Relief From Groin Pain

The Pectineus Muscle And Groin Pain 

Author: Julie Donnelly, LMT –The Pain Relief Expert

Editor: Dr. Steve Chaney 

Fall, Glorious Fall

Happy WomanFall is glorious in my book.  I was up in New York a few weeks ago, and the trees were just changing – I was about a week too early for the best colors, but it was still beautiful. The air was crisp and clean, and I loved all the fall decorations.

In Florida we are entering our most wonderful time of year. It’s starting to get cooler, the humidity is going down, and hurricane season is over. Hooray!  It’s great to be outdoors again!

And now that the weather has turned cooler in all parts of the USA, more people are exercising outdoors.  Are you?  Be sure to warm up your muscles before you go running or cycling.

Treating the Muscles That Cause Groin Pain and Impact Walking.

I have a client who had a pain pattern I hadn’t seen before, so it was a challenge to figure out what needs to be treated to get success. We’ll call my client “Bob” although that’s not his real name.

Bob had a shooting pain just to the left of his pubic bone whenever he tried to take a wide step.  As a runner it was definitely causing him issues whenever he tried to take a long step, like while running.

There are so many muscles that are involved in moving your legs so you can walk or run that I won’t be going into them all in this newsletter.  If it’s something you want to explore, please get either of my books by going to https://julstromethod.com/shop/

The Pectineus Muscle And Groin Pain

pectineus muscleThe muscle we’re concerned with today is the Pectineus.

The Pectineus is a small muscle that runs from the front of your pubic bone to the top of the inside of your thigh bone (femur).

It’s one of the large group of muscles called Adductors.  All the Adductors originate on your pubic bone and insert along the length of your femur, all the way to the inside of your knee.  When they contract, they pull your leg in toward midline (like crossing your legs).

However, when they are tight you can’t bring your leg out to the side.  And in the case of the Pectineus, you will have pain and limited range-of-motion moving your leg forward to take a big step.

If you look at the graphic above, consider what would happen if the muscle was so tight that it won’t stretch, and the bone was being pulled forward. You can see that it will pull on both the pubic bone and the top of the thigh bone. The Pectineus muscle is so small that the pain would be in a circle that encompasses both the origination and the insertion of the muscle.

Relief From Groin Pain

That’s what was happening to “Bob.”  First you release the “knots” from the Pectineus muscle, so that it can be stretched. The treatment is easy to explain, but impossible to show in a picture because it just looks like someone lying face down on the floor.  You couldn’t see the ball or where it’s located.

Take the Perfect Ball (or a tennis ball if you don’t have the Perfect Ball) and put it exactly where you see the muscle in the graphic.

Lie down on the floor, on top of the ball.  It should be pressing into the Pectineus muscle and the top of your thigh.  Ease into it because if the Pectineus muscle is tight, it will be really painful.  Just start by pressing gently into the ball and then add more of your body weight as the tension lessens.

To stretch the muscle, you can do an adaptation of the picture to the left.

Stand up straight and put your leg behind you.

For example, if you are stretching your left Pectineus, you can have your left leg back so your right leg is straight and your toe is on the ground, or you can do a more advanced stretch by picking up your leg and putting your foot on a step or a chair.

Be sure to hold on to something secure so you won’t lose your balance and fall.

If you turn your body slightly toward the right, you’ll get an even better stretch.

This treatment and stretch helped “Bob” relieve the pressure and he was able to get back to running again!

Have a happy month, and please feel free to contact me if you have any questions about the instructional program for massage therapists.

Wishing you well,

Julie Donnelly 

These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This information is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.

Relief From Groin Pain

How Can A Thigh Muscle Cause Groin Pain? 

Author: Julie Donnelly, LMT –The Pain Relief Expert

Editor: Dr. Steve Chaney

May Is A Beautiful Time Of Year

It’s MAY!!   Bring on the flowers that came from the April showers!

Of course, here in Florida we have flowers all year, so it’s our friends to the north that are enjoying a glorious array of color during this month.

In some ways, life is beginning to slow down for us.  With most of the snowbirds gone, driving is easier, the stores are less crowded, and we can park at the beach.  The weather is still beautiful so we can still go outside to ride a bike, jog, or play the sports we enjoy.

This Month’s Treatment – The Rectus Femoris Muscle

Rectus Femoris Muscle

Your Rectus Femoris muscle is one of the four quadriceps muscles of your thigh. It is the only one of the quadriceps that originates on the tip of your pelvis.  When your “quads” contract you straighten your leg.

I’ve written several times about the domino-effect of a string of muscles that cause low back pain, hamstring tension, sciatica, and hip/knee pain.  I call the entire treatment the Julstro Protocol.  I’ve even written a book titled The 15 Minute Back Pain Solution that explains the whole thing. This time I would like to talk about how the rectus femoris muscle can cause groin pain.

How Can A Thigh Muscle Cause Groin Pain?

It’s a bit complicated unless we go through the entire cycle of muscles involved in the Julstro Protocol, but that would be redundant.  As a quick refresher, your psoas muscle (anterior side of your lumbar vertebrae) and your iliacus muscle (on the inside of your pelvis bones) both insert into the inside of your thigh bone.  When they are strained (usually from sitting for long periods of time – including cyclists who ride for hours, or when you drive a car long distances) they shorten and rotate your pelvis forward and down.

This forward rotation causes your rectus femoris to be too long to do the job of straightening your leg, so the body ties a knot (a spasm/trigger point) on the outside of your thigh, right where your middle finger touches when you have your arms relaxed at your side.  This knot then holds your pelvis down in the front, and your pelvis rotates – down in the front and up in the back.

This is where the groin problem comes in.  Your pubic bone/groin is being moved backward during this rotation.  The muscles of your inner thigh all originate on your pubic bone, but they are now being overstretched!  As a result, they are putting stress on your pubic bone.

Just like pulling on your hair will hurt your scalp, the muscle pulling on the bone will hurt the bone, in this case, the pubic bone.  You end up with groin pain!

I’ve had people think they had a serious condition (one man was told he had the beginning of prostrate cancer!!) when all that is happening is a muscle strain.  And one that is simple to fix.

