Paragon Pain Solutions

Training simply to build muscle mass and lose body fat without training basic fundamentals of movement and posture is like shooting a cannon out of a canoe.

It may look good, and it may be impressive when the cannon goes off, but you have no foundation.

The result is that you're going to wreck your boat and miss your target - which is health, longevity, and reduction of injury in the long-term.

Stretch or strengthen?

Most treatment modalities tend to focus on either releasing tight tissue, or strenghtening lax tissue.

🪙 My approach is different because it is based on the understanding that these are two sides of the same coin.

🔑 The key is, you must have a systematic way to determine which muscles to release, and which ones to strengthen. Once you determine this, you must always release and strengthen the appropriate muscles together.

🧠 Mastering this will help ingrain new motor pathways that allow your nervous system to recruit more fibers in the muscles that you train.

❔️How do we know which muscles to release and which to strengthen? We test!

In my near decade of training and practice, I have found that you get the best results when you address both releasing and strenghtening at the same time. Often when you do this, amazing things happen!

Catch me at the Fall for the Arts Festival this Sunday from 11am-5pm in Chestnut Hill. I will be offering free 15 minute consultations and $20 mini-treatments!

You can pre-register for a festival appointment by clicking the "Book Now" button in bio and selecting the Fall For the Arts appointments at the top of the page.

My booth will be located on the 8600 block of Germantown Ave. Stop by and say hi!

🦷 The Masseter 🦷

☑️ This is another of the most important muscles that I treat. The masseter is commonly implicated in cases of teeth grinding and TMJ issues. It can also be implicated in cases of chronic headaches, sinus pain, tinnitus, vertigo, ear aches, low back pain, and hip dysfunction as well!

🔎 The masseter is the second most powerful muscle in your body (the gluteus maximus is the first). It's job is to elivate the mandible, such as during talking or chewing.

🧐 Very often I find the masseter tight and overworking for one or more core muscles - particularly the psoas and QLs. Sometimes it takes over for the muscles that stabilize the pelvis in the frontal plane. It some cases it can inhibit the function of the neck muscles as well.

💡 The masseter is a very emotionally-charged muscle. It tends to be the place where we hold a lot of supressed frustration and anger. This is often at the root of chronic TMJ issues.

🔎 While the masseter has two separate heads (superficial and deep), it is usually the deep head that is the culprit. When I treat masseter issues with my clients, I usually start by warming up the area with some external jaw massage before putting on gloves and going inside the mouth to treat the deep head of the muscle.

✅️ The next step involves activating the muscles that are being inhibited by the masster with specific corrective exercises. Usually after repeating this protocol a few times, the resting tone of the masseter calms down, and symptoms improve dramatically!

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The Suboccipitals

☑️ The suboccipital muscles are another of the most important muscle groups that I treat. If you suffer from chronic posterior neck tension, headaches, migraines, and/or back pain, then it is likely that the suboccipitals are involved!

🔎 This group consists of 10 small muscles that attach between the top two vertebrae in your neck (C1 and C2) and the base of your skull.

🤔 If either of these bones are in a compressed or distorted position, this can affect the function of the brainstem as well as blood flow through the arteries and veins that run through these structures.

Any wonder it feels like your head feels like it's about to explode from the pressure when you get a migraine?

🧐 In a classic forward head posture, these muscles are often overactive, causing extension of the cranium as the cervical spine moves further forward. Well functioning suboccipital muscles with a healthy resting tone are crucial for proper balance, core activation, and spatial/visual orientation.

💡 Often I find the suboccipitals overworking, and the deep neck flexors, core mucles and spinal erectors weak and underworking. Chronic holding patterns in the suboccipitals can also result in weakness in the muscles of the arms and shoulders.

Needless to say, this is a powerful little group of muscles!

❔️ If you have any of the above symptoms and aren't spending some time working on releasing these bad boys, then it's likely that you are missing a huge piece of the puzzle.

The Diapragm

☑️ This is one of the most important (and overlooked) muscles to treat when it comes to chronic back and neck pain.

🔎 Using Neurokinetic Therapy manual muscle testing, I often find the diaphragm doing the job of all of the intrinsic core muscles all by itself. No wonder your back hurts!

