values personal development. Everybody on our team is in pursuit of personal growth, and the support system is there to help foster that initiative.

Describe your growth as a Therapist, Clinic Director and now a Regional Director?
You can say that my career came in phases. I dedicated my first four years as a Therapist in developing my clinical skills and carving out unique value to my clients. From that, I got to a point where I started to find a deep interest in business models, which led me to the Clinic Director role and now years later, as the Regional Director. Over the last three years, my primary attention has shifted to gain a better understanding of our business and the wellness industry. Today, I’m better equipped to help mentor and coach our therapists and put them in the best possible position to succeed.

What has growing a community taught you?
I’ve learned that a strong community is the centrepiece of any brand, be it yourself as a therapist, or the company itself. As therapists, we have a unique opportunity to connect with our clients on a personal level, and along the way, help them achieve their goals. Building a bond with them and learning how to foster that relationship is a fulfilling experience.

What are you most proud of during your time at Myodetox?
I’m most proud of my team and their desire to grow every day. Developing people is a North Star within our culture, and you can feel that energy throughout our team, it’s contagious. It takes a certain attitude to want to make an impact on peoples’ lives and push for positive change in our industry. I’m always proud to see my peers grow and progress, and it drives me to work harder each day to provide them with the support they need.

1 min read

Jessie Wong Wanted To Be More Than A Therapist

Posted on Nov 2, 2018

News

Jessie Wong Wanted To Be More Than A Therapist

Running a business as a Physical Therapist isn’t taught in school. That’s why Vancouver Regional Director Jessie Wong committed to work with a team that will help develop her skills as a therapist and an entrepreneur.

Her path while working at Myodetox has not only helped shape her career, but she has inspired her team to believe in themselves. She has worn many hats throughout her career – Therapist, Clinic Director, Regional Director, and Clinic Partner – and her hard work have shown that if you don’t give up, anything is possible.

Early on in your career, how has Myodetox helped develop your clinical skills?
Myodetox helped me with my clinical skills five to six years into my career when I joined. I wish I learned some of the manual skills earlier on in my career as it would have helped me as a therapist.

How has Myodetox helped achieve your personal goals?
What I learned the most was how to preserve through the hard times and the times where I didn’t think I could achieve those goals.

You not only elevated your skills as a Therapist, you learned the other side of the business – what has been the most challenging and rewarding part?
The most challenging thing has been working in such a fast-paced environment. There are so many things that can change in such a short period. Somethings in life are out of your control and learning to let go and having a positive outlook has been monumental in getting through those hard times.

What is your five-year career goal?
My five-year goal is to make Myodetox the top choice for health and therapy. I would also love to have some of my teammates step into my role and allow them to learn the strategies of a regional position. By helping others grow into a more senior role, this will enable us to grow and connect with more communities who need therapy.

2 min read

Try Bending Your Knees With Knee Tendonitis

Posted on Feb 5, 2018

Try Bending Your Knees With Knee Tendonitis

We have 3 exercises to help with Knee Tendonitis – the knee swelling culprit that affects simple and everyday activities like walking up and down the stairs, climbing, kneeling, and sitting.

We use our knees for practically everything; from playing sports, walking up and down stairs, squats, cycling, lunging into a yoga pose, sitting, the list is endless. Overtime, the constant pressure on our feet start to affect our knees.

It may feel like this “achey” knee pain that will never go away. That “achey” feeling is “knee tendonitis”, also referred to as Patellar Tendinopathy or Jumper’s Knee. There may also be swelling and/or pain in the area below the kneecap (patella). It is caused from repetitive movements such as jumping, landing and hopping too hard on your feet.

For those of you who dabble with “self-diagnosing”, we would recommend treating your knee pain by using proper footwear, a knee brace, taping, or applying ice after activity. It is also important to focus on lower body mobility and stability exercises with an emphasis on improving movement control.

Dr. Gianna Soncina, DC, from Myodetox CityPlace has 3 exercises to help strengthen your knees from the everyday deterioration which causes knee tendonitis.

Wall Press

1. Stand next to a wall.
2. Place a block or a ball against the wall and press into it with your knee bent at 90 degrees.
3. Hold for 30 seconds.
4. Complete 3 reps/side.
(Keep a slight bend in the knee of the supporting leg.)

Bodyweight Squat

1. Place a kettlebell in your hands and spread your feet shoulder-width apart, with your feet turned out approximately 10-15 degrees.
2. Lower down into a squat until the top of your thighs are parallel to the ground.
3. Keep your chest up and your weight in your heels.
4. Complete 2 sets of 12 reps.

Single Leg Straight-Leg Deadlift

1. Place a kettlebell in your left hand.
2. Lean forward from the hip while lifting your left leg up behind you, so it is in line with your torso.
3. Think about moving as a unit from head to toe, keeping your lower back flat.
4. Return to the starting position and repeat for two sets of 12 reps/side.

Knee tendonitis recovery time is very broad and can last anywhere from 2 weeks to several months. The best cure for knee tendonitis is to seek help from a professional who may diagnose the cause of the pain. Any Myodetox Therapist can run a body scan for you to find the root if your knee pain persists!

3 min read

All You Need To Know About Knee Bursitis

Posted on Aug 30, 2017

All You Need To Know About Knee Bursitis

Knee pain can be the cause of much concern and confusion, especially if you have no idea what’s going on! To help give you a better understanding of pain and swelling in the knee, let’s explain a common condition affecting the area called: knee bursitis.

So what is bursitis exactly? Often, any swelling of the knee joint is called ‘water on the knee.’ However, there is a difference between fluid accumulation within a bursa specifically, and within the knee joint as a whole.

A bursa is a thin sac of synovial fluid (the body’s natural lubrication fluid) that is found between muscles, tendons, and skin, and allows these tissues to slide over one another without causing friction. These bursa are found throughout the body, particularly at interfaces where a lot is going on (think shoulders, hips, knees).

Unfortunately, bursa can sometimes become inflamed and irritated – a condition known as bursitis. As opposed to generalized knee joint swelling, there is a more localized swelling and tenderness with pressure applied in bursitis. Furthermore, as there are up to eleven bursa around the knee, depending on which one is inflamed the location and feeling of pain can vary.

Bursitis in the knee occurs mostly from overuse injuries and is less frequent due to trauma. The mechanism of injury influences which bursa is affected, with the most common ones being the: pre-patellar, infrapatellar, suprapatellar and pes anserinus bursa (anatomy fun fact: the ‘patella’ is the kneecap).

Prepatellar bursitis is common in those who kneel a lot (think gardener, roofer, carpet layer), and results in superficial swelling on the front of the knee.

Infrapatellar Bursitis often occurs in conjunction with ‘jumper’s knee’ (you guessed it, in jumping activities) from repetitive strain and irritation to the tendon just below the patella. This form can cause anterior knee pain that mimics a patellar tendinopathy and can be harder to treat.

Suprapatellar bursitis causes pain above the patella, under the quadriceps tendon; it is seen following an injury such as a fall to the knee or repetitive microtrauma – think running on soft/uneven surfaces or jobs that require crawling.

The pes anserinus bursa at the lower inside of the knee is more commonly irritated in middle-aged women and overweight people. Regardless of location, bursitis often results in a knee that is painful to move, has a limited range of motion, and may be swollen/red/warm around the affected area. Symptoms are often worsened with kneeling, crouching or repetitive bending/squatting, and relieved when sitting still and resting.

To summarize, bursitis in the knee can be caused by direct trauma, biomechanical changes, frequent falls, repeated pressure or repetitive microtrauma to the knee.

Treatment for mild cases of knee bursitis involves rest and lifestyle management strategies such as weight loss, protection for your knees during work, and changing positions of movement to vary the load from just being on your knee. The use of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs may further assist in decreasing inflammation. Severe cases might require aspiration (removal of fluid via a needle/syringe), the use of a corticosteroid and local anesthetic with appropriate treatment of the surrounding tissue if necessary, as advised a professional.

As you can imagine, by not treating knee bursitis as soon as possible, this will lead to further irritation. With that, to prevent bursitis of the knee from re-occurring, the cause of inflammation must be found. This involves determining if it is a muscle tightness, leg length discrepancy, training error, or something else that is aggravating the bursa. This might require assessment by a professional to determine the best plan of action to prevent this annoying pain from coming back!

2 min read

What Is A Shin Splint?

Posted on Aug 21, 2017

What Is A Shin Splint?

This article will walk you through some of the causes and symptoms of shin splints, as well as how to recover from it in order to battle this Summer buzz kill!

Now that the end of Summer is just around the corner (for us Canadians that is), you’ll probably have overused your Summer kicks from all the physical activities this Summer had to offer, especially running activities! It is not uncommon for a lot of beginners to feel pain along the front of their shins. This annoying pain is called shin splints, or medial tibial stress syndrome (MTSS).

What is a shin splint/Medial Tibial Stress Syndrome (MTSS)?
Shin splints/MTSS refers to a nagging and dull ache that runs along the inner shin – with potential swelling. Although, often not serious, shin splints can lead to more serious conditions (like stress fractures) if not treated properly – or, by doing too much too soon! This is the reason why a lot of beginner runners tend to “run” into this problem.

The impact from running creates a lot of repeated stress on our body, and the muscles and bones require time to adapt and rebuild to become stronger. When runners increase their training too quickly, it can cause the muscle and bone to be mechanically overstressed leading to injury.

