Bosscher Chiropractic, PLLC

Bosscher Chiropractic, PLLC Doctor of Chiropractic serving the Holland and Zeeland area

04/23/2026

Pain in the FRONT of the shoulder? Or how about the “armpit” of the elbow? 🤔

Well it could be the biceps muscle/tendon.

Bi = two. Biceps has two heads and two attachments up at the shoulder.

One of the attachments is at the labrum of the shoulder.

The labrum is a ring of cartilage lining the shoulder joint.

Labrum tears can be quite common, so the tone of the biceps and overall posture/biomechanics should be observed.

Distal biceps attach down past the elbow. I see this on occasion but not as common as issues associated with the shoulder.

The second attachment site into the shoulder region is actually to part of the shoulder blade (coracoid process on the scapula).

So again, “fixing” or preventing this, one needs to observe posture and mechanics of movement and go from there. (Strengthening + releasing muscles, neuromuscular reeducation)

Hypertonicity of the biceps will likely create an upward and forward tilt to the scapula. This alone can create some issues in the long term..

04/13/2026

Part 2 of “lift with the legs.”🦵

Big picture here is that we want to *primarily* use large leg + hip muscles to assist in moving or lifting whatever we are doing.

We still need and want to use the smaller stabilizing muscles, but I find through different movement biomechanics that we often rely heavily on the smaller stabilizing muscles to become our primary “movers.”

Smaller muscles = more easily fatigued = more often strained = can produce symptoms..

No matter what, with bending and lifting we are using back muscles. However, if I only rely on bending through the spine, I will use just that… the muscles of the back.

Not as strong and may become strained (over time).

Not meant to be a scare tactic, just biomechanics of how we move. Use larger muscles to assist in movement and lifting.

Ideally we all train these deeper smaller muscles as well! Like I had said, these are often the ones that actually produce the symptoms I see everyday.

Side note. I’ve treated a handful of powerlifters over the years. Not everyone, but I’d often see these huge strong guys would have a hard time performing “easy” exercises that challenge their stabilizing muscles.

So while heavy lifts may bulk someone up and improve strength, don’t forget about challenging your stability.

*also not saying you can’t ever bend in the spine. It’s just ideal to utilize leg musculature to offload the back 🤝👌

04/09/2026

Dealing with back pain? Well let’s start by assessing movement mechanics of bending + lifting.

*this isn’t a post saying lumbar flexion is the sole reason for back pain… 👍 👇

However, if you observe and feel what muscles are engaged between these three movements, you’ll understand where I’m coming from.

If I ONLY bend through the spine, you will feel all the muscles engaged are the ones along the spine. I am able to do this WITHOUT feeling really any glute/hamstring involvement.

Compare this to the hinging or squat motion which REQUIRES these larger hip and leg muscles to work 💪

I’ll do another post going through the muscles, but to me it makes sense to utilize larger and stronger muscles to offload the smaller back muscles which are more easily fatigued or strained under load (over time).

So the old saying, “lift with your legs,” is pretty straight forward and true in my opinion.

Again, not saying you or I can’t ever bend through the spine. We were made to be able to do flexion and multiple motions of the spine. It becomes problematic when you solely rely on these relatively (smaller) muscles to “carry” the load under bending/twisting.

03/30/2026

Pain is usually the LAST thing to present and often the FIRST to go away… but look at the things “under the surface” that may contribute!

As a provider it’s my job to get people out of pain as effectively and as fast as possible. So my focus is often strictly PAIN-RELIEF.

Now some people just want to be out of pain. No offense, but they’re not interested in active lifestyle changes, or it’s too hard. They would rather someone else do it for them… 🤷‍♂️

I’ll always do what I can and give suggestions, but as I mention in part 2 👆is the TIME I spend with someone during the week, which is next to nothing.

Realistically 0.15-0.60% of the WEEK. I’m not even spending close to one percent of someone’s time during the week to help them.

