Why The Foot Pain Is Connected To The Neck Pain: Your Movement Patterns Shape Your Body

In the yoga world, if we get pain somewhere in the body, we take it as a call to action and begin to stretch that particular area. This approach is often ineffective, because in the words of prominent physiotherapist Diane Lee “It’s the victims who cry out, not the criminals.” This statement requires a fundamental shift in perspective – just because something is hurting doesn’t mean that it is the source of the problem. Now why is that? Why does the old pain in your right foot eventually shows up as tension in the neck? This happens because of fascia.

Fascia is that cotton candy-like connective tissue, that for hundreds of years had been carefully scraped off by anatomists to expose muscles and bones, and considered irrelevant. In the last couple of decades, however, fascia has been reclaiming it’s role as a vital whole-body communication network.

So what is fascia and why should we, yoga teachers and practitioners, care about it? Fascia is the connective tissue that serves both as a bag that holds muscles , bones, organs, etc, and the packing material in between those structures. It is comprised mostly of collagen fibers. For example, when you look at an individual muscle, you will see that fascia wraps individual muscle fibers, groups of fibers and muscle as a whole, becoming more dense toward the end and forming a tendon, which then seamlessly blends into the fascia that envelops the bone.

“Without it’s [fascia’s] support, the brain would be runny custard, the liver would spread through the abdominal cavity, and we would end up as a puddle at our own feet.” (1)

So the fascial system is an all-pervading physiological network, as important as the circulatory and nervous systems. It is a vast and truly fascinating subject, if you are interested in how the body works. Here we will focus on two qualities of fascia – its continuity and its ability to transmit tension.

As yoga teachers we always concern ourselves with the idea of connection (hence the definition of yoga as “union” or “linking”), yet we often fall into the mechanistic view of the body as a system of levers and pulleys. We tell students that “this pose stretches this muscle”, as if anything in the body works in isolation. In the world of fascia the muscle is linked to the bone, which is linked to the ligament, which is linked to another bone, and then a tendon and another muscle, etc. It’s perfectly fine to study muscle action, characteristics of ligaments, etc. as long as we remember that they are all part of an interconnected fabric within the body and affect each other constantly.

Beyond linking everything to everything, fascia has an important role of communicating mechanical information by the interplay of pulls and pushes. Just like a snag on a sweater can run across the fabric, the tension is transmitted in the same way from one place in the body to another via a fascial net. A human body is a constant interplay of internal and external forces that need to be balanced and distributed. As a result, there are predictable patterns of tension throughout the body that are necessary to keep us upright and allow a wide range of movement. “Strain, tension (good and bad), trauma, and movement tend to be passed though the structure along these fascial lines of transmission.”(1)

To describe those predictable lines of tension, Thomas Myers had adopted the term myofascial meridians (not to be confused with acupuncture meridians – a bit different). A myofascial meridian basically describes a line of tension that runs through a sheet of fascia that connects and envelops several muscles. I can’t help but think of a silly cartoon from my childhood of a cat and a dog pulling on a sausage link.

It is kind of like that. The casing of the sausage link is like fascia, while muscles form the contents. When it’s pulled in the opposite directions, the tension is created that is transmitted throughout the entire length.

Let’s take a look at two “cardinal “ myofascial meridians: Superficial front line and Superficial back line. Just by looking at them it is obvious that SBL and SFL need to balance each other to support the upright position. If the SBL becomes too tight and shortens, you will end up with a “military” posture with some or all posterior (back) muscles shortened and bunched, and the anterior (front) muscles pulled and strained. Or the reverse can be true as well in a “collapsed” posture with a rounded thoracic spine and flattened lumbar curve. The military posture might come with tight hamstrings, but if you only focus on stretching the hamstrings, you won’t resolve the issue. This is where we need to look at the body wholistically (as a whole) and identify the patterns of tension that run throughout

Some patterns of tension are predictable because of body’s organization; others are unique because of the movement patterns, past injuries, etc. Basically, your body responds to the loads that you put on it. For example, one of my former students who spent 30 years driving a folklift in this position, developed his own unique pattern of tension that spiraled around his body and manifested as severe hip and sacrum pain. Just working on his hips wouldn’t be enough, since his hips were the “victims” of this entire unfortunate movement pattern.

