Tennis Elbow Exercises

Which Tennis Elbow exercises actually work and which don’t? There is currently only one evidence-based tennis elbow exercise, and it involved using a Therabar or Flexbar. There’s nothing worse than having your physical therapist or chiropractor assign you a tennis elbow exercise in the office, and then you get home and can’t remember which hand goes where, and what direction to twist. Inspired by brilliant rap lyricist Missy Elliott, I show you an easy way to remember how to do this super-effective exercise for tennis elbow.

Also in this video I show you how to decide which color (level of resistance) to start with. Hint: if it is too difficult and your form breaks down, you would get better results by starting with a less-difficult resistance. This exercise is good for anyone who performs repetitive motions (dentist, guitar player, rock climber, keyboard/computer user. Most people who have tennis elbow aka lateral epicondylitis or lateral epicondylosis (find out more about the terms “itis” vs. “osis” here) don’t actually play tennis. But they get the same painful and annoying condition developing in their outer elbow as those who show up mentally and physically for a tennis match.

81% of subjects who did this eccentric exercise (in addition to traditional treatment) reported a decrease in pain compared to only 21% of subjects who skipped this exercise and only did traditional treatment. Building up eccentric strength in a tendon is important because we can tolerate more load in eccentric movement than we can in concentric movement, so it’s important to improve that particular type of tendon strength. This will help rock climbers resist forearm fatigue, and help computer users perform tasks for a longer period of time without having as much elbow pain.

So order a FlexBar on Amazon and get to it!

* Amazon affiliate link

* Tennis Elbow Exercises: Eccentric research article:

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Female Chiropractor in Oakland California

Have you been looking for a female chiropractor in Oakland California?


Why doesn’t foam rolling work anymore for my injury?

Alright, so, have you ever wondered why foam rolling and stretching and ice all of a sudden seem to stop working for certain injuries? Well I’m going to tell you why. The short answer is that we’ve moved on from a situation where we have a tight muscle, to a situation where you have a muscle filled with adhesion. So how do we get from point A to point B? Well, let’s take a look at this video:

As explained in the second half of the video, you actually need mechanical pressure to break-down adhesion. That’s what I do in my office. The techniques are manual therapy, that is, by hand. Or by tools, to get in there and break-down the adhesion. It’s not super-comfortable, but it’s not the worst treatment in the world. I would say most people would compare it to a deep tissue massage that is really really specific, and very therapeutic. There are a lot of misconceptions about what I do. One person maybe thinks I use a chainsaw to take out adhesion, another person thinks I have like, a scraper. Nothing scary like that, it’s just manual therapy techniques, getting specifically into the affected areas of the muscle that have the adhesion…taking the correct contact and the correct lines of drive, to get rid of that adhesion. It takes a little while to break it down, you can’t do it instantaneously, it’s built-up over time, and you need to chip it down over time as well. So, I hope that answers your question as to why sometimes foam rolling works and sometimes why it doesn’t. Stay tuned for the next video where I show you a new foam rolling type of tool I’ve been using recently that works 10x better than standard foam rollers for some injuries.

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Piper Wai Natural Deodorant Review

The new commercial for Piper Wai Natural Deod0rant got me thinking. Does the aluminum found in antiperspirants really have a link to breast cancer? Or is that just a myth? Here’s a quick summary of the research and my thoughts on the issue.

If you are looking for a more natural solution, you may want to watch this short video describing my experience with both homemade and store-bought natural deodorants, including why they don’t work. This is the one natural deodorant I’ve found that actually works, and the active ingredient may surprise you.

If you want to try the product, please click on the picture linked below. In full disclosure, it’s my affiliate link on Amazon. It won’t cost you anything extra to purchase the deodorant through this link, and I may earn a small commission on the sale that I put towards producing more content-rich videos and blogs.


Sunny Sunday Strawberry Sparkler






Sounds good, on to the next step.

Step Two:


Step Three:

Fill up your pitcher most of the way with water.

Step Four:


Step Five:



Step Six:


Step Seven (Optional):


Step Eight:






Photo attributions: cc wiki and pixabay.




