Muscle Cramps: What You Need to Know and How to Prevent Them (opens in a new tab)
Because "Just Drink More Water" Isn't the Whole Story
Read it on Substack (opens in a new tab)Newsletter
Wellness tips, movement guides, and stories from the clinic.
From my Substack
Visit my Substack (opens in a new tab)More from my Substack
Electrolytes: Do You Actually Need Them, or Do They Just Have a Really Good Marketing Team? (opens in a new tab)
What the science says about hydration, the colorful powder packets and the giant tumblers everyone carries, and who may actually benefit from electrolytes.
Preventing Skin Cancer: Sunscreen, Clothing, Clouds, Shade, and Where Lasers Actually Fit (opens in a new tab)
Five layers of sun protection for life outdoors under the Big Island sun.
The NeuroStretch Method: Why Your Muscles Loosen When You Stop Fighting Them (opens in a new tab)
Tight muscles often let go once your nervous system feels safe, so working with it may help more than forcing a stretch. Includes two to try.
What No One Tells You About Recovering From Skin Cancer Surgery (opens in a new tab)
My own story of six diagnoses and three Mohs surgeries, what aftercare instructions often leave out, and tips for spotting and preventing skin cancer.
When Your Neck Holds More Than You Realize (opens in a new tab)
How the neck, head, jaw and shoulders are connected, and why lingering headaches, jaw pain or a shoulder knot that keeps returning may trace back to the neck.
The Vagus Nerve Is Everywhere Right Now: Here's What's Actually Worth Knowing (opens in a new tab)
Separating the science from the hype about the nerve everyone is talking about, from someone who works with it in clinical practice daily.
Does Your Lifestyle Count as Exercise? The Science of METs (opens in a new tab)
How researchers measure activity, and why gardening, a round of golf on foot and other everyday movement may count for more than you think.
The Night Owl Myth: Why “I’m Just a Night Person” Isn’t Protecting You (opens in a new tab)
The last article in my Sleep Series: staying up late carries real health risks, even if you feel wired to do it.
Waking Up in Pain Isn’t Normal, and Your Sleep Position Isn’t the Villain (opens in a new tab)
A response to the New York Times piece on side sleeping. Waking up sore is worth addressing, and your sleep position is rarely the real cause.
How Poor Sleep Raises Dementia Risk: 8 Hours in Bed Isn’t Enough (opens in a new tab)
Why sleep quality, beyond hours in bed, is emerging as one of the most powerful risk factors for dementia you can change.
Can Magnesium Help You Sleep Better? (opens in a new tab)
For those over 50 who lie awake at night: what magnesium may do for sleep, and why the answer might be in your kitchen.
Cool Sleep Idea: Why Temperature Matters More Than You Think (opens in a new tab)
Why a cool bedroom helps sleep, and how a simple ceiling fan can work about as well as air conditioning in a warm place like Waikoloa.
From the archive
We're Growing! Educational Content Is Moving to Substack
My free educational articles are moving to Substack — here's where to find them, and what stays in this newsletter.
Tennis Ball Self-Mobilization: Upper Back & Shoulders Edition
Roll a tennis ball between your shoulder blade and the wall to reach upper-back knots — including a tube-sock trick if your shoulder cannot reach.
Falling Asleep Instantly Is a Warning Sign, Not a Superpower
Dropping off the second your head hits the pillow is not a superpower. What healthy sleep onset looks like, and why sleep debt is worth paying down.
Is Your Tech Use Hurting Your Neck? Understanding and Preventing "Tech Neck"
Is your phone hurting your neck? Looking down at your device can overload your spine with up to 60 pounds of pressure! Learn how small posture changes can prevent pain and protect your neck.
🧠 Understanding Nerve Health: What You Need to Know to Stay Pain-Free
Are your nerves trying to tell you something? Tingling, burning, or shooting pain could be signs of nerve irritation. Learn how to protect your nervous system and restore balance through movement, nutrition, and hands-on care.
When “Follow Along” Goes Wrong: The Hidden Risks of DIY Rehab
Relying on YouTube videos for pain relief can backfire when exercises aren’t tailored to your body’s unique needs. Learn why personalized guidance is key to healing safely and effectively.
Core Activation Made Easy: Strength Without the Sweat
You can train your deepest core muscle while waiting in line or brushing your teeth. A simple way to support your low back, no gym required.
Medical Mythbusting with Kevin R. Stone, MD
Seven popular health beliefs, put to the test with Kevin R. Stone, MD, author of Play Forever, plus my own take. Some of the answers may surprise you.
