Muscle Medicine: The Revolutionary Approach to Maintaining, Strengthening, and Repairing Your Muscles and Joints (41 page)

Achilles Tendon Rupture

This one is a season-ender. In the typical scenario, a middle-aged recreational athlete, a tennis or a basketball player, shrugs off a chronically sore Achilles tendon. Over time, the collagen fibers of the tendon weaken, and blood flow to the area becomes compromised—the tendinosis that sets the stage for serious injury. All it takes is one forceful lunge and the tendon completely rips from the bone. You may hear a popping sound; you may feel as if someone has kicked you in the heel. If it really is a full rupture, you won’t be able to stand on your toes. The usual remedy, at least for anyone who wants to return to sports and an active lifestyle, is surgery to reattach the tendon.

We have had professional athletes suffer complete Achilles tendon ruptures who, after we’ve worked on their muscles before and after surgery, come back the next year 100 percent.

Morton’s Neuroma

In probably the most common nerve disorder in the foot, the digital nerve that runs between the toes becomes compressed, causing a sharp or burning pain, usually between the third and the fourth toes. Tight women’s shoes with narrow toeboxes are the usual culprits. Switching to shoes with a wider toebox (possibly with a pad underneath the ball of each foot) and a lower heel is the first step. Manual therapy on the muscles of the forefoot can sometimes relieve the pressure on the nerve; sometimes a corticosteroid injection does the job. When all else fails, the nerve is surgically cut, eliminating the pain, and all sensation, in the area.

ANKLE/FOOT

The muscles of the lower leg play a huge role in gait, stabilization of the lower extremities, and other movement patterns of the lower body. They can also be the source of dysfunction that works its way through the movement chains into other areas of the body. A healthy posture and gait are dependent on the proper function of the ankle and the foot.

ANTERIOR LOWER LEG

Purpose:
To target and remove restrictions and restore a full range of motion to the tibialis anterior by manually releasing tight, short, and damaged muscles.

Starting out:
Sit on the floor with one leg straight and the treatment leg bent with the heel on the floor and the toes pulled up and back. Using both hands, place your thumbs over the muscle with angled pressure up toward the knee. The two treatment zones are the inside (closer to the shinbone) and outside aspects of the tibialis anterior.

How to do it:
Press in and pull up slightly, as though trying to prevent someone from sliding a piece of cloth from under your fingers. Maintaining angled pressure, point your toe and extend the ankle. Repeat with your other leg. Do two to three passes, releasing and moving the hand from the knee toward the foot, in each zone.

Troubleshooting:
Don’t press too hard as this can irritate the muscles. Avoid letting your skin slide under the fingers by using angled pressure.

LATERAL LOWER LEG

Purpose:
To target and remove restrictions and restore a full range of motion to the peroneal group by manually releasing tight, short, and damaged muscles.

Starting out:
Sit on the floor with one leg straight and the treatment leg bent. Place the outside of the treatment heel on the floor, with your ankle straight and your foot angled out to the side. Using both hands, place your thumbs over the muscle with angled pressure. The treatment zone is a small strip on the side of the leg between the tibialis anterior and the calf.

How to do it:
Press in and pull up slightly, as though trying to prevent someone from sliding a piece of cloth from under your fingers. Maintaining angled pressure, flex the ankle and twist the foot in, bringing the outside edge of the foot toward the floor. Repeat with your other leg. Do two to three passes, releasing and moving your hand, from the knee toward the foot.

Troubleshooting:
Don’t press too hard as this can irritate the muscles. Avoid letting the skin slide under your fingers by using angled pressure.

SOLE OF THE FOOT

Purpose:
To target dysfunction, irritation, and inflammation in the plantar fascia by releasing the fascia and muscles and icing involved tissues.

Starting out:
Sit on a stability ball or chair with your feet shoulders’ width apart. The arch of the treatment foot should rest on a small, ribbed plastic bottle of frozen water. The movement should start with the foot curved over and pressed slightly into the bottle.

How to do it:
Press in and forward slightly with the foot and pull the toes back and as far up as is comfortable. Repeat with the other foot. Do two to three passes, releasing and moving the position of the bottle from the toes toward the heel.

Troubleshooting:
Don’t press too hard as this can irritate the muscles. Keep the body balanced on the ball so the treatment foot does not also have to work to balance.

POSTERIOR LOWER LEG

A. GASTROCNEMIUS

Purpose:
To target and remove restrictions and restore a full range of motion to the posterior lower leg—especially the gastrocnemius—by releasing tight, short, and damaged muscles.

Starting out:
Sit on the floor with the treatment leg bent and the foot on the floor. Your other leg should be extended for balance. Your hands should be wrapped around the treatment leg so that the fingers contact the calf muscles and your thumbs stabilize on the front of the leg. The toes should be pointed and the knee slightly bent. The three treatment zones are the inside, middle, and outside portions of the back of the lower leg.

How to do it:
Press in and pull up slightly, creating angled pressure, then straighten your knee and pull the toes up toward your nose. Repeat with your other leg. Do two to three passes, releasing and moving the hand position from a third of the way up the calf toward the knee, in each of the zones.

Troubleshooting:
Don’t press too hard as this can irritate the muscles. Keep the body relaxed and balanced, so your focus can be on the treatment.

B. SOLEUS AND ACHILLES TENDON

Purpose:
To target and remove restrictions and restore a full range of motion to the posterior lower leg—especially the soleus and the Achilles tendon—by releasing tight, short, and damaged muscles.

Starting out:
Sit on the floor with one leg straight and the treatment leg bent with your heel on the floor and the toes pointed. Your hands should be wrapped around the treatment leg so that the fingers contact the calf muscles and the thumbs stabilize on the front of the leg. The three treatment zones are the inside, middle, and outside portions of the leg.

How to do it:
Press in and pull up slightly, creating angled pressure, while pulling the toes toward the nose. Repeat with your other leg. Do two to three passes in each zone, releasing and moving the position of the hands from the ankle toward the knee. You don’t have to extend the knee because this muscle doesn’t cross the joint. Also, it extends lower down the leg than the gastrocnemius.

Troubleshooting:
Don’t press too hard as this can irritate the muscles. Keep the body relaxed and balanced, so your focus can be on the treatment.