Messina Acupuncture PC

An update about current events at Messina Acupuncture! I recently relocated my office and am so thankful I have the privilege to work with the good hearted and passionate people who work at and run the gym OutLift Athletics. My services remain the same, with my focus being the treatment of orthopedics (neck, back, shoulder, muscle pain, etc) using Acupuncture and Acupressure techniques to relieve muscular restrictions and pain.... If you experience any of these issues and you are looking to do something about it, click on the website link in my Bio for more information or call the office at 631-403-0504. Have a happy, healthy day everyone!

Are your feet sore after a long day at work? Let me tell you why tennis balls are your best friend when it comes to foot pain! Tennis balls are easy to use and effective tools for digging into hard to reach areas and doing self acupressure. You have a band of fascial tissue that runs from the bottom of your toes, to your heel, then calf, and eventually ending on your forehead (this line of fascia is called the Superficial Back Line for those who are interested). When this t...issue gets tight and inflamed, the bottom of foot can get very painful. You can work up and down the lines of fascia, but first lets start with the area of pain. All you have to do is stand up and put a gentle stepping down force into the tennis ball. Then you need to find a sore spot to work on. Typically you will find some areas around the heel bone. Keep searching and once you have found a spot, there are a few things you can do: -Make tiny circular motions around the area with the ball for 2-3 minutes OR -Hold consistent, gentle pressure into the area for 2-3 minutes Chances are you’ll have plenty of sore spots, keep searching and work them out!

How to tell if your headaches are coming from your jaw I’ve been talking about headaches the past few days and the relation with the jaw (especially your TMJ, the temporomandibular joint). How issues with your TMJ is determined is by careful professional assessment. Here are some of the core symptoms of TMJ syndrome Core symptoms... -Intermittent jaw clicking or popping when opening and closing the mouth -Jaw pain that gets worse with eating, especially with chewy -foods like steak and bagels -Visual swelling of the TMJ joint Non specific symptoms -Headaches (could be on the back of your head, the sides, back, or into your eyes) -Clenching your jaw during the day and/or night -Ear ache (if infection was ruled out) -Neck pain It is important to remember that you should not read these list of symptoms and come to the conclusion that you have TMJ syndrome. What you should gather from reading this article is that if you have any these symptoms, your body is telling you that there is a problem that should be further investigated.

How to treat your headaches with acupressure (continued) Remember that headaches on the side of your head can be caused by tightness in your jaw. Temporal headaches that are caused by restrictions in the 4 main muscles of mastication (chewing) should be addressed as a unit, not separately. If you only massage the temporalis (the muscle on the side of your head), your headache relief will be limited. So let's talk about more ways to loosen up that jaw! There is a acupunctur...e point between the jaw and the ear called SI17 (Tinróng) that is excellent for relieving jaw tension. To locate it, put your fingers on the bottom of your chin and move them toward your ears. Your hands will glide along a flat area of your jaw until you reach a bump called the angle of your mandible. Hook your index or middle finger (whatever is more comfortable) behind the bump and gently pull your jaw in the direction as if you were giving yourself an underbite Hold both sides gently for 2-3 minutes, 1-2 time a day. Working this point does 2 things: -You are stimulating an acupuncture point, which will relieve tension in the muscles of the jaw. -This motion produces a distraction force (a type of stretch) onto the mandible, stretching multiple layers of muscular tissue in the jaw, further relieving tension.

Let’s talk about headaches. Those of you who have headaches on the side of your head (temporal headaches) know how good it feels to get your own fingers in there and massage it (or even better, have someone else do it!). Massaging it may temporarily relieve the headache, but it usually does not get rid of it. Maybe massaging it isn’t the right answer...? Or is it because you’re not massaging the right spots? Your temporal headache may be coming from your jaw. To help il...lustrate this connection, try putting your hands on the side of your head and bite down. If you’re in the right spot, you will feel movement. This movement is contraction of a muscle called your Temporalis, which is 1 of 4 main muscles of mastication (chewing). The reason massaging only the temporalis does not fully get rid of a headache is because the root cause of the temporalis tension is coupled with tension of the other 3 muscles of mastication (medial/lateral pterygoid and masseter). If you don’t work with all 4, your relief will be limited. Those of you with TMJ syndrome know exactly what I am talking about (which according to one study may be up to 25% of the USA population having TMJ syndrome to some degree). What can you do? Acupressure is highly effective for issues like this. Put your hands on the lower part of your jaw and bite down, feeling for a ball up of muscle. That muscle is your masseter. Apply 2-3 minutes of GENTLE, consistent pressure on the ball up of muscle you just found without moving your fingers. If the masseter is involved, it will be very tender, so please please please be gentle. Slow and steady wins the race with acupressure, not hard and fast. I am having some illustrations draw up of the jaw and head to help you with visualization! There will be many more posts to come this week about headaches and the jaw connection.

I work with a lot of athletes and one mantra that I hear often is "no pain, no gain." It is a valid statement in the proper situation, especially when you're working through the mental aspect of athletic training. But it falls short in other situations, especially when rehabilitating an injured region. Lets use stretching an as example. You do not need to feel a intense sensation to get an effective stretch. If you overstretch, it will increase the likelihood of hurtin...g yourself, especially when you have an injury in the region you're stretching. If you are going to stretch, here are some basics you should take into consideration when going into any position. 1.Stretching should never hurt. 2.Stretching should be gentle, do not force your body into position. 3. Move into a stretch slowly and come out of it slowly. Questions? Comments? Feel free to ask!

Good afternoon everybody! So this is my first post and I want to start by stating the objective of this facebook page, which is education. My belief is that if you learn about the human body, you will find out that you have so much more control of over what’s happening to it. The feeling is truly empowering. My interests are focused on pain because I have personally dealt with it for years due to surgeries I had on both of my ankles. I have dedicated my life to learning an...d understanding how to treat pain, which involves a combination of different treatment modalities such as acupressure, mobility exercises, and stretching. My hope is that what you learn from this page will improve your quality of life and help you to live your life to the fullest!