Pain in the Booty

Happy October!

Fall is definitely in the air in our home. We're up to our eyeballs in football between our beloved Broncos and both boys playing on flag football teams....we're working on coming up with some great Halloween costumes...and we're gearing up for winter and the upcoming snowboard season. And just think, only 85 more days till Christmas! Yikes!

This month's muscle is one that seems to bother us all at one point or another. It's deep, guarded, sensitive, temperamental and a real pain in the butt!

Muscle of the Month: The Piriformis

*Location- This flat, small, deep muscle attaches the sacrum to the top of the upper leg bone.

*Action- The piriformis stabilizes the hip joint, lifts and outwardly rotates the thigh, enables us to walk, balance and shift weight. In other words, it's used in basically every motion of the hips and legs.

*Common Complaints- This small muscle can cause lots of pain and issues. Tightness in the piriformis causes pain in the low back, pain in the buttocks, aching or tingling in the leg, and numbness or weakness in the leg. A tight piriformis by itself can be awful, but the situation can be much worse if the inflammed muscle presses on the sciatic nerve. This can lead to a more serious condition- Piriformis Syndrome- which is a neuromuscular disorder caused when the piriformis muscle compresses the sciatic nerve. **Contact your doctor if you're concerned your painful piriformis may be more than just every day aches and soreness.

*Typical Causes- Compression of the piriformis from a fall or direct trauma, too much sitting, sitting on a wallet, too much driving, poor posture, issues with vertebrae or discs can all cause pain and/or Piriformis Syndrome. Pain can also be caused by a lot of physical exercise involving the legs and hips-squats, running, aerobics, stair climbing, etc without proper stretching, rest and massage.

*Stretches- This video has 3 great stretches as well as some good information on Piriformis Syndrome. This video has the seated piriformis stretch that you can do at work or school or even at your kitchen table. If you're experiencing pain in this muscle, try the above stretches each day for a few minutes on each side.

*Helpful hints- In addition to stretching, you can also use a tennis ball and lay on the floor with the ball in the meat of your glutes/buttock to try to release trigger points. If self massage, stretching and ice doesn't help, be sure to let me know so we can focus on this area during your next massage and discuss your specific problem.

Hot Stones Are Back!!

Fall is officially here and that means one thing.....Hot Stones are back!

Relax, unwind, and warm up with a hot stone massage. The heated stones provide deeper muscle work, increased circulation, improved joint mobility, deeper relaxation and tension relief. Sound good?
Call today and add hot stones to your next massage for only $10 extra.

THANK YOU TEAM E!
Thanks to the generosity of our friends, family and village, Team E came in 5th place raising an incredible $13,787!! There are not enough "thank yous" in the world, nor time in the day to properly thank you all.
Type One Diabetes is hard, but having your support makes the hard parts a little easier. We are proud, honored and grateful to have you in our lives and by our side. Thank you, from the bottom of our hearts.

In gratitude,

Bryn Rath
Tranquil Massage