Dr. Nick, DPT

Are Your Glutes Turned On? Part 2

If you feel like your symptoms match what I shared in Part 1 and you have a positive backward walking test, here is how you fix your inhibited glutes!

Focus on finding each muscle in the posterior kinetic chain and treating this more like a mind-body exercise rather than a strength challenge.

Do this before any back or leg day in the gym or before a run and see how your performance changes. Follow along the series to see more progressions of this exercise to maximize your glute gains!

Are Your Glutes Turned On?

Do you have chronic low back or hip pain? Or do you find yourself constantly training legs and making no glute gains? It is very possible your glutes are inhibited!

Glute inhibition is surprisingly common and can cause a multitude of issues from pain in your foot to shoulder dysfunction.

Follow along with this series to learn how to find and train your glutes most efficiently and optimize your glute strength and size!

How to fix your descended hypotonic (long and weak) pelvic floor. Based off the clinical features, gravity tests, and common symptoms if you believe you may have a long and weak pelvic floor here are a few things to try at home.

1.) Unload the Pelvic Floor: bring hips above your heart and take the gravitational pull off your pelvis

2.) Touch Yourself: you need positive input to the pelvic floor to wake it back up, vi****or should be your new best friend.

3.) Strengthen w/ Co-Contractors: jumping straight to kegels is difficult, use this exercise to trick your pelvic floor into engaging correctly again!

Take things slow and remember that real change takes time to achieve. Good luck and as always reach out with any questions!

Do you know how to assess the status of your pelvic floor? A common frustration with the pelvic floor is how do you figure out if it’s tight, weak, and so on when it’s not something you can just look at. In this series I’m going to discuss the most common pelvic floor presentations in the clinic.

Video 2: Descended & Hypotonic
- The pelvic floor muscles are lengthened in a weakened position, dropping the pelvic floor low into the pelvis, brining pelvic organs down with it.
- Common symptoms are sense of heaviness in the pelvis, low back or hip pain that is worst after a day of upright activity, prolapse, and stress incontinence.

Remember this video is only to give you tools to help yourself, not a diagnosis. As always, reach out with questions or concerns and watch for part 2 where I explain how you can start to treat your long and weak pelvic floor!

Do you believe in SuperFoods? In this series, I’m going to discuss what actually makes a food super and a little history on how we humans figured it out. Next up is something newer to the superfood discussion, Tart Cherry Juice!

Tart cherry contains multiple beneficial compounds
- Flavonoids that inhibit the production of uric acid, decreasing arthritic and gout type joint pain
- Anthocyanins that help improve filtration or uric acid out of the body through the kidneys
- Flavonoids and anthocyanins blunt the pain pathways similar to NSAIDs while still allowing the body to naturally clear inflammation
- Blunt delayed onset muscle soreness, accelerate recovery, and improve muscle retention
- Polyphenols that improve the bioavailability of nitric oxide, lowering blood pressure and improving sexual function
- Natural source of melatonin and tryptophan, key compounds for circadian rhythm maintenance

Look for the glass jars of tart cherry concentrate as the best sources, mix with your choice of beverage to decrease the tartness. Happing sipping, and look ahead to the next SuperFood video!

How to treat your elevated and hypertonic pelvic floor. Based off the clinical features, towel roll tests, and common symptoms if you believe you may have a short and tight pelvic floor here are a few things to try at home.

1.) De-Danger: In regards to the pelvic floor, we always need to address the nervous system first. Do whatever works for you to relax, no wrong answers.

2.) Restore Diaphragm: Work on deep breathing, look at my How to Breathe or Headaches and Pelvic Floor Part 1 video for things to try.

3.) Stretch: Try happy baby, child’s pose, or deep squat to determine which your favorite. Continue your deep breathing and consider what you feel in your pelvis.

Take things slow and remember that real change takes time to achieve. Good luck and as always reach out with any questions!

Do you know how to assess the status of your pelvic floor? A common frustration with the pelvic floor is how do you figure out if it’s tight, weak, and so on when it’s not something you can just look at. In this series I’m going to discuss the 4 most common pelvic floor presentations in the clinic.

Part 1: Elevated & Hypertonic
- The pelvic floor muscles are stuck in a contracted position, lifting the pelvic floor up into the pelvis, creating a surface unable to yield or accept force.
- Common symptoms are anxiety, chronic headaches, tight hamstrings, and difficulty with squatting. Frequently reports a vague sensation of something being not right.

Remember this video is only to give you tools to help yourself, not a diagnosis. As always, reach out with questions or concerns and watch for part 2 where I explain how you can start to treat your elevated and hypertonic pelvic floor!

Do you believe in SuperFoods? In this series, I’m going to discuss what actually makes a food super and a little history on how we humans figured it out. First up is one of the most unexpected SuperFoods, Celery!

Celery is actually insane for a vegetable that is 95% water! It contains NBP, a compound that acts similar to NSAIDS (ibuprofen, Advil) by inhibiting pain signaling pathways. It also FIGHTS CANCER!!! Apigenin is able to inhibit tumor growth factor while Luteolin is able to block VEGF pathways to tumor cells, stopping the supply of blood vessels to tumors. Absolutely wild for celery to be that good.

Stay tuned for the next episode of SuperFoods, which food do you think should be next?

Did you know pelvic floor dysfunction can be a primary driver of chronic headaches and migraines? When new patients complain of migraines and headaches that have not responded to previous treatment attempts, I immediately begin to suspect the pelvic floor.

In part 2, I discuss how weakness of the pelvic floor creates tension on the connective tissue of the spinal cord and pelvic musculature leading to migraines.

Please leave any questions or comments you may have and as always, reach out if you are in need of help!

Did you know pelvic floor dysfunction can be a primary driver of chronic headaches and migraines? When new patients complain of migraines and headaches that have not responded to previous treatment attempts, I immediately begin to suspect the pelvic floor.

In part 1, I will discuss tightness of the pelvic floor and how it creates tension on the connective tissue of the spinal cord leading to migraines.

Please leave any questions or comments you may have and as always, reach out if you are in need of help!

Do you know how to breathe correctly? 🫁

As a PT, one of the most shocking things I have found is how many people who are in pain, regardless of what the cause is, have dysfunctional breathing.

This dysfunction most often appears as symptoms like chronic headaches and migraines, shoulder and neck pain, and increased anxiety and stress. Additionally, it is common with conditions like any injury to the spine, postpartum, pelvic floor dysfunction, and many more.

Try the test in this video to see if you are breathing correctly! Lateral costal breathing can require a good amount of brain work to complete vs pure strength, so continuous practice and focus is key. Happy breathing!