question for you PT gals

[mimitabby]

so what if you have a muscle that's rarely used. How can you teach it how to move again?
(re: foot thread)

[han-grrl]

which muscle are you talking about?

[Wahine]

so what if you have a muscle that's rarely used. How can you teach it how to move again?
(re: foot thread)

Generally, you have to isolate the muscle and make it do it's job. Sometimes the muscle still won't work so you have to do things to facilitate it. I'm going to use the biceps as an example because it's easier to understand. If your biceps won't work in and isolated manner (bend your elbow without moving your shoulder or wrist), as a physio I would have you sit up, I would move the elbow into 90 degrees of flexion and ask you to not let it fall while I slowly take the assistance of my hand away. This will usually result in a contraction of some sort. If that still doesn't work you can facilitate by doing other things like rubbing the muscle with ice before trying to do the above, vibrating the muscle, using electrical stimulation etc.

So the short answer is, you have to know what movement the muscle makes and isolate that movement. Then find a way to make the muscle respond if isolation does not force it into action.

Does that help?

I can be more specific if I know what muscle. I'll try to get over to the foot thread.

Edit to add: Mimi, are you referring to this thread?

http://forums.teamestrogen.com/showthread.php?t=14551