Hope that puts it into perspective for some.

So what about the other 99% time during the week? Are there things YOU can focus on that may help improve symptoms for the LONG TERM!

For me, I prioritize exercise, diet, and sleep 👌 I need to do a better job with stress management, but who’s not stressed nowadays 🤦‍♂️😅

So if you don’t want to chase pain forever, take a look under the surface on some things you can improve. Take TIME for yourself and work on it. Don’t you want to take control for yourself so you’re not reliant on medication, for example.. you got this 🤝🤙

03/23/2026

Pain on the TOP of your foot? I’d first look into this tissues involved as well as history (repetitive use or an injury?)

One of the main muscles that lays on top of the foots bones is the extensor digitorum longus.

This muscle runs along the front/side part of the shin and travels down the top of the foot into the toes 2-5.

It functions to raise ankle and toes UPWARD.

So you can imagine, if there was a sprain with the ankle buckling under (inversion sprain) then this tissue would likely be involved.

Or repetitive use like running. This requires good toes and ankle range of motion.

*there’s certainly nothing wrong with running or sports. However, if these muscles are constantly straining due to LIMITED ankle or toe mobility, there would likely be an issue in the longterm…

I treat something like this with Active Release Technique, and likely isometric exercise to start. Heat may assist in improving blood flow + oxygen to the tissues depending on severity..

*other suggestions based on your presentation 😉🤝

Have you had something like this? 🙋‍♂️ I treat the whole body. I’m not just a spine doctor 😜 happy to help!

03/18/2026

The VMO is part of the quads and often a source of medial (inside) knee pain.

I’ve seen this 3 times in a fairly short time frame, and all youth athletes!! (Middle school-college)

The VMO (vastus medialis obliqus) is one of the four muscles that make of our QUADS. It looks like a teardrop, and is often referred as the teardrop muscle around the knee.

It attaches on the inside part of the patella and patellar tendon and acts to assist in kneecap stabilization through movement.

The kneecap travels through the patellofemoral groove, or it should 😉

It’s common to have muscular imbalances here where the kneecap is either getting pulled laterally (more common) or medially.

Most of the time, people need to strengthen the VMO. It’s often weak and then more easily strained or irritated.

So in the short term, I’d go after loosening the muscle to help ease tension and pain, then progress to stabilization around the knee and the HIPS!

You dealing with similar symptoms? My first look is above the knee at the quad muscles 👍

I help a lot of people with issues outside of the spine, and I’m happy to help you out. A lot of post-graduate training in rehab/soft tissue, so I’m not your in-and-out chiro 🤝

03/11/2026

Here’s how you can use a band to assist in dialing in your hip hinge (deadlift) 👍

Similar to if I were laying on my back and pushing my hands down into the ground, this resistance of pulling the band backward accomplishes the same thing.

This ultimately assists in engaging your core and lats. Strong muscles that assist in moving weight 💪

It’s also just a good reminder on maintaining a “stiff” spine through the movement.

The other example is where the band is somewhat pulling from behind.

This will help with driving your hips BACK, and really targets glutes and hamstrings.

Same thing here with trying to maintain a stiff spine and have the hinging motion primarily be coming from your HIPS!

Give it a go! Pretty easy, but I like using this to assist in dialing in this movement if someone is struggling.

*hey, if you’re dealing with back pain and can’t hinge like this 👆I’m happy to help. This is stuff I preach literally multiple times a day. A lot of times pain comes and goes, but it’s ideal to master good or better movement mechanics 👍

Call or DM to schedule 🤝

03/02/2026

Coupled motion = 2 or more planes of motion moving together.

For example: during side bending, you can expect rotation of the vertebra as well. Which direction of the vertebra is my main point here… 🤔

This is mostly important to us as providers to better find WHERE and how to treat ✅

I use this as palpating the bones/joints/muscles through motion. Motion palpation 👍 are things gliding and sliding appropriately?