Although shin splints are common in runners, it is also frequently found in many who engage in sports activities such as: soccer, basketball, long jump, or tennis. Make sure you progress the frequency, duration, and intensity of your activities gradually to avoid shin splints.

Causes of Shin splints/Medial Tibial Stress Syndrome (MTSS)

• Increased foot pronation
• An abrupt increase in training intensity
• Hard or inclined running surfaces (or both)
• Inappropriate or old/inadequate footwear
• Previous injury
• Greater internal and external hip ROM

Sometimes, no matter how hard you try to avoid some injuries, you can’t always run away from those problems.

Treatments for Shin Splints/ Medial Tibial Stress Syndrome (MTSS)
There are various treatment options that can be prescribed by your therapist, including:

• Ice
• Stretching
• Strengthening exercises for the legs
• Graded running program

How Long Does It Take For Shin Splints To Heal?
Shin splints is a tricky condition that may linger for weeks or months. Be patient, it can take anywhere between a couple of weeks to 6 months to heal. If you have pain, stop the activity — do not ignore the symptoms because the earlier you receive treatment the faster your shin splints heal!

3 min read

The Gluteus Medius Stretch Is Key To A Stronger Butt

Posted on Jul 27, 2017

The Gluteus Medius Stretch Is Key To A Stronger Butt

If you’re not texting on your phone, you’re sitting at your desk hunched over and working away on your laptop. To avoid any pain, a good gluteus medius stretch is necessary for a stronger butt.

If you’re feeling hip pain, it’s probably because you’re not activating your glute muscles enough. Though you may not feel any pain now, the mid-day walk to grab lunch will eventually catch up to your hips.

To get a better idea how your butt is related to your hip pain, allow us to explain.

This important group of muscles do this as their major actions:
Medius: abducts the hip (hip to the side)
Maximus: extends the hip (pulls the thigh behind you)
Minimus:abducts the hip (hip to the side)

These important muscles are often weak and underworked. So many of our jobs require us to sit for prolonged periods of time that it gets difficult to fix hip pain. The lack of mobility causes our gluten to “turn off” or stop firing as effectively. Once our glutes stop firing, we start developing imbalances within the hip which can lead to aches and eventual hip pain.

When building strong glute muscles, you can expect to see some of these things happen along the way:

Alleviate back pain: Learning to contract your glutes in a multitude of ranges can alleviate a lot of the mechanical back pain you are currently experiencing. Your glutes work to stabilize the pelvis and keep the hip joint centered. When they’re strong, your lower back doesn’t need to compensate and take excessive mechanical stress.

Increase performance: If you want to maximize your athletic potential, squatting should be a top priority. Stronger glutes will improve your speed, agility, and jumping skills, and quick side-to-side movements. Every time you take a step, your glute max stabilizes your pelvis, making transitions into movements safe on your pelvic joints and ultimately your back.

Abolish knee pain: A strong glute medius keeps the pelvis stable and prevents swaying from side to side. When your pelvis isn’t stable, it puts a lot of excessive pressure on your knees and ankles. When your glutes are strong, it helps to maintain proper alignment of the knee, hip and ankle. This natural alignment keeps your knee from hurting by tracking the knee cap properly.

Try out these 3 gluteus medius stretch movement techniques and see if you can hold the positions for 1 minute each with total control.

This will give you a good indicator of how well your glutes are doing.

Kick Backs

Single Leg Bridges

Side Clamp

3 min read

DIY: Avoid Muscle Aches During Your Flight

Posted on Jul 18, 2017

DIY: Avoid Muscle Aches During Your Flight

Is it officially travel season yet? Well, we can’t wait and we say it is now! Grab your suitcases, sunglasses, and dreaded muscle aches..?

Everybody loves to travel, but who loves the stress that comes along with it? All the multiple line-ups, overnight layovers, and long airplane rides can take a huge toll on your body – you’ll be broken before you arrive at your destination. So, we came up with four great tips to help with muscle pain relief that will have your body ready for take-off!

1. Stay Hydrated

Airplanes have very low humidity and can lead you to become dehydrated. So drink lots of water the day before and while you are on the flight. Avoid alcohol and caffeinated beverages before and during the trip since it will dehydrate you.

2. Pump Your Ankles

Pump your ankles from side-to-side and up-and-down to avoid stiffness, and swelling, and twisted ankle pain. Since you’re sitting for extended periods of time, the muscles that are responsible for pumping blood and fluid back up our legs are not being used at all, which can lead to pooling of fluid and blood in our lower leg over time. The swelling itself is not dangerous, but it can cause blood clots which are very dangerous and can potentially cause death. So pump away!

3. Movement is Medicine

It’s never good to stay in one position, especially sitting for long periods of time. We all heard the phrase, “sitting is the new smoking”, and you can guarantee you will be sitting and sleeping in an uncomfortable position on the plane. Your body will take a beating and cause many hip problems, spine pain, shoulder injuries, and pain in your neck muscles. So how do we combat that? It’s simple – move. Get up and walk every 30 minutes, if possible.

4. Stuck in your seat? Let me introduce you to Pandiculation!

What is the Pandiculation definition? It’s the natural stretching that occurs when you first wake up in the morning. When you’re yawning and reaching up towards the sky with your arms and hands to stretch. This stretch is done to every single part of your body even within limited space such as an airplane seat. So reach your hand up towards the sky, extend your legs, move your neck, contract and expand your chest and move your body in all directions to ease out any area that you feel is restricted. The key is to slowly do these movements and feel where your body naturally wants to go to relax tension. Just remember, not to bump into your neighbour.

6 min read

Posted on Jul 3, 2017

Don’t Let An ACL Injury Be Your Downfall

It’s every athlete’s worst nightmare. They go up for a shot, get tackled hard or twist incorrectly, and they end up with a dreaded ACL injury. We discuss how you can strengthen that ACL injury and be ready for the rest of your days!

The ACL (anterior cruciate ligament) is a ligament in the knee that works to provide passive stability to the knee joint. It also prevents the tibia from slipping forward, away from the femur. It is one of the most commonly injured ligaments in the knee and when injured, the symptoms can range from pain and swelling, to decreased range of motion and loss of stability.

Injuries to the ACL are rated on a three point scale depending on their severity and the degree of damage to the ligament.

Grade 1 – Refers to mild damage of the ligament (less than 25% damaged) when stability will not be affected.
Grade 2 – Refers to moderate damage of the ligament (with up to 50% damaged) leading to some instability in the knee.
Grade 3 – Refers to a full rupture of the ligament where the knee will experience the greatest amount of instability.

Sprained ACL recovery time will be dependent on the grade of sprain or tear you have sustained to the ligament and your post-rehab goals. However, typical return to sport following surgical reconstruction ranges from 9-12 months.

Regardless of whether or not you will be having surgery to repair the ligament, early post injury guidelines will be the same.

As goes for many injuries, the number one goal for early rehab is regaining full range of motion in the joint. This generally means that the swelling has been flushed out and the area is primed for progressive strengthening. For an ACL tear it’s really no different, therefore, the first exercises are going to be geared towards flushing out the swelling and getting that knee moving.

Heel Slides

Heel slides are performed primarily to progressively increase the range of motion at the knee (into flexion and extension). This can be done actively, where you are using your muscles to bend and straighten your leg, or passively, where you are using a strap or sheet to get the job done. These methods can also be used together in order to gain the strengthening benefits of active work and the passive benefits of overpressure. Remember, stay within your limits of pain, you aren’t getting any extra points for reaming on your leg!

Ankle Pumps

Ankle Pumps can be used in the early stages as well to help limit the amount of swelling built up throughout the day. Blood and swelling follow the path of gravity, so if you are sitting a lot after an injury you may notice pooling in the leg after a couple hours. Pumping your ankles up and down will help to keep things moving, improving post-injury fluid flow.

Initially, weight bearing on the injured leg is likely going to be painful and difficult and you may be using crutches to help you walk. In order to help limit the amount of strength lost in the leg during this time, it is recommended that you complete some isometric activities to help keep those muscles engaging. Quadricep, hamstring and glute sets can be beneficial in the early stages following injury to keep the neural pathways to these muscles firing. Simply engage the muscles in a static position (for example dig your heel into the bed for the hamstring), hold for 5 seconds and repeat.

Once the range of motion has been restored, the symptoms have decreased and you are able to weight bear through the leg, you can begin to incorporate more complex exercises for the hip and the knee such as:

Bridges

Sit-to-stands

Mini squats

Step ups

All exercises should be completed with caution and only when you have the appropriate muscle strength and coordination to progress. Muscle soreness is common and normal following exercise, however sharp or shooting pains are your body’s signals that something may be wrong. When in doubt, always consult a medical professional for help.

3 min read

What Is Whiplash?

Posted on Jun 26, 2017

What Is Whiplash?

Most people only associate whiplash with car accidents, but in reality, you can get whiplash from contact sports, rollercoasters, and even whipping your hair back and forth too abruptly at a concert.

What Is Whiplash?

So how does a whiplash injury happen? Whiplash is caused by a quick and sudden hyper-extension (backward) and then hyper-flexion (forward) movement of the neck. This type of abrupt movement causes the soft tissues (muscles, tendons and ligaments) in your neck to be stretched past their normal limits and therefore, causing injury to those tissues – known as a Whiplash Associated Disorder (WAD).

Whiplash can be classified into a grading system:
WAD I: Neck pain with stiffness or tenderness only. No physical signs.
WAD II: Neck pain and musculoskeletal signs such as a decrease in range of motion.
WAD III: Neck pain and neurological signs. Such things could include associated sensory deficits (numbness or tingling), weakness, decreased or absent deep tendon reflexes.
WAD IV: Neck pain and fracture or dislocation of the vertebrae of the neck.

