Articles

Pronator Teres Syndrome

November 16, 2021

Do you have a painful forearm or weird sensations in your thumb and pointer finger? Maybe your forearm, wrist, and elbow have been aching. A quick online search for symptoms yields dozens of results for painful hand, wrist, and elbow conditions, making fact-finding very confusing. Your pain and discomfort may partially match common wrist complaints like carpal tunnel syndrome, hand tendonitis, elbow pain, and other related conditions, or your symptoms don’t seem to fit any single situation -- making it hard to tell what exactly is going on! One lesser-known condition that causes finger tendon and forearm discomfort is called pronator teres syndrome, and this culprit for...

Tennis Elbow

October 26, 2021

Have you recently picked up a racket sport such as tennis, badminton, squash, or even golf? Maybe now your dominant elbow and forearm are hurting. If this describes you, there is a good chance you overworked your forearm muscles with repeated gripping (1) and swinging arm movements, causing an overuse injury of the common extensor tendon. This condition is commonly known as Tennis Elbow or lateral epicondylitis (1,2). (Picture from Mayo Clinic) What is tennis elbow? The elbow is a structure involving connecting bones, ligaments, connective tissues, the elbow joint, several muscle attachments, and fluid-filled sacs designed to absorb forces. Repetitive or excessive...

Thoracic Outlet Syndrome

October 15, 2021

Are you experiencing pain as well as numbness, tingling, and weakness in the hand and fingers? Do your fingers or hands feel like they’re “falling asleep” while you type at a keyboard, grip a steering wheel, work out at the gym, or pick up groceries or even your child? There are several conditions of the head, neck, shoulder, elbow, and wrist that cause sensations of tingling, numbness, pain, and weakness with grip strength. More common conditions include carpal tunnel syndrome1, tennis elbow (lateral epicondylitis)2, compression of the nerves exiting the neck spine (cervical radiculopathy)3, and pinched nerve (impingement syndromes) of the shoulder. Less common injuries involve brachial...

Dead butt! (syndrome)

October 13, 2021

Yes, it’s a real thing! The phrase “dead butt” refers to a painful condition caused by inflammation in the tendons of the gluteus medius muscle, one of several major muscles composing the buttocks. This condition, known medically as gluteus medius tendinopathy1, is also called “dead butt syndrome.” What is dead butt syndrome? Do the muscles in your backside die? While the name may have a level of seriousness to it, our bodies are naturally very resilient; unless the muscle is cut off from its blood supply, it doesn’t die easily. However, gluteus medius syndrome can be painful, and pain experienced during this tendinopathy...

Understanding Pain: Why do we “pick the scab?”

October 13, 2021

Our chiropractors in Woodbury, MN, will help you get back to the activities you love through proper movement and strengthening exercises your spine needs! An excerpt from Back Mechanic by Stuart McGill PhD “Many back pain sufferers would experience a huge breakthrough in their recovery if they only realized that it was their flawed movement patterns that kept them pain-sensitive. Much like a scab forming on our skin, our backs are constantly trying to patch and heal themselves. We, however, by continuing to repeat harmful movement patterns in our daily lives cause re-injury. We are essentially “picking the scab.” It is...

It’s not all humerus: Shoulder pain

October 1, 2021

Although most shoulder problems are relatively short-lived, pain in the shoulder can indicate a more complex issue. To understand shoulder pain, we begin with a review of how the shoulder works and functions in the human body. What is the shoulder? The shoulder is a ball-and-socket joint1,2 made by the connection of the humerus, or the arm bone, in a shallow socket known as the glenoid fossa. The glenoid fossa is part of another bone called the scapula, more commonly known as the shoulder blade. In the front of the shoulder lies the clavicle, also known as the collar bone. On one...

The 5 Best Strategies to Restart Your Exercise Program

September 18, 2021

For most people, exercise goals are simple: Feel strong enough to accomplish any normal daily activity, play some recreational sports at a decent level and not wake up not being able to walk. Recently, I was on a run in Woodbury, and I saw a young man running with a ‘Marathon Finisher’ t-shirt. He looked to be about 65-70 years old. I was running next to him for a few minutes and asked him which race he was training for next. He answered with “Nothing special, just my 100th birthday.” I could not believe he looked so young and moving...

Pulling your leg: When muscle strains are no joke!

July 1, 2021

Many muscle strains are minor and usually heal with rest.1,6 An example of this is feeling sore from lifting furniture. Lifting requires our muscles and lifting something too heavy can result in small muscle fiber tears. Typically, muscle fiber tears that occur from healthy exertion heal quickly, and the muscle remains intact and whole. However, muscle strains can also be significant and result in large tears, bruising, and even reduced movement or loss of function.1,2,3,6 Use that same bundle of rubber bands from earlier, cut several in half, or even break most of them by overstretching. Your pliable bundle cannot...

No longer the bee’s knees: Knee pain

June 15, 2021

Knee pain is a common issue that affects people of all ages. The knee is a hinge-joint providing our body with flexibility, support, and a wide range of motion for our legs.1 This weight-bearing joint bears significant stress as we perform our usual routines, and it serves a powerful role in gait (walking patterns) and locomotion (the ability to walk forward)....

Carpal Tunnel: Hands-On!

June 1, 2021

Symptoms of carpal tunnel syndrome can come on suddenly or gradually1,4, depending on the cause. Acute injuries can damage or tear ligaments and tendons, fracture bones, create inflammation, cause swelling, and compress or pinch the nerve directly. Repetitive injuries, such as working an assembly line, grasping a steering wheel to drive, or typing on a keyboard, can cause injury to the wrist tendons. This causes swelling and other mechanical problems in the wrist, including carpal tunnel syndrome....