I Came in for My Arm, Why Are You Treating My Neck?
When we say we take a full-body approach to our assessments and treatments, that includes looking at your neck for a shoulder, elbow, or wrist problem. Often we're able to trigger familiar symptoms (especially numbness, tingling, and shooting pain even as far down as the wrist and hand) when testing neck and nerve mobility. This is great news because if we're able to reproduce your symptoms during the assessment, then we can reduce them from the source. For some people, we'll be able to reduce symptoms from their entire arm all at once just by working on their neck! If It's A Neck Problem, Why Is The Pain Worse Somewhere Else? Usually, the issue is a lack of mobility in the neck and upper thoracic spinal joints or even the first rib. Because these joints aren't participating in movement, they aren't impinging anything or being overused. However, when you go to move your arm, if the vertebrae that should shift out of the way or the nerves that should glide freely don't, that's when you experience pain (like a six-car pileup) further down your arm. Also, when it comes to bad posture, everything in your body is connected and nothing is safe. Spending long periods looking down at your phone or a monitor that's too low will cause the muscles in the back of your neck to work overtime. Maybe your muscles will forgive you for the first few months if you're lucky, but eventually, your shoulder, elbow, or wrist could start to pay the price. To find out if your shoulder, elbow, or wrist problem is actually a neck problem, email info@bodygears.com and request an assessment with one of our physical therapists.
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Exercise of theMonth Try this movement to ease pain in your shoulder, elbow, or wrist
Staff Spotlight
Welcoming back new mom, Dr. Kathleen Darley, PT, DPT from Maternity leave. Kathleen earned her Doctor of Physical Therapy degree from Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. She also graduated with honors with a Bachelor of Movement Science degree from the University of Illinois Chicago. Her special interests
include pelvic health, pre and postnatal patients, as well as dancers. Kathleen is an accomplished ballet dancer, having performed over the past 15 years with regional and national companies such as the Joffrey Ballet and Lyric Opera of Chicago. In her free time, she teaches ballet, yoga, and dancer wellness classes at Hubbard Stree Dance Chicago. Kathleen is experienced in manual therapy, women’s health, and visceral mobilization.
InfraspinatusWaves
Certifications and Training: •Doctor of Physical Therapy •Licensed Physical Therapist by the State of Illinois •APTA/IPTA Member •Women’s Health Therapist •Pilates Body Balanced Mat Certification •Hatha Yoga Therapy College Certification •Lincoln Park Clinic Manager
Infraspinatus Waves: Shoulder, Elbow & Wrist Stabilization: Tie a knot in a stretchy band and close it through a door. While keeping your palm facing the door, your wrist in line with your forearm, and your hand in line with your ear, slowly bend and straighten your elbow. Attempt to keep your upper arm parallel to the ground and squeeze the muscle running across the back of your shoulder joint for the entire exercise. Do not let the band pull your hand or forearm forward. Start with 2 sets of 5 reps with light band tension and slowly work your way up to 3 sets of 10 reps before you increase the tension.
Find new mom Kathleen at our Lincoln Park clinic.
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