❔️ Why does this happen?

💡 In large part, this is due to our tendency to hold our breath when we are under physical or emotional stress. When this happens frequently enough, it can become a habitual pattern.

🫁 Other than your heart, the diaphragm is the single most important muscle when it comes to you keeping you alive. It literally draws breath into your lungs by contracting down from it's central tendon (or crura) that attaches directly to the vertebral column.

💡 Our autonomic nervous system is regulated in large part by the rhythm of our breath. Longer exhales help downregulate it. If your diaphragm can never fully relax, then you can't completely exhale. This can cause you to take shallower, more frequent breaths, which then can then lead hyperventilation and respiratory alkalosis.

😱 You can imagine how this might affect the nervous system. When this happens you're basically giving your body all the physiological cues that you are going into a stress response.

Anxiety anyone?

😫 Chronic holding patterns in the diaphragm can also cause the accessory breathing muscles of the neck to work extra hard by pulling up on the rib cage to help draw more air into the lungs. This can lead to trigger point formation in the scalenes, SCM, upper trapezius and levator scapulae.

So yea, basically the diaphragm is kind of a big deal. Look out for my video on how to treat the diaphragm yourself!

💆 Patient Success Story 🎉

The other week I had a client who scheduled last minute for an emergency session. He had just gotten back from a long road trip, and was now experiencing tightness and pain in his right groin and hip. He told me that the pain wrapped around his hip to his glutes.

🧐 Postural assessment revealed a pelvic tilt down toward the left side, and a pelvic rotation toward the right. This indicated a shortening of the adductor muscles of his R hip. Sure enough, palpation revealed a serious tender spot in his R pectineus and adductor brevis muscles. Now the question was, how were these muscles working in relation to his other hip and core muscles?

💪 NKT manual muscle testing revealed weakness in his R glute minimus and deep hip rotators. We were able to link this to the overactive pectineus muscle. Further testing revealed that the pectineus was also causing weakness in his L lumbar erectors, and even up into his R pec major muscle! We found a similar relationship between his tight R adductor brevis and L lumbar and thoracolumbar erectors.

🤔 Releasing both adductor muscles and activating the underactive muscles of the hip and core helped with his groin pain and allowed him to extend his hip more when he walked, however he still felt the pain that wrapped around to his glutes.

🧐 We were able to trace this to a trigger point in his proximal R vastus lateralis muscle (the biggest of the quad muscles on the outside of your thigh). Further testing revealed that this muscle was shutting off his lateral hamstring, as well as two of his other quad muscles on the same leg.

✅️ Releasing the trigger point in his vastus lateralis did the trick. His hamstring and quads tested strong afterwards, his pelvic tilt and rotation were gone, and best of all, his pain was now completely gone!

"Working with Dan has been incredibly helpful for my low back/leg pain. He is attentive, thorough, and communicative during sessions. He incorporates different techniques and works with the entire body based on needs/areas of pain. This is a great option if you are looking for a more wholistic and individualized approach to pain management/pain reduction."

- Jen K
Patient

💆‍♂️PATIENT SUCCESS STORY🎉

A patient came in last week complaining of lower back pain on the left side. He had been preparing to have some work done in his basement by moving a bunch of stuff out of it over the past few days, and had tweaked his back in the process.

🧐 Since he was only experiencing pain on one side, I suspected that he would probably have significant distortions in his posture in the frontal plane. Sure enough, his hips were tilted down to the right, and his 12th rib on the left was lower than the one on the right. This indicated significant compression and protective bracing in the left lumbar region. It almost looked like the muscles on this side of his lumbar spine were holding on for dear life!

💪 Muscle testing revealed a weak left QL that was being inhibited by an overactive right QL. The QL muscles stablize the hips and ribcage on either side of the lumbar spine. As with any bilateral muscle, if one gets overused, the other sometimes shuts off. Palpation revealed that there was one spot in the right QL between the 12th rib and L5 vertebra that felt particularly tight and tender. Just palpating this spot was enough to almost make him jump off the table!

✅️ I released the tight and tender spot in his right QL, and then activated his left QL. Then I had him stand up, walk around, and reassessed his posture. His hips and ribs measured even now, and most importantly, his pain was completely gone!

