ATM Theory: Your Joint Pain May Actually be Muscle Pain

 

ATM = Always Think Muscles. When you’re trying to get to the root of your joint pain, don’t forget to assess muscle function around the joint. Chances are, this is where your challenge lies, and that functional training can help you overcome it. 

 

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Here’s a controversial statement: joint pain is really...

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A simple home exercise for rounded shoulders

 

Looking for a simple beginner exercise for rounded shoulders? No gym but still want to improve your posture and shoulder strength? This shoulder exercise will build arm and shoulder strength and can be a great fix for rounded shoulders.

When you don't have access to a gym or dumbbells, bands can provide a great way to work your shoulders. By setting up bands on a secure anchor point, you don't need a gym to improve your shoulder posture.

Rounded shoulders are a product of poor shoulder strength and length. The band row can reduce shoulder rounding and improve your upper back posture. It's easy to do with no gym and can be done at home, the office, or anywhere you can tie exercise bands.

Watch the video below or on YouTube.

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Why Strength Training, Not Surgery, Is the Solution to Shoulder Clicking and Popping

If you have snapping, popping, and other cracking noises in your shoulders, you might be wondering what’s causing these sounds and what you can do to get rid of them.

People often get worried when they start experiencing clicks in their shoulders. They sometimes read stories about how the source of the clicking could be labrum tears, inflamed tendons, damaged muscles, etc.—all things that sound very serious and involved to fix.

First of all, you don't need to worry. Even babies get popping and snapping in their shoulders. As a newborn, my son had audible noises come from his shoulders - but they were not at all a sign of joint problems. And he STILL gets occasional noises!

What most people (including many doctors) don’t...

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Is Surgery My Only Option for My Rotator Cuff Tear?

You’ve been told you have a rotator cuff tear, and you are scared that your shoulder is going to hurt forever. You’re afraid you’ve done damage that you’re never going to come back from. Maybe you’re wondering if there’s a way you can avoid getting surgery?

Let’s look at the ins and outs of rotator cuff tears so you understand what you’re dealing with.

 

We’re going to answer 3 major questions about rotator cuff tears:

1) What are rotator cuff tears?

2) Do rotator cuff tears cause pain?

3) Does surgery for rotator cuff tears get you back to doing things you love?

 

Along the way, we’ll address some other related questions as well, and figure out the best way for YOU to...

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PRP Injections: Are They Worth it for Arthritis and Joint Pain?

Are PRP (platelet-rich plasma) injections worth it for joint pain? Photo by RF._.studio

Osteoarthritis, labral tears, and cartilage and tendon pain can all prompt doctors to prescribe platelet-rich plasma injections. Here’s why you should consider functional movement training first.

 

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What are PRP Injections?

I work with a lot of clients who have had chronic hip, knee, back, and shoulder pain. They have usually spent all kinds of money and time trying to fix their aches and...

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Shoulder pain from labral tears: are labral tears really causing the problem?

If you've been told you have a labral tear and that it's the cause of your shoulder pain and movement issues, there's something you need to know: Labral tears are not as important as your doctor thinks.

 

Labral tears don't have anything to do with pain - as near as we can tell.

For many years, the conventional medical wisdom has been this: if we can see something "torn" in your shoulder, that must be the reason you have pain. Based on MRIs and this belief, surgery has long been proposed as a way to solve shoulder pain that appears to be "caused" by labral tears.

If, in fact, the labral tears are causing people shoulder issues, we should be able to take someone off the street and, if we find a labral...

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How Shifting Your Perspective on Chronic Pain Can Help You Heal

 

When it comes to lower back, hip, and knee pain, we can get caught in a cycle of beliefs that can make our pain worse. Here's how functional training may be the way to break the cycle. 

 

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When you’re suffering from chronic pain, you may search for the meaning behind your suffering, asking yourself What's wrong with me? Or What did I do to deserve this?

However, the meanings we ascribe to our chronic pain...

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