BodyCompass

02/10/2025

Case study - neck pain resolved after working on the hand and forearm

Office worker who lifts heavy weights at the gym experiencing pain on the left side of his neck as well as weakness in his left shoulder when lifting weights

Muscle testing revealed his shoulder was strong, however testing his shoulder whilst also incorporating his grip resulted in significant weakness

Further examination showed restrictions of movement in his wrist. Direct muscle testing of his hand revealed weakness in several parts of his hand, most notably his thumb

Palpation revealed a nerve was trapped between muscles in his forearm and between muscles and connective tissue in his hand

After using specific massage techniques to remove the nerve entrapment his grip strength returned and neck pain was completely resolved

One can conclude the neck pain was due to a compensation in order to stabilize the shoulder and hand whilst lifting weights

02/10/2025

Sciatica? Or something similar?

There are 3 different types of sciatica like symptoms

1. Lumbar radiculopathy (or lumbo-sacral radiculopathy)
Most often caused by a disc bulge or disc herniation at the lower lumbar spine. The disc bulge/herniation compresses a nerve root and this will very likely cause pain at the lower back, the back of the thigh and your calf and foot

2. Sciatica
This is caused by compression of the sciatic nerve near a bone called the sacrum. This will only cause pain in your calf and foot

3. Pseudo-sciatica
This will create the exact same symptoms as sciatica (pain in the calf and foot), however the sciatic nerve is simply being compressed by muscles in the mid/lower buttock region or back of the thigh

Regardless of which type of nerve compression, the best course of action is to focus on the entire path of the nerves from the lower back all the way to the toes

This is because once a nerve becomes compressed at one location it can no longer properly glide between muscles and connective tissue. Over time it will then get stuck at other locations along its path (much like the train delays we often experience in the UK)

For lumbar radiculopathy work is also needed to reactivate weak core muscles so that the bones of the spine can reduce compression of the disc, allowing the bulge/herniation to regain position between the bones of the spine

08/09/2025

Your feet are springs

When walking and running, with each step, your foot is supposed to flatten towards the ground so it can spring back up with an arch

A lot of people have "flat feet" which means their feet are stuck in a flat position - in other words their foot can not hold the position of an arch

Less commonly some people's feet are stuck in an arch - their feet will not flatten to spring back up with each step

In both cases the feet are not moving the way they are supposed to

The lack of spring in their feet cause a dysfunctional chain reaction all the way up the body - this most commonly can cause knee pain and back pain

For feet that are stuck in an arch, work is needed to allow the feet to flatten - often by addressing the feet, ankles and hips

To resolve "flat feet' work is also most often needed on the feet, ankles and hips. What may seem counter-intuitive is I then teach these people specific exercises to train their feet to flatten more - as this will allow the foot to begin springing back up in to an arch while the soft tissues regain integrity over time

A very flat foot is a very flat spring - the only way to regain its springing potential is to add more compression so it can immediately recoil - the amount of recoil the foot produces can be increased over time

04/08/2025

Knee pain? In most cases your ankle or hip are the cause

Restrictions at the ankle will often cause your knee to move in more complex ways than it should during daily activities such as walking

Weakness in various parts of the hip will often cause imbalances at the knee - this is largely due to the fact that many of the muscles that move the hip joint also move the knee joint

Knee pain can very often be resolved from only working on restrictions at the ankle

If there is a hip weakness then working on both hip and knee restrictions is often necessary

An injury to a knee ligament (even from years ago) can often be traced back to an ankle restriction - rehabbing the knee should not be the only action you take - you have to ask your self why your knee joint moved too much in the first place

01/08/2025

Neck pain, headaches and/or brain fog?

An often overlooked cause is nerve entrapment at the forearms and elbows

These restrictions at the forearms and elbows cause weakness in the hands

The neck and jaw commonly increase tension to compensate for weakness in the hands - which can lead to neck pain, headaches and brain fog

Unfortunately this exacerbates the weakness in the hands as the same nerves also become restricted at the neck - creating a cumulative pain cycle

Specific massage techniques are needed to free the pathway of the nerves in order to resolve the entrapment and subsequent hand weakness

22/07/2025

Case study-a good example of lower back pain being completely resolved from only working on the foot and ankle

Cricket player with lower back pain at the sacrum

Movement assessment showed restriction of left foot and ankle with excessive movement of left hip and lower back

Hands on assessment revealed restrictions between muscles, connective tissue and nerves in the left shin, calf and foot

After using specific massage techniques on these restrictions the movement assessment showed an appropriate and balanced amount of movement between the foot, ankle, hip and lower back

In this case the lower back pain at the sacrum was completely resolved during the session as well as no issues several days later during a cricket match

One can conclude the lack of movement in the foot and ankle was causing the lower back pain as the hip and lower back were compensating for the discrepancy during daily activities

19/07/2025

23/06/2025

Nerve entrapment-the most overlooked cause of chronic pain

Your nerves can often get stuck in between muscles and underneath tendons and ligaments

This prevents the nerves from freely gliding between muscles, tendons and ligaments during everyday movements

Your body then adjusts with compensations to avoid putting strain on these trapped nerves

Joints become compressed and restricted to limit movement around the trapped nerves

Other joints decompress and move too much to make up for the lack of movement in the compressed joints

These compensations lead to muscle imbalances over time which cause pain and discomfort

Focusing on the muscle imbalances and joint restrictions will often not resolve the pain and discomfort as they are a needed compensation to prevent strain on the trapped nerves

Specific massage techniques are needed to allow the nerves to move freely between the muscles, tendons and ligaments

Once the nerves are gliding freely again the compensations are no longer necessary and the muscle imbalances and joint restrictions can be resolved

16/03/2024

Improvements pictured from 1 session. Notice the compression in right side of lower back and right shoulder dropping now resolved.
Symptoms included pain in lower back and jaw as well as discomfort in shoulders, possibly caused after surgery on right ear to remove cancerous tissue. Symptoms were resolved by the end of the session in this case.