In words of Brooke Thomas, “We become the shapes and movements that we make most of the time.”(2) And those patterns do not go away when we go to a yoga class. If a student of mine is used to hiking her right hip up while walking, she will do the same thing while attempting the tree pose. This is where awareness comes in. If we do our yoga practice on autopilot, we reinforce the patterns that we already have. If we pay close attention to what we are doing, we have a chance to overcome those habitual movement patterns. This is one of the reasons we repeat each pose a few times before we hold it – it gives us an opportunity to examine our movement patterns and correct them if necessary (read more about it).

RESOURCES

1. Thomas W. Myers Anatomy Trains: Myofascial Meridians for Manual and Movement Therapists   – In-depth exploration of fascia and myofascial meridians with extensive list of references.

2. Brook Thomas Why fascia matters  – Free, down-to-earth, fun look at fascia and why it matters.

This aeticle originally appeared on sequencewiz.org and was written by Olga Kabel

Why Does Your Body Twitch As You're Falling Asleep?

If you’ve ever found yourself drifting off to sleep only to be woken by a vigorous, full-body twitch or jerk, then do not feel alarmed. You’re among the estimated 60 - 70 % of Americans who regularly experience a phenomenon known as a hypnic jerk—also known as a hypnagogic jerk, or sleep start—which strikes as a person falls into a deep sleep. Here’s what to know about it.

What do sleep jerks feel like?

Hypnic jerks—involuntary twitches or jolts which occur during the night—can affect people in different ways. Many people will sleep right through them, but for others, they are vigorous enough to wake them up.

Although there is no definite explanation for what causes hypnic jerks, people are more likely to suffer from them when they’re sleep deprived or anxious, or when they do sleep-impairing habits before going to bed, like drinking caffeine or doing exercise close to bedtime, says James Wilson, a U.K.-based sleep behavior and sleep environment expert. “For people who suffer from hypnic jerks, it’s awful,” he adds. “They worry about it before they go to bed, which makes it worse.”

Jacqui Paterson, who is 44 and lives in the U.K., says she has experienced these kinds of twitches on an almost-nightly basis for about three years.

“When I was about 41, I started getting insomnia, which I’d never had in my life before,” she says. “Initially, I was staying awake all night, but I now get these annoying jerks which wake me up exactly an hour after I fall asleep, like someone has set an alarm in my head. I seem to have replaced one evil with another.”

Paterson says the jerks come more regularly when she feels concerned or preoccupied. If she worries about them happening before she goes to bed, then it “almost guarantees” that she will suffer from them that night.

The jerks feel like a jolt or an electric shock, Paterson says. “I’ve heard people talk about getting a falling sensation when they drop off to sleep,” she says. “To me, the feeling is like that but on steroids. It’s like someone has come and slapped me. It’s a really shocking feeling, like jumping into freezing cold water. I always wake up feeling totally alert.”

What causes hypnic jerks?

Put simply, hypnic jerks are caused when one part of the brain tries to go to sleep more quickly than other parts of the brain.

“The complexity of going to sleep and waking up is incredible, and sometimes—particularly when we are sleep deprived—our brain doesn’t shut down normally, which means we get this sort of jerking movement when we’re in a light sleep,” says Wilson. Often, he adds, the brain tries to make sense of it, “which is when we imagine ourselves falling off the sidewalk, a cliff or in a hole.”

The reason why some people experience the twitches at such a predictable time is due to their circadian rhythm, or body clock, Wilson says. “Normally when we go to sleep, about half an hour later we go into a deep stage of sleep during which we wouldn’t get these hypnic jerks,” he says. “If someone is sleep deprived, as they go through the process of falling asleep, the brain will get stuck at the same point in time. Usually if we can help people address their sleep deprivation, the instances decrease or disappear altogether.”

How can you prevent sleep jerks from happening?

