Researchers studying pilots in the United States Air Force noticed something curious. Pilots are exposed to intense gravitational forces (G-forces) during flight maneuvers. These forces can cause blood to pool away from the brain, increasing the risk of blackouts. To stay conscious, pilots instinctively and deliberately clench their muscles, especially their hands and forearms, during high-G maneuvers.

Inflammation is one of those words that gets thrown around a lot and ends up feeling vague. Inflammation is bad, right? But it’s also a stage of healing, so that must be good…right?

The truth is, inflammation isn’t simply good or bad. Context matters. To understand when it helps and when it becomes a problem, we need some clarity.

If you have pain behind the knee, and it’s limiting your flexion, there’s a good chance it’s a Baker’s cyst. These are benign collections of fluid. The build up of fluid is what prevents bending of the knee. Under normal circumstances, fluids come and go but when there is an inflammatory process such as a meniscus tear or arthritis, and it exceeds the rate of evacuation of fluid, you get a cyst.

Superior canal dehiscence (SCD) is a rare disorder of the inner ear that can dramatically affect both balance and hearing. It results from a thinning or a hole (dehiscence) in the bony covering of the superior semicircular canal, one of the three semicircular canals responsible for detecting head motion and spatial awareness.

Breathing is something that seems very simple, but we cannot overlook just how powerful it is. It affects our blood chemistry, our mental state, our posture, and as you’ll see in this article, your circulation. When you realize how many breaths you take in a day, you can imagine that disordered breathing can have a massive impact on your health. At 16 breaths per minute, that’s over 23,000 breaths per day.

In physical therapy, we are generally trying to avoid pain. The one exception; knee replacement. Total knee replacement is well known to be the most painful of the rehab experiences, with rotator cuff repair to be a closed second. IOvera therapy is a relatively new treatment (2014) that may help the process.

The word “toxins” gets thrown around a lot and is sort of this vague idea. I used to cringe when I heard someone say, ‘drink lots of water to get rid of the toxins’. It sounded like nonsense. However, toxins are a real thing and understanding what they are, and where they are, can help us understand how to deal with them. 

The “wear and tear” model of arthritis never really sat well with me. It just doesn’t make much sense if you understand physiology. It’s common for healthcare professionals to make analogies of the body being like a car. This can make sense in some ways such as fuel and metabolism. However, the problem is that many people, including healthcare professionals, say things such as, “like a car, your parts just wear out”. That reminds me of the quote, “just because it’s logical, doesn’t mean it’s physiologic”. 

Autoimmune diseases are on the rise and comprise most of the chronic disease that we face. Lupus, multiple sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis, psoriasis, sjogren’s, celiac, type 1 diabetes, and vitiligo, are just some of the growing list (over 100) of autoimmune diseases. They are classically described as an immune system that’s gone “haywire” and the current solution is to suppress the immune system with steroids. That is a symptom based approach and will cause a whole host of other issues. Getting a grip on your immune system can help you manage autoimmune disease and put it at bay. Luckily, we now have a metric (HRV) that tracks your immune system and can be leveraged. 

Getting quality sleep is paramount to health, and so many of my patients struggle with this. Stress, screens (which disrupt circadian rhythm), and irregular schedules can wreak havoc on our ability to rest deeply. But what if a gentle, hands-on technique could help reset your body and improve the way you sleep? Manual Lymphatic Drainage, or MLD, can be a powerful tool to improve the quality of your sleep.

Digestive health issues like bloating, constipation, and irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) can disrupt daily life and leave many searching for gentle, effective solutions. Manual Lymphatic Drainage (MLD) is gaining attention as a complementary therapy that may offer relief for various digestive complaints.

If you’ve just had surgery such as a knee replacement, a tummy tuck, or anything in between you’re probably eager to get back on your feet. One technique I always recommend for my post-op clients is Manual Lymphatic Drainage (MLD). MLD is a targeted approach and can be a game-changer for surgical recovery.

We all know how it feels after a bad night’s sleep. You wake up groggy, and maybe a little more irritable than usual. What you might not realize is that poor sleep can have a surprising effect on your blood sugar levels.

There is an acronym, T.I.G.E.R., from the work of Dr. Akil Palanisamy, for the 5 triggers of autoimmune disease. While it’s tempting to blame genetics, it’s really the interplay between your genes and your environment that dictates whether genes are expressed or not. This is termed ‘epigenetics’.

Platelet-Rich Plasma (PRP) therapy has emerged as a promising treatment in regenerative medicine, leveraging the body's own healing mechanisms to address various musculoskeletal and dermatological conditions. By concentrating platelets from a patient's blood, PRP injections deliver growth factors that can accelerate tissue repair and reduce inflammation. However, the efficacy of PRP varies across different body parts and conditions.

Peripheral neuropathy is a condition that affects people in a “stocking and glove” pattern, meaning the hands and feet. This can cause numbness and tingling, and/or loss of sensation. As it progresses, it can lead to balance problems as the sensation in your feet help you stay balanced. There are many things that cause this such as diabetes, peripheral artery disease, smoking, alcoholism, and certain viral infections. However, one under-appreciated cause is B12 deficiency. The good news is it’s treatable.

Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) can feel like carrying the weight of your own breath. Tasks most people take for granted such as climbing stairs, walking the dog, even getting dressed, can become daily challenges. But what if a unique breathing technique could actually help ease these struggles? That’s where isocapnic training comes into play.

We have four main homeostatic regulators of the body; pH, temperature, O2/CO2, and blood sugar. Insulin plays a vital role in maintaining our blood sugar. SBecause of this, staying insulin sensitive is vital to human health. Over the course of a lifetime, as your cells stop responding to insulin (from a high processed/high sugar diet) we become pre-diabetic, then progress to diabetes. All cells of the body have insulin receptors, so when they stop responding to insulin, a whole host of problems can arise. Luckily, there are lots of natural ways to improve insulin sensitivity. As it turns out, a molecule called nitric oxide (NO) is one of many ways to improve insulin sensitivity.

If you’ve been feeling stressed, tired, or burned out lately, you may be experiencind HPA-D (hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal axis dysfunction). This is heavily involved in the bodies stress response. Magnesium could be the missing piece to help you feel better. While we often think of magnesium as a mineral important for bone health or muscle function, it plays a crucial role in supporting your adrenal glands, which are responsible for producing the stress hormone cortisol. Let’s dive into the link between magnesium and adrenal function, and why ensuring you have enough magnesium in your diet can make all the difference.