physiology – Page 2 – Trinity Health & Living

What causes knee pain? (and no it’s not old age)

One of the common complaints I get from my clients in clinic is in relation to knee pain. The knee pain can be anywhere – on the side of the knee, the back or front of the knee or below the knee. It can also range from just annoying to debilitating. There are a number of non-muscular causes for knee pain including bursitis, arthritis, a cyst in the knee (known as Baker’s cyst) or Osgood-Schlatter’s disease. However, I’m not a doctor or a physiotherapist so this article is really going to focus on the muscular (and structural) causes of knee pain. Muscles directly connected to the knee cap The muscles that attach to the knee cap are the quadriceps (i.e. the quads) – the main muscles at the front of your thigh. From a connective tissue perspective, the iliotibial band (i.e. the ITB, which is situated on the outside of…

Fascial unwinding – what it is and why it’s great for you

In my massage therapy sessions with clients who are exhibiting neck stiffness or pain, I tend to employ a gentle technique known as fascial unwinding. From experience, fascial unwinding isn’t a technique that most massage therapists use, however I find it to be one of the best tools to loosen up the tension in the body. Fascia – what is it? Fascia is connective tissue that unifies your entire living system. It’s not just the fibrous tissue that surround our muscles (think of the sinewy stuff that we see on steaks) – it’s also in your organs, cells, tissues and the various systems of the body. Given this, it helps to define the structure (construction and shape) of your body. It is also critical to maintaining the tension of various forces within the body, so if one part stretches than it will ensure that its matrix changes elsewhere to compensate…

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‘Tis the season for …. a headache?

Christmas season has arrived and this means that life can get a bit crazy with finding the time to come up with ideas for Xmas presents for your loved ones who seem to have everything, shopping for the presents, and then let’s not even talk about what the Xmas dinner is going to look like (or who is going to prepare it)! During this time, I’ve found that, contrary to the expectation that work should be winding down for holidays, it gets busy, with everyone wanting everything done before Christmas so that they can all go for a break! Xmas is a prime time for stress – and a physical symptom of stress is sore/tight neck and shoulders (with this potentially leading to the development of migraines and headaches). Here’s a couple of ways you can try to alleviate the pain or reduce headaches: Massage the base of your skull…