🤔 Sometimes when a muscle is neurologically inhibited, it will contract and shorten in order to try and protect itself. Had we just gone by his symptoms and what we had observed about his posture, we would have been working to release a muscle that was already weak. This likely would have made the problem even worse! By getting his left QL to properly activate and engage more of it's total muscle fibers, we were taking the burden off of the few working fibers that were trying to pick up the slack.

💡 Sometimes the source of pain is not so obvious, and posture alone is not enough to indicate which tissues need to be treated and released. This is why I use multiple assessment protocols in order to find the root cause of your pain.

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"I made two visits to Paragon Pain Solutions due to discomfort in my neck. I received two helpful massages, but most importantly, I was given a neck exercise that totally eliminated any and all neck discomfort within two weeks. It is now 8 months later, and there has been no sign of the discomfort returning."

- Curt P
Patient

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"Dan is a master at reducing pain. He doesn't make a fuss about what he does-he simply practices his techniques and attends carefully to his patient, and the relief speaks for itself. Thank you, Dan!"

-Janet B
Patient

💆‍♀️PATIENT SUCCESS STORY🎉

I saw a new patient yesterday who has been struggling with TMJ pain for the past 10 years. Her pain is located mostly on the left side of her jaw and radiates into her left ear. It has been off and on, but has been flaring up consistently in recent weeks. At it's worst, she described the pain as "unbearable." Muscle relaxers and ibuprofen have helped a little, but not enough.

🤔 I noticed that her pain pattern very closely resembled the typical trigger point pattern for the lateral pterygoid muscle. This muscle helps to shift the jaw toward the opposite side, and can often be involved in many dysfuctional core motor patterns, so I figured that this would be a good place to start.

💪 At first glance, all of her core muscles tested fine. I wasn't convinced though. I asked her to shift her jaw to the left side (thereby deactivating her lateral pterygoid on this side) and proceeded to retest her core muscles. Sure enough, her re**us abdominis, lumbar erectors, and bilateral psoas and QLs now all tested weak. When she shifted her jaw to the right, they all tested strong again.

💡 It was clear now that her poor left lateral pterygoid was doing the work of SEVEN different core muscles! Although it was very tender to the touch at first, a little intraoral treatment directly to the belly of this muscle allowed it to relax significantly. Afterwards, all of her core muscles tested strong again.

✅ She left feeling much better, and most importantly, with a much clearer picture of what had been causing her symptoms for the past 10 years. Consistent therapy and homework for a few weeks should stop the pain from returning.

Hi! I'm , licensed massage therapist, Neurosomatic Specialist, and owner here at Paragon Pain Solutions.

📖 My journey out of pain and into launching my own practice began several years ago. I had been diagnosed with scoliosis, and I was a twisted aching mess. No matter how much I modified my exercise, what I ate, or what supplements I took, the pain only seemed to get worse.

Chiropractors and massage therapists weren't much help either, but I knew that my posture and body mechanics had something to do with my pain. Then I stumbled across a little school in Clearwater, Florida called that changed my life.

✅ Neurosomatic Therapy (NST) is an integrative form of manual therapy that identifies and corrects structural and biomemchanical patterns in the body that can lead to chronic pain.

💡 The purpose of NST is not only to eliminate the root causes of pain, but to educate you on ways to prevent the recurrence of it.

🙏 After enrolling in the school, and getting treatment from experienced therapists and fellow students, my pain was reduced by about 80% in a matter of weeks. Now I've been fortunate enough to have helped hundreds of patients do the same.

📞 If you are suffering from chronic pain, or simply looking to improve your health and athletic performance, call or dm me now to schedule a free consultation. Start your journey out of pain today!

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"After about a month working with Dan, my pain had subsided significantly... he was able to pinpoint areas that were causing my discomfort. He even identified and addressed areas that weren’t painful but were contributing to the overall issue. If you’re looking for something outside of the traditional therapy route, I highly suggest contacting Paragon Pain Solutions."

- Dan D

It's crucial to do the necessary things in between treatments to make sure that you get lasting results. Sometimes that means using a shoe or sit lift, if we find that you have a skeletal imbalance.

