From the category archives:

Neck Pain

Video: Chest/Pectoral Stretch for the Office

November 18, 2009

Here is another stretch for your chest pectoral muscles. It is a yoga stretch than can easily be done at the work place. Perfect for those moments when you are stressed out at work and don’t have time for a break. Guidelines for performing the stretches: Check with a health care professional before you attempt [...]

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Video: Chest/Pectoral Stretch for Neck & Shoulder Pain

November 17, 2009

Tightness in the pectoral muscles is an important factor in neck pain or shoulder/upper back pain.  Shortness in the pectoral  muscles pull the shoulder blades forward and cause the upper back muscles to stay in a stretched, weakened position resulting in neck and shoulder pain.  This often happens because of poor postural habits, but more [...]

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Video: Exercises for Neck Pain

November 5, 2009

Here is a video that shows some really simple stretches for the neck. For those of you suffering from neck pain, these stretches are a good starting point as they are gentle and non-aggressive. The stretches can be performed in the seated or standing position and are a great way to break up the tension [...]

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Video: Shoulder Exercises for Improving Posture & Decreasing Chronic Pain

October 15, 2009

Here is a video for some exercises for improving shoulder posture. It is definitely worth a try for people who haven’t had much luck with the traditional stretching exercises. Traditionally, to correct posture, we focus on increasing the length of shortened muscles or increasing the strength of weak muscles in an attempt to bring the [...]

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Yoga for Pain Reduction

August 19, 2009

Since becoming a massage therapist, I have quickly found the limits my body can go before it needs help. The work is tiring and physically demanding and burns out many RMT’s by the 5 year mark. This is why I religiously follow a program of postural awareness, stretching exercises, epsom salt baths, weight training and [...]

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Improve Your Shoulder Posture by Changing Your Workout

July 11, 2009

One of the most important and long lasting ways to get rid of neck and shoulder pain is to change your posture.  I am sure that you have all heard it from your massage therapist, but, how can you change your posture after it’s been that way for decades?  The body has already been trained [...]

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Learning to Sit: Posture & Ergonomics for Work & School

June 23, 2009

Don’t just sit there…. Get to work!”  used to be a familiar sound from the boss.  These days, however, most of us do all of our work sitting down on the job. As you can imagine, spending 8 hours a day in one position is not the best for our bodies.  Improper sitting can subject [...]

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Does it hurt to breathe?

June 22, 2009

Have you ever experienced a sharp pain in your ribs, abs or back from breathing?  There is a possibility that you might have had a “rib out” or a dislocation of your costo-vertebral joint (the joint where the rib joins the vertebrae). Surprisingly this is more common than you might imagine.  The joint that holds [...]

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How Exercising Improves Your Health

June 18, 2009

Years ago, people who were in pain were told to rest, but now we know the exact opposite is true. When you rest, you become deconditioned — which may actually contribute to chronic pain.  Your muscles may lose strength and shrink and your body may lose stability.  As tough as it may be to start [...]

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Epsom Salts and Muscle Soreness

June 17, 2009

Well, I slept off the chocolate brownie diabetic haze and I am ready to blog. The title isn’t that catchy. Just plain old “blog” but for now it works. My favourite blog title of all time has to be “Bob Loblaw’s Blog” (say it 3x fast and you’ll see what I mean). Anyway, I’m seeing [...]

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