We aren’t going through the entire Julstro Protocol, even though that is exactly what I’d do if you came in to the office.  If you’re interested, the entire program is in the book.  However, I do want to show you how to do the treatment for your rectus femoris.

Relief From Groin Pain

Treating Your Rectus Femoris 

Sit in a chair and use either a 12”x1” piece of PVC pipe or a rolling pin (don’t let it roll). Starting at the top of your thigh, slide the pipe down to your knee as shown in the pictures below.  Rolling will prevent you from going deep enough into the muscle, so just slide.

Do your entire thigh, outside-front-inside.  You will likely find big “speed bumps” all along the muscles. The picture on the right is treating your rectus femoris, and the picture on the left is treating your adductor muscles which all originate on your pubic bone.  With the adductors, you may find a painful point closer to your inner knee where several muscles all join together to stabilize your knee joint.

 

                                               

 

 

 

 

 

Press deeply, but always stay within your pain tolerance level – it should “hurt so good,” but never be severe pain.

I always suggest that you do three passes down each line of muscles, and then go back and focus some direct attention on each bump (spasm) to bring blood into the area and release the knotted muscle fibers.

Wishing you well,

Julie Donnelly 

These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This information is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.

Relief From Hip And Knee Pain

A Common Cause For Pains From Hip To Knee 

Author: Julie Donnelly, LMT –The Pain Relief Expert

Editor: Dr. Steve Chaney

 Happy April! Happy Spring!

spring flowersOne of the best parts of April (other than all the beautiful flowers) is that the weather is great in both the North and the South.  Up north, you are warming up from the bitter cold of winter, and here in the south, we still have low humidity and temps are in the 70’s most of the time.  Perfect!

April Fool’s Day is a fun “holiday” that I loved when I was a child.  It was always a challenge to catch my Mom, but I’m sure she was pretending most of the time when I told her silly things.  I wonder if kids still play jokes on their friends’ and family?

This year the Christian Easter Holiday is on April 4th, and the Jewish Last Day of Passover is also on April 4th.  So, lots of family gatherings are happening everywhere.  And there are lots of ridiculous holidays, like International Pillow Fight Day (April 3rd) and National Grilled Cheese Sandwich Day (April 12th).  What will they think of next!!

Do you like to garden?  Now is the perfect time to get your gardens planted so you’ll have home grown veggies for the entire summer.  For me, it’s also a great time to do some spring cleaning and get the house in order before the summer closes all the windows and the air conditioning becomes our indoor relief.

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Happy, Happy News!

As you know from previous newsletters, I did a TEDx talk on December 6, 2020.  I was so excited. Then the Powers-That-Be decided to decline putting it on YouTube because I dared to question why muscles aren’t ever thought about when searching for the cause of pain.

I jumped through a bunch of hoops, sending peer-reviewed medical journal articles that proved that trigger points are real, and they are known in the medical world.  I had to send my CV to prove that I had background that qualified me to ask the question, and a bunch of other documents for them to ponder.

The good news is, I’ve finally been approved! 

You can either go to YouTube and put in “Julie Donnelly, Pain” so you can also see the 20+ pain explanation videos I’ve done, or you can click on this link: The Pain Question No One is Asking! It’s really important to please Like it, and then Share it with as many people as possible. The parent company, TED, will invite me back to speak if I get enough Likes and Shares.  My next talk would be to explain to people why muscles in your thigh and hip cause low back pain.  People are suffering, and they are looking at the wrong area for relief.  Your low back isn’t really the source of low back pain.

I’m communicating with an animated graphics expert to build a short video that visually explains the “why” and “which” of the muscles that cause low back pain.  It could make a huge difference for millions of people.

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A Common Cause For Pains From Hip To Knee

There are times when I am led to sharing a treatment because I had a run of clients all suffering from the same source muscle.  That is what happened for this newsletter.  In March I had at least six clients come to my office, all having different symptoms, but all stemming from the same source.

My clients complained of hip pain, thigh pain, knee pain, and pain down the outside of the lower leg.

In this case it was the Tensor Fascia Lata and two of the three Gluteal muscles: Medius, Minimus. The Gluteus Medius is directly over the Gluteus Minimus, so treating one will actually treat both.  And the Tensor Fascia Lata is right next to both these muscles.

All these muscles insert into the same area of the hip, and for different reasons, they all cause hip pain.  Also, each muscle refers pain to a different location, so you think you have a problem in these referred pain locations, but they are all coming from your hip.

This is one of the many times when working on one area will solve many different problems.

Take a look at these Trigger Point charts:

To read the charts, look at the shaded area (which shows where pain is felt) and look for the muscle name in the same color.  Then follow the arrow to the same-colored round circles with “x”. This is the trigger point (spasm) that is the source of that pain pattern.

You’ll notice that the spasm (trigger point) for the purple pain pattern is in the Gluteus Minimus at the outside of the hip, but the pain pattern goes to the outside of the thigh, the knee, and all the way down to the ankle.

The spasms for the Tensor Fascia Lata is in the same place on the hip, but the pain pattern is the hip, the thigh, and the outside of the knee.

In each of these cases the pain is being felt along the insertion points for the muscles.

Relief From Hip And Knee Pain

To relieve the muscle spasms that are causing the problem, use my “Perfect Ball” (You can use a baseball or tennis ball, but my Perfect Ball is just the right size and hardness for the job). Then, either lie on the floor or stand up and lean into a wall as shown in the two photos below.  Lean into the ball, easing your pressure onto the ball gradually.  As the muscle releases it will hurt less and less.

Then you can rotate your body, so the ball is pressing into the front of your hip or rotating so the ball is rolling toward the back of your body.  You will likely find multiple painful tender spots.  Each spot is a spasm that is putting pressure on your bones or is pulling on the tendon (called the IlioTibial Band – ITB) that is putting pressure onto your lateral knee joint. 

You can also treat these muscles by using a length of 1” PVC pipe as shown in the picture on the left.

 

This picture was shared with me by an athlete. An avid runner, she couldn’t get down on the ground, nor was there a wall that she could press into, but using the pipe and a street sign pole, she was still able to release the tight muscles that were preventing her from running.