Almost always though, it involves releasing the muscles that are working too hard, and activating the muscles that aren't working hard enough. This should be done twice a day everyday. No progress without discipline!

📐MEASUREMENT MONDAY: The Shoulder Girdle Pt. 2

This week we are continuing our discussion of the measurements of the shoulder girdle and why they are so important for assessing the root cause of a wide range of chronic pain conditions.

✅ By looking at the posterior aspect of the scapula, we can get a much better idea of how patterns of scapular rotation, protraction or retraction may be affecting the shoulder girdle, as well as the neck, back, and even the hips.

🧐 We continue assessing the position of each scapula by palpating it's medial border (the edge closest to the spine) and then placing a straight-edge along it to visualize it's angle. We then palpate the inferior aspect (bottom corner) of each scapula and note the difference in height. This, coupled with the AC joint and torso measurements discussed in previous posts, allows us to accurately visualize how your shoulder girdle and scapula are organizing themselves.

📉 The two blue lines between the shoulder blades in the figure represent the angles of the medial scapular borders. The line below them represents the difference in height between each scapula's inferior aspect.

🤔 Many of the muscles of the shoulder girdle serve dual functions of either upward or downward rotation, and protraction or retraction. To get an accurate idea of the interplay of tensions between these muscles, we must first have an accurate picture of how the bones that they move are organized relative to one another.

💪Getting an accurate and visual assessment of your shoulder girdle allows us to confirm with manual muscle testing which muscles of the shoulder and neck are overworking and which are underworking. A common imbalance of the scapular muscles involves an overactive pec minor (protractor of the shoulder) and an underactive middle trapezius (retractor of the shoulder). Often this only happens on one side (usually the dominant side), while the non-dominant scapula tends to retract and elevate often due to an overactive levator scapula or upper trap and an underactive lat.

💡Everybody's specific motor patterns are unique. This is why it is important to get evaluated for yourself!

📐MEASUREMENT MONDAY: The Shoulder Girdle Pt. 1

The shoulder girdle is defined primarily by the acromioclavicular (AC) joint. This is the joint that is formed between the acromion process at the top of your scapula, and the lateral articular surface of your clavicle (collarbone).

✅ Determining the positions of your AC joints is crucial for assessing the muscles of your neck, head, arms, back and torso. A lot of muscles can affect these joints, so determining their position relative to the rest of the body is super important!

🧐 We assess by finding your AC joints on each side, placing our fingers on top of them, and with our eyes level to the joints, determining if there is a tilt. We then check for rotation by looking from above and determining if one shoulder is more anterior than the other.

📉 The longer blue line on the chart represents the orientation of the left and right AC joints in the frontal plane. The blue dot over the right shoulder in the figure indicates that this shoulder is more anterior than the left.

🤔 Since they tie so closely into one another through various myofascial connections, comparing the AC joint and torso measurements in the frontal plane can help determine how a tilt in the torso might be affecting the neck & shoulders, and vice versa. In cases of thoracic outlet-type radiating pain symptoms into the arm, this can also help determine whether the cause might be coming from compression of the brachial plexus (the nerve bundle that travels from the spine into the arm), or trigger points in the scalene muscles of the neck.

💪Visual shoulder girdle assessment helps us quickly pinpoint which of the many neck and shoulder muscles might be overworking and which might be underworking. We then confirm this with manual muscle testing.

💡Sometimes the muscles of the shoulder girdle (like the pec minor) can be overworking for entire muscle groups; even ones in the lower body!

"Hands-down Dan is the best massage therapist I’ve ever had! He uses techniques that work out serious pain issues. I recall a day with such bad back and hip pain that was completely resolved with a one hour session! He also provided helpful tips (that worked) to prevent it from happening again."

- Kim G
Patient

💆🏻‍♀️PATIENT SUCCESS STORY🎉

This morning I saw a client who had been experiencing shoulder pain and restriction on the left side.

🧐 Postural assessment showed a torso tilt to her left, and also that her left AC joint was lower than her right. Passive range of motion testing revealed some restriction and pain when going past 120 degrees of shoulder flexion on the left side. Manual muscle testing revealed that her lat and long head of the tricep on this side tested weak.

