Haddow Massage Therapy
151 Randall Street L6J 1P5 Oakville, ON, Canada

Do you still follow the idea that posture causes dysfunction?

This can be a hard lesson to digest, it can be unpleasant to have to admit that you're incorrect, and be more painful still to learn that you've sustained a vested interest in an incorrect concept or school of thought. It's still well worth it to learn from those mistakes and grow.

I'd like to try to simplify homecare: Incorporating remedial exercises in your practice can be invaluable, and becomes especially relevant in times such as this, where in-person treatments become less viable. This lends itself will to an effective Telehealth approach. If your remex game is already really strong, you may find this redundant, but if you'd like to start incorporating more diverse homecare into your practice this can be a great start.... A couple of takeaways here: 1. There's nothing mystical in remex - no guru will show you the panacea that treats everything. A good remedial exercise either reduces pain or dysfunction, or builds up tolerance to whatever caused it. 2. Sometimes all you really need to modulate is the dosage of range/resistance/rate to find a clinically significant movement for your patient. 3. Don't be afraid to think outside of the box. It doesn't have to be fancy to be effective, it may be something as simple as an isometric contraction at a sub painful range. I hope you all enjoy the content, and please feel free to reach out if you have any questions. https://youtu.be/pkd_iKcdCUg

This can be applied to the massage profession.

*LATERAL REACHES* . . . What am I doing here?... . I'm challenging my end #rangeofmotion in a lateral reach from a seated position. Technically I'm challenging my lateral reaching range of motion in the coronal plane through the trunk, and traction of the scapulocostal complex and #glenohumeral joint. . Why do it? . It's a feel good kind of movement that challenges the coupled movement of side-flexion and rotation through the trunk and traction of the shoulder complex. As such, it can benefit as a warmup for #shouldertraining , #spinalmovement and #thoracicmobility . Clinically, I've found this helpful with patients suffering from things like #midbackpain , #lowbackpain , #costochondritis , #rotatorcuffdisease , etc. . So why started and not standing? . By sitting on my back, I've taken hip and groin contribution out of the equation, allowing me to focus on trunk and shoulder end range mobility. This can be great for people experiencing pain in movement. The exercise can be scaled up by using resistive bands to pull away from the direction of reach, or scaled down by using those same bands to pull in the direction of reach. . . . #shoulderhealth #shoulderpain #pain #shouldermobility #shoulderstrength #rotatorcuff #exercisebasedrehab #scapularstability #massagetherapy #mobility #athlete #remedialexercises #strengthtraining #headaches #thoracicmobility #neck #neckpain See more

Really happy to be able to contribute to Massage & Fitness Magazine, LLC with their article on posterior cruciate ligament injuries! Have a read https://massagefitnessmag.com/massage/pcl-tear/

*GLIDING LUNGES* . . . What are they?... . Just another one of those simple movements that can get a lot done. As I glide forwards, I increase knee flexion at my front leg and hip extension at my back leg. This shortens the hamstring muscles and the sciatic nerve at the front, while stretching the hip flexors ( #psoasmajor #iliacus #iliocapsularis ) on my back leg. . As I glide backwards however, I'm really creating a challenge. For my front leg, as my knee extends, and my hip flexes I'm challenging a true eccentric movement at my hamstring, while also generating some sciatic nerve challenge. For my back leg I'm loading my #quadriceps muscles with moderate to high resistance. . How do I do it? . You'll note that I'm staying relatively neutral in the video. This is great way to progressively challenge movement through my hamstrings - I can explore to end range, I can add resistance, or I can build rate tolerance with a step up or anterior pull. . If I rotate my front leg inwards at the hip it becomes a way to explore progressive #nerveflossing technique and a greater deep gluteal challenge. . When should I do this? . This can be a great way to approach any conditions where movement challenging the deep gluteal structures, or the hamstrings is indicated. . Nerve flossing is most effective as part of an overall physical wellness approach - it's great in combination with strength and mobility training, and wth manual therapy. . As part of a warm up or cool down, mid-to-end range work like this can be fantastic to keep you feeling great, and that's where I really find techniques like this shine. . . . #sciaticnerve #sciaticnerveflossing #sciaticarelief #sciatica #nervepain #massageassessment #massagetherapy #ehlersdanlos #ehlersdanlossyndromerehab #edsawareness #exercisebasedrehab #lowbackpain #lowerkineticchain #nervemobilization #nervemobilisation #deepglutealpain #piriformis #piriformissyndrome #hamstringpain #peronealnerve #tunnelsyndrome See more

