580: Rick Olderman - Solving Chronic Pain with Systems Thinking : New Age Physical Therapy

Solving Chronic Pain with Systems Thinking : New Age Physical Therapy

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Rick Olderman - Physical Therapist

New Book: Pain Patterns

Website: www.RickOlderman.com

Topic: Chronic Pain, Frozen Shoulder, Neck Issues, and Practical Self-Fixes

Guest: Rick Olderman, PT with 30 years of experience and author of Pain Patterns

🔧 Systems-Based Approach to Pain:

• Rick explains how traditional PT often fails chronic pain patients due to "component thinking.

  
  

• His systems-based method looks at how seemingly unrelated areas (like feet or hips) can cause pain elsewhere in the body (like the neck or lower back).
  

• Most spinal pain is driven by lower body dysfunction, particularly faulty movement patterns.
  

🦴 Brad's Updates & Takeaways:

• Brad shares progress with his L5-S1 herniated disc recovery—Rick's advice (e.g., walking with bent knees, quad-focused stretching) has helped tremendously.
  

• A reminder: simple habits like not locking your knees while walking can reduce chronic issues.
  

1. Frozen Shoulder:

• Early stages: not much can be done—let it run its course.
  

• Later stages (6+ months): Class 4 laser therapy has shown success by promoting nitric oxide release, which relaxes fascia and improves motion.
  

• Key issue: scapular movement is often ignored. True recovery requires restoring scapular mobility, not just shoulder ROM.
  

2. Chest Pain (Costochondritis/Tietze Syndrome):

• Often misdiagnosed or unexplained.
  

• If pain persists beyond a few weeks, suspect mechanical causes—like a tight pectoralis minor or asymmetries in the rib cage.
  

• Pain might stem from old shoulder or pelvic issues pulling on rib attachments.
  

3. Shoulder/Neck Pain on the Opposite Side:

• Peculiar but likely related to levator scapula tension pulling on cervical vertebrae.
  

• Dysfunctional scapular movement on one side can cause pain on the opposite side due to compensations.
  

• Stretching and scapular realignment often reduce symptoms quickly.
  

4. Chronic Neck Pain & Headaches:

• Almost always traced back to scapular dysfunction, not just upper neck or trap muscles.
  

• Self-treatment: simple positional exercises like child’s pose to relieve depressed scapula.
  

• Consistency and correct technique matter more than quantity of exercises.

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