You can imagine, if there’s a “stuck” joint and surrounding muscle guarding, I can feel that.

If we get elementary caveman… things aren’t moving, get things moving 😜🤝

So I ultimately use this diagnostically to better feel restriction in motion, then treat appropriately likely through muscle releasing and/or joint mobilization/manipulation.

Also pretty important to note is that the coupled motion of ROTATION occurs in the OPPOSITE direction when comparing the neck and the low back‼️

02/25/2026

Just wanted to point out a few things from a side view of the neck.

For one, there’s a normal curve (lordosis) to the neck, similar to the one in the low back.

It’s very common to observe on X-ray that there tends to be structural change to the LOWER part of the neck (over time).

This isn’t to say there never any changes to the upper neck… I just expect some deformity as we age in the lower neck.

Notice I say “I expect to see”… this is somewhat normal but does NOT necessarily equate to someone’s pain. Sometimes it does, sometimes it doesn’t. Multiple factors to consider with someone in pain…

As mentioned, C5-C7 provides a lot of motion. This is good 👍 however, the lower part of the neck then meets the relatively rigid upper thoracic spine.

Depending on well the above + below joint segments are moving, this cervical thoracic junction can be the source of some issues.

A common “hinge point” if you can picture it…

As always, if I’m palpating this region, I’m feeling for areas of joint restriction. We want good movement the all joint segments. Limited motion around this region will create an even more significant general “hinge.”

Hope it makes sense. Nothing to be scared of, just want good movement mechanics and posture as we age 🤝

02/18/2026

I’m always a fan of trying to make things practical when it comes to training ✅

This example shows the practicality of adding ROTATION to a single leg exercise like a lunge.

Very important in sports, which require a great deal of side-to-side movement. Both in controlling DECELERATION as well as generating POWER through the push off. 👍

However, this can also be useful to anyone working around the house. I demonstrate 👆how loading the hip through rotation takes away the need for excessive STEPS 👣

I can rotate around my hip and point my pelvis in the direction I’m going or moving something, instead of having to take multiple steps in achieving the same outcome.

First, try it as a warm up and get your hips used to this motion. Then ideally you can add weight to it.

There’s nothing wrong with doing a lunge straight and straight down ⬆️⬇️ I’m just a fan of really loading up the glutes by adding rotation.

Most of us need greater hip range of motion anyway 🤷‍♂️

Hope it all makes sense and you can give it a go! If you need any tweaks to your workout or movements, I’m happy to help! 👍

While I don’t tape all my patients, it certainly can be an effective tool to use 👍I use both kinesiology tape (stretchy)...
02/16/2026

While I don’t tape all my patients, it certainly can be an effective tool to use 👍

I use both kinesiology tape (stretchy) and leukotape (no stretch) depending on what we’re trying to accomplish.

Kinesiology tape provides a light, dynamic support to muscles or joint without restricting movement. It can help stimulate mechanoreceptors in the skin which help modulate PAIN sensitivity.

Depending on the application, kinesiology tape can also LIFT up the skin to allow better subcutaneous fluid flow. Important in the case of swelling or bruising.

Leukotape or athletic tape is much more sturdy with no flex. This is usually applied to reinforce joint STABILITY. Depending on the application, it can be used to restrict movement of a joint.

I’m a certified Rocktape provider, and have taped up many athletes over the years! To me, it’s just another tool I can apply, but if you’re interested in either kinesiology or leukotape applications, feel free to reach out! 🤝

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Chiropractor serving Holland, MI

I am happy to be transitioning to Holland, MI (from Grand Rapids) and offer my services to this community. My effort is get patients out of pain as soon as possible, but truly go after their root cause of discomfort. Many, if not most of the time, symptoms arise due to muscular imbalances through the body. My job is to find these imbalances, treat the dysfunction, and strengthen muscles where necessary. I do not only treat athletes or sports injuries, but I believe in restoring movement and mobility through the body in order to function properly.