Emily: Hi Dr. Haig! I would love for you to talk about nerve flossing, and who can most benefit from performing these practices.
Dr. Haig: Hi Emily, I would be happy to answer that question.
Nerve flossing is a gentle, science-based movement practice that helps nerves glide smoothly within their surrounding tissues, reducing irritation, and improving mobility. The practices you'll discover in this course can benefit just about anyone — whether you're experiencing acute symptoms, managing chronic pain, or simply want to maintain healthy nerve function and prevent stiffness or inflammation.
In the course, I'll guide you through simple self-assessment techniques to check the mobility of your key nerves, and then teach you how to gently restore freedom of movement step-by-step if limitations appear. These techniques are especially helpful if you've experienced previous injuries or conditions that affect nerve mobility. For example, I've found nerve flossing especially beneficial for conditions like carpal tunnel syndrome, which many people experience as pain or numbness in the wrist, hand, and fingers.
Carpal tunnel syndrome happens when the median nerve becomes compressed at the wrist, but nerve flossing goes a step further by examining and gently working to restore nerve mobility along the entire pathway of that nerve — from its origin at the neck, through the shoulder and elbow, right down to the wrist and fingers. Ensuring smooth nerve movement along all these segments can reduce pressure, ease pain and tightness, and improve overall body function. It's truly amazing how interconnected our bodies are!
Emily: What are some of the common reasons a person might have restricted nerve movement?
Dr. Haig: The most common reason is related to disc injuries, mainly disc herniations. That sounds like a scary term, right? It's not that bad. Anyone who is very active has probably dealt with a disc-related injury at some point. In the scenario of a herniation, there's a fragment of disc material along with inflammation that places pressure on the surrounding nerve(s), which is why a person starts to experience pain, numbness, and tingling into the arm or leg. When the healing process takes place, scar tissue usually develops. This leads to a nerve losing its ability to glide and stretch the way it's intended to.
Another common reason for restricted nerve movement is soft tissue injuries to muscles or fascia. It could be a hamstring strain from running, or perhaps, you have pain around your elbow after golf or tennis. This type of pain is typically caused from microscopic tears to the ligaments, tendons, and/or muscle around the joint — coupled with inflammation. Guess what else lives and passes through that structure and can get compressed? I hope you guessed nerves! So, whether it's through compression from tightness and/or overuse, or the healing process, the nerve gets impacted and needs to be treated to restore normal function.
Emily: So with our nerves, instead of doing a traditional stretch like we do for our muscles, we have to practice nerve flossing. Why is that?
Dr. Haig: Nerves are structurally different from muscles. Nerves are made up of bundles of axons that transmit electrical signals. They are delicate and lack elastic properties. Muscles, on the other hand, are composed of muscle fibers that can contract and lengthen significantly. They are highly adaptable to stress, such as exercising to build bigger and stronger muscles, or working on mobility to increase range of motion.
You have to approach treating nerves differently so that you don't create some damage to the nerves or cause more pain. However, with the correct approach, as shown in this course, nerves can be repaired through nerve flossing, and the benefits can be life changing.
Emily: To benefit from your course, do I have to perform every technique you teach?
Dr. Haig: The easy answer is no. If you're dealing with only a lower body issue, such as pain or tightness in the hamstring or your hip, you can simply reference the lessons that treat the lower body nerves. But with the entire course, you'll have access to and be able to assess and treat the major nerves of the body at your convenience.
Just like participating in any new activity or venture, I encourage you to take it slow and progress your way through each lesson. Even if you don't have tightness in a particular nerve right now, you could in the future. Learning how to create controlled movement in any activity is what I preach to all my patients. Take the time to explore your body and care for it, and it will reward you physically in the long run.
Emily: How have your nerve flossing exercises been helpful for your patients?
Dr. Haig: In my early days of treatment, I was volunteering at a cycling event where riders cycled from San Francisco to Los Angeles. One evening, a rider came to me for help with pain in his forearm that he had been dealing with for years. He said he had received all types of care, but nothing had made a big impact. Since he had been dealing with this for years, it became a chronic problem.
After doing my assessments, I told him that I believed his problem wasn't about the muscles in the forearm, but rather a nerve compression issue from his neck. I worked with him on performing nerve flossing techniques and showed him how to do it on his own. A few days later, he stopped by my tent with a big smile on his face that I'll never forget. He told me for the first time in years he finally found some longer lasting relief. That's when I really understood the power of this stuff!
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