the Somatics blog
Exploring how the brain controls posture and movement, why we experience muscle and joint pain,
and how we can live our lives to the fullest.
The Life-Changing Link Between Anxiety and Muscle Tension
Anxiety is a true “somatic” condition: It is typically brought on and made worse not by any external source like a virus, but by our internal psychological and physiological functioning. […]
What is the Stretch Reflex (Myotatic Reflex)?
Learn why static stretching usually doesn’t accomplish much due to the myotatic reflex, more commonly referred to as the stretch reflex. […]
Getting out of the Fibromyalgia Pain Cycle
Fibromyalgia can be the result of an ongoing, self-perpetuating cycle of chronic pain, psychological stress, overactive immune system response, lack of sleep, and sensitization of the nervous system. […]
What is Chronic Inflammation, and Why Is It Killing Us?
What is Chronic Inflammation, and Why Is It Killing Us? If it seems like you hear a lot about inflammation, you’re right. It’s become the latest buzzword in the health world due to research showing the link between inflammation and many chronic conditions including cancer, heart disease, diabetes, dementia, and depression. Ever since these [...]
The Role of Diet in Chronic Pain
The Role of Diet in Chronic PainIn this blog, I usually focus on the muscle and joint pain that's caused by our chronic muscle tension and our habitual posture and movement; that's what Clinical Somatics is all about.However, there's another common cause of chronic pain that many people are not aware of: chronic systemic inflammation.We [...]
The Causes of SI Joint Pain and Dysfunction
The Causes of SI Joint Pain and Dysfunction The sacroiliac joints are at the true center of our skeleton, so they bear the brunt of any imbalance or sudden force that occurs in our body. In this post we'll discuss the most common causes of sacroiliac joint pain and dysfunction: imbalanced posture and movement, [...]
How to Prevent and Alleviate Spinal Degeneration
How to Prevent and Alleviate Spinal Degeneration Spinal degeneration refers to any breakdown or structural change in our spinal discs and vertebrae. The degeneration is virtually always the result of our chronic muscle tension, posture, and how we move and use our body on a regular basis. Spinal degeneration can occur at any age, [...]
What’s Causing Your Snapping Hip Syndrome?
What's Causing Your Snapping Hip Syndrome? Up to 10% of us experience snapping hip syndrome at some point in our lives. The condition is most often caused by connective tissue snapping over bone as we flex and extend the hip joint. For some people, snapping hip is painless and simply annoying, but for others [...]
The Placebo Effect on Pain Perception and Healing
The Placebo Effect on Pain Perception and Healing The placebo effect is a general term that describes the physiological effects of believing that we're going to feel better or heal from a condition. The placebo effect has long been discounted in Western medicine—when placebos work, we're just imagining that we're getting better, we're not actually [...]
Breathing in Clinical Somatics exercises
Breathing in Clinical Somatics exercises Many students ask me how to breathe correctly when practicing Clinical Somatics exercises. Your breathing pattern is more important in some exercises than others, depending on whether or not the exercise includes extension or flexion of the spine. In this post I'll describe why diaphragmatic breathing is important, the [...]
Unlocking Your Body: Your Personal Process of Releasing Tension and Pain
Unlocking Your Body: Your Personal Process of Releasing Tension and Pain Many people ask me how long it will take them to release their chronic tightness or get out of pain. I wish I could answer this question, but the truth is that everyone's patterns of muscular tension and pain are so unique that [...]
The Myth of Aging: What’s Inevitable, and What Isn’t?
The Myth of Aging: What's Inevitable, and What Isn't? We like to blame a lot of things on aging: our lack of energy, our stiff joints and sore muscles, our rounded shoulders, and our expanding waistlines. But are these changes in our body and functioning inevitable—or are they a result of gradual changes in our [...]
The Cause of Idiopathic Scoliosis: Involuntary Muscle Contraction
The Cause of Idiopathic Scoliosis: Involuntary Muscle Contraction Scoliosis is regarded as mysterious and incurable by many people in the medical community. While some cases are caused by congenital structural abnormalities or neurological or muscular diseases, the vast majority—around 85%—are of unknown cause. The fact is, the bones in our body do not move [...]