Did you know that some people suffer from headaches so frequently that they consider them to be a regular part of life? That’s why things like aspirin and other headache pills are such big sellers. In my years of experience, it’s often the case that, if someone is suffering from regular headache episodes, they just haven’t got to the real, underlying ROOT CAUSE of the problem. Many times, the recurring headaches may be the result of a dysfunction with the shoulder, jaw or neck… and it is usually possible that an expert in recognizing relief from headaches could help someone like you! If You Feel Let Down, Disappointed, And Even Skeptical About What Can Be Done To Help You, Then Read On… My name is Jennifer Penrose, Lacey’s leading neck pain specialist, and I have been helping people live with much less neck pain for more than a decade now – all across the state. And what we know now is that so many people are confused by the advice they’ve previously been given, unsure about why it didn’t work out… perhaps even skeptical about their best chances of living with less neck pain in the future… and that’s why I created this one hour Workshop entitled: “The Best Kept Secrets Of Easing Neck Pain And Headaches” – and decided to make it FREE to the residents of Lacey. When you attend, first you’ll discover just how many other options there are – then we think you’ll agree with the many attendees who’ve already gone… Read More

Do you or a loved one suffer from chronic shoulder or neck pain? so bad that you struggle to do simple things like turning your head to look over your shoulder? Reading this report may be the most important thing you do this year. It may unlock the agonizing mystery of your neck pain and show you a way to… Get back to the life you deserve A life where you can sleep at night without tossing and hoping to find one position where your pain stops. A life where you can read a book before bed… or newspaper on a morning… without the fear of more neck pain. One where you can wake up in the morning and not suffer from headaches or migraines… A life where you can plan family time with your kids or grandkids. Without worrying over if your neck pain will strike! …Basically, a life without chronic or severe shoulder pain or neck pain! Finally one of the nations leading neck experts, Jennifer Penrose, a specialist from Lacey who has already helped 100’s of people over the last decade with her recovery advice – has recently released a new 7 page “Neck Pain Consumer Awareness Report” that reveals the best kept secret in Lacey… How to actually get to the bottom of your Neck Pain without talking to your insurance, regular trips to see the chiropractor, or needing a referral from your doctor. Read More

So far in this series, we’ve covered all things neck pain, shoulder pain and even headaches. I just want to quickly recap what we’ve looked at. First we looked at why everyday activities can cause neck pain and what you can do to change that. Then we looked at how sleeping can cause neck and shoulder pain. It can be eased by sleeping with only one pillow and trying different sleeping positions that are comfortable and supportive. We then switched gears a little to look at headaches, and how most people think that they can be caused by something they’ve eaten, when it’s more often down to neck and shoulder tension causing a headache, and you could try things like relaxing in a warm bath to help ease the tension, or talking to a member of our team. Shoulder pain then became topic and I gave you some simple exercises that you can do from your desk to help ease it. Finally, last week we looked at how stress can actually be a big cause for headaches and that finding ways to relax can be really beneficial, including trying Yoga. Bringing It Back To Shoulder Pain This week I want to switch back to shoulder pain. It can sometimes be hard to see what you are doing wrong in your lifestyle because, well, it’s your lifestyle. Your daily routine is so well known to you that it can become second nature to read before bed, look on your tablet… Read More

Sometimes, it can often surprise us how the smallest things in life can actually affect our health. Small things like wearing that heavy bag on the same shoulder everyday, or that terrible posture you’ve learnt at work, but so desperately want to get rid of. That’s right everyone…it all adds up. Sometimes, even causes our shoulder pain. Today I’ll be going over the importance of exercising in the workplace and how it can help your shoulder pain. The reason why I’m writing about the workplace is because not many people realize how much time you spend at work. For example, the average full-time worker spends on average every year, 1,650 hours at work. That’s equivalent to 68 days or 9 weeks of day-in-day-out work! Now, imagine if you had an office job, or if you DO, think of all those hours you actually spend sat down, not moving and potentially developing poor posture. It’s no wonder you have shoulder pain! That is why it’s important to exercise at work and to keep moving as much as possible. Having only 5 weeks away from work can take it’s toll on your body. This truly shows how long you are at work for and how it can affect your health. Here Are A Few Tips With that in mind, here’s a few of my tips that are handy to use to ease that shoulder pain… Yoga before and after work is a MUST to stretch away those potential aches and pains… Read More