The most common grade of a whiplash injury is a WAD II.

Common Whiplash Symptoms And Signs

It can be difficult to tell which grade of WAD you may have. You might even question whether you have whiplash or something else! Dizziness, headaches, jaw pain, and vertigo are some signs that you are experiencing whiplash.

How Long Does Whiplash Last?

It is difficult to provide an exact duration of how long whiplash symptoms will last, as it varies greatly from person to person. Typically, people recover within 6 months, however, some may have prolonged symptoms and it may take years to fully recover. But don’t let stop you from carrying on with your daily activities like:

Taking the perfect selfie angle

Afternoon meet-up with a friend

The length of healing time depends on a variety of factors such as, severity of the injury, how soon you initiate treatment, compliance to treatment, any prior whiplash injuries, any presentation of neurological deficits, any associated fractures or dislocations and any pre-existing health conditions that may delay full recovery.

How Do You Treat A Whiplash Injury?

The initial treatment option for a whiplash injury is to rest and apply ice or heat to the neck and surrounding area using the 10-10-10 protocol. Not sure what the 10-10-10 protocol is? We got you!

10-10-10 Protocol

Apply ice/heat to the area for 10 minutes
Remove ice/heat for 10 minutes
Reapply for another 10 minutes
Repeat.

Manual therapy and exercises provided by a chiropractor, physiotherapist or registered massage therapist will help to restore the proper range of motion in your joints, ease muscle spasms and decrease pain. This will enable functional restoration and help you return to your normal daily activities sooner.

Delayed onset of treatment may lead to a poorer prognosis and hinder the total recovery time. In other words, the sooner you begin treatment, the better!

3 min read

Vitas Naudziunas, PT

Posted on Jun 21, 2017

Shoulder Impingement Shouldn’t Impede On Your Daily Tasks

Shoulder impingement symptoms usually present as pain with certain movements especially above shoulders. For example, getting attention from that Uber driver who can’t find you. It can progress and cause pain even at rest.

Impingement of the shoulder, also known as rotator cuff impingement occurs when tendons of the rotator cuff get irritated and inflamed as they pass under a part of the shoulder blade called the acromion. It can be a nagging injury that affects daily life. The pain is typically located on the top or front of the shoulder. Shoulder impingement can be sharp with movements and achy at rest or after aggravation. So let’s learn more about shoulder impingement, so you can suffer less from it.

There are three typical causes of shoulder impingement which are listed below:

Improper Mechanics

This means the ability to move the shoulder complex, including the shoulder blade on the rib cage and upper arm on the shoulder blade. A common fault seen is the winging of the shoulder blade, as this inherently creates instability in the shoulder complex. Developing strength and stability in the shoulder throughout all ranges of motion is a great shoulder impingement treatment approach. This is done to improve the mechanics of the shoulder complex and take stress off of the rotator cuff.

Poor Postural Habits

Poor postural habits can also contribute to this in two ways.
1. The positions you spend majority of your day in can create tension imbalances around the shoulder, such as the pec muscles having increased tension. This is when one spends most of their day with their shoulders slumped forward. This on it’s own may not cause any issues but it’s the transferring of these habits into movement.
2. The other way that posture can contribute is the transferring over to movements even with the absence of tension imbalances. An example of this is having the habit of those shoulders being rounded forward and this habit being maintained in a shoulder press.

Those movements may also be repetitive ones which require reaching up for daily tasks, such as getting dressed, grabbing your favourite cold-pressed juice, waving to a friend, and many other tasks.

Developing postural awareness and having posture variance is the key to avoid rotator cuff impingement symptoms. It will help correct the imbalances and create better subconscious positioning of the shoulder for various movements.

Poor Movement Coordination

Poor movement coordination ties into the other two causes as inability to control the shoulder through various movements can stress the rotator cuff disproportionately. Often time people will come to rely on large muscles such as the upper traps to do the majority of the movement as opposed to just contributing. Things that must be addressed with this are the movement patterns, stability and mobility of the joints involved and building a program that complements and improves those issues.

Once irritation of the tendons begins to occur there is possibility of it developing into a rotator cuff tear or a significant tendinopathy (tendonitis). Often, prolonged shoulder issues with compensations can begin to affect the neck as many muscles cross both regions. This neck pain will then compound the shoulder issues as the neck and shoulder have some dependence on each other from a functional aspect. Resolving shoulder impingement can be a matter of simply improving the above mentioned issues, so don’t let it continue to hamper your day to day.

5 min read

Beginner & Advanced Rotator Cuff Exercises For Shoulder Pain

Posted on Jun 12, 2017

Beginner & Advanced Rotator Cuff Exercises For Shoulder Pain

It’s Summer and you’re probably going to want to show off those Summer Shoulders! But what’s the point if the “flex” isn’t as strong as it looks? Let’s dive into some rotator cuff exercises that can be used to prevent and rehab your shoulder injuries.

It happens to a number of us: picture yourself in the gym and you hear “that sound” or get “that pain” in your shoulder. It’s “that” shoulder pain which limits the rest of your workout and ends up nagging you for the next week. Commonly you’ve strained a muscle in the shoulder.

First off, the shoulder joint is a complex part of the body with a number of rotator cuff muscles that are prone to injury, varying in severity and specific type. To effectively understand how to properly rehab the shoulder and prevent further injury, we must first understand the relevant shoulder muscles in order to give the appropriate rotator cuff exercises.

Below is a picture of each muscle in action:

Supraspinatus

Arm straight by side
Push with band (or against wall/table/etc without band)

Subscapularis

Abduction of shoulder to 45-90 degrees, internal rotation

Infraspinatus

Abduction of shoulder to 90 degrees, external rotation

Teres Minor

Abduction of shoulder to 45 degrees, external rotation

These pictures above provide the foundation of treatment for a rotator cuff injury. With this, we can apply a progressive strengthening principle that can be used to strengthen the rotator cuff.

Start with holding these contractions within a pain free range. These are called isometric holds, which are the most basic of our shoulder exercises. Our goal is performing static holds that are direction specific for the individual rotator cuff muscles. Try to pick a point between the two pictures and hold is for 5-10 seconds for 3-5 repetitions.

We can progress these exercises by “concentrically and eccentrically” moving through available muscle range and eventually loading the muscles eccentrically. What we want to do here is move back and forth between the first and second picture for each muscle shown.

Additionally, here are another three exercises that are more advanced:

Bully Stretch

This is a great stretch to help open up the whole shoulder area. There are a number of muscles that can get tight, leading to overuse rotator cuff injuries. Use this stretch as maintenance after your upper body training days. Try to aim for a 20-30 second stretch for 3-4 repetitions total.

Lawn Mower Pull

This movement is a more complex, multidirectional movement involving the rotator cuff muscles. It incorporates the supraspinatus, infraspinatus, and teres minor and teaches them to coordinate themselves while stabilizing the shoulder blade throughout the movement.

Wood Chopper

As the “lawn mower” exercise above, this is more advanced, multi-directional movement. This one aims to get the other rotator cuff muscle, subscapularis, working with your larger chest and back muscles.

Our shoulders are a muscle group that we usually don’t think about throughout our day. But when we experience some sort of injury, regardless of it’s severity, pain and weakness can limit our ability to effectively coordinate our everyday complex movements. Including any upcoming Summer sports, activities, and events with family and friends. That’s why these seemingly “simple” exercises are so important to help rehab ourselves back to our full potential.

Use these exercises but make sure you speak with your local therapist to ensure the specific aspects of your injury are well understood.

4 min read

Plantar Fasciitis Stretches To Heal Those Heels

Posted on Jun 5, 2017

Plantar Fasciitis Stretches To Heal Those Heels

Just because you love wearing heels, doesn’t mean you should neglect your heel pain AKA plantar fasciitis pain. We explain four effective plantar fasciitis stretches you need to do. Plantar fasciitis can be such a pain in the heel!

With so many of you strong women out there working diligently to leave your footprints on this world, we understand that dressing like a boss is just as important as working like one. Unfortunately, in some cases, dressing like a boss can take a toll, especially if you’re wearing heels for the entire day.

The obvious answer to avoiding that annoying back of heel pain is to just, “stop wearing heels,” but let’s be realistic ladies, that’s not happening. Since you’re wearing them already, you might as well make it as comfortable and as safe as possible.

The following stretches for plantar fasciitis will help your legs and feet be better prepared to wear heels throughout the day.

Calf Raises

1. Bring your feet together without touching
2. Raise your heels so you are up on your toes
Tip: Avoid rolling out on the outside of your feet. Imagine pushing your big toe into the ground to keep your feet even.

Single Leg Squat

1. Raise one of your heels of the ground
2. Raise that same leg up and behind your body
3. Slightly bend the knee on the same side of the foot that is on the ground
4. Hold for 30s then switch sides. Perform 3x/side

Calf/Achilles Stretch

1. Find a solid platform to push against and stagger your feet into a one line stance
2. Lean into the platform and push away with both a straight leg and a bent leg (as seen here in the picture)
3. Hold for 10s and switch side. Perform 3x/side

Toe Muscles Strengthening

(Do this bare foot)
1. Raise your big toe while keeping your other 4 toes planted. Hold for 10s
2. Drop your big toe and raise your other 4 toes while keeping your big planted. Hold for 10s
3. Repeat on both feet 3x/foot

Like any part of the body, our feet need attention as well. By following these plantar fasciitis stretches and exercises, your feet will thank you as you walk down the streets with confidence! Our bodies are like a building, without a solid foundation, it’s eventually going to break down. So start from the ground up!

