Categories
Manual therapy Massage Remedial Massage Sports

Can a massage help you do the splits?

There are many unanswered questions in the universe. How many decimal places are there in Pi? Is there a unified theory of physics? How does a shepherd count his flock without falling asleep? It’s possible we’ll never know. Some questions, however, can be answered. For example, if a therapeutic massage is meant to lengthen and […]

Categories
Remedial Massage

Why you should never stretch your rhomboids (unless you’re in the army)

  Reciprocal inhibition is a muscle reflex that sends an inhibitory motor nerve signal to the muscles opposite those contracting. So, if your chest muscles are short (as they are when your shoulders are rolled around to the front, which is guaranteed if you drive a desk every day), then your upper back muscles (rhomboids, middle […]

Categories
Anatomy and Physiology Experience Fitness Massage Pain Posture Remedial Massage

Why is back pain so common?

The facts of back pain: Back pain is especially common in the developed countries – and it seems that the more developed the country, the more back pain there is.[1][2][3, table 6.24.2] The World Health Organisation (WHO) reported in 2010 that low back pain was the most physically disabling condition in the world, so if you […]

Categories
Anatomy and Physiology Body-Mind Fitness Nutrition Remedial Massage

Why Coordination Is More Important Than Strength

I love working with bodies. They’re amazing. We are evolved to be as efficient as possible at all times, and strength, power and endurance are no different. That’s me, three days ago, on my fourth set of three 50 kg close-grip bench press. It was only on the fifth and final set that I struggled. Up until […]

Categories
Anatomy and Physiology Fitness Injuries Pain Posture Remedial Massage

Pliability – or, how to train with fewer injuries

Don’t stretch before your workouts. Yeah, I said it. Here’s why..

Categories
Anatomy and Physiology Experience Manual therapy Massage Pain Posture Remedial Massage Stress

The most important thing your massage therapist doesn’t know

Do you see a massage therapist for your sore, tight-feeling shoulders? If you do, there is every possibility they are making you feel worse, not better.

Categories
Remedial Massage

Forward Head Posture and How To Fix It

A bloke named Joseph posted this question on one of my videos that got me thinking about forward head posture, also known as “chicken neck.” The short answer to Joseph’s query is the cervical (neck) extensors/erectors – the muscles on the back of your neck, for example, the splenius capitis. There is a little more […]

Categories
Nutrition

Magnesium: Now You See It, Now You Don’t

Magnesium is essential for over 300 cellular functions including the conversion of glucose into usable energy. Find out what it can do for you.