🤔 The fact that she had pain with passive motion indicated that there was likely some sort of inflammatory pathology or adhesion in the joint capsule of the shoulder itself. This caused me to suspect that there might be excessive compression in the joint - especially since the muscles that had tested weak were muscles that contribute to decompression. Sure enough, after adding a bit of compression to her shoulder and retesting, her lat and tricep tested strong. It was clear now that one or more muscles that contribute to glenohumeral compression were compensating for them.

💪 Her shoulder tilt caused me to check her supraspinatus - which usually shortens on the low side. After releasing it, the lat tested strong. Some more poking around revealed a tight and tender coracobrachialis. After releasing this, the long head of her tricep tested strong as well.

🙏 She left with a much better range of motion, less pain, and a sense of empowerment and understanding.

"My PT told me that the problem with my shoulder was a weak rotator cuff," she said. "So they were wrong?"

✅ Absolutely. This is why we always assess, test and retest. Guessing and using blanket solutions can often cause more harm than good.

📐MEASUREMENT MONDAY: The Torso

🧐 We determine the position of the torso during the assessment process by locating your clavicular heads (the bony k***s on the inside ends of your collarbones, near your midline). This reveals whether or not you have a tilt in the position of your torso relative to the ground. We then locate your third ribs, and looking from above, determine which side is more anterior.

📉 The clavicular measurement is shown on the chart by the short blue line through the clavicles in the figure. The blue dot on the right side of the chest indicates that this side is more anterior than the left.

🤔 By comparing the clavicular measurement with the measurements of your hips, we can determine if there are any lateral bends in your spine, and get a better idea as to how your spine might be compensating for any distortions in the position of your pelvis.

💪This helps us pinpoint which of your many back and abdominal muscle fibers might be overworking and which might be underworking. We then confirm this with manual muscle testing, release the overactive muscles, and activate the underactive ones.

💡 Determining the position of the torso is crucial for properly addressing neck and shoulder issues. Trying to balance the neck and shoulders without addressing the base on which they sit is usually a temporary fix at best.

"Dan is a consummate professional and an exceptional body mechanic...
After a series of treatments by Dan, you will feel better, move better, breathe better, and you will be very happy you found Paragon Pain Solutions."

- Brie V
Patient

💆PATIENT SUCCESS STORY 🎉

I had a client this morning who has suffered from sleep disordered breathing and airway issues for years. Sure enough, some cursory palpation revealed that he has a high and narrow pallete, which is a surefire sign of airway restriction.

💡The hard pallete is formed by the two bones of the maxilla. We were able to create significantly more airway space for him by mobilizing the maxilla and applying some lateral traction. Decompressing the TMJ by mobilizing the mandible, and relieving tension in the muscles of mastication like the masseter and medial pterygoid, also really helped open up his airway.

He left the session feeling great! I suspect his sleep will improve drastically as well.

📐MEASUREMENT MONDAY: The Pelvis Pt. 2

Continuing our look at the pelvis from last week, today we will look at some more standard hip measurements that we take during our Neurosomatic assessment, and explore what they mean.

🧐 Next we must locate the PSIS, or posterior superior iliac spine. This is the small projection of bone that forms the posterior edge of the crest of your two hip bones.

📉 The blue line represents the relative positions of the PSIS. The line is even, which, when also taking into account the position of the ASIS, indicates that there is a difference in the amount of rotation between the two hip bones.

📐 We can further confirm this by using a goniometer to measure the angle between the PSIS and ASIS of each hip. These measurements confirm that there is much more anterior rotation in the right, than left hip bone.

🤔 This is called a flexion disorder, and generally indicates the hip flexors are likely more active on the anteriorly rotated side, and that the hip extensors are more active on the posteriorly rotated side. When also taking into account the ASIS and hip flexion measurements, this indicates that there is a pelvic tilt, rotation in the transverse plane, AND a flexion disorder. All signs point to a very overactive R TFL, L adductor magnus, and L deep hip rotators.

💡 This is why it is important to take the positions of ALL major bony landmarks when assessing posture. Only considering a few of them can lead to an inaccurate assessment.