Like anything that has its own terminology shoulder pain is confusing until someone can break it down. The interesting thing is that almost all of those above can be caused from similar issues.  Let me explain. Bursitis is inflammation of the bursa. Yes you can get a steroid shot to put out the inflammation and the pain. But, you did not figure out the cause of the friction or correct the cause – so it could come back again. The shot is helpful to put the fire out, but be mindful if the bursitis was caused from tight muscles or a tight joint creating the friction and irritation of the bursa it can return. In fact, bursitis can be from several reasons: tightness in certain areas (usually chest, shoulders, and thoracic spine) AND from the rotator cuff not doing its fair share of the work load. We have to teach the rotator cuff and shoulder blade muscles to work together again. And many times without meaning to, people will use their neck muscles to compensate for the rotator cuff. Sometimes during exercises they found on YouTube or Google. This will usually lead to more shoulder pain. Don’t get me wrong I use YouTube all the time for do it yourself projects but sometimes consulting a professional is worth it. Remember Last Week? If you read last week’s write up about Bill you will recall that he had tightness in his chest, shoulders, and upper back. These changed the position of the shoulder and limited space… Read More

Pain is interesting. It doesn’t always tell us what caused the pain. And to make if even more complicated the onset of pain can be delayed by several days and even weeks from the initial injury.  This can be super frustrating to figure out what is wrong, how to fix it, and how to prevent it from happening again.Let me try to tell a common story about shoulder pain that seems to come from nowhere. We will call him Bill. Bill noticed a slight ache in the top side of his shoulder that steadily increased over the last few weeks.  He didn’t recall doing anything that caused the pain. We chatted a little more and I asked about any arm activities in the last 2 months.  He did say several weeks prior he had done a little more yard work that required some overhead activity.  He said it was fatiguing but didn’t notice any pain.  This is a common history with shoulders. We do something a little more strenuous overhead that we don’t do on a regular basis and then a few days to a few weeks later we notice an ache that gets worse. What causes the ache? Why does this happen? Let me try to explain it. The shoulder is a very mobile joint and it has approximately 18 muscles that influence the shoulder and shoulder blade.  The shoulder joint has four key muscles that provide key shoulder stability at shoulder height and above called your rotator cuff.    Unfortunately the design of the… Read More

Let’s talk about headaches. Ranging from a mid-afternoon head pounding ache, to an agonizing pain. Headaches are something most, if not all of us, have experienced at some point in our life. For some, headaches are a bigger problem and can even affect everyday life. But did you know shoulder tension is often the culprit? Lauren who is a patient of mine, wrote in an email to me before she came to see us: “Hi Jennifer, I’m 56 and have been suffering from migraines ever since I was a teenager and I’ve never been able to get to the root of the problem. Usually in the past I put my migraines down to stress or a lack of sleep. Then I thought it might be something that I’m eating instead. The thing is, I took away all of the foods that are said to set off headaches like cheese and chocolate…but nothing really changed. I don’t know if this is true, but I heard once that shoulder tension can sometimes bring headaches on? I thought you’d be the best person to ask. Is this right or am I being silly? I’m tired of getting migraines when I least expect them! It’s awful when they strike in the middle of shopping.” – Lauren, 56, Olympia, WA It’s Likely Your Shoulders and Neck Lauren certainly was right about shoulder tension being related to this common problem! And I can imagine you would have found it hard to believe me if I told you that 87% of headaches… Read More

Let’s talk about one of the most common causes of shoulder pain – sleeping! Not just sleeping, but the way we sleep (and even what we do before we sleep). Have you ever woken up in the morning with a stiff and slightly painful shoulder? Often it’s just an annoying ache that eases off shortly after you’ve got out of bed, but after days of waking up feeling like this, it can become a lot more painful. It can actually be something with your neck or vice versa! It’s something that we don’t usually think about, but one of the most important things to consider is the effect that sleeping can have upon our neck and shoulders. Let me explain: An increase in shoulder or neck pain is a common problem that many people experience as a direct result of resting for 8 hours or more in an awkward position, either an old mattress or on the wrong types of pillows. Why? Because having your neck twisted or bent in a funny position for long periods of time isn’t good for the body. After a while your body becomes so used to being in a certain position when you go to sleep (the position you’ve been sleeping in for most of your life!) – night after night, so no wonder the shoulder becomes painful. But it’s not only down to the way we sleep… A Common Nighttime Culprit Another thing I see a lot of people do before they turn in for the night is… Read More