 

This may not be perfect for you, but if you are an athlete, it could be just what you need when you’re unable to treat yourself as shown above.

You REALLY CAN Treat Yourself 

Since 1989 I have been working with people who are experiencing severe &/or chronic pain.  During those years I’ve managed to figure out why they are in pain, and how they can stop the pain by treating themselves.

It is wonderful when someone can come into my office and I can work directly with them, but I’ve found that the key is the self-treatments I teach them to do at home.  With the self-treatments you can release the tension multiple times every day, retraining your muscles to stay relaxed.

Thousands of people have been able to stop pain fast because they have followed the simple techniques I teach.

You can stop pain fast too!  Even chronic pain releases when you treat the source and not just the symptom! 

To enable you to know where to treat, and how to treat the muscles that cause pain, I’ve produced several “How To” books and DVD programs.

Visit my shopping cart to see the full line of pain-relief products that will help you overcome:

  • Shoulder pain
  • Neck pain
  • Carpal tunnel symptoms
  • Trigger finger
  • Low back pain
  • Hip pain
  • Sciatica
  • Knee Pain
  • Plantar Fasciitis

In fact, you can get relief for pains from your head to your feet!

Wishing you well,

Julie Donnelly 

These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This information is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease. 

About The Author

Julie Donnelly

 

Julie Donnelly has been a licensed massage therapist since 1989, specializing in the treatment of chronic pain and sports injuries. She is the author of several books including Treat Yourself to Pain-Free Living, The Pain-Free Athlete, and The 15 Minute Back Pain Solution. She is also often chosen to speak at national conventions, medical schools, and health facilities nationwide.

Julie has also developed a proven self-treatment program for the symptoms of carpal tunnel syndrome.

 

 

A Novel Treatment For Shoulder Pain

My Mission Is To Help You Live Pain-Free 

Author: Julie Donnelly, LMT –The Pain Relief Expert

Editor: Dr. Steve Chaney

Happy Valentine’s Day

Healthy HeartWhen I lived up north, February was the worst month of the winter – cold, gloomy, and while it’s only 28 days long, it seemed endless.  If you’re in the cold weather, I hope you stay nice and warm, and that you also find some fun outdoor activities to help this month end quickly.

Here in Florida, this is one of our best months!  No humidity, no rain, no bugs, and lots of sunshine.  We love February!

February is also thought of as a month to show love for another (it should be every month, but we’ll leave that alone for now).  Lovers go out to special dinners, sometimes buying expensive gifts or flowers. And many people send sweet cards to friends and family.

But the actual origination of Valentine’s Day isn’t such a loving story.  The day is named after St. Valentine, a Christian martyr who was executed in ancient Rome on February 14th in the 3rd century A.D. There was also a pagan ritual that had to do with fertility, and where women put their names into an urn for bachelors to pick from. Somehow the two merged over the years and brought St. Valentine’s Day into the more romantic sphere.

In any case, it’s now a multi billion dollar business that has nothing to do with anything religious but can be fun for loving couples to celebrate.

A Letter From A Reader

Subclavius MuscleThis past week I received an email from a reader of this newsletter.  I’ve asked people to send me a message if they have any aches or pains that they would like for me to discuss.  This is a topic I’ve never discussed before, and since it’s causing this woman distress, I decided it’s the perfect discussion for the month.

Suzie was feeling pain across the front of her shoulder, and she had painful points along the bottom of her clavicle (collarbone).  The subclavius muscle is a short muscle that originates on your 1st rib and inserts into the underside of your clavicle. You can look at it on Wikipedia (https://bit.ly/2KV7lT8) if you’d like to see how tiny it is and where to find it when you are self-treating for pain.

As shown in the graphic above, it is interesting to think that such a small muscle can cause so much pain in the front of your shoulder, and down your biceps to your inner elbow.  Even more interesting is that most people aren’t aware of this muscle, so they search other places when they are feeling pain across the front of their shoulder.  As a result, they don’t get relief, and they may even turn to pain medications.

A Novel Treatment For Shoulder Pain

If your pain starts in the front of your shoulder and radiates down your bicep, the pain may be caused by your subclavius muscle. If, you are in luck. The treatment for this muscle is so simple you can do it any place and at any time.Treatment For Subclavius Muscle Pain

Simply press your fingertips as shown in this picture.  If that exact point isn’t painful, move your fingertips a bit to one side or the other.

It will probably feel like a sharp pain, and you may even feel the tiny bump that is caused by the spasm.

Hold the pressure for a minute or so….

Release the pressure (but don’t move your finger off the point)…

Press deeply again and hold.

Do this several times until it doesn’t hurt to press on the point.

I have been working with people suffering from chronic pain and/or sports injuries since 1989. One thing I have found is that while I can find and successfully treat the muscles causing pain when people come into my office, it’s vital for them to continue their treatment at home.

A phenomenon called “muscle memory” will cause the muscle to begin to shorten as soon as we finish our therapy session.  Left untreated the muscle will tighten again in as short as 2-3 days, and you’ll have pain again.  However, if you self-treat the muscle you will continue to bring it back to its proper length, and ultimately it will stay, and the pain will be eliminated

Wishing you well,

Julie Donnelly 

These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This information is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.

Relief From Big Toe Pain

Merry Christmas!

Christmas GiftI love the Christmas season. The colors, the smells, the sounds of music. I’m a vegan so turkey isn’t happening for me, but the array of deliciously prepared vegetables, and the variety of desserts always make me excited for this month to get underway!

We give so much to others, especially during this season, that I want to remind you to take care of yourself too.  Like they say on the airplane, ”Put on your own oxygen mask first!”  One of the best gifts you can give to those you love, is a healthy and happy you!

Eliminate the aches and pains that can make you feel grumpy, and if you have someone who could benefit from eliminating pain, please feel free to send them my way.  That includes people who don’t live near me. Contact me (https://julstromethod.com/product/pain-relief-training-zoom-us/) and we can meet on Zoom and work together to find and stop your pain. I’ll be happy to help you.

