Self Care Articles
Massage and Depression – What Can Help
An estimated 1 in 10 adults in the United States suffers from some kind of depression, according to the Centers for Disease Control. Left-handed American adults make up about the same percentage. Yet while left-handedness is seen today as a quirky curiosity (or sometimes an advantage, in the case
How to Keep Going When You Want To Give Up on Life
How to Keep Going When You Want to Give Up on Life TRIGGER WARNING: This post references suicidal thoughts and may be triggering to some people. Since my first post on Tiny Buddha entitled “ Why I Didn’t Kill Myself and Why You Shouldn’t Either ,” I’ve been doing
I Made One Easy Change And It Nearly Nixed My Post-Workout Pain
The One Simple Habit Eliminated My Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness I've always loved cycling: I was on the cycling team when I was in college, and for a long time afterward I continued to road race. What I never loved was the resulting pain in my knees, calves,
Pain is Weird
The Brain-Pain Connection Science reveals a volatile, misleading sensation that is often more than just a symptom, and sometimes worse than whatever started it Pain is weird. It is not just a message from injured tissues to be accepted at face value, but a complex experience that is
The Neutral Foot
The Duck Foot Fix Neutral Feet Lately, I have gotten the urge to run. I have a goal to lose some weight and thought running will help me with that goal. However, when I run, it hurts. Since I am a big fan of Kelly Starrett, I had
8 Self-Care Techniques for Your Osteoarthritis
Osteoarthritis Osteoarthritis is the most common type of arthritis or inflammation of a joint. Although working is still possible with this disease, people suffering from arthritis lose an average of 2.5 day per month of work. A joint is made up of cartilage and synovial fluid. The synovial fluid
What Happens When I Have Tight Feet?
Did you know that tight feet can affect how flexible the whole back of the body is? Try this test. Bend over and touch your toes. Feel how flexible you are. Notice how far you can reach your hands. Now get a tennis ball and put it under your foot
Plantar Fasciitis
The worst foot pain EVER!! Plantar Fasciitis is the inflammation of the plantar fascia which is the thick tissue that connects the heel to the toes creating the arch of the foot. When this gets inflamed it makes the heel hurt, especially in the morning. This can be a
Do Americans prefer physical therapy to painkillers?
Which Would You Choose? Physical Therapy or Painkillers? If you would try just about anything before taking prescription opioids to treat physical pain , you’re not alone. According to a new report , most Americans would rather use a drug-free approach. In a study from nearly 6,300 adults, 78
Meditation Mondays
Meditate with Me on Mondays! For the New Year, I got this really cool workbook called Create Your Shining 2022. It helps create goals, visions, plans, and habits. One of the things it suggests is to make up a different theme for each day. One of my goals is
12 Reasons Why You Have Shoulder Pain
12 Reasons Why Your Shoulder Hurts What are the reasons why you have shoulder pain? Shoulder pain is a common ache in the U.S. By some estimates, as many as 67% of people experience shoulder discomfort at some point over the course of their lives. The most mobile
5 Tips for Neck and Shoulder Care Between Massage Appointments
5 Tips for Neck and Shoulder Issues People with neck and shoulder issues often have their pain return before their next massage appointment. Work, play and children all make demands on the body. A dull ache can quickly turn into a burning pain. That becomes uncomfortable especially while folding
Small Hemipelvis
Why Do I Always Feel Like I'm Sitting Uneven? What exactly is a small hemipelvis and why should you care? The pelvis is made of two bones that come together with ligaments. In some people, one of these bones is smaller than the other causing a plethora of
21 Tips to Improve Your Sleep
21 Ways To Sleep Better Tonight As you all may have figured out, I am an avid reader. My latest read is Sleep Smarter: 21 Proven Tips to Sleep Your Way To a Better Body, Better Health and Bigger Success by Shawn Stevenson. He teaches how to improve your sleep!
Why do some people SWELL more than others?
Do you swell up frequently? I had a conversation with a client this week who recently had knee replacement surgery. He was curious as to why he swelled so much. He and I were pondering where all that fluid came from, so I told him I would investigate and
Overcoming Groin Pain That’s Affecting Your Love Life
The Pectineus The Pectineus muscle is a flat, triangular-shaped muscle located in the inner thigh. It lies deep within the hip and upper thigh area, near the groin. This muscle plays an important role in movement and stability, but can also be a source of pain for many
It Shouldn’t Hurt To Shake Hands!
Does it Hurt to Shake Hands? Finger Extensor Muscles Extensor Indicis There are several finger extensor muscles. They include Digitorum, Indicis, and Digiti Minimi. If you have knots (trigger points) in any of these muscles you will feel it down the forearm
Stop Jaw Pain with this One Technique
Stop Jaw Pain with This One Technique! The Masseter Last year on America's Got Talent a man tried to carve an apple while it was in his assistant's mouth. The stunt was a complete fail and since the girl had to hold the apple for so long, she couldn't
Do you have pain in your shoulder when you rub your lower back?
Back Rub Test Coracobrachialis Muscle If you're experiencing pain in your upper arm and shoulder, the culprit may be the coracobrachialis muscle. This muscle is located underneath the pec muscle, and can often be a source of pain and discomfort. Fortunately, there is a simple test you can
Carpal Tunnel Syndrome Pain Relief Techniques
Massage for Carpal Tunnel Syndrome Carpal Tunnel Syndrome occurs from repetitive stress that causes pain due to increased inflammation in the area. The pain is due to nerve ischemia or a temporary lack of oxygen to the nerve. Because doctors will only do carpal tunnel surgery as a last
The Many Benefits of Celery Juice
I recently finished "Celery Juice" by the Medical Medium. I started drinking celery juice about 3 weeks ago on the advice of Tony Robbins. I was told it could clear toxins out of the body and help with a plethora of health problems. I didn't have too many health
I Splurged On A Weekly Massage To See If It Would Cure My Pain
At $1-$2 per minute (plus gratuity), massages aren’t cheap. But pain medication has side effects, and there's nothing fun about feeling achy all the time. I decided to invest in weekly massages for one month and reevaluate. Here's how it went. Week 1 Eager to start this experiment strong,
Why can I only sleep sitting up?
Why Can I Only Sleep Sitting Up? The Scalene Muscles Is it only comfortable for you to sleep sitting up? You may have trigger points in the scalene muscles. The scalenes are made up of 4 muscles: the anterior, medius, minimus, and posterior scalenes. These muscles are a common
How to Stop Pain in 3 Steps
How to Stop Pain in 3 Steps Imagine you are at work, and your back starts to ache. You try to ignore it at first, but the pain gets worse and worse. Eventually, you have to go home because you can't take the pain anymore. Does this sound familiar?
4 Ways to Get a Good Night’s Sleep
Get a Good Night's Sleep 4 ways to improve your sleep March is fun for a few reasons. Exciting basketball, green beer, and a confused body clock. Wait, that's not fun. March is when we attempt to shake off the winter doldrums and see the light at the end