The stronger the muscles in our feet, the better it can hold the bones of the feet and ankles in alignment. Thankfully, there are amazing tools out there you can use to help avoid any heel pain so you can put your best foot forward.

6 min read

Top 5 Muscle Pain Relief Stretches You Can Do Anywhere

Posted on May 15, 2017

Top 5 Muscle Pain Relief Stretches You Can Do Anywhere

Many people think of stretching and immediately associate it with pre or post-workout, but what about adding in some muscle pain relief stretches during your work day?

We are spending a considerable amount of time (approximately 8 hours) seated at our desk during the day, or looking down on our phones or tablets. Surely, we should take some time to think about muscle pain relief. Overtime our bodies will no longer want to deal with the strain caused by static posture. The most common types of pain we experience are neck tension, stiff shoulders, hip and back pain.

We take you through five effective active stretches for your whole body, resulting in increased mobility and muscle pain relief.

Neck Stretch: Hold for 10 seconds, 3x/side

Bend your head to the right.
Lower and press down your left shoulder
Reach forward with your left arm, just below shoulder level.

This is a great neck stretch for overall neck tension and muscle pain relief since it stretches out the upper trapezius muscle, while simultaneously promoting activity of the serratus anterior muscle. Both of these muscles work together to create healthy shoulder movement.

Thoracic Spine Rotations: Complete 5x/side

Lay on your right side, with your right leg extended and your left knee bent at 90 degrees, propped up with either a foam roller or pillow, to lock out your lumbar spine.
Outstretch your right arm to shoulder level with your palm facing up, and place your left arm directly on top.
Slowly start lifting your left arm up, mimicking the motion of an archer, rotating segmentally up the spine to evenly distribute the motion.
When the back of your left arm reaches the ground on the opposite side of your body, slowly rotate back to the starting position.

This stretch is great for thoracic spine relief. To increase extension and rotation within our thoracic spine. This will also offload the lumbar spine, decreasing back tension.

Hip Flexor Stretch (iliopsoas muscle release): Complete 5x/side

Start in a kneeling position, with your left leg forward, and your right knee bent behind you.
Tuck your pelvis under and squeeze your right glute.
Reach your right arm up and overhead to the left.
Lift your left arm up to shoulder level and rotate to the left.

This hip flexor stretch helps to offset prolonged sitting by stretching out your anterior hip flexors, especially the psoas, which can pull you into an anterior pelvic tilt.

Pectoralis Wall Stretch: Hold for 30 seconds/side

Find a doorway or the edge of a wall, and place your left arm against it, with your elbow bent and your arm overhead.
Sink forward into the stretch.

Stretching out the pectoralis muscle will correct your slouched posture and restore normal shoulder motion.

Hip External Rotator Stretch: Hold for 1 minute/side

Lay on your back with your knees bent and both feet flat on the floor.
Place your left heel on your right thigh, just above the knee.
Lift your right foot off the ground, and hug your right thigh into your chest.
To intensify the stretch, use your left elbow to push your left knee down and roll your body slightly to the right.

This is an effective stretch to increase hip mobility and reduce sacroiliac joint pain.

These stretches focus on the major muscle groups that usually contribute to neck and low back pain and stiffness. They are super simple and easy to do virtually anywhere! Something as little as spending a few minutes stretching is all you need for muscle pain relief. Small sacrifices daily will help the longevity of your body.

3 min read

Life Hacks: Self Myofascial Release Tools To Use At Home

Posted on May 8, 2017

Life Hacks: Self Myofascial Release Tools To Use At Home

If you’re wondering where you can get some myofascial release tools, perhaps you should start looking in your own home.

So you’re new to the idea of self myofascial release tools and using the best foam roller, myofascial release lacrosse ball, and many more self release tools. This article will show you how to use some items around the house to get into the routine of taking care of your body. Self myofascial release techniques are easier than you think!

Use your Broom Stick like a rolling pin

Probably best to remove the head first but once you’ve done that you have yourself a dowel. You can use this for rolling out muscles (like a rolling pin). It can be used in areas where you may experience muscular tension and pain such as your legs, glutes or neck. Working on an area for a couple minutes is ideal or until you feel a softening of the tissue.

Use the wall to help with stretching

We all have these and they are great if you want to stretch your upper body like your pecs, rotator cuff and back. Holding stretches for 45 seconds while varying the angles of your body will give you the best results

Use a frozen water bottle like a foam roller

Ideally this should be metal or heavy duty plastic. You can use these on specific tender areas on large muscle groups like your glutes or where you may feel leg pain. Find those local stubborn knots and wait 90 seconds or so for the tissues to release.

Tennis Balls can be used like a lacrosse ball

Hopefully you have 2 of these because we have a tip on a self myofascial release tennis ball trick! Put them into a clean sock and tie off the end. You’ve now made what is called a “peanut”. Use this by placing it segmentally along your spine from your low back up into the base of your head. This is great for managing any cervical tension or pain. Stay in each area for a minute or two.

Using self myofascial release tools at home on a regular basis can help prevent the buildup of tension and stiffness in your body. They are great if you are experiencing some hip pain or leg pain due to limited flexibility or lack of mobility and can be a great addition to your pain management strategy.

3 min read

Dr. James Yoon, Naturopathic Doctor

Posted on May 1, 2017

5 Things You Can Do To Sleep Better At Night

Not only does sleep affect mood, but mood and mental states can also affect sleep. Anxiety increases agitation and arousal, which makes it hard to sleep.

No doubt you’ve fallen victim to a case of the “grumpies” directly related to lack of sleep. After a night of tossing and turning, you may feel more irritable, short-tempered, and vulnerable to stress the next day. Once you’ve gotten a good night’s sleep, however, you might find that your mood has magically returned to normal.

Studies have shown that even partial sleep deprivation has a significant effect on mood. University of Pennsylvania researchers found that subjects who were limited to only 4.5 hours of sleep a night for one week reported feeling more stressed, angry, sad, and mentally exhausted. But when their normal hours of sleep resumed, they reported a dramatic improvement in mood.

There are a number of things you can do to help you relax and get the most out of your night time rest. Here are some recommendations.

Eliminate Blue Light from your electronic devices in the evening

Use an app that eliminates blue light from electronic devices like your phone and computer if you’re using them in the evening. Blue light suppresses the levels of sleep-inducing melatonin more than any other wavelength. F.lux is an effective nighttime app for your laptop to help reduce the blue light on your monitor.

Don’t shy away from a mid-day power nap

If you like napping, keep them short (20-30 minutes). Napping helps boost alertness and performance without leaving you feeling groggy or interfering with nighttime sleep.

Dim the lights closer to bedtime

Expose yourself to daylight and limit bright light exposure in the evening. Bright light can trick your body into thinking that it is still daytime by shifting your circadian rhythm. Instead, use dim lighting to help prepare your body for sleep in the evening.

Snack on something small that is high in protein and fibre.

A light snack containing protein and fibre are okay. Stay away from high carbs or refined sugars. Large meals high in carbohydrates and sugar create blood sugar imbalances that can affect your sleep quality.

Light exercises are best during the evening

Exercise regularly but avoid vigorous exercise before you turn in. Exercise promotes a more restful sleep in order for your body to recover from physical activity. But vigorous exercise, especially late-night cardiovascular exercise, can be too stimulating and affect your ability to fall asleep. Try to exercise at least 3 hours before going to bed to avoid these issues. Yoga and strength training are less stimulating and are better alternatives if you like to workout in the evenings.

3 min read

Vitas Naudziunas, PT

Posted on Apr 24, 2017

How To Maintain Good Posture While Driving

We look at the top three reasons why you shouldn’t lean while driving, and the three things you can do to ensure you maintain good posture in the car.

Many of us spend a decent part of our life driving or commuting to work. The average one-way commute is 25 minutes in North America – that’s a minimum of an hour of your day spent driving. That is enough to develop poor posture and movements habits, especially right at the start of your day. Lower back pain and prolonged driving seem to go hand-in-hand, but it doesn’t have to be that way.

Leaning over the one side while driving will eventually become uncomfortable on your lower back.

The lean can stay with you all day

1. This position creates an “S” shaped curve in your spine. After sleeping, your discs have rehydrated and decompressed. Putting yourself in this position creates uneven load through the discs for a prolonged amount of time, creating uneven pressure through the discs of the low back. It also promotes having the head forward which can strain the neck and cause adaptive changes in the low back as further compensation.

2. Muscles adapt to chronic positions by adaptively lengthening or shortening. So after your 30-minute drive in that particular position, the body will naturally maintain some of that “S” curve once you are back upright or by the time you reach your desk.

3. This adaptation can also affect your movements patterns as the muscle progressively adapts to that position over time, especially if you go to work and spend your day sitting. Thus, you may have poor alignment while moving and there is a good chance you’ll even notice it because your body has already adapted to that position. That alignment may not cause issues initially but when it does it will take just as much time to undo it.

The following are ways you can fix your posture while driving.

Sit the right way

Get in your vehicle and find a seat position where you can sit upright on the chair (raise the chair back if you have to) and comfortably have your hands on the wheel with a relaxed, mild bend in the elbows.

Adjust your vantage points

Once in this position, alter your mirrors so that they will be most effective when sitting in this stance. Seated like this will be a constant reminder of optimal position while driving.