There's nothing wrong with admitting the things we don't know. Transparency with our patients contributes to their own personal agency, and can empower them to make informed decisions.

* O'BRIENS (MODIFIED D2 PNF)* . . . What are they?... . PNF stands for proprioceptive neuromuscular facilitation; #pnfpatterns are premeditated movements that deliberately act to challenge all three planes of motion (think an X-Y-Z axis). - In this case, I've modified the movement to the beginning 1/3 of the D2 flexion pattern, and called it an "O'Brien". - Why an O'Brien? - O'Brien's test is an orthopaedic special test used to stress flexion at the shoulder in a cross body range of motion - we often consider it a test of the glenohumeral labrum, but realistically it has more far reaching indications. The above movement is a great way to explore tolerance, and build capacity in cross body movements, and overlaps greatly with the aforementioned test. . Why does this matter? . For those of us who suffer from general joint instability, have a history of shoulder dislocations, or other GH joint dysfunctions, reaching cross body can be a risky endeavor (especially when adding internal rotation). This simple PNF modification allows us to explore safe safety in a potentially vulnerable range of motion, and to build tolerance to resistance and rate change, and to decrease sensitivity/pain. - Pain is complex, and awareness of capacity for movement can be very helpful in addressing pain in movement. - Physical safety in movement further requires: 1. Sufficient available range - your hardware and proprioceptive control over it need to allow the movement. 2. Sufficient strength - can't move if you're not strong enough to overcome resistance. 3. Sufficient acceleration/deceleration (rate) control - you need to be able to accurately control the rate of start and stop of your movement. . . . #shoulderhealth #shoulderpain #pain #shouldermobility #shoulderstrength #rotatorcuff #exercisebasedrehab #scapularstability #massagetherapy #mobility #athlete #remedialexercises #strengthtraining #pain #climbingtraining #pitchingtraining #movementintelligence #movementculture #jointhealth #osteoarthritis #shouldersurgeryrehab #neckpain #necktension #headaches #proprioceptiveneuromuscularfascilitation See more

Proud to be shared by the Registered Massage Therapists' Association of Ontario as a part of massage therapy awareness week! #MTAW #edsawareness #ehlersdanlosawareness #shoulderpain

Laura Allen Clayton on the ethical dilemma inherent in association energy work with healthcare. What are your thoughts? What are your considerations when coming to your own conclusions?

Do you have low back pain? Do you see someone for it? Do they tell you that it's because of your posture...? Which posture, exactly?

*ANATOMY ALERT* . . . What am I seeing?... . . In this fantastic post from @chicagosportsdoc (seriously, thank you for your great content), we're getting a great view straight into the left #acetabulum , or socket of the hip joint. . At the left side of the image is the #pubicbone , at the right side is the superior aspect of the #ischium , and the top is the #ilium with a couple of bony landmarks labeled - namely the #anteriorinferioriliacspine on the left and the #posteriorsuperioriliacspine on the right. . The center of the image shows a very cleanly dissected socket and #labrum . . . Why should MSK therapists care? . . Okay, first off this is just a great shot and I can't stress that enough. It's rare enough that we get to see a clinical anatomical specimen, and rarer still that it's such a clearly shown one. . Secondly, consider the depth of the socket, and imagine the congruency created between that, and the femoral head. This is a distinctly robust #ballandsocket joint. . . So what? . . When we consider our #massageassessment , and #remedialexercises , we need to be aware that factors such as depth and position of the socket, or femoral neck angle or antero/retroversion are highly variable and that variance is incredibly common. Not everyone is anatomically capable of performing a #deepsquat , or a #fabertest . One size does not fit all. . One of the best things we can do with our patients is to be aware of what we don't know, and to take an exploratory rather than dogmatic approach to treatments. . . . #movementexploration #hipmobility #cadaverlab #anatomy #massagerehab #edsawareness #jointhealth #mobilitytraining #painscience #hiphealth #hiphealthy See more