I hope you have a wonderful, blessed Christmas!

Muscles Can Cause Bunion & Big Toe Pain

Foot with toe painYour foot and toes are all moved by muscles in your lower leg. When these muscles are tight you may have plantar fasciitis (arch pain), and other foot pains, including pain in your big toe. You may even have throbbing pain in the bunion area of your big toe.

This is a bit too complicated to explain here in this newsletter, but basically the muscles are pulling the long bone (tarsal) of the big toe, so it starts to move out. Other muscles are pulling on your toes, causing your big toe to move in toward the other toes. The bone hurts, especially when you are wearing closed shoes that put pressure on the bone.

In other newsletters I’ve discussed the muscles of your lower leg, and this would be a good time to work on each of these muscles. After you have released any tension in your lower leg muscles, you can treat your big toe directly.

Relief From Big Toe Pain

Treatment For Big Toe PainThis takes a bit of explaining, but I think if you do the treatment as I’m explaining it, you’ll be able to get it done. I’m going to demonstrate on your left foot, reverse the directions if your pain is in your right foot.

Press your left thumb into your arch muscle just below your bunion bone (actually, the head of the first tarsal bone).

Put your right pointer finger between your big toe and second toe. Pull your big toe toward you (away from the other toes)

Push your right thumb directly into the bunion bone and press in deeply.

Basically, you are trying to move the bones back into alignment.

You can also buy a toe-spreader that will hold your big toe straight. I suggest you wear it while you are sleeping.

You probably won’t get it to go completely straight, but having taught this to many people after figuring it out on my own sore left bunion, I can tell you that it works.

This is a simple self-treatment, but it can really give you a great deal of relief!

Wishing You Well,

Julie Donnelly

These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This information is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.

Nagging Pain?

Have you “tried everything” to stop nagging pain?
Did you know that chronic pain can be caused by tight muscles knotting up and pulling your joints out of alignment?
Do you do the same movements over and over, causing a strain on your joints and repetitive strain injury?
Would you like to discover how to release tight muscles that cause chronic pain?

Julie Donnelly, LMT, has been specializing in the treatment of chronic pain and sports injuries since 1989. She has successfully worked with thousands of clients, both in her office and virtually on Zoom. Based on the techniques she has created and demonstrates in her books including Treat Yourself to Pain-Free Living, Julie will show you how to find and self-treat the muscle knots that keep you in pain.
It’s almost like visiting with Julie at her office, but without all the time and expense of traveling! And, it’s as simple as 1-2-3.

1 – Send Julie an email (Julie@JulieDonnelly.com) explaining your area of pain
2 – Julie will come up with a treatment plan for your specific problem(s)
3 – Meet with Julie on Zoom and she’ll show you how to do each of the techniques that will release the tight muscles that are causing you pain!

AND…..as a special bonus, Julie will send you a booklet that includes pictures of what she has just shown you during your private session.

YES! I want to learn how I can Stop Pain FAST!

Click Here to Stop Pain Fast

Relief From Headache Pain

Could A Tight Muscle Cause Your Headaches?

Author: Julie Donnelly, LMT –The Pain Relief Expert

Editor: Dr. Steve Chaney

Happy Thanksgiving!

Thanksgiving TurkeyNovember is one of my favorite months because it’s the beginning of the holiday season. There are so many holidays during these next two months, all of them joyful. The colors of the season are vibrant, the smells of delicious foods cooking are embedded in our minds, and spending time with our loved ones warms our hearts.

I come from New York and I love the beautiful changing of the leaves that happens in October, and then the way winter starts to ease into our days. If you come from any of the northern states, you probably have these same memories. Children jumping into huge piles of leaves and finally getting to wear my favorite sweaters and jackets again.

I can still smell the smoke lingering in the air as homes were warmed with fireplaces and cast-iron stoves. Shopping for that special gift for our family and friends, the Salvation Army bell-ringing volunteers, hot apple cider…the memories go on and on.

If you grew up in a warm weather State, you have different memories that bring joy to your heart. It is exciting to have this beautiful season starting again!

2020 is different than years before, challenging us to redesign the holidays. We all have our stories of how we’re being impacted by COVID19. I think this is a perfect time to focus our minds on all the things for which we are grateful. Show kindness and appreciation to everyone around us, people need it more than ever before. Count your blessings!

My prayer is that however you may be affected by all that is happening in the USA, that you will have a beautiful, happy, and healthy holiday season.

I Have A TEDx Talk Coming Up

If you have been to the office lately, you probably know I was chosen to do a TEDx talk.  My title is “The Pain Question No One is Asking.”

Headache PainPeople are suffering, yet a huge cause of pain is constantly overlooked!

The principle thought is, why isn’t anyone looking at muscles as a cause of pain during the diagnosis process.  My TEDx talk is only 9 minutes long, short and to the point.

I am most excited that my talk will bring this information to the awareness of people who are searching for answers to the cause of their pain.

It was originally scheduled for May 15th (which was also my birthday, so what a present!), but COVID19 prevented that from happening.  Then it was scheduled for November 20th, and it was still going to be live.  Oh well…COVID19 prevented that too!

So, it was finally decided to have each presenter do a video and submit it to the Team. There is going to be a two-day private presentation for everyone who has bought a ticket to the event. Ticket prices start at $17 for general admission, or $77 to be able to enter the VIP room and meet with each presenter. There are 20 presenters, with topics that range from muscles to health, from animal rights to the environment, and lots of other interesting topics.

If you would be interested in joining us, it will be held on Dec. 5th & 6th, on a Zoom “stage.” Just contact me (Phone: (919) 886-1861; Email: info@JulstroMethod.com) and I will make the arrangements for you to receive a ticket to the event.

The Muscle Of The Day

cruise shipBack when I worked on the cruise ship, which was my first job after getting my massage license in 1989, I studied what I called “the muscle of the day.”  Every day I would pick one muscle to really study.  Before the passengers would start coming in, I would list the name, location, action, origin point and insertion point of just one muscle.