Switch Your Sitting Position

For those that already have been in these postures for a long time, spend 5-10 minutes a day sitting in the opposite position for a few weeks just to help even out these muscle imbalances. You will notice that if you tend to lean right while driving, then leaning to your left will feel awkward. This reaction is your brain and body telling you that it’s a position you are not used to.

4 min read

Your 4 Step Guide To Fixing Neck Pain Headache

Posted on Apr 17, 2017

Your 4 Step Guide To Fixing Neck Pain Headache

The root of most headaches comes from the neck, specifically from your suboccipital muscles. With the list of methods being so exponential we decided to comprise a list of the best tips, hacks, stretches, and exercises for your suboccipital release.

Long and intense days at work can take a toll on anyone. You finally feel like you have things prioritized, but of course, another load of work gets placed on your desk. Then, out of nowhere, “BANG” a headache comes on.

All of a sudden it feels like somebody took a hammer to your head. Now your head is pounding uncontrollably and you’re looking for quick solutions to fight the feeling of just giving up on the day and giving into your suboccipital neck pain that’s causing your headache. Believe it or not, there is a way to decrease the likelihood of dealing with them in the future!

Here is your 4 step guide to managing that annoying Neck Pain Headache at work.

1. More Planning – Less Stress = Less Headaches

Managing your Neck Pain Headache also has a lot to do with how you manage what’s essential and not essential. Take your Sunday to imagine what your week will look like. What is essential to get done that week and what isn’t essential that you could avoid. What choices can you make ahead of time to make for an easy less anxiety filled week. There are obviously going to be things that will happen throughout the week and that’s ok and more than expected. The goal of this exercise is to recognize what you can control and remove obstacles that you clearly identify as a waste of your time.

When you prep your week and “pre-make” those decisions. The easier it will be to handle curveballs during the week and control that feeling of being overwhelmed. The better you are at modulating that the less anxiety you will experience throughout the week.

2. Self Neck Release

Self release is a great way to release the tension that builds up in the suboccipital muscles. These are a group of muscles just behind and below the skull that are infamous headache generators.

Place one thumb on the mastoid process (bony ridge behind your ear).
Slide your thumb slightly closer to the spine so that you fall off the bony ridge.
Place opposite hand on the other side of your head.
Use your thumb and add more pressure into the muscle.
Use opposite hand to pull your head down and away from where your thumb is resting while maintaining the thumb pressure you created previously.
Hold for 5 seconds. Repeat 3 times on both sides.

To help decrease that annoying tension of this muscle group, below is one suboccipital release stretch you do to help with your stiff neck and headache relief anywhere.

3. Neck Stretch

Stretching and exercising does so many good things for all of you headache sufferers out there. Having a stretch and exercise regimen to deal with the neck muscles, chest, and shoulders is a great way to manage your headaches that are a result of muscle “tension”.

Grab seat with one arm
Lean neck away
Tuck chin
Pull down with the other arm

4. Just when you think you drink enough water. Drink more!

Drinking water is probably one of the easiest ways to start managing your headaches. We all would love to think that we consume enough water. But the truth is we could never consume enough. Always keep drinking more. Try to always have a water bottle on hand and make it a part of your daily routine. You hit enter, you take a sip, you hit send, you take a sip, you take a microbreak, you take a sip, get the point. Just keep drinking. Being well hydrated increases blood flow, blood flow helps keep muscles and fascia mobile which in turn decreases headaches.

There you have it, your 4 step guide to living a life without headaches. Challenge yourself this week to take a stand on your headaches. The moment you do is the moment you make strides towards living a better life.

3 min read

3 Exercises To Help With Sciatica Pain Relief

Posted on Apr 10, 2017

3 Exercises To Help With Sciatica Pain Relief

First off, what is sciatica? Simply put, it’s a pain that radiates along the path of the sciatic nerve. The sciatic nerve runs from your low back to your buttock and down the back of your thigh and calf.

With the sciatic nerve being the longest and largest nerve in the body, you can imagine how debilitating it would be to have it aggravated.

Of course, manual therapy can help with sciatica pain relief but when you couple treatments with these three at home exercises, your sciatic nerve won’t be pissed off anymore.

Nerve Flossing

Sit comfortably in a chair and bring your affected leg up with the knee extended
Plantarflex your foot (point your toes down) and simultaneously flex your head forward (bring your chin to your chest). Hold this position for 3 seconds.
Next, dorsiflex your foot (point your toes up) and simultaneously extend your head backward (look up to the ceiling). Hold this position for 3 seconds.
Transition through each step smoothly and slowly
Steps “b to c” count as one repetition. Perform 8 reps, 3 times a day

Piriformis stretch

Laying comfortably on your back, bring your affected leg toward your torso and lay it across the unaffected leg, as shown in the photo
Pull the unaffected leg toward you and simultaneously push the affected leg away from you
Hold the stretch for 30 seconds, 3 reps, 3 times a day

Lumbar extension

Lay on your stomach with your arms bent and hands by your ears
Gently push up onto your forearms and extend your low back
To take it one step further, push up onto your hands while keeping your pelvis glued to the floor as best you can (sloppy push-up), and again further extending your low back
Hold for 10 seconds, 6 reps, 3 times a day

As always, take it easy and be cautious with the sciatica exercises. You want to calm the sciatic nerve down, not irritate it even more. You will feel some discomfort with these exercises, but hey… no pain, no gain right? That being said, work within your own tolerance and stop any of these exercises if the pain worsens.

3 min read

Five Commute Exercises To Do For Neck Pain and Lower Back Pain

Posted on Mar 31, 2017

Five Commute Exercises To Do For Neck Pain and Lower Back Pain

Typical activities while commuting, like staring at your phone or reading, also increases neck tension.

Your commute, plus sitting at work, is a lot of time that your lower back is inactive; therefore, causing lower back pain. “If you don’t use it, you lose it”. While we may not be able to do anything about the commutes (aside from relocating closer to our workplaces), we can optimize our time commuting to ensure your body won’t feel the after effects of logging countless hours on the bus or train.

Get on/off your stop earlier

Depending on what your job is, you may already be spending most of your day sitting at a desk. Why not change up your routine and get on or off at a farther stop. Walking a few extra blocks will help activate your glutes which can contribute to decreasing lower back pain. Walking will also allow you to spend a bit more time each day in an extension position which will counteract all the hours spent in flexion at work. It’s also an excellent opportunity to destress from the day and reflect on things you may need to get done at home.

Practice your balance while riding public transit

This one is almost forced some days when the bus, streetcars or subways are full to the brim and there are no handrails to hold. But granted you are relatively stable as is (i.e. no severe balance issues), use this time to practice your balance by standing with no handrail support. The movement of the vehicle will provide external perturbation which will challenge your proprioception. Safety tip: it’s recommended to do this near a handrail in the event a significant bump, or sharp turn unexpectedly happens.

Use the handrails for stretching

As mentioned, many of us spend a significant portion of our days in a flexed forward posture. This positioning has many adverse effects on our bodies,neck pain being a main culprit. Why not use your commutes to help you stretch out these tight structures? Use the handrails to get in a pec stretch or use two and stretch out those hip flexors. Anyone staring is just jealous they never thought of it.

If you MUST sit, actively sit
Unless your commute is more than an hour, do your best to stand for most of it. This is especially true for those of us who will be sitting the rest of the day. However, if you need to sit, make sure to sit actively. When sitting, don’t slouch, don’t sit at the front of the seat and lean back and don’t lean excessively to the side. Instead, sit back in your seat, use the backrest for lumbar spine support and engage your core. For added benefit, perform seated cat/camels to keep your spine moving.

Read or listen to podcasts while avoiding forward head posture

Using the dreaded commute for your personal gain can actually cause you to enjoy your time spent on public transit. However, with the crowded buses, streetcars, and subways, taking out your laptop may not be feasible. Try downloading some motivational podcasts or books that will help you to prepare for your day or week.

When reading, make sure to keep your posture in mind. Keep your elbows close to your sides and use them to prop your book up to eye level to avoid excessive neck flexion and forward head posture. When you’re finished, do a quick stretch for the front of your neck by extending, rotating and side bending until you feel a gentle stretch. Follow up with some chin tucks and you’ll be ready to start or finish your day right.

3 min read

How To Bar Hop Without Lower Back Pain

Posted on Mar 17, 2017

How To Bar Hop Without Lower Back Pain

After a long day of work, spending a few hours unwinding at the bar with friends is common for a lot of us. But hours of drinking ultimately leads to prolonged sitting and standing, which could result in nagging lower back pain.

Nobody thinks about physical health while enjoying themselves at the bar. But you may want to reconsider and start using the chair or foot rail to help reduce that nagging lower back pain.

Difficulties meeting the prolonged postural demands hints towards a bigger issue than simply, “back pain.” This term has previously been called lower cross syndrome and is a way to conceptualize a combination of muscle imbalances that results in constant lower back pain.

These imbalances typically consist of the following:

Tight lumbar extensors
Weak / Inhibited Abdominals
Tight Hip flexors
Weak / Inhibited gluteus muscles

The result is a hyperlordosis in our back, more commonly known as anterior pelvic tilt. But good news! If you find yourself stuck in this situation, you can work to counteract some of the tight muscles that may be causing these issues.

Here are three quick exercises you can do at the bar without catching too much attention.

90/90 Breathing

This move is a great workout that uses specific muscle activation patterns to help alleviate a tight lower back and hip flexors.

