Client recently came in with shoulder and neck tension she has had since she was a child.
One of my favorite questions is to ask what makes things better or worse, in this scenario: "Does standing, Sitting, laying down or walking make it better or worse?"
She mentioned it was much worse when she was walking.
Immediately my thoughts raced to what could be stimulated specifically while walking and not sitting or laying down. I specifically remembered the Anterior Tibiotalar ligament is related to the upper traps. This is one of the 4 ankle ligaments that is located in the inside of the ankle.
First we tested the side of the upper traps she mentioned was the worse and found they were locked/hypertonic which means they are unable to relax. I went to those same side ankle ligaments and found down-regulated them and it normalized the upper traps temporarily.
This would mean every time she took a step on this ankle it radiates more dysfunction into her upper traps
I started my treatment and upon touching it she nearly jumped off the table and had no idea that ligament was so tender. I asked if she had any trauma to this ankle and she said when she was a kid she had a bad ankle sprain in that location.
Treated the ankle ligament and the upper trap normalized and upon manual palpation was much more relaxed. She also mentioned it felt much better!
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