This article covers the nuts and bolts strategies to fix muscle dysfunction and muscle imbalances.

We will cover specific sensations that arise when fixing dysfunctional muscles and what to do about them. The strategies in this article are based on observations and experiments over thousands of client sessions at Upright Health. 

There are no placebo-controlled clinical trials to point to, and there probably won't ever be any that are useful. Your body is a complex nonlinear system that requires observation and calibration on an individual basis. This article will give you understanding and tools to explore your own body's limits and to expand those limits. These are strategies that have helped people avoid...

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You probably came here because something in your body doesn't feel right. You probably have chronic pain in one or multiple joints.

You came across this "muscle imbalance" term and are pretty sure it applies to your achy-breaky body.

I've been in the same situation. I suffered for years with chronic pain in my back, hands, wrists, shoulders, hips, knees, and feet. Conventional medical advice and physical therapy were a dead end for me. Acupuncture, chiropractic, and massage all failed to give me lasting results.

What gave me freedom and confidence was learning how to move my body right. As I started to move right, I started to feel right. 

Let's start...

Back pain is one of the most common complaints in the modern world. It’s irritating. It’s debilitating. I know from personal experience. But with hindsight, I am grateful I never got an MRI for back pain.

In this article, I’ll explain why an MRI for back pain may not be worth your time, money, or energy.

It’s not just doctors who see lots of back pain

We’re in a unique position as personal trainers because a lot of our clients get an MRI for back pain (as well as x-rays) before coming to see us for their training (and after rest and perfunctory physical therapy doesn’t do much to help).

We have seen a ton of clients with back pain get better with smart training and gradual relearning of better...

If you’ve ever had aches and pains in your neck and shoulders, you have probably been told that you need to get a massage. When that doesn’t seem to provide long-term relief for you or you get tired of constantly getting a massage, you may be referred to some kind of specialist in myofascial release to get really “deep” massage work. But is this always the answer? Is more pressure or more bodywork always the answer to chronic pain?

[This article was written when I was still doing massage and bodywork as a Rolfer. I no longer do that kind of work and focus on showing people how proper exercise can solve their aches and pains without needing constant massage sessions. You can read more about how to fix tense...