• Hypermobility and CTB

  Hypermobility is often a significant perpetuator in chronic pain situations. There are different levels of it, Ehlers-Danlos being a more extreme version. But even much more minor versions of hypermobility contribute to pain issues. Ideally, the ligaments should have about 3% elasticity. Hypermobile people sometimes have double that or more, so there is a lack of stability in one or more joints. The muscles have to work harder to provide the stability that the ligaments are not providing. If theSome readers

• Frozen Shoulder

  Frozen shoulder comes about, in our experience, because the body has adapted over time to the experience of pain during movement, which feels like an injury to the nervous system. The shoulder is an extremely mobile and vulnerable joint, and is reliant for stability on the concerted effort of many muscles. When some of those become dysfunctional, the delicate balance is disturbed and nociceptive signals flow to the CNS. Minor stresses and changes in the joint capsule may increase nociceptive loSome readers

• Adhesive Capsulitis

  From the CTB™ perspective, the diagnosis and assumption of adhesive capsulitis is very suspect due to the fact that most medical practitioners do not recognize the role of trigger points and muscles in generating the experience of pain. The basic injury/inflammation-centric worldview offers little useful guidance for helping with the issue. We understand the protective role of the CNS that underlies most of the frozen shoulder diagnoses we have seen. Our approach works directly with the CNS andFew readers

• Nerve pain post partial knee replacement

  Most medical professionals have no understanding of muscle trigger points and assume pain to be from nerve entrapment. In our clinical experience and documented by the research of Drs. Travell and Simons, the majority of pain is actually due from trigger points in muscles. Knee surgery often disturbs the quadriceps muscles that extend the knee. Trigger point fibers in these muscles refer pain to the knee. CTB therapists routinely work with knee pain sufferers pre and post knee replacement surgerFew readers

• Hyperpronation

  Hyperpronation isn't a condition of muscle weakness, it is a result of ligamentous laxity, so the basic framework of the foot and ankle isn't properly being supported by the ligaments. While muscle strength can partially compensate for hypermobility, in the foot this is a very difficult proposition that would require an extreme training regimen. Excessive muscle engagement also always carries with it a tendency to develop trigger points. The training that has to be done involves walking on theFew readers

• Neuropathy

  The diagnosis of neuropathy assumes that there is a dysfunction of peripheral nerves or injury to them, and that is the cause of pain. These diagnoses are almost always made with no actual evidence, they are guesses. Most practitioners in the medical community have no knowledge of muscle trigger points nor that skeletal muscle referral is the most common source of pain in the body. The assumption that pain must be from nerve dysfunction or entrapment is almost always wrong, and hence the diagnosFew readers

• Tendinitis

  A diagnosis of tendinitis generally reflects a lack of knowledge regarding pain referral from trigger points. Trigger points often refer pain over tendons and joints, and this confuses many practitioners who try to ascribe the pain to some form of disease or injury condition in the tissues around the area of the pain. Our system shows how to find the true muscular source of the pain, which may be far from the site where the pain is experienced.Few readers

• Finger pain and dysfunction

  Many forearm, wrist and hand issues are referral symptoms from shoulder and neck muscles and/or nerve entrapment happening at the neck and shoulder. You might have one or both of those things causing your symptoms. Pec minor in the front of the shoulder and the scalene muscles of the neck can compress thoracic outlet nerves that innervate muscles in the forearm, wrist and hand. Many shoulder muscles as well the scalene muscles in the neck can also produce referral pain in the forearm, wrist andFew readers

• Acromioplasty surgery

  Acromioplasty surgery is an attempt to alleviate the impingement of the supraspinatus tendon at the acromion process. Impingement there is a symptom, not a cause of pain and dysfunction. The scapula isn't rotating properly during arm abduction and the supraspinatus tendon is impinged between the humerus and acromion process repeatedly. We see this all the time in clients, pre and post surgery. We like to catch them pre surgery to alleviate the problem without surgery. Post surgery they usually sFew readers

• Low back pain, Sciatica

  Correlation of back pain to disc degeneration is very low according to the spinal surgery research papers. Consider this, you suddenly develop pain, but that bone protrusion seen on MRI did not develop suddenly...I myself have a huge bone spur on L5-S1 and compressed lumbar discs and no back pain. Muscular causes are more likely and more easily treated non-invasively. If the pain has a sciatic referral (down the leg), that has a higher correlation to nerve impingement at the spine, but again theFew readers