Oakland Chiropractor Loves Aaptiv Fitness App


Oakland chiropractor headphones

Do you ever have trouble picking music that best reflects your fitness mood? You are all dressed to go for a long walk or run and you’re feeling inspired and energetic…but you just can’t figure out which song to play on your phone or what Pandora station to select that might match those feelings? Or maybe you’ve got your headphones on and you’re excited to go lift weights to burn off some steam at the end of your workday, but random Eminem and Beyonce songs just aren’t doing it for you (nice try online radio “Hip Hop mix”). Well I certainly relate to this frustration both in the fitness realm and in everyday life. And while I won’t be able to offer suggestions for how to match your music to your mood for a weekend afternoon sitting on the deck sipping on Sunny Sunday Strawberry Sparklers, I can certainly offer a hearty recommendation that can recharge your fitness fizz-out!

I think that you either have that ear for music, or you don’t. My four-year-old son describes the feeling that a certain song gives him by saying in a contemplative voice, “that makes me feel purple” or belting out “that song is so red!” and he can repeat most of the words of a song back after only hearing it one time. My spouse can also hear all the little parts of a song and identify what instruments are playing during each part, and they can craft a great playlist. I, on the other hand, have been known to answer, “oh, was there just music playing?” when asked whether I liked a certain song. I’m good at a lot of things, but choosing appropriate music isn’t one of them. The good news is…there is help!

Oakland chiropractor walk pic

Enter the Aaptiv app for your phone! It’s a service that curates music and matches it to ready-made workouts. Let’s say you want to go on a power walk…you choose how long you want to walk and what your fitness level is (you can browse all the available walking workouts or filter your preferences) and then you pick a workout. They have everything from “Mindful Body Scan” and “Compassionate Walk” to “Smooth Love Walk” and some other genres in between. When you select a workout, the trainer’s voice comes on telling you what the workout is going to be like, and then they give you guidance and tips throughout the workout. All the while, you get to hear great music that fits the speed of walk you have selected! They even tell you when you’re at the halfway-mark so that you can turn around and head for home if you’re walking outside. No more do I find myself checking my phone every five minutes to see when I’m halfway done or to fiddle with finding the next good song. I can just put it in my pocket and forget about it and I am guided through my walk!

oakland chiropractor spin bike

So that’s the deal for going on a walk. They also have similar sections for treadmill workouts, elliptical workouts, and spin bike workouts. Those are some of my favorites. I personally find that a 60 minute spinning class is too long for me, and I dislike leaving a group class early. So before Aaptiv, that left me alone on a spin bike during an off-time for classes, which is fine with me. I don’t mind exercising alone and I’m comfortable adjusting my own spin bike. But I would be constantly fiddling with my music and not really motivated by it. Plus, I technically have enough experience under my belt to create an interval workout and mix up standing and sitting etc, but when it came down to doing that every time, I found it mentally taxing and boring. Having the trainer’s voice guide me through a warm up and intervals and a cool down is so refreshing and there are enough workouts to choose from that I don’t get bored with the music playlists.

Oakland chiropractor lunges

Their strength training workouts are popular, from what I’ve observed in their online fitness community (a Facebook group), but I don’t find myself selecting them often. Of the workouts I tried, the music was great and got me energized, but it felt like a lot of squats and lunges. And the modifications for more advanced moves: you guessed it, more bodyweight squats and lunges. I guess that’s good every now and then, but my preference is for moving heavy weights. If I wasn’t exercising at a great gym in my community I might pick more of these workouts, but I feel pretty set in that department. One other note I have to add because I’m a chiropractor, I didn’t love their “abs” workouts. Too many crunches/situps/forward flexion type exercises. And as someone who currently has to modify their workouts while healing a diastasis recti, I need to avoid plank-position moves. Unfortunately, after the crunches and situps, here comes planks! I’m glad that planks are incorporated overall for the general population, they are a much healthier exercise for your low back than most sit-ups, but I personally felt that I couldn’t benefit much from doing their ab workouts. To be fair, this isn’t unique to Aaptiv trainers, lot’s of “core workouts” out there call for similar movements.

I saved the best section for last. YOGA!!!

Oakland chiropractor favorite fitness app

I can’t say enough positive things about their yoga and meditation sections. As a trained yoga teacher, I know the level of skill required to seamlessly guide a class through each step and each breath of a flow class. And that is when the class can see you demonstrate the moves as you go along! To teach a clear and not-confusing audio-only flow class requires mastery. They’ve found some top instructors such as Amanda Murdock for this task, and the result is some amazingly relaxing and transformative classes. Not all of the voices work for me, but they have enough variety that I can stick with my favorites and not get bored. I would honestly say that you could do 90% of the classes without any yoga experience, regardless of whether they are rated beginner, intermediate, or advanced. As long as you are willing to listen to your body and back-off any pose that feels painful, the verbal instructions are accurate and descriptive enough to guide you into most poses. Most of the classes have cool music soundscapes, and not just the “new aged flute music” you may think of when you hear the term “yoga music.”

