Singleton Massage Therapy

*This is an April Fool's Day post!*

I am so very excited to announce my new breakthrough massage method: Fascial Audio Rythmic Technique! This cutting-edge approach uses carefully timed vibrations, and fast moving LED based light patterns to “release trapped energy,” improve mood, and could possibly increase your ability to sense WiFi signals. Clients are already saying they feel lighter, freer… and oddly more “in tune” with the universe.
Sign up for your F.A.R.T. session today!

"My neck hurts and every time I stop thinking about standing up straight, I notice I'm slouching again!"

This is just one illustrated example of patterns elsewhere in the body that can make your neck (or many other places in your body) feel sore and exhausted all the time!

I know this looks complex in this picture, but there are always a few simple cues to focus on that can immediately make someone feel better. Bodywork, knowledge, and often some well-chosen exercises could make that "better" feeling become an "easy" feeling, too.

Forward Head & Altered Posture: A Chain Reaction, Not a Local Problem

This image highlights how a forward head posture is never just about the neck—it’s a whole-body biomechanical adaptation. When the head shifts anterior to the plumb line, the body must reorganize itself segment by segment to maintain balance, leading to predictable muscle imbalances and load redistribution.

At the cervical level, the head moving forward increases the moment arm, forcing the neck extensors to become overactive and tight, while the deep neck flexors become weak and inhibited. This creates a classic imbalance where the posterior cervical structures تحمل excessive load, often resulting in stiffness, headaches, and chronic neck pain.

As we move down, the thoracic spine compensates with increased kyphosis, and the upper back extensors become weak, reducing the ability to maintain an upright posture. At the same time, the chest muscles (especially pectorals) become short and tight, pulling the shoulders into protraction and further reinforcing the forward position of the upper body.

In the trunk, the imbalance continues. The upper internal oblique tends to become short and overactive, while the external oblique becomes lengthened and weak, disrupting core stability. This alters intra-abdominal pressure and reduces efficient force transfer between upper and lower body.

At the pelvis, the body shifts forward to counterbalance the head, often resulting in a posterior pelvic tilt and forward pelvic translation. This flattens the lower lumbar curve and changes how forces are absorbed through the spine. The hip flexors become weak, while the hamstrings (hip extensors) become short and tight, limiting hip mobility and altering gait mechanics.

Further down, compensation reaches the knees, which often fall into hyperextension. This locks the joint for passive stability but increases stress on ligaments and reduces muscular control.

Biomechanically, this posture represents a loss of optimal alignment along the plumb line, where each segment is no longer stacked efficiently. Instead of load being distributed evenly, certain structures become overloaded while others underperform.

👉 Forward head posture is a compensation strategy—the body’s way of staying upright despite imbalance. The goal is not just correction, but restoring efficient alignment and movement across the entire system.

It’s helpful to understand which of your muscles are *overly participating* and which ones tend to not come online so that you know how to warm up in the most helpful and efficient way possible.

That can be as simple as a couple of repetitive movements (to make sure the right muscle are ready to run from an alien monster) or doing a quick stretch (to make sure your quads aren’t straining your low back when you reach forward to grab your prey.)

This is true for a regular workday (like on a movie set) or a special occasion (running for your life!)

It's important to warm up before snacking. #AlienEarthFX

“Why have I never heard of the ligament of Cleyet and why do I have right knee pain and constipation when I ovulate?” - paraphrasing a client with ovaries.

Hopefully this video is a fun way for some of my clients to laugh about some of their medical trauma! I promise to actually listen and spend time assessing you, and you don’t have to start out any sentences with “I promise I’m not making this up, but…” with me!

You're not crazy. We've just "never really studied the female body"

Finally! Here’s an image to show my clients why I might sometimes insist that I should work near that (usually) ticklish spot on their ribcage when they come in with a pain between their neck and their shoulder.

If you’ve stretched and stretched and stretched and the pain still isn’t better… the problem probably wasn’t at the spot you were stretching! You may felt symptoms at the area that was struggling, not the area that was actually the tightest. Let me help!

Force couple relationship refers to a biomechanical concept in which two or more muscles act together to produce a coordinated movement around a joint. In a force couple, each muscle produces a force at a different angle than the other muscles, but the combined effect of all the forces is a rotational movement around the joint. The muscular forces are often synergistic, meaning the main muscle performs a specific action while the other muscles stabilise the joint to prevent injury or displacement of the bones. An example of a synergistic force couple relationship is that of the trapezius and serratus anterior muscles acting around the scapula (shoulder blade) to stabilise it during movements of the arm. The upper fibres of the trapezius elevate the scapula, while its lower fibres protract and rotate it medially. The upper fibres of the serratus anterior protract and suspend the scapula, while its lower fibres pull the lower angle of the shoulder blade forward. Together, these muscles perform scapular rotation to allow the arm to be raised above the head. Force couple relationships are important for the production of smooth, coordinated movements and an even distribution of load across joints. Credit: @bradley_blair_osteopath #osteopathy #osteopath #osteopathyworks #manualtherapy #osteopathytreatment #osteopathystudent

Thank you for featuring a *very* quick overview of my thoughts on how grief affects the body! (My clients know I could talk about this topic for hours!) Please check out the podcast Grief and Frozen Lasagnas from my friend Veronica Day. Available on Apple Podcasts in the link below or on Spotify, here:

https://open.spotify.com/episode/5YmIZJ5MKR9ihsn3ko9qT9?si=XcwHecmnSX-taAaA9IumyQ

Grief and Your Body Podcast Episode · Grief and Frozen Lasagnas · 05/15/2025 · 15m

*This is an April Fool’s Post!*

I’m excited to expand my offerings to include new in-demand services in canine modalities!
Many of you already know of my dog, Lucy. What you may not have known is her trained healing abilities! By incorporating her, I will soon be able to offer the following:

- Oxytocin Therapy
Just look at that face… look at it! Now you have more oxytocin.

- Peanut butter - Assisted Meridian Line Therapy
I can ensure the peanut butter is on your meridian lines but, full disclosure, she’s probably just going to treat this as snack time. Sunflower butter is available for those with sensitivities.

- Intuitive Trigger Point Therapy
We let her loose for this one. Who knows where she’ll walk on your body next! It might be painful! Trust the process!

Belly rubs are accepted by Lucy as payment.

(Once again - April Fool’s! Her attention span is far too short to even attempt this.)

I hope every client feels welcome and at ease in my office. It’s taken a few months for this place to feel like home, but I’m so pleased with the results!

My beautiful office! It’s come together so nicely since I moved in last fall.

"Why are you working on my ____ when it hurts in my ____?" This is a good visual for one of the reasons to work on balancing the shoulder girdle when there is pain going up into the head! There are so many connections throughout the body. Everything is connected!

The omohyoid isn't an especially important muscle. It does, however, occupy some prime real estate. As such, it can be a real troublemaker. It commonly adheres to the trapezius, scalenes, SCM, phrenic nerve, and brachial plexus. It often causes pain up the side of the head around the ear.

Listen to the quirky man with the charming accent! (And then also stand up and stretch your hip flexors, please! There’s no replacement for actually standing up and moving your legs.)

Do yourself a favour & make sure you don't... Spend the entire of 2025 like a prawn 😂🦐 I know most of you will be back in the office today, so here's my 3 monthly reminder from my most watched video ever, to defrost & deprawn once in awhile P.S. the ni**le tickling is optional P.P.S. calling me wendy isn't 😂

Happy Halloween! Skeletons aren’t scary. We all have them, deep down 💀 😊