A FUNCTIONAL VIEW OF VARIOUS CONDITIONS
Adhesive Capsulitis
- Associated with "frozen shoulder." May be misdiagnosed:
there may be no adhesions; instead, the musculature may be contracted,
restricting movement and creating pain. (to article)
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Arthritis
- Catch-all term for joint pain and inflammation. Often results from joint overcompression due to muscles in contraction. If cartilage remains, may often be alleviated through somatic education -- first, by removing the pain of overcompression, then by natural healing of cartilage to occur. (to article)
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Back Pain
- Back pain is common in industrialized societies because of nervous tension associated with the "clock and deadline" way of life. The stresses of being "on the go," of producing results, meeting deadlines, multi-tasking and other demands of that way of life add to accumulated nervous tension, affect the muscles of the back of the body, and produce muscle fatigue and soreness. Then, a minor additional demand on those muscles, such as those of leaning over, is sometimes sufficient to trigger a back spasm. Disk degeneration and sciatica sometimes follow, also the result of muscle tension and spine overcompression. Somatic education brings muscle function back into the normal range. (to article)
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Balance problems
- Tight hamstrings interfere with foot position. Poor contact of the
feet with the ground: unstable foundation. Unevenly tight trunk muscles induce a postural side-tilt that displaces weight to one side, leading to a state of chronic imbalance. Tight neck muscles interfere with proper head carriage and movement, distorting the sensations provided by the balance centers of the inner ear. (To article)
See Dizziness
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Dislocations, frequent
- Excessive tension among muscles and tendons on one side of a joint
move the bone off-center in the joint, predisposing to injury or complete dislocation.
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Displaced Patella
- Quadriceps (thigh muscles) asymmetrically tight (see Dislocations,
frequent).
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Dizziness
- Caused by excessive neck tension and off-center head position.
The eyes, balance centers of the inner ears, and muscles of the neck are connected via brain-level reflexes controlled at the brain stem. The muscles of the neck move the head; the balance centers of the inner ear sense head movement. The eyes move with head movement to continue tracking whatever is being looked at. The brain coordinates these movements.
When the head is off-center, the brain senses the situation and attempts to maintain head-balance by means of muscular actions (corrective movements). When neck tension is excessive, however, the brain's corrective response is also excessive, which causes above-normal movements of the eyes, which creates excessive feedback to the brainstem (the sensations of movement). (Have you ever experienced the sensations of movement while watching a film?) The combination of incorrect sensory feedback, motor over-correction, excessive eye movement and feedback to the brainstem creates a spinning sensation.
These sensations commonly abate immediately as neck tension relaxes and head movement and position normalizes.
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Foot Pain/Tired Feet
- Related to swayback (tight back muscles). A too-forward posture overburdens the front of the feet and calves. Tight foot muscles get tired and sore. The soft-tissue of the feet gets stretched and irritated. The key is to relax the muscles of the back (to end swayback).
article: "What Your Can Do about Your Own Back Pain"
somatic exercise for calves: The Athletes' Prayer for Loose Calves
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Frequent Urination
- Sometimes called "weak kidneys" or "overactive bladder." Tight abdominal muscles and floor of the pelvis reduce room for the bladder to expand, causing pressure to build up before the bladder is full. Sensors in the urethra report the pressure as fullness. Also, the sphincter muscles of the urethra become conditioned to a heightened state of tension by the frequent pressure, interfering with the ability to void the bladder. The involved muscular tensions must be normalized for normal filling and voiding to occur.
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Hamstrings, Tight
- Causes what is sometimes called, "a pulled hamstring" (actually, there are three). Inability to relax hamstrings to extend to their full length: a conditioning problem signifying incomplete control (ability to relax and to freely use) that muscle group. The need to stretch hamstrings hamstrings always in partial contraction. The pain of hamstring pulls and their tendency to occur can be ended or reduced by somatic education. (to article)
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Headaches
- Tension: habituated tension of the suboccipital neck muscles, which
pull upon the connective tissue that enwraps the skull.
- Migraine: vascular. Chronic contraction of the deep neck musculature
along the sides and around the atlas (C1) may involve interference with the blood-pressure sensors in blood in the neck
vessels. In any case, headaches end as the tension level of these muscles normalizes. The same deep neck musculature pulls the upper vertebrae against the base of the cranium causing additional mechanical pain.
- Sinus: sinuses drain through the lining of the throat. Then throat muscles are tight, draining is blocked by the tension of the lining. As those muscles relax, draining has been observed to start immediately. (to article).
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Hip
- Overcompression by tight muscles. Often, pain is misdiagnosed as coming from the joint, when it comes from the muscles that surround the joint. However, long-term overcompression of the joint by tight muscles leads to cartilage breakdown (thinning and loss). Bone-on-bone contact in the joint results, leading to joint-replacement surgery and to possible subsequent leg length difference and sciatica (see sciatica. The problem is a long-term consequence of tight waist muscles that prevent proper pelvic movement, leading to overworked (and overcontracted) joint muscles. (to article)
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Joint Pain
- Overcompression by tight muscles. One must develop natural control of the muscles that cross the troublesome joint. Look also for unbalanced weight-bearing due to postural distortions, which places excessive burden on the troublesome joint(s). (to article)
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NOTE: If joint damage has occurred, muscles may contract to brace the unstable joint and not respond well to somatic education. That may be a job for a surgeon.
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Knee Pain
- Short or overcontracted hamstrings contribute to knee pain by preventing the knee from straightening under the load of walking. Such overcontraction also predisposes to knee injuries by pulling on the meniscus of the knee or by causing grinding of the patella (kneecap) against the joint.
