The medial pterygoid is a muscle of mastication (chewing). It attaches onto the jaw near it’s angle but can’t be easily touched from out side of the mouth because there is bone is in the way. Most of medial pterygoid is found on the inside of the mouth just behind the bottom molars. The action…
You’ve been training consistently for several months. You’ve been adding weight to your squat but recently you’ve started to experience left knee pain during your squat. This can be worrisome. You might start thinking you are causing damage. Though this may be true that ,in some cases, pain is an indication of damage in many…
The muscles at the back of the neck, found deep to the trapezius, play a crucial role in neck movement and stability. These muscles range from small, diagonal fibers to larger muscles that originate in the upper thoracic spine and attach to the neck or base of the skull. Their primary function is to aid…
This is another one of my exercises that I give to athletes/patients in the controlled articular rotations (CARs) category. The training method and acronym is popularized by Dr Andreo Spina. It was taught to me at a Functional Range Conditioning course in Winnipeg. I call them “circles” to my patients because it’s easier for them…
Are your shoulders, elbows, or wrists feeling stiff or painful? Do you want a simple, flowing shoulder mobility drill that not only improves shoulder mobility but also gently encourages your nerves to move freely? The long-arm teacup drill might be exactly what you need. This smooth, figure-eight pattern looks like a simple shoulder mobility drill,…
The temporalis is the muscle that you feel over your temples when you clench your teeth and as you chew. The muscle can be tender to touch and can refer to the upper teeth, over the eyebrow and on the side of the head and sometimes to the temporomandibular joint (TMJ). It is responsible for…
You just received your MRI results and it says that you have a disc herniation or disc bulge. I’m sure this might be worrisome to you. So what does this mean? First of all, these terms are often used interchangeably but, in reality, there is a difference between the two. Anatomy of the disc The…
Pain is a curious thing. I treat people with it all the time. Many people get better with what I do. Others show no response. Some have pain no matter what they do, even months or years after an injury or even when no injury has occurred. Why is that? Here is a little bit of…
To truly laugh, you must be able to take your pain and play with it. So often people take their pain and avoid it at all costs. So much so that they start avoiding the things they love. You don’t need to do that. I can work with you to get you back to where…
The shoulder blades or scapulae have muscles that extend to the neck, thoracic spine, ribs and shoulder. The shoulder blades, therefore, can influence these other regions. Having control/mobility over the scapula would thus be a potential area to work on if you are having problems in these other areas. I often have my athletes and…
