The new year provides us with a fantastic opportunity to look back and reflect. And with a little luck, we might be able to use what we've learned to thrive in 2022. And here at Your Wellness Nerd, a new year gives us the chance to look back and appreciate what's resonated the most with you guys on the Your Wellness Nerd YouTube channel.
As a Physiotherapist, my goal is to help you (and as many people as possible) uncover the cause of your aches and pains, and provide effective long-term solutions. And YouTube is a fantastic platform for this.
Over the course of the last 18 months, I'm staggered to see just how many people have interacted with the channel.
Since uploading my first serious video to the channel on April 8th, 2020 they've been viewed almost 300,000 times. That's amazing to me. I took the time to estimate how many treatment sessions I've conducted over the last 15 years and the number is 10 times LESS than that. It's humbling to think that my experience and expertise has the potential to help so many more people in this way online. The internet can be a toxic place though, but I'm proud to say the response to the 200+ videos I've put out has been overwhelmingly positive to say the least.
So at a time like this, let's look back and display the 13 most-watched videos on the channel last year. I sincerely hope the real-world clinical information in these videos can help you find the answer to your aches and pains in 2022.
Stay safe, look after yourself and those around you, and let's get to it.
- Grant
13. How to Stop Your Arm Going to Sleep at Night (Hint: It's Not Your Circulation)
Is your sleep often interrupted by what many would describe as a "dead arm'? If so, what do you think this is?
Traditionally, a dead arm at night is often linked to a lack of circulation. And this makes sense. Perhaps you were sleeping in a weird position and your arm got caught underneath.
However, I'm finding that there may be more to this puzzle than circulation alone. More specifically, it may actually have a lot to do with the state of your neck BEFORE your head even hits the pillow.
Watch as I discuss what a dead arm is more likely to be and how to go about resolving this for good!
12. Self Taping for Flat Feet: How to Support Collapsed Arches with Tape
If you're struggling with any arch-related dysfunction then it might be helpful to know how to self-tape your feet.
Whether it be Plantar Fasciitis, Achilles tendon pain, bunions, or even knee pain, arch support may offer some short-term benefit. As always, each issue will have its own set of necessary treatment requirements, however there's certainly nothing wrong with trying to make yourself feel as good as possible until those underlying issues reverse.
11. Repetitive Strain Injuries (RSI): Why Overuse Alone Is Not the Cause
This video is one that holds a special place in my heart. Over the years I've treated countless patients struggling with various types of RSI and despite the differences between each individual and their own specific issues each person shares one thing in common. It sucks.
And through my work as a Physio, I've come to understand that the way we look at RSI may actually lack a little perspective. A perspective that is vital to not only helping someone recover more quickly from RSI, but truly preventing or solving it for good.
In this video, I discuss a huge misconception about RSI and what I've found to be the hidden underlying cause you may not actually be aware of.
Related: Why Tennis Elbow is Neck-Related.
10. Anterior Ankle Impingement: Exercises That Work (Avoid Ankle Surgery)
Like most YWN content, I want to pass on the interesting things I find clinically. I do so in the hope it turns out to be the missing piece to your pain puzzle.
And in terms of ankle impingement, we sometimes don't see what's immediately in front of us. When a joint impinges we need to figure out what's jamming it up beyond any bony abnormalities.
In this video, I discuss why joint capsule stiffness could be the missing piece to your anterior ankle impingement and offer up one of the best exercises I've seen to help open it back up again.
9. Osteitis Pubis: 2 Helpful Exercises to Address its Underlying Cause
Osteitis Pubis is a routinely difficult condition for any athlete to overcome. A mix of time, load management, strength and general stretching is often the main focus of treatment.
However, much like the deeper ankle joint capsular stiffness I find associated with ankle impingement above, there seems to be an equally important, and also overlooked role of the hip joint capsule and lower back.
In this video, I discuss why a stiff hip joint capsule and low back dysfunction could be underlying causes of OP and demonstrate effective ways to quickly free things back up again.
8. How a Tennis Ball Can Successfully Treat Your Back Pain
You wouldn't think something as simple as a tennis ball could have such a profound impact on your spine, but it can.
In fact, I'd almost go as far as to say that the tennis ball exercises in this video is a must-do for ANYONE suffering from low back pain. It's gentle and specific enough that you'll know exactly how beneficial it can be for you and your pain.
Do yourself a favour and give it a try and let me know how you feel in the comments below!
Related: If you're struggling with persistent low back pain, why not enroll in our Low Back Pain course!
7. One Highly Effective Hip Impingement Exercise
Similar to Osteitis Pubis (above), Femoro-Acetabular Impingement (FAI) may have a deeper relationship with the state of your hip joint capsule - not just bony abnormalities.
We have long thought that these bony hip irregularities cause deep hip joint wear, tear, pain and dysfunction if left untreated. Couple this with weak hip and core muscles and FAI can be a disaster.
