Posts in pain reduction
Reader Q & A: Thanksgiving Edition

Happy Thanksgiving! I am thankful for my readers, especially the ones who have provided me some some good questions that I can paste together with my answers to create a blog post.

Questions include: why does it hurt here; why doesn't it hurt here; why is my hamstring stiff; and should I use resistance on sports movements?

(By the way, if you want to ask a question and get it answered in a future post, contact me here.)

Read More
Central Governors Part One: Strength

What are your physical limits? What is your body capable of? How fast, how far, how strong, how long? In all likelihood you will never know, because your brain will probably never let your body reach its real limit. And that’s a good thing, because that will help prevent you from breaking bones, straining muscles, dislocating joints and maybe even killing yourself...

Read More
Ideomotion Part 2: Corrective Movements

In a previous post I introduced the concept of ideomotion, which is a non voluntary movement prompted by mental activity. In this post I’ll discuss Barrett Dorko’s interesting theory that ideomotion may play a role in reducing and preventing some common sources of chronic pain. Here is my (hopefully accurate) interpretation of Dorko’s theory in a nutshell....

Read More
Can Ideomotion Treat Chronic Pain? Part One

Ideomotion is a movement that occurs as a result of mental activity, but independently of conscious volition. This makes it a very mischievous movement. Although most people have never heard of ideomotion, it is the likely explanation for a wide variety of interesting phenomena, such as ouija boards, cold reading, poker tells, various scams and magic tricks, and certain claims of supernatural power

Read More
How Does Kinesiotape Work?

Ever notice that athletes sometimes wear medical tape on various parts of their body during competition? During the 2008 Olympic games, numerous athletes, including volleyball star Kerri Walsh, wore interesting formations of "kinesiotape" on their shoulders, knees, and backs. David Beckham and Serena Williams are also fans of the tape. Perhaps this is just because David and Serena are fashionable types - they are bored with tattoos and looking for the latest in alternative body adornment.

Read More