Have you ever had a slight pain from your shoulder to your neck but didn’t really think it was a big deal, especially if you knew it was because you slept awkwardly? Yes? I thought so. I hear this quite often from my clients when they first come in to see us – they’ll mention the annoying pain that’s going on in their shoulder or base of their neck. 9 times out of 10, they think it’s something that will “just go away” on its own. But here’s the thing – it doesn’t always “just go away”! Think of your shoulders like this: Your neck sits on your shoulders and supports one of the most vital parts of your body – the skull and the brain. There are muscles in your shoulders that go up along your neck and can be related to pain. Now ask yourself this – do you still want to brush off that neck pain you’ve woken up with this morning? I thought not. Has This Ever Happened To You? Some of the main reasons as to why we shouldn’t brush off shoulder or neck pain is because we all have ways in which we make it worse. We don’t mean to, but sometimes our lifestyle gets in the way! Have you had your hair done recently? It can often be an enjoyable experience, but have you ever considered how your muscles feel? When you’re getting your hair washed in the basin, do you make sure the chair and basin are… Read More

We’re back from our COVID hiatus! The new episode of “Stay Healthy South Sound” – Dr. Penrose’s monthly podcast – is now live! This month she interviewed Christine Kulhawik, Licensed Acupuncturist and Certified Functional Nutritionist. She owns Watershed Wellness in Tumwater, WA and you can find them here on Facebook or visit them online at watershedwellnesscenter.com. Topics include benefits of acupuncture, who it’s for and how it works (including its connection to your immune health). She is currently offering telehealth visits and can even guide you through self-acupuncture points! Listen to it today at these links! https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/stay-healthy-south-sound/id1460144640 https://open.spotify.com/episode/5mNIbLXDZIyqceMicIn2as https://penrosept.com/stay-healthy-south-sound-podcast/#sthash.u5M9f1FZ.dpbs… Read More

If you or a loved one suffer from chronic back pain – so bad that it can even stop you from walking, sitting or working – then attending this virtual workshop may be the most important thing you do this year. It may unlock the agonizing mystery of your back pain and show you a way to get back to the life you deserve… A life where you can walk up and down the stairs without worrying when your back pain is going to return, or the pain stop you in your tracks. One where you can enjoy leisurely walks with friends and family and not worry if you’re gong to make it or not, restricted by a painful or “tight” back. A life where you can pick up and play with your grandkids without worrying when your back is going to stop you from getting back up. A life where you can do and enjoy all the things you see so many others doing and enjoying but your pain has kept you watching from the side-lines. …Basically, a life without the curse of back pain. If You Feel Let Down, Disappointed, And Even Skeptical About What Can Be Done To Help You, Then Read On… My name is Jennifer Penrose, the nations leading back pain specialist, and I have been helping people live with much less back pain for more than a decade now – all across the country. people are confused by the advice they’ve previously been… Read More

Have YOU ever been told that back pain is just one of those things that comes with your age? Have you been told that you “just have to accept it, during the COVID-19 lockdown, because nothing can be done?… If you answered “YES” to any of these questions, and you have suffered with low back pain for longer than 9 days now, then please pay special attention to what I’m about to tell you… It could help save your job and independence. If you’re NOT the one who’s suffering, but your husband, wife, mother or father is, then please read on… It’s a shame that so many people think their only option is to “rest” or visit an expensive chiropractor every week. Or, just as bad, mask their pain with pills and hope that it just goes away… …Because as you may be experiencing, something is wrong and there is a problem. I want to help you by simply showing you all of the different options that are currently available to you. Some are new, most are free, all are 100% natural. And, at least one of them you will have overlooked. Most doctors don’t know of it, and many insurance companies won’t tell you unless you ask for it!… Good News! Get this: I reveal 7 different ways that could possibly make a significant and positive difference to the discomfort and torment you are currently experiencing, in a new report titled: “7 Quick, Easy Ways To… Read More