• Tennis elbow from tightening screws

  The local muscles that cause tennis elbow pain are: supinator, brachioradialis, extensor carpi radialis longus. Gripping and tightening bolts/turning screws will really stress these muscles. In CTB, the primary treatment for these muscles is electronic point stimulation (EPS) and contract/relax stretching. Without eps, you can apply heat, especially moist heat to these muscles, then provide compression while taking them through ROM, followed by contract relax stretch for each one.Few readers

• Inflammation and Steroid Injections

  Steroids are very useful in calming severe inflammation. Unfortunately, they are often misprescribed in pain conditions because practitioners don't understand the origins of pain. Any form of pain over or near joints, tendons and bursae is generally given a "diagnosis" like tendonitis or bursitis, but this fails to take into account the fact that trigger point referred pain often is felt in these exact areas. Given the incredible frequency of trigger point referred pain, the net result is milliFew readers

• Vagus Nerve Dysfunction

  Regarding vagus nerve dysfunction, this is a central nervous system issue. According to polyvagal theory, unintegrated psychological trauma causes and perpetuates vagal nerve related issues. For more info on polyvagal theory and trauma treatment, see the work of Stephen Porges, Bessel van der Kolk and especially Peter Levine (Somatic Experiencing). Holotropic breathwork by Stanislav Graf is also of note, as well EMDR and the work of David Hanscom ( https://backincontrol.com/ (https://backincontrFew readers

• Back Pain and Failed Back Surgery

  Unfortunately, back surgery commonly fails to fix back pain, and often makes the problem worse - so much so that it is now considered a diagnostic syndrome, FBSS (failed back surgery syndrome). Studies in the medical literature have shown a fail rate of 50%, and with each successive surgery the chances of a successful outcome decrease by half...This is because many spinal surgeons assume back pain is due to disc degeneration in the spine, but there is actually a very low correlation between backFew readers

• Numbness and tingling

  While the medical system tends to jump to a "diagnosis" of spinal radiculopathy (impingement of a nerve at the spine) in cases of numbness or tingling, in truth there are many possible origins of these symptoms. Trigger point phenomena alone can produce numbness, tingling, cold, and other non-pain symptoms, with no direct mechanical involvement of nerves. This cause is generally completely overlooked by medical practitioners, but experienced trigger point therapists see this on a regularFew readers

• Dystonia

  Dystonia is diagnosed when there is a loss of muscle control, involuntary movement, spasms, ratcheting motion etc. in one or more joints. A neurological source is assumed, but this is often not the case. More often, the problem is acute or chronic trigger point development in the muscles that cause the sensory nerves to relay faulty information to the central nervous system and this causes muscle control problems and symptoms associated with diagnoses of dystonia. When dystonia is due to triggerFew readers

• Subacromial bursitis

  A bursa is a fluid filled sac filled with synovial fluid that reduces friction between moving tissues in a joint. Diagnoses of bursitis or scarring in a joint capsule are usually made without any evidence other than it is the location where the person feels pain. Sometimes there is imaging evidence of bursa inflammation or supraspinatus tendon tears. But these diagnoses describe symptoms, not the causes of the symptoms. There are shoulder muscles that refer pain into the subacromial bursa area,Few readers

• Arthritis

  A diagnosis of arthritis does not necessarily provide an explanation for someone's pain pattern. Most pain is caused by trigger points in soft tissue, and these occur frequently in the presence of arthritic changes in joints. Reduced joint play from tight muscles can cause arthritic development due to improper joint spacing and excess pressure on cartilage. CTB treatment is often able to reduce or eliminate pain even in the presence of this diagnosis.Few readers

• Spasticity from stroke

  When there is a stroke, there is neurological damage/impairment that can cause lack of muscle control (spasticity, ratcheting motion, weakness etc.). Trigger points in muscles can also cause these symptoms and trigger points can be setup and perpetuated by neurological issues like stroke and TBI (traumatic brain injury). These neurological impairments can heal because the brain and central nervous system is "neuroplastic". Neurological signals can be rerouted around damaged brain tissue and newFew readers

• Winging Shoulder Blades

  Winging shoulder blades (scapulae) are caused by defacilitation of the shoulder blade stabilizing muscles. The 2 main ones are trapezius and serratus anterior. This issue is resolved by treating the trigger points in these muscles and restoring shoulder/head forward posture to normal. Then the muscles can be carefully and progressively strengthened. -DougFew readers

• Scoliosis

  Most scoliosis is functional and is brought on by what we call an “effective” leg length discrepancy or hemipelvic discrepancy. This means that one leg may have a difference in joint space, not necessarily that the femur or lower leg bones are longer. This kind of leg length discrepancy can be impossible to see on an x-ray and thus is often misdiagnosed. If this asymmetry is not corrected, permanent relief will be challenging. It’s what we call a significant perpetuating factor, as it perpetuateFew readers

