One of my jobs, as an assessment specialist, is detective work.
When there is a dysfunction—perhaps from an inhibited muscle, a restricted or displaced joint, or an impinged structure—all kinds of signs might start to appear on the surface, leading us to the correct structures. Without even considering pain, neuralgia, or trigger point referrals, the list is still endless.
Muscles pump blood and other fluids when they contract and relax. When they are stuck and don’t get to shorten and lengthen, there can be circulatory issues in that area that might lead to cold spots, patches of dry skin, rashes, spider and varicose veins, or swelling from lack of drainage.
In one client, long-standing acne over the area of a cranial suture dysfunction cleared up once we corrected that dysfunction. In another client, a discoloration in the skin of the neck pointed us to a small segment of longus colli that was locked into its shortened phase. Scar tissue from a bruise might cause a bald patch on an otherwise hairy area.
Cellulite can come and go with exercise. What does exercise do? It moves the layers of muscle and connective tissue relative to each other. If you have persistent areas of cellulite despite exercise, this might be a sign of lack of proper functioning of the underlying muscles or restrictions in the tissues.
The signals and signs are many, and they do go beyond the skin.
At one level, diaphragm restriction can cause cold feet; at another level, burping and acid reflux; and at a third level, swelling and edema in the legs. Your eye movement is controlled by six primary eye muscles, and floaters in the eye can be a sign of circulatory deficiency—and may indicate inhibition of the muscles in that eye. Dysfunctions in the sternocleidomastoid muscle can cause a persistently drippy nose.
I could go on for hours. Understanding these relationships and paying attention to these sometimes subtle or overlooked signals is a big part of my work. And yes, many other problems can also lead to these same issues, so it isn’t a direct correlation, but it is a body of evidence worth considering.