📐MEASUREMENT MONDAY: The Pelvis Pt. 1

Today we start with the pelvis. This is an important structure to examine because it is where your center of mass is located. The position of the pelvic bones can tell us a lot about the forces that are likely being placed on your knees, ankles, and low back. It can also provide some clues as to how any postural distortions in the upper body are perpetuated, and how we can help correct them.

🧐We begin by locating your ASIS, or anterior superior iliac spine. This is a little projection of bone that forms the anterior edge of the crest of your hip (iliac crest). The lower blue line on the chart represents the relative positions of the right and left ASIS. The higher blue line indicates the relative positions of the iliac crests. The blue dot indicates that the ASIS on that side is more anterior than the opposite side. The arrow indicates an outward flare of the inominate bones toward the patient's right side.

📉Since the lines shown on the chart in this case are parallel, it indicates a likely pelvic tilt. These measurements are used in conjunction with other ones, to make a determination as to whether or not there is a difference in leg length, as well as whether or not there are any rotations in the two inominate bones (the big bones that form either side of the pelvis).

🤔In conjuction with the measurements of the torso, identifying pelvic tilts and rotations can help indicate which specifc hip and torso muscles are working too hard, and which are not working hard enough, due to faulty communication patterns with the central nervous system.

💪Once confirmed with manual muscle testing, the basic treatment protocol is to release the overworking muscles with targeted massage techniques, and activate the underworking muscles with light isometric exercises.

✅You can check for a potential hip tilt yourself simply by looking in a full-length mirror, locating these points on yourself, and noting their relative positions. The results might surprise you!

📐MEASUREMENT MONDAY 🧐

It is my pleasure to kick off a brand new series in which I will be sharing an inside look at the various postural measurements that comprise a Neurosomatic assessment. Together we will explore what they mean, how this may relate to your pain, and what the indications for treatment may be.

These measurements are a valuable tool in determining whether or not there may be a musculoskeletal component to your pain. In conjuction with the additional information provided by range of motion and manual muscle testing, they can also be very helpful in determining which particular muscles need to be released, and which need to be activated in order to help you feel your best.

Next week we will start by taking a look at the measurements of the pelvis!

The new outdoor sign is finally installed! This should make it much easier for new clients to find the entrance to the office. Plus it just makes things that much more official 😎

We have a new logo!

I've been wanting to rebrand for a while now, as there were a few things about the old logo that I've been meaning to tweak.

Beautiful graphic design work by Flossie at Kale Design. Can't thank her and her husband enough for all their hard work.

They recently finished updating the website as well - with more accessible menus and a more streamlined home page.

Now that the logo and website are done, we'll be getting a brand new matching outdoor sign for the office in the coming weeks. Be on the lookout for that as well!

💆PATIENT SUCCESS STORY! 🎉 ⁣
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Had a client come in the other day complaining of a nagging pain in his right shoulder blade. The pain radiated down the back of his right arm into his pinky. ⁣
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A quick look at his posture revealed a significant torso tilt down to the right. His hips measured even, indicating that the tilt had to be coming from the torso and not further down the kinetic chain. He also had a very flat thoracic spine, indicating a lot of excessive contraction in the surrounding musculature - particularly on the right side, considering the torso tilt. ⁣
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I immediately thought of a deep muscle behind the shoulder blade called serratus posterior superior. This muscle assists in respiration by lifting the ribs. When chronically contracted on one side it can also contribute to extension of the thoracic spine and side bending in the torso. ⁣
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Just pressing on the muscle lit up that familiar pain pattern of his. "That's the spot!" he said. After a few minutes of treatment, his pain had significantly eased up. ⁣
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We spent the rest of the session releasing other spinal muscles on the right side that might be contributing to the side-bending pattern, as well as practicing how to round the upper back and breathe into the abdominals. He felt much better after the treatment, and promised to work on the breathing and stretching at home to make ingrain the new postural pattern and make sure the relief lasted.
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If you are suffering from similar symptoms and wondering if Neurosomatic Therapy can help, dm me or hit the "Book Now" button to schedule your Free 20 min Zoom consultation!⁣