I would give what I call “fluff and buff” to the entire body, except for the muscle of the day.  On that muscle I would go slow, a bit deeper, and when I found something that didn’t feel like the rest of the muscle, I would ask my clients for feedback.  They would tell me if it hurt or not, and where they were feeling it.

I worked on over 3000 people while I was on the ship (in just one year!) and by the time I got off the ship I was really confident that I knew what “hurt” feels like, and what “doesn’t hurt” feels like.  It is the foundation of my therapy practice.

My clients always are interested when I explain why a particular muscle is causing their pain.

With that said, I want to share a “muscle of the month” with you.  Each month I will take one muscle and we will talk about it for a few minutes.  I’m not trying to make you a muscular therapist, just give you a little info that will make sense when you have a painful condition.

Could A Tight Muscle Cause Your Headaches?

This month I want to share the #1 muscle that causes headache pain. When this muscle is tight it can cause headaches that are so severe that they are sometimes called migraines, and some people end up on strong medications to mask the pain.

Levator Scapulae MuscleThe Levator Scapulae originates on your first four cervical vertebrae and inserts into the inside/top of your shoulder blade.

As you see in the graphic the first two vertebrae have a special setup and it’s these two vertebrae that are causing the problem.

C1 is called “the Atlas” because Atlas held up the world.  C1 holds up your skull.

C2 is called “the Axis” because a piece of bone (called the Dens) pokes up through the center of C1. Your skull sits on this point and is the reason you can tip your head forward and back, as well as side to side.

Your brain goes into your spinal cord and the nerves travel through the center of the vertebrae and then go out to innervate every cell in the body from your head to your feet.

The problem is, when the Levator Scapulae gets tight (usually from a repetitive movement, such as holding your shoulders up when you are stressed) it pulls your cervical vertebrae to the side and down.  This causes the opposite side of the bone to press into your spinal cord, right at the base of your brain.

When someone comes into my office and says they get right-sided pain, the odds are the muscle tension is coming from the left side of the body.  As you release the tight muscle fibers, the vertebrae frequently realign by themselves (or you can go to a chiropractor) and the pressure is off your spinal cord.

Relief From Headache Pain

muscle-treatment

 

 

I have already shown you one method for treating this muscle by putting a ball on your shoulder and then leaving forward and pressing into the corner of a wall.

 

 

 

Treatment-For-Tight-Shoulder-Muscle-1

 

 

Here is another method. Put your opposite thumb into the hollow in the front of your shoulder, as shown in this picture

 

 

 

 

Treatment-For-Tight-Shoulder-Muscle-2Flip your four fingers over your shoulder. Be sure to go back far enough that you can grip a thick piece of muscle in between your thumb and fingers.

Have your elbow raised so it is horizontal to the floor.  It helps if you put your opposite hand under your elbow to hold it up.

Next, squeeze hard, really gripping the thick muscle.

Bring your elbow down close to your body.  Hold for 15-30 seconds.

At the end, continue squeezing and drop your head in the opposite direction so you are stretching the muscle.

 

Last Thoughts…

I really love helping my clients get better, so I would appreciate it if you would tell others about my work, and about my books/DVD’s etc.  My goal with everyone is to stop the pain that brought to me in the first place, and have you return each month for a tune-up until you are permanently pain free.   Depending on your situation this could take one session or multiple sessions, but I believe we can accomplish this goal.

If you have family or friends who aren’t local to Sarasota, please let them know that I do Zoom consultations for the same price as an office visit.  We talk about what is happening and then I can show them how to self-treat. With the both of us on Zoom, I can watch and make sure they are doing the techniques correctly.  It works really well. To date I have worked with people all over the world, including Australia, Switzerland, Canada, Egypt, and lots of other places.

To book a virtual Zoom consultation, just go to https://julstromethod.com/product/pain-relief-training-zoom-us/.

If you have anything you’d like me to discuss, please email me at Julie@JulieDonnelly.com

Wishing you well,

Julie Donnelly 

These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This information is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.

Recovering From A Torn Meniscus

Regain Full Flexibility And Get Back To The Sports You Love

Author: Julie Donnelly, LMT –The Pain Relief Expert

Editor: Dr. Steve Chaney

Happy WomanI love Florida, but I must say I really miss the changing of the leaves like I enjoyed when I lived in New York.  October was magical!  The trees painting a picture of red, gold, maroon, yellow, and green, and the smells that are so familiar to anyone who has ever lived in the north.

Fires burning to heat chilly homes, apple cider, baking pies and cookies because we could get back into the kitchen as the weather cooled down.  And of course, Halloween.

The world has changed so much.  Remember how we could go out in costume with our friends, no adults needed, and go from door to door, shouting “Trick or Treat!”  We’d come home with a pillowcase (or plastic pumpkin) filled with candy.  Such sweet memories..

What Is A Torn Meniscus?

Knee JointOne of my clients asked me to talk about a medial meniscus tear, and that is a topic that is “near and dear to me” because I had a severed medial meniscus from a ski accident.

The meniscus is something that many people aren’t familiar with, unless they have had a meniscus tear, then you definitely know all about it.  It hurts!

All of the major joints are complicated with many ligaments and other structures, each having an important function.

The knee joint is straightforward.

The lateral (outside of knee joint) and medial (inside of knee joint) meniscus cushion the femur (thigh) bone and tibia (shin bone) so your knee can bend and straighten without wearing down the bone.

Ligaments that surround the knee joint hold the bones together and form a tight, secure joint.

How Does A Meniscus Tear?

MeniscusTrauma to the knee joint, especially a twisting movement, will tear the meniscus.

In 1995 I had a ski accident where I severed the medial meniscus, but I didn’t have insurance at the time. I paid the $1000 for an MRI to find out why my knee was in so much pain, and why my knee felt like it was going to totally separate.

It turned out that I not only severed my left medial meniscus, I also tore my anterior cruciate ligament (ACL), The ACL holds your bones together from front to back. When this tore, I felt like whenever stepped down my upper leg still kept going forward.  It was a scary feeling, I felt like my leg was going to come apart at my knee. Yikes!

Recovering From A Torn Meniscus

I need to remind you that I am not a doctor, nor do I have medical training to advise you about what to do.  This message isn’t meant to replace your physician’s advice.