In a sitting position, place your heels in front of the two front legs of the chair.
Make a fist with both hands and place them between your knees.
Press your heels into the legs of the chair, activating your hamstrings on the backside of your thigh.
Lightly squeeze together your knees against your fists, activating your adductors (groin muscles).
While breathing slowly, imagine tucking your tailbone underneath yourself, this is called a posterior pelvic tilt.
Repeat this for 2-3 minutes.

Couch Stretch

This move stretches out your hip flexors, which often tightens after prolonged standing ?

While standing and using a high chair, bring your foot up to the seat
Tuck your tailbone underneath yourself by lightly contracting your abdominals.
Take slow and deep breaths in through your nose and exhale through your mouth.
Repeat this for 20 secs, 2-3 times.

Figure Four Stretch

This stretch will target a muscle deep to the glutes called the piriformis. Doing this move will help alleviate some of the tightness on the tailbone you feel from a long period of sitting.

Using a high chair in front of you, bring your leg up onto it so that the outside of your shin is flat on the seat.
Take a deep breath in and out, and lightly lean forward at the hips do go deeper into this stretch
If your leg doesn’t lay flat, feel free to use a fist between your knee and the seat surface.
Repeat this for 20 secs, 2-3 times.

So next time you decide to spend an evening at the bar, make sure to try these exercises and avoid a “lower back hangover.”

3 min read

How To Avoid Carpal Tunnel

Posted on Feb 27, 2017

How To Avoid Carpal Tunnel

The term Carpal Tunnel Syndrome is a huge faux pas in the office world. We have glorified it like this “deceased-like” occurrence that signifies your life is over.

But contrary to popular belief, it doesn’t have to be like that. Here are four fantastic tips on how to avoid or deal with the carpal tunnel.

Carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) is defined as a condition that affects the median nerve that causes hand pain and numbness/tingling, specifically the thumb, index finger, middle finger and the outer half of your ring finger.

The actual “carpal tunnel” is a band of ligaments that runs along the inside of the palm and is not the wrist itself, where many are led to believe it is. Running in this “tunnel” is the median nerve which controls the affected fingers. For reasons such as repetitive work (typing, drilling, texting) this “tunnel” gets tight and restricted, which cut’s of the median’s nerve ability to send sound information to the hand.

CTS shouldn’t even be called a syndrome. A syndrome is a detrimental term. However, CTS occurs when you do things that cause the “tunnel” to get tight. If we look at it this way, it’s easy to be motivated to take control back and fight back against it.

Here are the essential tips you need to do to avoid CTS

Avoid prolonged extreme wrist motion in either direction

Avoid activities that bring your wrist into end range flexion or extension. Those positions are aggravating to the carpal tunnel and should be prevented whenever possible.

Just like your muscles your nerves need maintenance too. Stretching and moving your median nerve is an excellent way to free up the nerve, so it has the freedom to move and flow without restrictions.

Self-mobilizations you could do are “free the bird” and “backup”

Free the Bird Instructions

Just like your muscles your nerves need maintenance too. Stretching and moving your median nerve is an excellent way to free up the nerve, so it has the freedom to move and flow without restrictions.

Start by looking down at your hand as you hold it face up in front of your chest (holding the bird)
Extend your arm, wrist and fingers as you turn to look at your hand (free the bird)
Proceed to look away if tolerated

Back Up Instructions

Start by bringing both arms up in front of you
Extend your wrists and fingers
Slowly reach away from your body

Take breaks when doing repetitive tasks

Repetitive tasks have become a staple in our lives so taking micro-breaks to give your wrists a break from typing, or gripping is always a great idea.

Seek out professional advice

Manual therapy is a good way to reduce the effects of CTS. Often nerves can get tethered or caught in fascia or between muscles. “Releasing” the nerve from any restrictions is an excellent way to unlock nerves and ensure that they are moving and gliding as optimally as possible.

2 min read

How To Spoon Without Shoulder Pain

Posted on Feb 14, 2017

How To Spoon Without Shoulder Pain

So you have your evening planned with dinner reservations, some drinks, followed by some alone time spent at home.

I’m sure a romantic night with your significant other will involve some spooning, but cuddle time with your partner could result in back and shoulder pain the morning after.

Here is your 4 step guide on how to avoid shoulder pain after an evening of spooning.

Think about your shoulder position

Spooning can put your arm in significant protraction and put a lot of stress on your shoulder. Before you settle into your spooning position, put your shoulder in a better position by creating more shoulder retraction to create better alignment.

Add durability to your shoulders

To help bulletproof your shoulders for cuddling sessions, incorporate more shoulder stabilizing workouts.

Plank – Perform 30s hold / three sets
Row – Perform ten reps/ three sets

Take turns being the little spoon

I know the man usually sets the tone for the cuddling position, which usually involves playing the big spoon. But who’s to say only one person has to play the “little spoon” role in the relationship? By switching roles, you will provide a break for your shoulders and lessen the stress for each of you.

Switch positions

We all have our preferred position, regardless if it is right for you or not. If you regularly sleep on your right side a couple of times a week, you should challenge yourself to switch sides. Same goes for tonight’s spooning session. If you slept on your left last night, try to cuddle laying on your right side.

2 min read

How To Fix Your Tight Hips

Posted on Feb 6, 2017

How To Fix Your Tight Hips

If your job requires you to sit all day, chances are you’ve complained about having tight hips a few times throughout the week. Here is your 6 step guide to unlocking your hips.

The tight hip sensation you feel is just a manifestation of your body sending signals to your brain to move the body part/joint around. If you continue to ignore those messages, your tight hips will only get worse.

The awareness and sensations become hard to discern, and you may feel confused on whether you are doing the activity right or wrong. Having self-awareness will help you understand when it is time to have a health care professional coach you through the next steps.

Here is when a Myodetox Therapist can provide you with solutions according to your individual needs, to move you along your progressions through the use of our manual therapy and movement education techniques.

So how do you tackle tight hips?

Try out some of these hip drills and exercises to regain the ranges of motion you have lost throughout the years.

1. Warrior Pose – Get into a one line stance by bringing one foot back and bending the front knee until you feel a comfortable stretch in the hip and quad of the back leg.

2. Downward Dog – Bend forward to place your hands firmly on the ground. Walk your hands out until you get into a tolerable pike position.

3. Low Lunge Quad Stretch – Get into a one line stance and place one knee on the ground. Reach back to grab the foot of the leg that is on the ground. Pull that foot towards your buttock until you feel a tolerable stretch in the quad of the same leg.

4. Hip Opener stretch – While in a lunge position extend the back leg keeping your knee of the ground. Bring both hands firmly on the floor inside the front leg. Use your elbow to drive the knee out until you feel a comfortable stretch in the groin/hip of the front leg.

5. Pigeon Stretch – Bring one shin on the floor in front of you with your opposite leg straight back behind you. Place your arms or forearms on the ground in front of you, whichever is more comfortable. Anteriorly tilt your pelvis by sitting up tall and bringing you tailbone towards the sky. Lean forward until you feel a comfortable stretch in the hip of the leg that is in front of you.

6.Cross-legged Arm Reach – Cross your legs in front of you and reach towards the sky. Take one hand and bring it over your head to try to touch the opposite shoulder blade. Take the other hand behind the back and try to touch the opposite shoulder blade.

3 min read

How To Carry Your Bag And Avoid Shoulder Pain

Posted on Jan 13, 2017

How To Carry Your Bag And Avoid Shoulder Pain

While living in the digital age, it’s easy to choose fashion over function. Without thinking twice, we will purchase the fancy looking purse or handbag over the practical and functional option, which can lead to shoulder pain.

The problem is that while we may look fly AF walking with our large *insert name brand here* purse, the constant load on our shoulder can lead to neck, shoulder pain, lower back pain and dysfunction.

Carrying that heavy bag can cause your natural gait to be thrown off (by interfering with your arm swing), your center of gravity will shift to the side, and your bag will also cause your upper trapezius muscles to become overactive and stiff.

Here are five tips you can use to try and decrease the adverse effects of carrying a purse.

Try a cross body bag

Instead of loading one side of your body with a heavy weight, causing your body to carry an asymmetric load, try using a cross body bag to distribute the forces through the body better.

Reduce the load

While this may seem like an obvious one, lessening the burden that you carry on the daily can significantly reduce the strain you place on your shoulders and neck. Consider doing a weekly inventory of your purse to see what you need or don’t need.

Switch your bag on your other shoulder

This may be a tough one to get used to as you likely have developed muscle memory and subsequent tension on the side you carry your bag on, but switching shoulders periodically can help distribute the load, and decrease the strain and asymmetry on your body.

Try a backpack

I know you are probably rolling your eyes at this one, but there are a lot of fashionable backpacks to choose from! Switching to a two strap bag can significantly reduce the amount of strain and asymmetry a large shoulder bag would otherwise cause. The load will evenly distribute the weight through your body, and you will be able to walk with a normal gait.

Use a dynamic purse/bag

Try using a bag with different strap options. Switching between cross-body, on the shoulder, and holding the purse as a clutch can offer rest to those often overused, upper trapezius muscles.

3 min read

A Weak Butt Causes Hip Pain

Posted on Dec 6, 2016

A Weak Butt Causes Hip Pain

If you’re feeling hip pain, it’s probably because you’re not walking around enough, and you’re not activating your butt enough.

If you’re not texting on your phone, you’re sitting at your desk hunched over, working away on your laptop. Time flies, and next thing you know, you’re getting up for a walk, but only after a couple hours have passed.

