In this episode, I share a story about a client who had received outdated, instructions for “protecting” her back during exercise. From an occupational therapy and ergonomics perspective, we explore more current, practical ways to think about protecting the spine during exercise and everyday movement in ways the clients can digest.

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Resource mentioned: The Back Mechanic by Stuart McGill PhD

Cells are constantly receiving information not only through chemical messengers such as hormones, neurotransmitters, and growth factors, but also through their physical environment. In this episode, we explore integrins: specialized cell-surface receptors that help link the extracellular matrix to the cell’s internal scaffolding. I discuss how integrins participate in adhesion, movement, cellular organization, and mechanosensing and why a cell’s local environment, including matrix composition, structure, stiffness, and loading, can influence its behavior. All this gives us one more reason to keep fascia healthy!

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References mentioned:

Anderson, L. R., Owens, T. W., & Naylor, M. J. (2014). Structural and mechanical functions of integrins. Biophysical reviews, 6(2), 203–213. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12551-013-0124-0

Fagerholm S. C. (2022). Integrins in Health and Disease. The New England journal of medicine, 387(16), 1519–1521. https://doi.org/10.1056/NEJMcibr2209679

Thermography is increasingly marketed as a painless, noninvasive way to look at what may be happening in the body, but what can it actually tell us?

In this episode, I explore infrared thermography through a fascia-informed lens. Thermography is a type of imaging that maps patterns of heat on the skin’s surface. I share what sparked my curiosity, including the growing availability of thermography services in my community and conversations with people who have used it.

I also discuss an article on myofascial trigger points and persistent neck and shoulder pain. Can differences in skin temperature offer clues about circulation, muscle activity, autonomic nervous system activity, or movement limitations? Could thermal imaging provide useful clinical information when structural imaging does not fully explain a person’s symptoms?

We will explore what thermography measures, what current research suggests about its potential uses, and the important distinction between information that may contribute to clinical reasoning and a test that can make a diagnosis on its own.