When I found myself with a severed medial meniscus and a torn ACL, and I didn’t have medical insurance, I didn’t know what to do!  Fortunately, I was working along with Zev Cohen, MD.  My therapy practice was in Dr Cohen’s office, and he would often ask me to see one of his patients who were in pain when he knew it wasn’t caused by any systemic or visceral problems.  I totally respected Dr. Cohen because he truly wanted his patients to get better, even if it meant he was going to bring in a massage therapist!

As a result, when Dr. Cohen told me that my meniscus would heal with scar tissue, I believed him. And it worked!  The only glitch was the scar tissue made my knee stiff, so I started to do a movement that I believed would stretch the scar tissue enough so I could bend my knee properly. And that worked too!

Regain Full Flexibility And Get Back To The Sports You Love

A Stretch for AFTER Your Meniscus Heals 

Caution: Do Not do this stretch until your knee is completely healed. 

Stretch For Stiff KneeStand with your feet directly under your hips. Hold on to a closed door, being sure you’re on the side of the door that pushes out so you are pulling it shut as you do the stretch.

While keeping your knees straight up from your ankle, squat down, stopping when you start to feel pain in your knee.  Stay there, and then go just a little bit further.  Don’t push, it’s better to go slowly so your muscles stretch safely.  Scar tissue is really dense, it doesn’t stretch easily (if at all) so you need to slowly allow the scar tissue to loosen.

I can’t guarantee that this will work for you but let me tell you what happened to me.  I was doing this stretch multiple times a day, stopping when it would be too painful – or when I just ran out of time. Then one day – success!

One day I was squatting down and suddenly something released and I ended up sitting on the floor with my knees totally bent!

Since then I’ve been able to get back to skiing, and I have ZERO pain!

Wishing you well,

Julie Donnelly 

These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This information is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.

Which Muscles Are Affected By Stress?

It’s Time For The Beach

Beach At SunsetThis is a perfect time to go to the beach – August is hot and humid, and the water feels so refreshing.  Of course, we now need to socially distance ourselves from each other, but for those of us in Florida that is possible when we have so many beautiful beaches close to our homes.

Most of us are sticking close to home, and summer sure isn’t what it has been in years past. The baseball season was on – then off – and as of right now, who knows!  Most of the people I know are getting through this okay, I hope you are too!

Which Muscles Are Affected By Stress?

We are living in stressful times, and chronic stress can cause your muscles to tighten. When that happens, it can lead to pain in unexpected places. When you visit your doctor, they may recommend drugs or aggressive treatments.

Unfortunately, many doctors are unaware tight muscles can be the real cause of your pain. They don’t know that there are simple treatments that can release your tight muscles and relieve the pain – without resorting to drugs.

This week I will address the top 3 muscles that are affected by chronic stress and how to treat those muscles when they cause you pain.

Levator Scapulae MuscleLevator Scapulae: This is, in my opinion, the #1 muscle that gets involved when we are under stress.  The nickname for the Levator Scapulae is “the shrug muscle” because when it contracts normally you lift your shoulders up….you shrug.

The problem is, the muscle originates on your first four cervical vertebrae, and inserts into your shoulder blade. When you are under stress it is common for your shoulders to lift up. The muscle is held tightly, and a phenomenon called “muscle memory” keeps the muscle in the shortened position. Once the levator scapulae is “stuck” in a  shortened position, when you either bend your neck to the side (bringing your ear closer to your shoulder), or you lift something heavy with your arm, pulling your shoulder down, it pulls on your cervical vertebrae.

This causes your cervical vertebrae to move and puts pressure on your spinal cord right at the base of your brain. The Levator Scapulae has been proven, in my clinical practice, to be the #1 reason for severe headaches. When it gets tight it will pull the insertions at your neck and pull them to the side and down. This causes the bones to press into your spinal cord, right at the base of your brain, and you get a severe headache!

Last month I shared self-treatment techniques to release the tightness in your Levator Scapulae muscles and relieve your tension headaches. If you are suffering from tension headaches, these techniques can work wonders.

Intercostals: The Intercostal muscles are between each rib.  When you breath in, they expand, and when they contract, you breath out.  The problem is, when you are under stress you may hold your breath longer than normal, and muscle memory sets in, and they stay in the shortened position.

As this happens you lose the ability to take a good, deep breath.  This lessens the amount of oxygen that is in your blood and that goes out to your cells.  This can cause problems all over your body.

The solution to this problem is deep breathing exercises. A friend of mine, Tara Clancy, is an expert on breathing and how it affects your entire body.  You can check her out at http://www.o2tara.org.

Masseter MuscleMasseter: Do you clench your teeth when you are under stress?  The muscle that causes you to clench your teeth is called the masseter muscle.  If you put your fingertips onto your cheeks, pressing into your back teeth you are on your masseter muscle. Clench your teeth, you will feel the muscle bulge as it contracts.

The masseter muscle (circled on graphic) is the muscle that contracts to enable you to chew your food.  Normally, as you chew the muscle shortens, and then lengthens as you put more food into your mouth.  However, if you are under chronic stress, and your teeth stay clenched, your masseter will shorten from muscle memory and put a strain on your jaw joint.  This is the cause of a condition called TMJ.

TMJ is a condition where your jawbone rubs, or “clicks,” over the bone that is just in front of your ear. It is painful, and over time it will damage the bones. When you are under stress and constantly clenching your teeth, you are shortening your masseter muscle. The now-shorter muscle prevents you from opening your jaw completely, for example, when you yawn. As you are trying to yawn your jaw flips over the bone, and it hurts.

Self-Treatment For TMJ

Several years ago, I had a client who had such tight masseter muscles that a dental surgeon was going to sever them so she could open her mouth.  This is a terrible solution because it would mean her mouth would hang open for the rest of her life. Fortunately for this client she had to get medical approval before she could have the surgery.  When Dr. Cohen (the doctor I worked with) felt her masseter muscles, he refused to sign the permission form. He told her that she had to see me first, and fortunately I was there at the time.  It took just 30 minutes for me to release the spasms and teach her how to do the treatment.  At the end of the session she was pressing into both masseter muscles and opening her mouth.  She did it easily and without pain!  She started to cry because she came within one day of having this unnecessary surgery. Her life was changed by just a simple self-treatment!

tmj pain treatment reliefPlace your fingers as shown in the picture to the left.  Clench your teeth so you can feel the muscles bulge.