Interestingly, I find FAI is also closely related to hip joint capsular stiffness. More importantly, I find that one specific hip capsule stretch can help restore normal loading to the area. This extra slack may ultimately improve how things feel.
In many cases there may still be local bone and joint damage. But this improved function can separate those who might still need surgery from those who can recover conservatively.
In this video, I again demonstrate how useful the banded hip capsule stretch can be to manage this frustrating condition.
Related: Why knee pain is a consequence of something else.
6. Thoracic Outlet Syndrome Treatment That Actually Works!
Thoracic Outlet Syndrome is yet another frustrating condition for many. It's aggressive symptoms and potential to hang around can make TOS a difficult condition to manage.
From what I find clinically, there are some really powerful basics to master for anyone with TOS.
Whether it be your day-to-day postures or the state of your neck and upper back, I'd consider this a must-watch for anyone hoping to conquer TOS long-term.
5. The Hidden Cause of Gluteal Tendonitis (and Exercises to Treat)
If dealing with hip bursitis or gluteal tendonitis it's important to figure why you've got it. I mean, these things should not just happen if things are functioning well.
In my experience, hip bursitis may have a very strong connection to relatively hidden low back dysfunction. And without addressing this, it can be hard to quickly and effectively solve what's going on at your hip.
In this video, I discuss where abouts in the low back you should explore and demonstrate some simple ways to improve this for long-term pain relief.
Related: Why your Hip Bursitis might be back-related.
4. How to Stop Your Ankles From Clicking (Peroneal Tendon Dysfunction)
An ankle that clicks may not be the most sinister physical issue in the grand scheme of things. Having said that, it is a sign of dysfunction that you most likely don't deserve to have to put up with.
It may not be a sign of injury or structural dysfunction but there will likely be some overly tight, stiff, or weak tissue in the area you can do something about.
This video goes through a number of areas to target for an immediate boost in ankle function to silence those ankles for good!
3. Elevated First Rib Exercises & Cause Explained!
There are a number of things that I would call common misconceptions related to injury and pain. Interestingly, most are based on ideas that do make sense. However when we take a big enough step back and gather more and more information, these ideas often no longer hold up.
And the idea of an elevated first rib is one of them.
In this video, I dissect why this idea makes perfect sense on the surface but may actually be missing the bigger picture completely. I also touch on ways to solve this problem long-term!
2. AC Joint Injury (Shoulder Separation) | Does This Factor Set Your Shoulder Up to Fail?
On the surface, an AC joint injury sounds very simple. You experienced trauma to the joint, it failed, and now you have to deal with it.
However, in my never-ending quest to understand the nature of pain and injury, I may have uncovered an often overlooked piece of the puzzle. And this puzzle piece could help us decrease the risk of future AC joint injuries in the future.
This video may not necessarily help an injured AC joint recover faster (although it may help over time) but I believe it may serve as an important reference to better frame AC joint injuries going forward.
Related: Why shoulder pain is rarely just a shoulder-specific issue.
1. Costochondritis: The Hidden Cause & a Simple Exercise to Fix Anterior Rib Joint Pain
Truth be told, I'm glad this video was the most-watched video on the channel last year. Costochondritis can be a really tough condition to deal and I hope this video has helped people overcome it.
From the initial fears of having a heart attack to the often hard-to-diagnose dysfunction to the constant pain and frustration associated with simple tasks like breathing and moving the arms, Costo can be a nasty issue.
As with many of these videos, as good as the medical industry currently is at treating our patient's pain, I firmly believe there is a broader perspective to most conditions that can easily be overlooked. And in the case of Costochondritis, the answer to many people's issues may actually lie around the back.
In this video, I highlight what I would consider to be vital information for anyone trying to conquer Costochondritis, and hope to shed some light on the perspective needed to settle it down.
Bonus: Do Your Knees Hurt When Sitting Cross-Legged? Here are 3 Exercises to Take That Knee Pain Away!
This bonus video makes the cut as I would anticipate it making next year's list.
While only posted a few months ago, this video gives me the impression that a lot of people struggle to sit cross-legged on the ground without knee pain.
This video attempts to shed light on why that knee pain might actually be a consequence of hidden hip dysfunction and, as always, I go through ways to help sort this out!
Related: If you're struggling to shake Costochondritis, sign up for our Costo course!
And there we have it!
I genuinely hope the information in these videos helps you with your pain in 2022.
If you have another issue that didn't make the list or you're just hoping to learn new ways to improve how your body functions, please head over to the Your Wellness Nerd YouTube channel and have a look.
While you're there please consider subscribing and ring that notification bell to know when a new video goes live.
Furthermore, let me know in the comments what you need help with and I'll cover it in a video. Who knows, it might make its way to the top of the list at the end of 2022!
- Grant