• Hypermobility, Ehlers-Danlos syndrome

  Hypermobility is often a significant perpetuator in chronic pain situations. There are different levels of it, Ehlers-Danlos being a more extreme version. But even much more minor versions of hypermobility contribute to pain issues. Ideally, the ligaments should have about 3% elasticity. Hypermobile people sometimes have double that or more, so there is a lack of stability in one or more joints. The muscles have to work harder to provide the stability that the ligaments are not providing. If theFew readers

• Plantar Fasciitis

  The term fascitis implies some form of inflammation in the connective tissues of the body. This is a common misdiagnosis made by doctors who do not understand trigger points, which can cause referred pain over fascial areas such as the IT band, joint capsules, tendons and fascial sheaths such as those on the bottom of the foot. Many of the muscles in the lower body cause referral into the foot and the lower leg. These are often the same muscles that must adapt to conditions such as hyperpronatiFew readers

• Torn Rotator Cuff

  Torn rotator cuff may or may not be relevant in terms of the experience of pain. Minor tears and fraying in the supraspinatus tendon, unless there was an acute injury, are likely due to trigger points/taut fibers in the rotator cuff muscles. The trigger points are responsible for reduced joint spacing beneath the acromion, which can then lead to tearing or fraying. They are also responsible for the pain experienced, consequently our approach for relatively mild rotator cuff tears (if a tear hasFew readers

• Fibromyalgia

  From the CTB™ perspective, fibromyalgia is caused by hundreds of latent trigger points in the body becoming active around the same time. There are many non-muscular factors that can activate a trigger point, including stress. Within our clinic, we have had much success with clients suffering from fibromyalgia.Few readers

• Carpal Tunnel Syndrome

  Carpal tunnel syndrome is a common diagnosis that is often mistaken. A combination of trigger points and nerve entrapments in the forearm can easily and convincingly mimic the symptoms of carpal tunnel syndrome. CTB work has been an incredibly effective approach over the years in relieving the constellation of symptoms that lead physicians to diagnose carpal tunnel syndrome. Of particular importance are some of the neck and shoulder muscles that are highly vulnerable to dysfunction, particularlFew readers

• Adhesive capsulitis, fibrosis "stage 3"

  Why would the capsule become fibrotic? It is often a long term adaptation by the CNS to reduce movement of the joint that the body perceives as dangerous to the joint. In our experience, in diagnoses of frozen shoulder and adhesive capsulitis, the GH joint is under a barrage of referral pain from trigger points in the glenohumeral and scapular stabilizing muscles. The joint is also often mechanically stressed by the scapula not rotating properly to allow glenohumeral flexion and abduction. WhenFew readers

• Calcific Tendonitis

  Calcification of tendons is a symptom, not a cause of pain and dysfunction. Calcium is the body's cement, it is used to shore up and provide more structure to stressed areas. When the body perceives chronic excess tension on a tendon attachment it will reinforce the attachment with calcification. When the perceived excess tension is removed, the body reabsorbs the calcium. We have seen this with calcified tendonitis and bone spurs. The mobility limitations and pain are most likely due to dysfuncFew readers

• Foot Drop

  Foot drop is assumed by medical practitioners to be purely a neurological issue. However, in our experience it is routinely caused by trigger points in the tibialis anterior muscle and its functional group of muscles. Problems often occur in these muscles from chronic overstabilization of hypermobile ankles, and result in "rigid ankles". The solution we have provided many clients is to reduce the trigger points and restore ankle fluidity of movement through the bodywork, and provide a custom shoFew readers

• Dislocated Shoulder

  Dislocating your shoulder can produce pain throughout the joint, and the effected muscles can potentially produce referral pain into the neck, head and arm. The dislocated shoulder can happen from an accident or can simply be caused by an already imbalanced set of shoulder muscles. For example, if muscles in the shoulder have developed trigger points, they may no longer be capable of providing stability to the shoulder within the shoulder socket. When this is the case, the shoulder is more suscFew readers

• Back Pain, Failed Back Surgery

  Unfortunately, back surgery that fails to address back pain is very common, so much so that it is now considered a syndrome, FBSS (failed back surgery syndrome). Studies in the medical literature have shown a fail rate of 50%, and with each successive surgery the chances of a successful outcome decrease by half...This is because many spinal surgeons assume back pain is due to disc degeneration in the spine, but there is actually a low correlation between back pain and disc degeneration. In the rFew readers