Every month I send out a newsletter to subscribers with the most recent evidence and studies on specific body work topics. The newsletter may include summaries and links to studies and articles, videos that provide support information about exercises, new techniques or lectures. There are five main focuses for the newsletters and each newsletter is repeated twice a year. The five main focuses for the newsletters are: Shoulder and rotator cuff, fibromyalgia, fascia and trigger points, upper cross and neck, and business/ethics. If you would like to receive the newsletters with more complete information than is found in the excerpts, please sign up to receive the newsletter on my contact page.

Excerpt:

Tips & Tidbits

1.  The Suboccipital muscles are directly related to the eyes.
2. A study performed at the Department of Rehabilitation Therapy at Yonsei University, Republic of Korea, found the use of a ball-backrest chair reduces the risk of patients with upper crossed syndrome developing muscle soreness or injury related to overuse when working at a VDT.
3. Upper Crossed Syndrome has been described as a trigger for cervicogenic headaches.
4. Active Neck flexion Movement Pattern Test can help to identify patients with weak deep neck flexors.
5. Post-isometric relaxation (PIR) has been found useful in reducing tightness and trigger point pain.
6. Craniocervical flexion activates the deep neck flexors.

Studies, Articles, and Resources

1.  A study published in the Clinical Journal of Pain, Randomized trial of therapeutic massage for chronic neck pain, found that massage is safe and may have clinical benefits for treating chronic neck pain, at least in the short term.
2. A study, Physiological and clinical changes after therapeutic massage of the neck and shoulder compared Therapeutic Massage to Light Touch and Control. The study measured flexor carpi radialis a-motoneurone pool excitability (Hoffmann reflex), electromyography signal amplitude of the upper trapezius during maximal muscle activity, and cervical ROM. Results indicate EMG signal amplitude decreased, cervical ROM increased and a-motoneurone pool excitability decreased after therapeutic massage but not after either light touch or control.
3. Erik Dalton, in his article The Wobbly Wheel Syndrome: Addressing Joint Misalignment, gives a good explanation of how Upper Crossed Syndrome postures can lead to scapular winging and decentation of the glenohumeral joint.
4. A study, titled Does muscle morphology change in chronic neck pain patients? - A systematic review, concluded some evidence is available for changes in muscle morphology.
5. The effect of middle and lower trapezius strength exercises and levator scapulae and upper trapezius stretching exercises in upper crossed syndrome found that middle and lower trapezius strength exercises and levator scapulae and upper trapezius stretching exercises are effective for upper crossed syndrome.
6. Relationship between position sense and reposition errors according to the degree of upper crossed syndrome found that cervical spine position sense declines as postural misalignment becomes more severe.