Although you’re working hard, you’re not working your butt enough. And even though you may not feel any pain now, the mid-day walk to grab lunch will eventually catch up to your hips.

To get a better idea how your butt is related to your hip pain, allow us to explain.

This important group of muscles do this as their major actions:
Medius: abducts the hip (hip to the side)
Maximus: extends the hip (pulls the thigh behind you)
Minimus:abducts the hip (hip to the side)

These important muscles are often weak and underworked. So many of our jobs require us to sit for prolonged periods of time. The lack of mobility causes our gluten to “turn off” or stop firing as effectively. Once our glutes stop firing, we start developing imbalances within the hip which can lead to aches and eventual hip pain.

When building strong glutes, you can expect to see some of these things happen along the way:

Alleviate back pain: Learning to contract your glutes in a multitude of ranges can alleviate a lot of the mechanical back pain you are currently experiencing. Your glutes work to stabilize the pelvis and keep the hip joint centered. When they’re strong, your lower back doesn’t need to compensate and take excessive mechanical stress.

Increase performance: If you want to maximize your athletic potential, squatting should be a top priority. Stronger glutes will improve your speed, agility, and jumping skills, and quick side-to-side movements. Every time you take a step, your glute max stabilizes your pelvis, making transitions into movements safe on your pelvic joints and ultimately your back.

Abolish knee pain: A strong glute medius keeps the pelvis stable and prevents swaying from side to side. When your pelvis isn’t stable, it puts a lot of excessive pressure on your knees and ankles. When your glutes are strong, it helps to maintain proper alignment of the knee, hip and ankle. This natural alignment keeps your knee from hurting by tracking the knee cap properly.

Try out these 3 movements and see if you can hold the positions for 1 minute each with total control.

This will give you a good indicator of how well your glutes are doing.

Kick backs

Single leg bridges

Side Clamp

2 min read

Four Text Neck Exercises To Avoid Text Neck Syndrome

Posted on Nov 28, 2016

Four Text Neck Exercises To Avoid Text Neck Syndrome

At this point in the tech generation, it’s safe to say that majority of the population has a smartphone. Unfortunately, we all are susceptible to text neck syndrome. However, small changes to the way you consume content on your phone can make all the difference between a healthy neck and text neck.

Check out these four simple exercises and neck pain stretches for your neck pain!

1. Neck problems from cell phones can be fixed by simply bringing your phone a little closer to your face. It makes the world of a difference!

Ultimately, you decide on positioning; your phone doesn’t. By putting 10 degrees of extension in your neck (bringing your head back up) can alleviate about 10lbs of sustained weight on your neck. As long as you’re more conscious about positioning, it’ll help you find opportunities to bring your phone up to your face.

2. Talk more and text less

We have lost our ability to make more genuine connections. We don’t even call to wish each other happy birthday anymore. We pretty much say all of our well wishes with one emoticon. In a day in age where hearing a voice over the phone is rare take advantage. It could set you apart in many ways and give you a competitive edge.

3. Tuck your elbows – it provides you with a checkpoint

When you tuck your elbows into your body it gives you no room to drop your arms down any more. When your arms drop down your head will just end up following.

4. Get into the habit of simple and quick neck exercises

Working on the deep neck flexors is an excellent way to create a stretch of your back neck muscles that tend to tighten up. It also builds the strength of the muscles deep in the front of the neck that tends to get weaker and inhibited because of always texting on your phone.

Lie on your back
Tuck your chin slightly
Raise your head up just high enough to force you to contract the muscles in the front of your neck against gravity
Slowly continue to raise your head into more neck flexion (chin down to to chest)
Don’t let your chin jut forward
Hold for 30 sec (or whatever time you can tolerate. Many of you will be super tired after 10secs)
Repeat 3x daily

3 min read

How To Netflix And Chill Without The Back Pain

Posted on Nov 7, 2016

How To Netflix And Chill Without The Back Pain

We’ve all been there before. One hour on Netflix quickly turns into twelve hours slouched on your couch and before you know it, you’re experiencing lower back pain.

Before you decide to invest the next twelve consecutive hours of your day cuddled up with your partner, make sure to take the proper steps to avoid any potential back pain.

To help avoid any injuries, we’ve outlined the top five things you need to know so you can Netflix and chill, sans the back pain.

Plank before the meet-up

Before you head over to your date’s place, do a plank. Getting into a plank position is an excellent way to get your core muscles engaged to take on the stresses of a TV marathon. I mean, you could do a plank at her house, but there is no guarantee she won’t consider you a weirdo. For the sake of argument, get to know her first before you make her living room your personal space.

Slouching isn’t attractive

Slouching creates a posterior pelvic tilt and it adds additional stress on your back. To avoid any back pain, slide your butt right back into the wedge where the backrest meets the cushion.

It’s good to kick it, but not with your feet up

Putting your feet up seems relaxing, but the temporary bliss is just adding more stress on your lower back. If you want to test your back out, try sitting with your feet up for three hours while slouching. You may make it through the next episode, but eventually your back will give in.

Don’t overlook the figure-four stretch

Every hour, take a break and try a duo “figure four stretch.” There is no better way to show your date that you take good care of your body.

Slide forward to the edge of your seat
Cross one leg over the other into a figure 4
Sit up tall until you feel a stretch in your glutes
Hold for 30 seconds
Repeat three times on both sides

Every step you take counts

Whether it’s bathroom breaks, refilling your drinks, or restocking snacks, getting up from your seat will have a positive impact on your back. Going for a walk mid-way into your TV binge will alleviate the stress on your back and provide you with the perfect solutions to avoid any post-Netflix and chill back pain.

2 min read

How To Properly Sit At Your Desk

Posted on Jul 28, 2016

How To Properly Sit At Your Desk

The majority of people sit either with a flat lumbar spine or overarched lumbar spine.

Sitting incorrectly creates improper compensations, inefficient use of the musculature and compression of the spinal disk. These dysfunctional sitting postures can be carried over into standing and movement patterns which can have a drastic effect on your health.

Also, sitting while under stress (i.e. at work) taps into your sympathetic nervous system (fight or flight). Since you can’t punch your boss, out (fight) or run away from work (flight), your sympathetic nervous system is on overload constantly even when you get home. You cannot tap back into your parasympathetic nervous system to rest and digest, that is why so many people cannot sleep well and have poor digestion. By repeating the cycle day in and day out, it’s no wonder why people die prematurely.

So how do you resolve this? Well, for starters try to not to sit so much. Go for walks, find a movement practice to destress, and meditate.

If you have to sit, sit with a posture that is supportive for your structure.

Many of us spend way too much time sitting at work with a posture that is not supportive for our bone structure and tissues.

Sitting up straight and pulling your shoulders back are important to keep in mind, but they are difficult to do unless you keep your pelvis neutral. How do I do that?

Find your “SITS” bones. Get in a chair and when you feel two hard/firm bumps, you want to sit right on top of them. If you tilt your butt back, you will feel them move backwards.
Try to slouch upper body without allowing your pelvis to posterior tilt.
Come back up then allow your pelvis to posterior tilt (Tuck tail under). You will notice your upper body drop into a slouch
Keeping your pelvis in posterior tilt, try to straighten your spine, so you are upright.

It’s hard to keep everything lined up if your pelvis is not level but it’s so much easier when it is!

1 min read

It’s Time You Fix Your Arch Without Orthotics

Posted on Jul 18, 2016

It’s Time You Fix Your Arch Without Orthotics

I’m going against the popular belief that orthotics is the answer for your foot woes.

I’m not saying orthotics don’t work, and they don’t relieve people’s pain. They do, but I come from the school of thought that manual therapy and some foot exercises can fix your feet naturally.

All arches of the foot are sustained together by from the soft tissues surrounding it. Therefore, if your medial longitudinal arch is flat [aka flat feet], why try to create a fake arch, when you can release the foot and elevate the arch by manual therapy?

Stop letting these inserts do the work, and let your feet do the job for your arch.

Balance the four arches of the foot (Lateral longitudinal arch, Medial longitudinal arch, Proximal transverse arch and Distal transverse arch) and you can get rid of your orthotics once and for all, all the while save you some money at the same time!

2 min read

Myodetox

Posted on Jul 15, 2016

Your Knee Pain, Lower Back and Hip Pain is Because of Your Feet

Improper foot care plays a vital role in the causes of knee pain, reasons for lower back pain, and overall hip pain. Our feet and its arches are the foundations that our entire body relies on to keep us moving and standing.

Our feet are designed to provide us with flexibility, absorb shock, distribute the weight of the body, and help us adapt to our environment when walking, running, climbing, etc. They allow us to move where we want to go, balance us when we stand – yet, we neglect the necessity for proper foot care!

Poorly fitted shoes, old worn out shoes, and jobs that require more time seated than standing are the culprit of foot problems. As a result, it may be the initiating factor to what causes hip problems, lower back pain, and knee pain.

Like any part of the body, our feet needs exercise too.

Strong foot muscles help hold the bones of the feet and ankles in alignment and assist in maintaining our arches. If the muscles aren’t working properly to keep this alignment, there’s a pretty good chance that nothing stacked above is aligned correctly either.

Here are two very simple exercises you can do on a daily to get your feet healthy and working for you:

Place a towel flat on the floor and use your foot to bring the towel towards you.
Drop pens, pencils, marbles or whatever you have at home and pick them up using your foot and toes and place them in a bucket.