*TRUNK MOBILITY FOR LOW BACK PAIN* . . . What is it?... . Lower back pain is one of the most ubiquitous MSK pathologies, it often presents as a sort of band across the lower back, or with a toothache like sensation above the bum and off to either side. It's believed to be the number 1 cause of such days taken in North America. . What causes it? . As annoying as it is, it's your nervous system sending you a warning - something needs to change. That's it. The cause itself is usually unclear, but can be related to everything from mechanical factors to life stressors (not exactly uncommon these days). - Most people experiencing lower back pain actually have no findings on #mriimages and various other #radiological scans. That's not to say that the pain is imagined, it's just that pain itself is incredibly complex, and often comes from non-mechanical factors. - Often people experience #backspasms when they "tweak" their back moving in an innocuous manner. It doesn't mean that they've injured anything; they've just moved in a way that t disagrees with them. . So what can we do? . Well, let's look at what we don't do... We're often taught to maintain #goodposture (whatever that means) and we don't really explore our capacity for movement available through our trunk. That's a big deal. - We can educate our capacity for movement in terms of range, resistance and rate. - We can gradually explore #novelmovement through simple exercises like the above #movement . This explores #rangeofmotion as we twist the trunk about a long axis. This can be a great way to calm things down during an episode of #lowbackpain , or to explore and build tolerance over time. - That being said, things are difficult right now, and it's worth taking the time to just move and explore. . . . #backpain #backpainrelief #pain #massagetherapy #sijdysfunction #glutetraining #hiphinge #biopsychosocial #massageassessment #mobility #spasm #spinalhealth #pelvictilts #edsawareness #edsrehab

Do you get questions about noisy knees? I've been asked this twice this week now, and it's one of the most common questions I get.

Acknowledging the limits of your knowledge is a critical first step in actually learning. No one can be an expert on everything, and it is important to recognize your limits, and approach topics on which you are not an expert with humility rather than hubris.

Feeling this every time someone tells me about their revolutionary new technique, or tool.

My purpose here is to address something that I feel many people are missing in the healthcare field - the nature of trouble shooting and evidence based practice. I often see clinicians making comments akin to "well, if I follow your evidence based standards I guess I just shouldn't do anything anymore, should I?". I'm here to say that, that is just not the case. ... Our trouble shooting approach to what we do in practice is the "how does this feel?" or "does this duplicate your symptoms?". It's the detective work, or the trial and error. It's the "well, if this works then I guess this is what we're doing". Our evidence based approach to practice reigns in our supposition. When we apply a filter based on evidence, we're limiting our claims to cause and effect on what we can or can't test, and what's backed by our best evidence. It protects us from making spurious claims, and more importantly protects our patients from the consequences of those claims, both in action and in opportunity cost via inaction. Trouble shooting with our patients defines validity in practice for each one of those persons, and evidence based reasoning provides for a safe and accurate experience. I hope this sits well with my readers/viewers, and for those with whom it doesn't I'm curious as to your thoughts. -Rob https://youtu.be/61l5ssTgZvk