Say Goodbye to Muscle Cramps, Once and for ALL: Book Your 3-Pack of Silan System Healing Sessions Today!
Frequent cramps often need more than hydration. Three Silan System sessions for $300, a $450 value, plus my home-practice videos to keep working on it.
Muscle Cramps: What You Need to Know and How to Prevent Them
Why do cramps so often strike at night? The usual triggers, what to do in the moment, and when a cramp is worth a closer look.
How to Relax: Enhance Your Physical Therapy with a Relaxation Routine
Five minutes of deep breathing, gentle stretching or heat added to your home exercise program may ease tension and support your recovery.
Restoring Cartilage Naturally – Tips and Strategies for Joint Health
Cartilage (the tough yet flexible tissue that cushions your joints and bones) has no blood supply of its own, so it feeds on movement. Foods, supplements and habits that may help you protect your joints as they age.
The Healing Power of Touch – How Massage Benefits Your Body and Mind
Massage does more than feel good: it may ease muscle tension, calm your nervous system and help you sleep. Ways to work it into your week.
New Year, New YOU!
Five one-on-one personal training sessions in my private therapy gym for $500, a $750 value. Built around your goals, and the 5-pack never expires.
Think You Have a Pinched Nerve? Let’s Break (and Beat) It Down!
Nerve compression, entrapment, radiculopathy — what those words actually mean, and why pain that feels like a pinched nerve often is not one.
Joint Mobilization: A Path to Healthier, Pain-Free Joints
Gentle hands-on joint mobilization may ease stiffness and restore range of motion. The three approaches I trained in, and who tends to benefit.
Core Strength Made Simple: Anytime, Anywhere, Any Position
Planks and endless crunches are not what build a useful core. What matters is whether your core switches on when you lift, stand or reach.
FREE Chair Champions PDF to help you sit smart!
A free printable of power moves to post wherever you sit the most, so something reminds you to move every 30 minutes.
Join me for a Live Facebook Conversation Aug 27!
I’m talking with the women of Launch Your Fempire about my practice and the results my clients are seeing. Join us live, and bring your questions.
Sitting is the New Smoking – Make Your Chair Your Gym
My top three moves you can do without leaving your chair — seated cat/cow, the sunflower, and simply getting up. Aim for every 20 to 30 minutes.
Upper Back Bliss: DIY Self-Mobilization for Your Thoracic Spine
Tape two tennis balls together, lie back on them and mobilize your mid-back one level at a time. Read the precautions first — this is not for every spine.
Loosen Up Your Muscles!
My take on the New York Times piece about muscle knots — what it got right, and the techniques for myofascial restriction it left out.
Freeing Your Hips: A Guide to Hip Pain Relief
Hip pain is rarely one thing. How the way you walk, stand and sit loads the joint — with simple ways to check your own posture and hip flexors.
Cupping Therapy
What cupping is, what people often use it for, and why I work with myofascial decompression — cups plus your own movement — rather than stationary cups.
Unlocking Self Soft Tissue Mobilization with a Tennis Ball: Your DIY Massage Solution (Part 2)
Part 2: a tennis ball against the wall for tight glutes, then one under your thigh on a chair to work down your hamstrings inch by inch.
Transversus abdominis training - your core activated!
Your transversus abdominis is your body’s natural corset. Here’s how to find it with your fingertips and switch it on before you move.
Unlocking Self Soft Tissue Mobilization with a Tennis Ball: Your DIY Massage Solution (Part 1)
Part 1: a tennis ball and a wall for your lower back, then your hip flexors and the IT band along your outer thigh. Start gentle and go slowly.
Un-do from your day
Most people hunch all day. How to un-do all this spinal compression?
Breathing for Better Health
Breathing for Better Health - Diaphragmatic Breathing and How to Focus Your Breathing
Rules of the Rep
How many Reps or Repetitions are right for your your Exercise Routine?
Pain Relief Seminar 2/29/24
An interactive evening in the Ohana Room in Waikoloa: proven ways to find relief from pain without leaning on medications. RSVP to join me.
Stretching for Results!
Contract-relax stretching, where you use the muscle while you stretch it, is the method I keep coming back to for real flexibility gains.
Text Neck Syndrome
Your head weighs 10 to 12 pounds upright, but the load on your neck joints climbs to roughly 60 pounds at a full forward bend. Hold your phone higher.
My opinion on PT “Science”
Why I disagree with parts of the research behind Physical Therapy: no two bodies move alike, so no single technique works for everyone.
Fascia Care 101
When you combine a host of myofascial release techniques, as I do when I treat my patients, you have a good start for a recipe for healing and getting past pain.