A lot of shoes and foot orthotics are now designed to do the work. While the extra support can be a benefit and a saving grace from pain, we may be relying on them too much and forgetting that we already have the proper equipment.

Since you already have your feet, train them and use them. They are the best pair of shoes you’ll ever have! Relying on orthotics and shoes is like putting on a strap-on. Why use something when you’ve already got the goods?

1 min read

Myodetox Team

Posted on Jul 8, 2016

Forward Head Posture Is Affecting Your Brain

It’s not uncommon to see a patient walk into the Myodetox office with a twelve-pound head that’s migrated three inches forward on their body because of Forward Head Posture (FHP).

Forward Head Posture is a common problem for a lot of people, amongst other postural issues. Over time, Forward Head Posture will cause significant damage to the spine, in what is otherwise a preventable injury.

Did you know for every inch of Forward Head Posture, the weight of the head on the spine increases by an additional ten pounds?

The rampant spread of this particular posture issue is partly due to our society’s addiction to prolonged sitting, and through excessive use of tablets and smartphones (damn you, Snapchat). By doing so, your forward posture can add up to 30 pounds of abnormal leverage on the cervical spine!

Forward Head Posture has also been shown to affect the brain negatively. Research shows that 90% of the stimulation and nutrition to the brain is generated by the movement of the spine. Therefore, less cervical movement results in less nutrition to the brain. Only ten percent of the brain has to do with thinking, metabolism, and healing.

Research shows that 90% of the stimulation and nutrition to the brain is generated by the movement of the spine.

Consequently, FHP will cause the brain to rob energy from thinking, metabolism and immune function to deal with abnormal gravity/posture relationships and processing.

3 min read

Staff

Posted on Apr 25, 2016

Why Wait For The Pain?

The misconception is that pain is the only indicator of injury and that without pain, all systems are a go. While this fantasy world would be amazing to live in if our bodies worked like that, reality reveals otherwise.

Currently, we walk around in optimal function, knowing that the onset of pain means something is wrong. The problem with this notion is that it paints a picture of pain being black and white. However, the story of our bodies and the idea of pain lies on a continuum.

The graphic above depicts mostly everyone’s perception – we are either in pain or not in pain.

In actuality, it looks a lot more like this:

This more realistic trajectory showcases how we live on a continuum. Once we leave an area of no pain, there is a long distance of breakdown that our body endures before we ever experience degrees of discomfort.

If you tweaked your thinking about pain, there is a good chance you’d get favorable results.With any injury, such as an ankle sprain, you quickly move along the continuum from “no pain” “to “pain.” However, the majority of pain is usually described as, “The pain slowly came on, and things just got worse until I couldn’t deal with it anymore.” As therapists, we hear these stories daily.

If you tweaked your thinking about pain, there is a good chance you’d net favourable results.

Picture it like this. You’re driving your clean, detailed car around the block. You decide to go off-road because you believe your vehicle can withstand the elements. You stop to fill up your gas tank and notice some dirt starting to accumulate on the side of your car. Do you consider it dirty? Probably not because the majority of the car is still clean. You do what most of us would and get back on the dirt road, even though it’s now raining, and the dirt is quickly turning into mud. After your off-road adventure, you finally get home and realize your car is now in dire need of a power wash. You go inside, take a nap, and hope your car is magically sparkling by the time you need to use it again. Unfortunately, the layer of mud just got thicker and hardened. Now you’re thinking, “if only I had washed it when I first saw the dirt accumulate.”

Ultimately, it’s your choice where you decide to take charge of the situation on the continuum. But the reality is, the longer you let a mess fester, the more stubborn it is to clean. Your body is a work of art, but it also works by the same principles.

There are many ways to uncover whether your body is living day to day with no pain. There are many ways to identify if your shoulder is in perfect condition, or if it’s ready to take on any load, or if it’s on a dirt road, piled with mud. A shoulder in pain is a shoulder that has been off-roading, and you ignored the fact you should take it to the car wash.

So instead of chasing the pain, get ahead of it.

2 min read

Your achilles tendon can either make or break you

Posted on Apr 13, 2016

Your achilles tendon can either make or break you

In honour of one of basketball’s greatest competitors, Nike, with the help of social media, has crowned today as #MambaDay.

Towards the latter part of his career he endured multiple injuries, but it’s safe to say Kobe was never the same since he suffered the dreaded and far too common, achilles tendon rupture more than three years ago. Hell bent on carrying his team to the playoffs; he racked up an astounding 320 minutes over seven games, resting for just 16 minutes and 45 seconds.

Shortly after he went down, every league-wide professional said he should’ve stretched more. I’m going to immediately shut that idea down because that wasn’t the cause of his rupture. The achilles tendon is too complicated for such a simple solution.

So what exactly led to this injury?

First, let’s break down the achilles tendon and its unique properties.

Achilles injuries have many causes, usually a combination of numerous issues, with blood supply being a problem. Over time, with repetitive jumping, running or other lower body movement, the lack of blood flow inherent to any tendon results in degeneration or scarring of that tendon, which decreases its ability to lengthen.

Think about it like this, if you bike every day and don’t maintain or grease the bike chain, it will build up grime, dry out and eventually the chain will rust. In this case, without the proper preventative care, your achilles ability to handle the daily demand decreases a lot more. Just like that, a tear occurs when the force is applied faster than the tendon could lengthen.

So what can you do to help prevent an achilles tendon injury?

The health of the achilles lies in the entire back chain from the glutes, hamstrings, and calves.

When looking at the achilles in isolation, a combo of eccentric contractions, ankle mobility and a focus on a focus on a non-inflammatory diet are keys to prehab.

The following are a series of key exercises you can do to avoid an achilles tendon injury.

Single-Leg Romanian Deadlift – This exercise targets the entire posterior chain – glutes, hamstrings and calves.

Calf Raises – We consider this the guardian angel of the achilles. This loads the achilles tendon while lengthening the calves.

Double Leg Bridge – This simple, yet effective exercise shouldn’t be overlooked because of its ability to fire up the glutes.

What next?

An injury to the achilles is a complex one, and a simple stretch isn’t sufficient enough. You have to exhaust all avenues to help prevent this major injury from happening. Although this injury can stem from various factors, if you’re proactive enough, your most primary used tendon will be a lot more sustainable over time.

4 min read

Steve McGeachy, C.P.P.S.

Posted on Apr 12, 2016

This is the only workout you need to know this offseason

You’re an athlete and your season is over. Now what?

The offseason of today is much different than it was before. Back then, taking the time off, so your body and mind could recover was a priority. Now the offseason is more about improving your game so an athlete can build and progress from the previous year.

A proper offseason training regimen can improve many different aspects of your game such as injury prevention, flexibility, strength, conditioning and recovery time.

The demands of a season can take a toll, and the daily grind can wither your body down. But with more of a focused and planned program during the offseason, it’s easier to avoid the injury pitfalls and it will put you in a better position to succeed.

The following is a breakdown of an off-season training program that will have you ready for training camp.

Muscle Activation and Mobility

Muscle activation is the foundation of our system. It’s crucial every muscle is firing correctly. If muscles aren’t firing properly, we can’t progress into the strength and power phase for the simple fact that we would be strengthening a dysfunction. For example, if an athlete can’t perform a simple bodyweight box squat, there is no way they will be able to do a loaded barbell squat properly.

Strength and Power Development

Once we have completed the muscle activation and structural balance phase, the next step is developing strength and power. This action will help the athlete increase lean tissue while dropping body fat, create more explosiveness throughout the whole body, and strengthen the ligaments and tendons.

Depending on the athlete and their sport, we may focus on improving relative strength, which increases the players strength but keeping their mass gain to a minimum. This is key for positional players like point guards in basketball or extreme athletes like boxers and MMA specialists.

NOTE: Super sets, volume training, and pyramid rep schemes can all be implemented in this phase.

Metabolic Conditioning

Following the strength and power phase is conditioning. This stage targets muscular endurance, cardiovascular and recovery time. It’s best to introduce the conditioning phase last because by this point, your season is around the corner and your body should be optimized to meet the demands of team tryouts and camps.

We incorporate drills focusing on agility, velocity and sport specific movements depending on the position of the player. After this phase we ideally transfer the player on to the court or field where we would introduce workouts mirroring game situations and intensity. For basketball, our players would now begin to run conditioning and shooting drills on the court as this is where we look to exploit the power we have built for the past few months.

As the season progresses our athletes would begin our ”in-season” program which strives to maintain strength, agility and range of motion.

If you stick to a disciplined program during the offseason, your game will elevate to another level, and your body will be more sustainable throughout the season.

6 min read

Myodetox Team

Posted on Apr 8, 2016

Revolution in Motion

In conjunction with the Nike Free RN Motion Flyknit release, Nike hosted a workout at Myodetox Performance with a select group of Toronto bloggers and journalists.

When it comes to innovation, Nike doesn’t cut any corners. To them, nothing matters more than shaving any second possible from an athlete’s personal best to help push the boundaries of their abilities. Their latest trainer, the Nike Free RN Motion Flyknit, shows why this industry-leading brand has once again set the standard of how a cutting-edge trainer is built.

To better showcase the abilities of its latest sneaker, it enlisted the help of Nike Master Trainer Eva Redpath, and Nike+ Run Club Head Coach Rejean Chiasson to help carry out a tailor-made program specially designed by Canada Athletic’s Head Coach, Jeff Huntoon.

elias

3 min read

Myodetox Team

Posted on Feb 22, 2016