No I have not forgotten about you :) On the contrary, I've been thinking of you more than ever these days.  Let's get to the marvelous first:

I am thrilled and delighted to announce that my office will be changing to a different location in downtown Montpelier as of May 1st!!!  My associates will be Hannah Rohloff from Tessera Therapeutic Massage, and Amy LePage-Hanson from Emerge Yoga.  Our new address will be 153 Elm Street. Suite 1, Montpelier, VT (on the corner of Spring St. & Elm St). The office will be on the first floor of the white building located behind the red brick building of 155 Elm St. There is off street parking available right by the river.

It pleases my heart to have the luxury of sharing this space with two other marvelous women dedicated to furthering the health of our community.  It will feel warm, welcoming, and healing to come in for a session in our space.  Our businesses compliment each other and the benefits of learning about what we have to offer will be extremely valuable to our clients...that means you :)

The lesser great: This is the view of a bluebird day at Wildcat Mountain in New Hampshire.  If you look closely you can see Tuckerman's Ravine just to the left of Mt. Washington (the bright white hump).  Two weeks ago I suffered a pretty wicked knee injury that will cause a hesitation in my scheduling and work.  I found myself taking a ski patrol sled ride down the slopes gazing at this very view :) It's been a wild (no pun intended) ride as I begin to rehabilitate and find out how long it's going to take to get back to myself.  Since you know I'm in love with human anatomy and I can hear you asking "well what did you do"?... have you heard of the Anterior Cruciate Ligament?  It's better known as the ACL.

The feel better Education of the season:

It's small, but you can see the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in this front view of the left knee joint.  Want more advanced details? Click here.

The ACL links the upper leg bone (femur) with the larger of the two lower leg bones (tibia) by running crosswise inside the center of the knee joint. The ACL helps stabilize the knee by limiting tibial translation.  Just what does that mean? It basically means stopping the tibia from sliding back farther than it should underneath the femur, somewhat related to hyperextension of the leg at the knee joint. Unfortunately I will not know the exact results from my MRI until Friday. You have my word that I will keep you informed and in the mean time, I have capable colleagues that are willing to work with you while I'm absent.  Please ask!

The feel better TIP of the season:

Your knees are only as strong as the muscles surrounding them.  Add this to your regular self-care routine. Trust me it works!

Straight leg raise to the front: These help you strengthen the quadriceps (top of thigh) and the muscles around your hips. Do 8 to 12 repetitions.

1. Lie on your back with one knee bent so that your foot rests flat on the floor. Your other leg should be straight. (During this exercise, your low back should have a normal curve. Your back has a normal curve if you can slip your flat hand in between the floor and the small of your back, with your palm touching the floor and your back touching the back of your hand).                                                                          
2. Tighten the thigh muscles in the straight leg by pressing the back of your knee flat down to the floor. Hold your knee straight.                                                                 
3. Keeping the thigh muscles tight, lift your straight leg up so that your heel is about 12 in. off the floor. Hold for 5 seconds, then lower slowly. *

Give this your best shot, try the link above for more, and be well this season.  I will be thinking of you!

Warmly~Melissa

 

*The feel better ed & tip was sourced from Healthwise.org