There are ways to limit the effects, particularly by making a conscious effort to sleep better. “Try and get in a good routine around sleep,” Wilson says. “Wake up at the same time every day, and wind down properly before going to bed, making sure the activities you do in the hour before going to sleep are relaxing to you. Like most issues surrounding sleep, preventing hypnic jerks is all about trying to solve that sleep deprivation.”

Wilson also suggests that if a person suffers from them at the same time every night, they could ask a housemate or family member to disturb their sleep about five minutes before the jerks tend to occur, either by encouraging them to turn over in bed or rustling something near them. Often, that will help stop the twitches from happening, he says.

This article originally appeared on time.com and was written by Kate Samuelson

Muscle Tightness: Do you have stiff muscles?

Do your muscles feel tight? Do you have stiffness in your body?  You're not alone, muscular stiffness and tightness is one of the most common problems we encounter..  Osteopaths unlike any other manual therapy have a very unique method in assisting your tightness. It’s called Counterstrain or Positional Release. 

"The MET method works due to the natural neurological impulse to relax the opposing muscle when one muscle contracts. Used correctly, Muscle Energy Technique can help patients to: Realign muscle groups. Re-educate muscles to restore a full range of motion." -OVCMT

When there is a strain, or tension in your muscles this sensation is transmitted to your brain as a message. Your brain will then respond to this message by adding further muscle tightness to the problem area or surrounding areas as a means of protection.  This response is not always helpful to your health.

One of the great things about Osteopaths is we have many ways of addressing muscle tightness. Techniques like Massage, or joint or muscular stretching (MET), postural correction can potentially assist you with muscle tightness but all these create a therapeutic pain to release the tension. There is however, several ways to skin a cat as they say and Counter-strain offers a very effective pain free alternative to this problem.

An Osteopath using Counter-strain will find the tight area in a region and then positions the body to take all the tension out of these tissues. This results in your nervous system feeding this change back to the brain. It will often take up to one minute for your brain to register that the area isn’t in trouble any more, and that it doesn’t need protecting.

What is the science behind how this works?

There are several nerve endings in your muscles and joints called Golgi Tendon Organs that feedback tension to your brain.  When this same area is placed in a relaxed position the Golgi Tendon Organs also feedbacks this change to the brain.  The brain then responds with feedback of its own, which will result in resetting of the muscular length and a much more relaxed muscle. The beauty of counter strain is that it is, pain free, stress free and it affect the central nervous system which results in a much more permanent and lasting change in the muscle tightness. This can potentially help you feel looser and less tense.

You may never have heard of this type of therapy so why not give [Osteopathy] a go and see if counter-strain can help you!

This article originally appeared on atune.com.au and was written by Katie Nancarrow.

Why "Stand Up Straight" isn't the Answer to Improving Posture

Stand up straight! Stop slouching! Most of us have had that yelled at us since we were kids by well meaning (and some not so well meaning) adults.

And though certainly a more annoying admonition as we get older, it seems difficult to disagree that “standing up tall” is good for us. There’s a strong market out there devoted to various devices, straps, and apps purporting to help you improve your posture.

Because frankly, it just looks better! Whether from thousands of years of social norms or other deep seated genetic factors, tall and straight forms are perceived to be better than a bent and slouched structure.

But is it really necessary? Will it help us feel better, be more successful, healthier, and make us more attractive?

The answer, like for most complicated issues, is both yes and no.

Let’s start by going over the fundamental benefits that we know are associated with what’s considered to be “good posture,” along with the myths and misinformation out there, and then give some tips on how to figure out what you need for yourself.

Primary Benefits of Good Posture

Aside from the fact that upright and plumb posture is more aesthetically appealing, there is a lot of evidence for the physiological and mental benefits of a good posture.

Physiological and Mental Benefits

This was touted several years ago in the popular press as the “Power Posture,” where the various research indicated such benefitsas:

• Inducing feelings of being more powerful
• Improved self-ratings of confidence and ability
• Being perceived as more competent and attractive by observers
• Increased hormone levels (specifically, testosterone)

And though there has been controversy about some of the research, standing taller does seem to effect mental and physiological benefits in general.