Apply deep pressure on just one side for 5 seconds. Then release that pressure and apply deep pressure to the opposite side for 5 seconds. Go back and forth until it doesn’t hurt anymore.  Then find a different “hot spot,” and repeat.  Continue doing this until you can’t find any more tender points on your muscle and jaw.

To stretch the masseter muscle just press deeply into the original point on the muscle and slowly open your mouth wide.

Wishing you well,

Julie Donnelly 

These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This information is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.

Is Stress Causing My Headaches?

“It’s Summertime, and the Living Is…Stressful”

headacheIt’s hot out, the birds are chirping, the air is pretty still, and the rains are often torrential.  It’s summer and under normal circumstances things slow down as people take vacations or just go to sit at the beach or pool.  Normally, we would be singing that old favorite, “It’s summertime and the living is easy”.

But this year is different! This summer’s song could be, “It’s summertime and the living is stressful.

We’ve all been affected by COVID19 in some manner, life is more complicated for most of us, and stress-levels have increased for a lot of people. Since stress often causes headache pain, today’s newsletter is going to focus on relieving stress headaches.

Stress Can Tighten Your Muscles

Constant stress can tie your muscles into knots.   It is important to do things to relieve the stress that the current events are placing on your body.  Maybe you aren’t going to the gym, but you can go out for a long, fast walk.  You could even bring some light hand weights and be pumping your arms as you walk.  If you have access to a pool, swimming is a great way to get exercise without stressing the body – with social distancing, of course.

There are several muscles that cause headaches. Unfortunately, it’s rare that anyone in the medical field will check out muscles while looking for the source of headache pain.

Is Stress Causing My Headaches?

As I said above, chronic stress can cause your muscles to tighten, and tight muscles can cause headaches. I will discuss two of the main offenders today.

Treating Temporalis MuscleOne muscle that causes headaches is called the Temporalis This muscle is the shape of a fan and is at the temples of your skull, behind your eyes and above your ears.  It not only causes headaches. It also causes pain into your top teeth!

To treat your Temporalis muscle, take your three middle fingers and press on the muscle as shown in the picture to the left.

Find the tender point, only pressing enough to feel it, but not so much that you want to faint. Hold the pressure for a minute and then move your fingers slightly up and down, without sliding on your skin.

Release the pressure for about 15 seconds and repeat this sequence until the pain is gone.

Do this treatment on both sides of your skull.  Stay still on any “hot spots” as they are the actual spasm that is causing the problem. You’ll be surprised at how the pain and tenderness will diminish as you continue to do the whole treatment for just a few minutes.

Levator Scapulae MuscleAnother key headache muscle is the Levator Scapulae, a muscle that originates on your cervical vertebrae and inserts into your shoulder blade.  When this muscle is in spasm it will pull your cervical vertebrae to the side and down and press the bone into your spinal cord at the base of your brain.  

Looking at how the levator scapulae muscle attaches to the vertebrae in your neck will explain why it is an important cause of stress headaches.

The levator scapulae originates on the top four cervical vertebrae (see small box) and inserts into the top of your shoulder blade.  When the muscle contracts normally you lift up your shoulders. The nickname for this muscle is “the shrug muscle” because of its action.

However, when it gets tight it will pull the insertions at your neck to the side and down. This causes the bones to press into your spinal cord, right at the base of your brain, and you get a severe headache!

Fortunately, you can treat the levator scapulae muscle, release the tension on the cervical vertebrae, and by treating the muscles in the back of your neck that become involved as the vertebrae move, you can stop the headache. It usually takes a while, maybe even two days. I wish I could tell you it’s immediate, but the important thing is you can stop the pain.

If you have suffered from headaches and your doctor has tested you to be sure it isn’t something more serious, then you’ll be pleased with the results of the Julstro™ self-treatments.

Relief From Stress Headaches Caused By A Tight Levator Scapula Muscle

Let me take you through the treatment step by step.

Relaxing Levator Scapulae MuscleStep 1: Relaxing the Spasms in Your Shoulders 

 You start by relaxing the spasms in your shoulders. While it can be awkward at first, you can very effectively treat your levator scapulae muscle by using a ball and pressing into the corner of a wall.

Put the Julstro Perfect ball directly on the top of your shoulder. Then lean straight into the corner of a wall.

Move slightly until you feel the pressure being focused on the knot at the top of your shoulder.

This treatment is for both your levator scapulae muscle and your trapezius muscle.

Step 2: Treating Your Levator Scapulae Muscle. 

Once you have loosened up the spasms in your shoulders, continue working on the levator scapulae muscle. You can also treat both by squeezing them with your fingers. We’ll demonstrate by treating your right shoulder. Naturally, you can do the same treatment on the opposite shoulder.

Bend your left arm and support you elbow with your right hand. Put your left three middle fingers on your right Treating Levator Scapulae Muscle shoulder at the point where the shoulder and neck meet. It helps if you place it so your thumb and pointer finger are close to your neck with the middle finger being the working finger right on the junction, just a bit toward the back. Your four fingers should be crooked at each joint of the hand and your palm should be flat against your body.

Staying in the same spot, relax your arm with your elbow close to the middle of your chest. In this position you will probably have your middle finger directly on the spasm point. All the strength from this move is coming from your upper arm, not from your fingers. To do that you will simply make sure that your middle finger is on the sore spot and then pull your elbow down toward the floor. Your finger will be like a hook that presses into the spasm.

If you feel your fingers getting tired, you are using your hand to give strength and not your arm. Once you feel the difference, it will be easy to do again. After you have found the trigger point and you are adding pressure to it, continue pressing into the knot.

Treating Levator Scapulae Muscle 2Next, keep your hand in the same spot, still pressing on the knot. Take your thumb, flip over onto the front of your shoulder, and push it straight into the muscle. This will move your thumb to a place that will now cause you to be pinching the knot.

