While there are several types and a wide range of presentations, management of tinnitus is most successful with a multidisciplinary approach. Although there is no cure for tinnitus, I asked my colleague Dr. Drew Price, Au.D., FAAA, a local audiologist at Sound Relief Healing Center, about her take on managing symptoms.

After recently spending 3 days caretaking for my at-risk, elderly family members, I was humbled by the physical toll wearing a mask for 12 consecutive hours each day had on my body. As I was helping with household chores such as dishwashing, laundry and mail opening, about every 30 minutes I became aware of growing tension developing in the back of my neck. This was a result from looking down –– and over my mask –– for extended periods of time.

Everywhere we go, people are staring down at their phones –– hunched over, shoulders rounded, head forward. The long-term effects of this are shocking. There’s even a study showing people are growing ‘horns’ in the backs of their heads because of this prolonged posture.

In my previous post, we covered the benefits of learning how to breathe properly, as well as the foundation of our breath outlined by diaphragmatic breathing. Once you have learned the basics of proper breathing, you can move into different breathing techniques to foster a positive healing environment for the body and aid in managing stress. Other prerequisites are to find a comfortable seated posture and a calm, inner focus. My recommendation is to experiment with each and find the technique which resonates with you. 

As a physical therapist, I often hear from my clients, “I sit at a desk all day and I know I have horrible posture. That’s probably why my neck hurts, right?”. This idea generally comes from social media posts, posture “corrector” gadgets, and posture being the historical blame for every neck and back issue if you have a desk job. But here is the kicker — there is no perfect posture. That’s right, I said it. And this is what I reiterate to my physical therapy clients time and time again to break the negative cycle about posture being the cause of their pain.

Treatment and acknowledgment of concussions have drastically changed over the past few decades. In the 1970’s and 1980’s athletes weren't accurately screened, nevermind diagnosed with a concussion. A “stinger” or “hard knock” were common ways to describe those who took a hit to the head or appeared dazed. The injured athletes were commonly held out for a short period of time. As soon as they started feeling better, they were sent back into the game.

Have you ever had a concussion? Even if you haven’t, chances are you've heard the term CTE. But what do we really know about Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy? Is this something you should worry about if you've had a concussion?

Most people think that a concussion occurs when the brain comes in contact with the skull. However, this simply is not the case.

Like most joints, things pop, click, grind, and tell us we’re still alive! The jaw joint or TMJ (Temporomandibular Joint) is no different. It may start to make noises or feel differently when opening your mouth. But what are those noises? And when are they bad?

The temporomandibular joint (TMJ) is a fancy word for the space between your jaw and your skull. You have two of them, one on either side of your face. The TMJ is a wonderful thing when it works correctly. It allows you to talk, eat, drink, chew, sing, laugh, yawn, and breathe through your mouth. You get the point, it does a lot. The joint itself is small but really strong. In fact, it can endure up to 250 pounds!