Sport-Specific Benefits

Better aligned posture is also beneficial for active movements.

An obvious example is lifting overhead. When you are slumped forward, it’s simply harder to lift your arms up, let alone a heavy weight. An elevated chest and pulled back shoulders puts you in a better position to transfer your strength and power more directly to the load.

This is why there is so much time and energy placed on proper technique in sports training.

Through years of experience and research, there’s been a quest towards the ideal form for throwing a baseball, hitting a golf ball, and lifting weights. Postural alignment is a key component for all of these movements.

Posture Mythbusting

So yes, there are a number of good proven reasons to work on your posture, that could have an immediate impact on feeling and moving better. However there are also some myths out there that we should discuss to make sure that you won’t be disappointed by the outcomes of your time and effort.

Myth #1: Everyone should aim for “ideal” posture

The first myth is that there is an ideal and optimal posture that everyone should conform to.

You can see this in a variety of sources which attempt to force a rigid positioning. A classic example is military posture, with the chest puffed out and chin tucked into the extreme, at-attention position.

And there are others (usually trademarked and with their own zealots) that purport to have justifications for their brand of posture and advocate very specific details to conform. They may stress precise angles of your spine and shoulder positioning and have their own reasoning for such, but there is no evidence that there is a set position that everyone should be in for optimal health and performance.

Our bodies are dynamic systems that can adapt well to a variety of environments, and in spite of the very many individual anatomical differences that abound, you’ll see very healthy and high performing people of distinct body types and postures.

Myth #2: Slouching = Pain

Another myth (related to the first myth) is that, if you are not in the “correct” posture, you will inevitably have pain.

But particular postures do not directly equate to pain. If it did, everyone that regularly slouches would have pain, and everyone that tends to stand straight would not. And this, of course, is not true at all.

The existence of pain (particularly chronic) is very complex and involves interrelated factors (anatomy, personal history, emotional makeup, environment), and with regards to postural factors, it’s more of a matter of abrupt change and our capacity for resilience than a particular posture itself.

Any posture that we cannot sustain because of a lack of muscular endurance and/or flexibility can result in pain, whereas another person may be able to because they have a more robust capacity for it. If you aren’t used to standing for more than a couple of hours at a time, you’ll likely experience soreness when you first have to do 8 hours of it, even if in the most perfectly aligned posture possible.

Let’s not force ourselves into holding specific positions because it’s “good for us.” That’s a recipe for burnout and really confers no significant benefit.

Instead, it’s much better to take the lessons we learn from analyzing our particular deficiencies. What do we need to work on to improve our ability to get into and maintain good alignments for our daily lives and in our recreational activities? This matters much more than working toward an arbitrary “ideal” posture that may or may not be appropriate for our individual needs.

Posture is a Habit

Clearly, posture isn’t as cut-and-dried as simply “standing up straight.”

Posture is important and necessary, but there’s no universal ideal that works for everyone. It’s a matter of working to attain the posture that’s most advantageous for you.

We can design the best exercise program, targeting your personal strength, flexibility, and control deficits, but if you default to problematic postures for the rest of your day, then the benefits won’t be fully realized.

But changing postural habits is a difficult thing, and can take a long time. It requires a lot of patience and a understanding of personal motivations and dispositions, and it can never be as simple as yelling at yourself to stand up taller and quit slumping!

As you can see, we feel the topic of posture and changing it is much more nuanced than it can appear to be on the surface.

There are physical, mental, and habitual shifts that need to occur to make sustainable changes in your life. But it is well worth it because postural change can be a vehicle for insight into your personal strength, mobility, and habit detriments, and this can affect the entirety of your being.

So What Can You Do to Improve Your Posture?

Posture is a pretty complex subject, and one we can’t cover in near enough detail within an article like this. But if you want to work on improving your posture for your own needs, you’re in luck.

Steven Low, author of the bestselling and most comprehensive bodyweight exercise training tome, Overcoming Gravity, reached out to us to collaborate on his new posture book. We, of course, accepted with great excitement.

This article originally appeared on gmb.io and was written by Jarlo