Blog | Head to Toe Muscle Clinic

How to Protect Your Back While Shoveling Snow (Or Stupid Jonas!)

So many times you hear to "lift with your knees" when shoveling snow in order to protect your back. It's a bit more complicated than that and really it's better to lift with your hips. Here's a great video by Dr. Scott Gillman that gives some great tips to shovel snow while protecting your back. It also makes a great and fun workout!(Yes, I used fun and shoveling snow in the same sentence.) I broke down the steps below for you. Don't round your back. This places a lot of strain on your back (especially the disc joints) It also will encourage you to lift with your back. Also, don't round your back while twisting. Bending and twisting are the two motions that place your back at risk for disc [...]

Use This Exercise for Healing, Better Rest, and Relaxation

Sometimes I feel pretty stupid telling people breathing is really important. To which I get a reply " No sh&@!, I do it all the time." As Dr. Andrew Weil, M.D, a world renowned leader and pioneer in integrative medicine, explains in this video breathing is an interesting action as it is one of the few functions of your body that is under unconscious control and under your direct control. The importance of this should not be taken lightly. Conscious, on purpose breathing directly activates the parasympathetic nervous system which is the branch that controls the healing and repair of your body. The autonomic nervous system is the branch that reacts to stress and is often overactive. When the autonomic nervous system is overactive the parasympathetic nervous system doesn't [...]

The Three Elements for Healthy Muscles

Muscle tightness is by far the most common condition that people come into my office for. Muscle tightness and trigger points are often overlooked by most doctors which is too bad since these conditions can cause a wide array of symptoms like tingling in the arms, hands, legs, and feet; headaches, weakness in your muscles, and plain old pain. Since muscle the primary cause of trigger points is muscle tightness the most common question I get is "if muscle tightness causes this then is it bad if I go to the gym since I am going to tighten the muscle?" Well, ultimately the answer is that it depends on how you workout or exercise. If you give yourself the proper amount of rest and recovery I would say no. From [...]

A Concept of Building Strength No One Talks About

I Had a Burning Question: Can You Train With Very Little Chance of Injury? I spent eight years working in a very busy pain management/ physical therapy clinic. I have worked with a lot of different pain conditions as well as a very diverse population. From athletes of all sorts like runners, yogi's, pilates instructors, cross fitters, triathletes. Probably a ton more. One thing I have always seen is that generally most push and push their bodies. Even when it is not healthy. There are so many sources out there that believe and say that in order to be stronger you must push yourself. But if you injure yourself often and chronic injuries resurface doesn't that indicate the strength of the tissue is overwhelmed? One burning question that I have [...]

The Best Sleep Positions For a Good Night’s Rest

The most common question I am asked is what is the best way to sleep. The short answer is there isn't any. The best way to sleep is probably the position that is most natural for your body . However, some positions might be worse than others, but with a few modifications they can have fewer pain symptoms and leave you feeling refreshed and rested. I searched the web for some tips on best sleeping positions, and this is what I found. This is my favorite video I found. Although using four pillows is a bit intense and might annoy your partner, it has some good suggestions. I particulary like his suggestion for stomach sleepers. Back Sleepers When sleeping on the back place a pillow under the knees to [...]

Should You Get Longer Massages or Shorter Massage Sessions?

Subscribe to our mailing list * indicates required Email Address * First Name * Last Name When it comes to maintaining your health, improving stress, or managing a pain condition you may want to rethink longer and less frequent massage sessions. Whenever I put my hands on someone it is inevitable that someone will say, "I wish I could do this every day!" And why shouldn't you? You might think that the longer a session the better. When you look at massage research on health conditions all the research usually uses twenty to thirty minutes of massage two - three times a week for five to six weeks(1, 2, 3). Massage therapy, like any therapy, is cumalative. You wouldn't exercise once a month to get stronger. Or [...]

What Are Trigger Points

Subscribe to our mailing list * indicates required Email Address * First Name * Last Name If you are dealing with muscular aches and discomfort you may have trigger points. Trigger points can cause local or referred pain. They can cause headaches, pain in various parts of the body. They may cause pain that can be diagnosed as pinched nerves or herniated discs. This video describes what trigger points are, how they form, and how to treat your own trigger points. Did You Like This Article? Click Here To Sign Up For My Newsletter! Subscribe to our mailing list * indicates required Email Address * First Name * Last Name Matthew Snow is a Licensed Massage Therapist practicing in Greenwich, CT. If you would [...]

Is It Right To Blame Poor Health On Lifestyle Choices?

I read a lot of blogs on health and wellness. And many times I am frustrated with the black and white stances that are taken on preventative medicine. In particular I read this post on the importance of strength training. The author asserts that without outside trauma most people should not have to have hip or knee replacements. What really got me peeved, though, was his strong dislike for sliding stair chairs and that the real problem lies within the bad lifestyle choices and weakness in our society. I have worked in a Pain Management office for eight years now. I have worked with many different pain conditions and with people who can't walk upstairs or sit down without extreme effort. While I do think [...]

Enhance Your Sports Performance with Massage Therapy

Subscribe to our mailing list * indicates required Email Address * First Name * Last Name Whether you are a professional athlete, use exercise to feel good and maintain your health, or use it as a discipline to keep yourself from bad habits, there are many ways massage therapy can help your performance. Massage therapy can improve sports performance by: Maintain the health of the soft tissues (muscles, tendons, and ligaments.) If you maintain the health and function of the soft tissues you can help to prevent pain conditions that force you to stop your exercise. Help reduce muscle soreness from high loads of exercise. This can help keep you fresh and ready for your next workout Can be used to rehabilitate a problem area (muscle strain, ligament sprain, and tendinitis.) This will [...]

Massage Therapy for Upper Back Pain

Your upper back tension may start out as minor. You catch yourself in awkward positions in an eager attempt to stretch out your shoulders. Your friends and co-workers give you funky looks as you try to crack your back or press up against the corner of a wall to get those tight spots. At other times your upper back tension may flare up into really sharp pain as you move your neck or shoulders. Sometimes it might hurt you to breathe which really freaks you out. Worse still, you may experience pain that radiates into the shoulder or into your arm which causes you to seek out medical help. These symptoms may seem out of the blue and unrelated to your normal upper back tension. Muscle strain, tightness, and [...]