You’ll feel if you have it right. You should have a fairly thick piece of muscle between the middle finger and the thumb. You can inch your three middle fingers back a bit if you find you aren’t gripping the entire thickness of the muscle.

If all you are feeling is skin between your fingertips, go back and try again. When you know you have a thick piece of muscle, grip tightly and release. Do this four times for 15 seconds each time.

 

Step 3: Stretching the Muscles in Your Shoulder

Now that you have worked out the knots, you are ready to stretch your shoulder muscles. Rotate your head a bit Stretching Levator Scapulae Muscleso your ear is angled toward the front of your chest. By doing this you will be adding additional stretch to the trigger point and releasing it at the same time.

Finally, continue holding the muscle and move your head as shown. Hold this for 15 seconds and release the pressure. When you finish, release your grip and shake out your shoulders. Then do it again, three more times, holding each stretch for 15 seconds.

You will really feel a great deal of relief when you ease the tension in this muscle.  This process will become easy after you play with it for a while and get the hang of squeezing the ball of knots that are on the top of your shoulder.

Wishing you well,

Julie Donnelly 

These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This information is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.

Relief From Sinus Pain

Are Spring Allergies Ruining Your Time Outdoors?

spring flowersThe lovely month of May!  The air is warm, the breezes are soft, and the flowers are blooming.  We’re surrounded by nature coming alive as animal’s pair-up to again start the circle of life, and it’s all beautiful!

Hopefully, you are having the opportunity to go out and enjoy this wonderful time of year.

So many of us have been forced into inactivity due to all that is happening around the world, and not only does that add to your stress level, it also doesn’t benefit your body.  Hopefully, you are doing some type of purposeful movement at home.  My recommendation is:

  • Step 1: Exercise at home. There are many exercise programs on the internet so you can move along with the instructor.
  • Step 2: Self-treat the muscles you just exercised. Treat Yourself to Pain-Free Living or The Pain-Free Athlete books are perfect to show you exactly where to find the knots that are putting a strain on your joints.  Find the shaded area where you feel tension/pain and then do the self-treatment to untie the knots in the muscle.
  • Step 3: Finish your exercise session off with stretching to release the tension in the muscle. There is a perfect safe-stretching routine taught in Focused Flexibility Training. It’s self-treatment of each muscle you’re going to stretch, followed by a 30-minute yoga routine.

Movement is important for the proper functioning of so many systems in your body, including your circulation, digestion, and your immune system.

Are Spring Allergies Ruining Your Time Outdoors?

This is a wonderful time of year to enjoy the great outdoors. It is a time to enjoy spring flowers, plant your gardens, and enjoy long walks, perhaps with your dog(s). But if you have sinus problems because of spring allergies, the outdoors is no fun. You may have sinus headaches. You may have sinus pressure that feels like you have a vice around your skull, pressing into your eyes and temples. You may even have a challenge keeping your eyes open.

I received several emails about sinus problems, most likely caused by spring pollen.  As a result, I figured it would help the most people by talking about how to ease the pressure in your sinuses this month. I want you to be able to enjoy the outdoors this spring without worrying about sinus problems.

Relief From Sinus Pain

To relieve sinus pain, take your three middle fingers and put them onto your cheeks as shown in this picture.  Your back teeth should be under your fingertips.

Press UP onto your cheekbones, as if you were trying to push your fingers into your eyes and the bone is in the way.

Alternate sides so you press up on your left side, hold for 5 seconds, then release while you are pressing up on your right side.  Keep going back and forth.

You can move along your cheekbone, going all the way next to your nostrils.  Then press the same way into the bone on both sides of your nose.

Finally, press into your eyebrows, close to midline, so you can be adding pressure onto the sinus cavities directly underneath your fingertips.

It will help if your head is tilted back a little so your sinuses can start to drain. Visualize pressing and squeezing your sinus cavities as that is exactly what you are actually doing!

By the way, this has also helped people who have a sinus infection because it enables the sinuses to drain, and then I always use a sinus rinse mixture and a squeeze bottle to wash the pollen out of my sinuses.

Trigger-Point Yoga And Focused Flexibility Training Update

Like so many people who are stuck indoors, I’m finding all kinds of projects that have been neglected for a long time.  One that has been on my mind, but never had enough time to do anything about, is a wonderful safe-stretching program that was developed back around 2010.

It was actually put together by an incredible yoga instructor named Ana.  Ana had a calf pain that wasn’t being resolved with yoga, so she finally searched online, and she found me.  She bought my book, Treat Yourself to Pain-Free Living,” and she also had a telephone consultation with me (I didn’t do any online meetings yet) to discuss her situation.  I told her which treatments to do and she was shocked that in just two days her pain and stiffness was gone.

The missing piece in yoga is stretching the muscle fibers without first untying the knots (spasms) that put a strain on the joints.  Yet, doing some simple techniques releases the knots and you can stretch without overstretching the muscle fibers.

Ana looked into the self-treatments for her hips and she was surprised to find multiple spasms. After treating them her yoga got better. That inspired her to do the self-treatments for her shoulders and sure enough, she had spasms that she treated, and her yoga got even better.  She knew this was something that needed to be shared with yoga-lovers everywhere.

After we met by telephone, she shared her ideas with me and Trigger-Point Yoga (TPY) was born.  Ana did an amazing job putting the program together.  I was filmed teaching an athlete named Scott how to do all the treatments taught in my book, which we called “The Foundation.”  Then Ana designed and filmed two sessions, one for the upper body and one for the lower body. Each session starts with 15 minutes of self-treating the muscles that will be stretched, and then 30 minutes of yoga stretching.

I found that athletes didn’t want to take a yoga class, but when I changed the name to Focused Flexibility Training, they were excited to do the program.

If you would like to stretch safely, without potentially tearing tight muscle fibers, I suggest you bring Trigger-Point Yoga into your home. For only $67 you can do the entire thing in your living room or den and feel more flexible than you have in a long time!

Wishing you well,

Julie Donnelly 

These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This information is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.

Health Tips From The Professor