The “thoracic outlet” is the anatomical space through which vital nerves and arteries exit the neck and enter the arm. (See illustration below) You can see from the illustration that there are many structures that have the potential to get in the way of, clamp down on, or otherwise disrupt the nerves as they pass […]
Frozen Shoulder: What should I do?
A forty-year old woman ”Jane” came in to the clinic last week with a look of exasperation on her face, clutching her left arm. A month ago she had reached behind her to get something out of the back seat of her car and felt a sudden, jarring pain in her shoulder that she described […]
How Do I Deal With A Shoulder Dislocation?
Shoulder dislocations typically occur from sudden jarring motions while the shoulder is in a compromised position. An auto accident, fall off a bicycle, or collision while playing sports are common examples of situations that can cause dislocations. For those of us who are naturally hyper-flexible, it may take much less force to cause a dislocation. […]
Internal Rotation of the Shoulder: The Under-Prescribed Exercise!
In clinical physical therapy practice, I have noticed that rotator cuff exercises tend to have more of a bias towards external rotation rather than internal rotation. Why is this? Here is an example of external rotation (see video below). This can be done either on one’s side as in the first video or standing with […]
Why Do I Have a Forward Head?
Behold, the dreaded forward head. (See pic) A forward head is commonly defined by what we therapist nerds call a “plumb line” that is dropped from the hole in the ear (aka the external auditory meatus) directly downwards. Under ideal circumstances, the plumb line that drops from the ear should pass through the anterior portion […]
Review of Specialized Sleeping Pillow
A few months back I was getting to the point of extreme frustration in regard to sleeping on my sides. I have a partial labrum tear in my left shoulder from years of sports, weight training, and lord knows what other repetitive activities. I would also not be surprised if I have a small tear […]
Postural Shirts?
A client came in this week with something I have not seen before: a “postural” workout shirt. The shirt shown in the photo is a tightly sewn spandex nylon mix marketed as a way of facilitating upright posture and body mechanics. The client did report that she felt more upright. Is this a fad, or […]