(to article)
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Obesity
- The pain of overcontracted muscles makes people not want to exercise. Also, obesity often masks (and results from) chronic muscular contraction beneath the fat layer. Circulation is impaired in such areas, allowing metabolic wastes, water (osmotically attracted), and fat to accumulate over long periods. The benefits of (relatively) short periods of dieting and exercising are overwhelmed by the long-term impairment of circulation and other factors. By relaxing the musculature, comfort improves and, exercise becomes possible, again. As circulation improves, fat deposits tend to lessen by themselves, over time. Long-term dietary changes may be necessary.
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Pain, Chronic
- A high percentage of chronic pain comes from muscular soreness due to over-fatigue. Chronically tight muscles develop a chronic "burn," experienced as body aches or mysterious pains. Muscles anywhere in the body may be involved. Tendons may also be overstretched (tendinitis) and bursae entrapped under tight tendons (bursitis)(to article)
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Pain, Migrating
- Sometimes experienced by people receiving massage therapy, stretching, or chiropractic adjustments. Muscular tensions in areas not addressed by the therapy may increase and become painful. Forced relaxation (stretching) or postural shifts without a corresponding gain of muscular control sometimes trigger postural reflexes or protective muscular contractions.
(to article)
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Psoas Muscle Pain
- Sometimes called "weak" psoas muscles, this kind of pain originates from muscle fatigue of overcontracted psoas muscles, which run from the inner groin to the lumbar spine. Usually causing a top-forward pelvic tilt (excessive lumbar lordosis or curve) and a deep fold at the groin, tight psoas muscles cause low back pain and pelvic pain. Somatic training is usually sufficient to free contracted psoas muscles and to restore free movement function.
(to article)
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Sacro-iliac Pain
- The result of compression of that joint by excessive muscular tension of the muscles of the buttock responsible for leg rotation (toe-out), combined with uneven pulls by waist muscles, which change the angle of the pelvis. May result from injury (a blow, fall, or intramuscular injections) that prompts muscular contraction. Relieved by improving muscular control of the area.
May also result from excessive tension of the muscles of the low back, which are connected to soft-tissue in the sacro-iliac area. Such tension, in combination with buttock tension, can cause pain that mimics sacro-iliac pain.
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Sciatica
- Typically caused by a combination of side tilt and swayback, induced by states of tension in the musculature. The misalignment entraps the nerve at its points of exit from the spinal column.
The sciatic nerve sometimes passes through the body of the piriformis muscle in the buttock and may get entrapped there, if the muscle gets chronically contracted.
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related article with appropriate exercise
Scoliosis
- Distortion of spinal curves and rotation of ribs by muscular tensions.
Sometimes caused by muscular tensions following leg or hip injury, often in youth,
which leads to uneven bone growth or creates distortions of posture and movement that become habitual.
Correction or complete improvement possible with somatic education.
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Shoulders, tight/painful
- A common accompaniment of back pain from stress and nervous tension or from prolonged immobility in a high state of concentration. Shoulder pain may also result from the shock of an injury that prompts one to tighten up and/or guard the area injured (e.g., a fall or broken bone). These tension habits can be ended by means of somatic education and comfort can be maintained by use of the somatic transformational exercises.
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Spinal Stenosis
- Commonly pain from narrowing of the spinal canal, through which the spinal cord passes. Sometimes misdiagnosed, particularly when pain comes and goes. Pain that comes and goes does not come from a narrowing of the spinal canal, which remains constant in size even as the pain varies. It comes from changes of muscular tension along the spine, which may create temporary nerve entrapment or muscular pain. Such pain may also result from hip joint dysfunction, which can be corrected by means of somatic education, provided the cartilage of the joint is sufficiently intact.
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Thoracic Outlet Syndrome
- Impingement of the brachial nerve plexus resulting from spasticity of muscles of the neck (scalenes) may create the feeling of one or both arms being "on fire". Can often be corrected by freeing the neck musculature of excessive muscular tension.
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Tendonitis
- Tendons are straps or bands of tissue that attach muscle to bone. As such, tendons are passive and do not get tight by themselves; they get tight when attached muscles tighten and shorten. Tendinitis (or tendonitis) occurs when a muscle stays tight for long periods, as happens when protective reflexes get activated by injury. Strain on the tendon and friction of the tendon on surrounding tissue irritate the tendon and lead to inflammation and pain: tendonitis.
The necessary solution is to recapture control of the involved muscles from the involuntary reflexes (via somatic education). Without that step, anti-inflammatory drugs (such as cortizone) provide only temporary and symptomatic relief, while the injurious condition continues.
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TMJ/TMD Syndrome
- Related to tight jaw and neck muscles. The sub-occipital muscles
may be involved, as they contract when the mouth is opened fully as one reaches forward in biting. Frequently accompanied by headaches.
Can be relieved by releasing the movements of the cranium and neck from the jawbone in all directions of movement.
More severe cases may involve the deep muscles of the throat (longus colli and capitus) associated with the larynx, the musculature associated with the tongue, and the entire rib cage. (to article)
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Uneven Leg Length
- Sometimes bona fide; often misdiagnosed (even when measured). Often results from leg retraction and compression of soft hip joint tissue by tight muscles at the hip joint; sometimes results from hip joint degeneration over the long term (loss of cartilage) from the same condition. (to article)
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Whiplash, Neck Pain
- Persistent pain and dizziness result from involuntary muscular contraction of neck muscles and from interference with postural maintenance of upright head position. Acute (intense, short-term) symptoms may indicate soft-tissue damage (see dizziness). (to article)
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