Blog | Head to Toe Muscle Clinic

Massage Therapy for Plantar Fascitis

When you get out of bed and put your feet on the floor you notice you have pain that makes it difficult to walk. You've noticed that the pain has traveled to the inside of your ankle and calf. As you go through your day it gets better but then if stand, go for your run or exercise and the pain makes it hard for you to continue your run. You've had physical therapy and innjections with little improvement. Massage therapy may help with the pain from plantar fascitis so you can get back to your activities. What is Plantar Fascitis? Plantar fascitis is an overuse condition that creates pain in either your heel and/ or the arch of your foot. The most common and distinguishing symptom is pain that [...]

Understand Your Low Back: How to Protect and Care for Your Back

Have you ever wondered why some exercises are considered better for your back than others? Or do you want to understand your back better and have some good strategies to protect your back while exercising or working? Your spinal joints are small with sensitive nerve structures while your feet, knees, and hips are big with less sensitive structures and more suitable for weight bearing and movement. Learning to move with your feet, knees, and hips while keeping your spine stable is the key concept of core training and protecting your back. In this series of articles I will discuss the anatomy of your low back, common causes of conditions like arthritis and other low back pain, and the big idea of core training and some things to avoid for your [...]

How Massage Can Help Carpal Tunnel Syndrome

Pain in your wrist has caused you to have difficulty to type and work. You've found that you are starting to have difficulty to do things that you enjoy like cooking, writing, and even holding a cup of coffee. At night you wake up with numbness and tingling in your hand and it makes it difficult to sleep. You have tried using splints and other conservative measures and although they've helped a bit you still have pain, numbness, and tingling in your wrist and hand. Massage may help with the pain of carpal tunnel syndrome in the short term and may help other long term treatments be more effective. Massage therapy can best help carpal tunnel syndrome that is related to overuse of the muscles of the forearm and [...]

Pain While You Sleep? 3 Ways to Change Your Sleep Positions to Be More Comfortable

You sleep for at least 8 hours a day. It is common especially as you get older to notice that when you wake up you may feel stiff, wake up with numb hands, or pain in your neck and shoulders. Therefore I am often asked what is the best way to sleep. Most experts agree that whatever position your body tend to go towards is the best. If you find that you are waking up with pain and suspect that your sleeping position is causing your pain try these sleeping modifications. I have tried these myself and I really thought these were some of the best modifications I have seen. Back Sleepers: Reduce Stiffness in Your Back and Keep Your Arms and Hands from Falling Asleep Perhaps when you [...]

What Causes Leg Cramps and What to Do About Them

There's nothing worse than being snug in your bed during a deep sleep when suddenly you jump up in agonizing pain in your leg. Writhing around and trying to find that magic position to relieve your leg cramp while also trying to not make your cramp worse. Usually the advice that I hear is a condescending "oh just eat more potassium." That's just bad advice because as you get older there are some relatively serious conditions that can cause leg cramps. This article will discuss what leg cramps are, some causes, and what you can do when they happen and how you can prevent them. Cramp vs Spasm A cramp is a sudden, violent contraction of your muscle. While a spasm is a gradual guarding or protective splinting and tightening [...]

What Is Cupping Therapy? A Guide On Conditions Treated and What Research Says
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What Is Cupping Therapy? A Guide On Conditions Treated and What Research Says

A little over a week ago, during the Olympics, we saw the media explode with reactions about Michael Phelps use of cupping therapy. We saw articles that poked fun at athletes for using all kinds of crazy treatments. Some said that cupping had little research and worked mainly as a placebo while other articles gave horrible images of cupping gone bad, and we saw articles that gave glowing reviews of just how amazing cupping therapy is . This article will tell you what cupping therapy is and what is used for, what the research says, and why athletes use complementary and alternative medicine. What Is Cupping Therapy Cupping is used in many different cultures but is mainly considered to belong to Traditional Chinese Medicine. It involves a plastic cup, glass, or [...]

When to Use Ice and Heat for Pain and Injury

It can be confusing to know when to use ice or heat for pain and injury. Most doctors and professionals recommend ice and rarely recommend heat. Ice and heat can be very effective and cost effective ways to treat your own minor injuries and pain. Ice and heat can also be used not just for pain but as a means to prevent pain. They both have physiological effects on your tissues. This is different than products like icy hot where it just numbs pain. Products like Icy Hot are skin irritants and take your brains' focus off of the pain. While there is nothing wrong with stopping pain with these products they do little to heal. Ice and heat have healing effects on your tissues. As there isn't an absolute [...]

How to Stretch and Warm-Up Properly to Prevent Injury and Perform Stronger

* For your health and well being it is always best to consult your doctor or other health care provider before doing an exercise that you are unsure about. This article is for educational purposes only. A proper warm up will: Lubricate your joints which will protect your cartilage and joints to prevent arthritic damage and pain Make your muscles flexible so they’re less likely to tear Make your muscles ready to contract so they will perform fast and protect your joints. There are different types of stretching and some are better for certain activities than others. For example static stretching (when you hold a stretch for a length of time) is not recommended for football because it will make your muscles slower to contract. In football your muscles need [...]

How to Calm Your Brain During Conflict [Infographic]

Conflict can cause negative emotions to surface such as anger and frustration. These negative emotions can lead to physical effects such as loss of energy, feeling sick, and can keep you from seeing the problem clearly. By controlling how you react to conflict it can help you to solve problems quickly and effectively - and without ruining your entire day. I recently had an insurance problem where the computer apparently forgot to send my insurance policy to the insurance company. A family member needed hospital treatment and the hospital told me that I had no insurance. "What? Of course I do. Let me go figure this out." That started a three month process of calling the insurance company and going back and forth. If I did not figure this out [...]

Strategies to Prevent Neck and Back Strain from Poor Posture

Hours spent in one position can place a lot of strain on your body resulting in pain and muscle tension. I am not a big fan of writing about posture because I think way too much attention is given to it and that can make you feel like you have horrible posture and that you constantly need to do something about it. As Science writer and massage therapist Paul Ingraham notes, you inherently know when your body is in a bad posture and therefore tend to fix and correct it. A better approach to fixing and addressing posture can be as simple as taking more frequent breaks and adding a little more more movement and exercise into your routine. Check out his article here: In his article Ingraham explores some [...]