*SUPINE GRIP DISLOCATOR* . . . What am I doing here?... . I'm modifying my grip #rangeofmotion in a #shoulderdislocation exercise. When working with a closed kinetic chain (or one rigidly tethered as with a pole) changing the position of one joint can generate great change across all of the other joints in the chain - in this case the #elbow and #glenohumeral joint. . This variation on the movement seems to really challenge my medial elbows, and upper chest, but that will vary from person to person. . Why do it? . It's novel. I'm using this to explore different loads across my anterior shoulder girdle, and medial elbows. One of the things about #ehlersdanlossyndromerehab is that simple movements just won't always do - they're not representative of daily activity, and as such don't really carry over to the novelty of innocuous movement. I can use movements such as this as a warmup for #shouldertraining , #spinalmovement and #thoracicmobility . . . . #shoulderhealth #shoulderpain #pain #shouldermobility #shoulderstrength #rotatorcuff #exercisebasedrehab #scapularstability #massagetherapy #mobility #athlete #remedialexercises #strengthtraining #headaches #thoracicmobility #neck #neckpain See more

*HAND HEALTH* . . . What am I doing here?... . I'm stretching the muscles of my thumb by stacking movement from my hand to my wrist. By starting at the thumb, I can dial in the tension by adding extension at the wrist. . When would I use this? . I've found this to be a great exercise for #selfcare , as well as with a number of my patients. As a #manualtherapist I need to take care of my hands, and while I do a decent amount of #crosstraining and #conditioning I still find that my joints get sore. With my patients I've generally find this most effective for people experiencing #pain with gripping, and opposition through the hand. Activities like #gaming , #climbing , #bjj etc. all involve lots of gripping and opposition and this kind of stretch can offer fantastic relief. . How can I modify this? . Not everyone is built the same - we need to respect our anatomy in movement. One of the reasons I like this self mob, is the ease of modification. As an #eds patient, I have to approach joint mobility exercises with some care - they can feel great, but there's a fine line between #therapeutic and #injurious . . We can reduce the degree we lift the thumb prior to extending the wrist, or we can decrease how aggressively we lift the elbow. . . . #carpal #wristpain #mobility #mobilitytraining #wristmobility #carpaltunnel #edsawareness #massageassessment #massagetherapy #jointhealth #jointpain #pushuppain #handbalancingpain #wristhealth #carpaltunnelsyndrome See more

Where do you stand, why do you stand there, and does the evidence back that stance? If it doesn't, are you willing to concede that you may need to update your narrative?

I don't know if you follow Lars Avemarie, but he's worth having a listen to. His statements are well thought out, and he backs them with current evidence and research. Quite simply, if he's saying something, it's because he's tried his best to ensure it's true and that it fits with a logical narrative. There's a really simple rule I like to consider in these statements, what is the possible good that can come from them vs what is the possible harm?. What is everyone's thoughts on this list?

The number of people I've talked up who have orthotics, and have no idea why they even have them outside of "falling arches" amazes me. I can't recall a single patient I've seen this entire year who has been prescribed orthotics, who could remember ever having been shown exercises for their pain. We can do better than this.

*CROSS-BODY CLAPS* . . . What am I doing here?... . ... Cross body claps... Did you not read the title.... Jeez. I'm laying on my back with my arms outstretched (to about 90 degrees of #abduction ) and then using one to reach across to the other. . Why do it? . It's a feel good kind of movement that challenges rotation through the trunk and protraction of the retroscapular structures. As such, it can benefit as a warmup for #shouldertraining , #spinalmovement and #thoracicmobility . Clinically, I've found this helpful with patients suffering from things like #midbackpain , #lowbackpain , #costochondritis , #rotatorcuffdisease , etc. . So why laying down and not standing? . By laying on my back, I've largely taken spinal load out of the equation, allowing me to focus on rotation from a place of relative relaxation. This can be great for people experiencing pain in movement. The exercise can be scalable for greater shoulder and core resistance, and allows for the use of free weights in challenging the shoulder and core muscles. . . . #shoulderhealth #shoulderpain #pain #shouldermobility #shoulderstrength #rotatorcuff #exercisebasedrehab #scapularstability #massagetherapy #mobility #athlete #remedialexercises #strengthtraining #headaches #thoracicmobility #neck #neckpain See more

This is a great example of speaking to your audience. Something a colleague once told me: "You study a lot and put in a lot of work, but until you can explain so that a layperson can understand, you'll never be an expert"... It sucked to digest at the time, but I really needed to hear it.