If you are thinking of trying out, I believe they still have a free one-week trial. I jumped on a holiday special last December and got two subscriptions for the price of one and gifted one to my spouse, but I believe the subscriptions are now just under $10/month. (I’m not getting paid anything to blog about Aaptiv; it has improved my fitness life and I’m excited to share it with those who don’t already know about it!)

Do you use Aaptiv? Are you tempted to try it out? Let me know what you think of the service and what your favorite workouts are!

Picture attributions: shoes/headphones cc flikr, runner, lunges, and spin class cc wiki, yogi cc pixabay.

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Wrist Pain with Breastfeeding and Baby Holding

Do you struggle with wrist pain when breastfeeding or with baby holding? Maybe you’ve tried stretching or using a brace, but the pain keeps coming back? In this video I’m going to show you how you can fix your wrist pain so you can get back to breastfeeding and taking care of your baby more comfortably.

I will show you three simple ergonomic changes you can make in how you lift and hold your baby and three self-care muscle therapies you can do to help reduce your wrist pain with breastfeeding and baby holding. And I’ll explain what the next steps are if the issue has become chronic and isn’t responding to at-home care.

If you’d like to book your free consultation, please fill out the form below and we will contact you within 24 hours.

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Neck Pain with Breastfeeding

Do you struggle with neck pain when breastfeeding? Maybe you’ve tried heat and ice packs and ibuprofen and nothing seems to help? Eventually you start to dread sitting down for another nursing session because you know the pain will still be there. In this video I’m going to show you how you can fix your neck pain so you can get back to breastfeeding more comfortably.

I will show you three simple stretches and three self-care muscle therapies you can do to help reduce your neck pain with breastfeeding. And I’ll explain what the next steps are if the issue has become chronic and isn’t responding to at-home care.


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Diastasis Recti: What it is and how to treat it without surgery

Oakland chiropractor how to treat diastasis recti


Diastasis Recti is a condition in which your most superficial abdominal muscles (rectus abdominus) separate along the midline of the body. The left and right sides of the abs split apart and the connective tissue along the midline stretches and becomes weaker. It most commonly occurs during pregnancy or during childbirth, but many people, including some men, have a diastasis recti and just don’t know it! It has been said that even the founder of Pilates, Joseph Pilates, had a diastasis!

Other than the abdominal “pooch” appearance that can go along with a diastasis, there can also be functional deficits. These muscles are designed to help support your back and your organs, and if they are no longer in the proper location and holding the proper tension, they fail at these important jobs. Pelvic pain, incontinence, back pain, and poor joint mechanics can all occur when someone has a diastasis. The goal is to draw the muscles back towards the midline, so that they can start doing their job again, and that the connective tissue no longer has to work overtime to provide that support in their absence.

The main cause of a diastasis is continuous stretching or overuse of the rectus abdominus muscles.  Pregnancy or carrying a lot of excess weight in the abdomen is the primary cause of stretching of these muscles. Strangely enough, overtraining this set of muscles (overuse) in the quest for better looking abs, can actually cause a diastasis to occur, which allows for an abdominal protrusion, which causes the abs to look more “pooched-out”. So many fitness buffs create that vicious cycle because there is such a strong popular focus on crunches, bicycles, jackknives, and similar exercises that contract the rectus abdominus almost to the exclusion of the transverse abdominus (the deepest, most stabilizing layer of the core). If we can strike a balance between training the front of the abs, as well as the deepest layers of core support (deep low back muscles, transverse abs, diaphragm, and pelvic floor muscles), we can prevent a diastasis from occurring. And once a diastasis occurs, shifting the focus away from traditional abdominal exercises and towards more comprehensive core strengthening, can help decrease the severity of the condition and also increase the stability and function of the core.

Treatment of Diastasis Recti

***Exercises to do:

Transverse ab strengtheners (heel slides, modified dead bugs, core contractions/compressions)

Glut exercises (gluteal bridges, squats, single leg deadlift, squats)

Pelvic floor exercise (kegels with transverse ab contraction)

Diaphragm exercises (deep breathing relax on inhale, pull navel to spine on exhale)

***Exercises to avoid:

Forward flexion (Crunches, bicycles, rollups and rolldowns, jackknives, boat pose)

Forward loaded exercises (front plank, full pushup, bird-dog, burpees)

Extreme extension (ab exercises over exercise ball, full upward facing dog)

Auxiliary Care for Healing Diastasis Recti

It’s important for the pelvis to be well aligned and balance while you work to heal a diastasis. If the pelvic joints are restricted or out of alignment, it will be more difficult to maintain proper core stabilization during challenging exercises and everyday activities. Likewise if the any muscles that attach to the pelvis or core are overly tight, that can cause a pull on the bony structure of the pelvis and skeleton, resulting in pain, tightness, and lack of function. A major culprit that causes a whole cascade of dysfunction is the psoas muscle. Chiropractic adjustments and Active Release Techniques (ART) can help restore proper pelvic alignment and muscle balance.

If you think you may have a diastasis, or if you are suffering from any pain or tightness in your pelvis, hips, or glutes, please give us a call to see if and how we can help. 510-465-2342.

Image credit: wikipedia commons

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Does Your Belly Always Feel Protruded? Check Your Psoas.

anterior pelvic tilt protruding belly psoas

It’s often thought that a protruding belly posture is due to weak abdominals. In terms of fixing that faulty posture, it seems logical that if you were to “pull” the belly in by strengthening the abdominals, you would no longer have that protruding belly posture. That’s understandable, and may even be the case with a condition such as diastasis recti, but before we assume we’ve found the cause of the postural issue, let’s look at one alternative viewpoint.


It is tight psoas muscles, which lie behind the contents of the abdomen, that pull the spine forward and pull the pelvis into an anterior tilt (top of the pelvis rotates forward). They will also push the abdominal contents forward, creating the appearance of a protruded belly.

Have you ever noticed that your belly looks flatter in the morning (after you’ve been lying flat for 8 hours, your psoas muscles are more relaxed and lengthened) and looks more rounded or protruded later the day (after you’ve been sitting, driving, running, etc, your psoas muscles are chronically shortened and contracted). Of course there are confounding factors to this, timing of meals and digestion, etc. that can make a belly appear more or less rounded, but psoas muscle tightness is an important factor that contributes to a protruded belly posture. This is important not only for looks (not all of us want to constantly look like we’ve just eaten a big meal), but for function and comfort. Tight psoas muscles are a big contributor to low back pain, not to mention chronically tight psoas muscles can reciprocally inhibit the gluteal muscles, leaving us with dead butt syndrome.

So what should you do about tight psoas muscles? You could stretch them. And that will work great if this is a new tightness. But if the tightness has been going on for awhile, the muscle will have entered the cumulative injury cycle.

First line of defense is to try stretching your psoas muscles. Here’s how:

Stretch your hamstrings too, since tightness in the psoas and the hamstrings often occur together.

Any time a muscle is overworked (repetitive motions, repeated contractions) or acutely injured (fall or collision causing a tear or crush), it receives a decreased amount of bloodflow (read: oxygen flow).  If this condition continues, the hypoxia (lack or oxygen flow) causes adhesions to form in the muscles.  These are sticky areas, almost as if someone poured glue into the muscle, which limit range of motion, alter your biomechanics, and cause pain.  Adhesions remain until they are treated.  Rest, ice, stretching, and ibuprofen will not make them go away!  It’s like trying to stretch a rope that has a knot in it. You might get a bit of stretch on either end, but the knot in the middle will just become tighter. You may get some temporary relief with rest, ice, or stretching, but once you resume your activities, the issue will make itself known once again.

So what will work to resolve the muscle tightness? Active Release Techniques (ART) is a great option. ART will increase circulation to the muscles, decrease inflammation, and restore functional motion to the hips.  What this means, is that it will clear out adhesions through an entire range of movement.  ART protocols will typically require the sports chiropractor to shorten the involved muscles (to shorten the psoas muscle you would bring the knee towards the chest), take a thumb or hand contact with a specific direction of tension, and then maintain that tension while the client lengthens out the muscle (bringing the leg behind you in hip extension).  This breaks up the adhesions and allows for the restoration of full functional movement.

If you are suffering from low back pain, hip pain, or feeling like your belly is constantly being pulled forward, call us today to schedule an appointment to find out whether a tight psoas muscle is to blame. 510-465-2342.

Image credits: wiki commons

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