How to Floss Your Nerves
Nerve flossing, also known as neural gliding, is an essential technique for maintaining and improving the health of your nervous system. Just like dental floss keeps your gums and teeth healthy, nerve flossing helps to keep your nerves functioning optimally by gently mobilizing them through their surrounding tissues. This practice can alleviate pain, enhance flexibility, and improve overall nerve function.
What is Nerve Flossing?
Nerve flossing involves a series of gentle, controlled movements designed to stretch and glide specific nerves through their pathways. This process helps to reduce adhesions, inflammation, and compression, thereby improving nerve mobility and reducing pain. Nerve flossing is particularly beneficial for individuals suffering from conditions like carpal tunnel syndrome, sciatica, and other nerve entrapment syndromes.
Benefits of Nerve Flossing
- Pain Relief: By reducing nerve compression and irritation, nerve flossing can alleviate chronic pain.
- Enhanced Mobility: Improved nerve gliding can lead to better movement and flexibility.
- Injury Prevention: Regular nerve flossing can prevent the development of adhesions and scar tissue, reducing the risk of nerve-related injuries.
- Improved Function: Ensuring your nerves move freely can enhance overall nervous system function, leading to better coordination and strength.
When and How Often to Floss Your Nerves
Incorporate nerve flossing into your routine when you experience symptoms like tingling, numbness, or shooting pain in your limbs. For preventive care, adding nerve flossing exercises 2-3 times a week to your fitness or rehabilitation routine can be highly beneficial. Each session should last about 5-10 minutes, focusing on the nerves most relevant to your activities or symptoms.
Step-by-Step Guide to Flossing Major Nerves
1. Median Nerve Flossing
- Position: Sit or stand with your arm extended to the side, palm facing up.
- Movement: Bend your wrist so your palm faces outward while keeping your arm extended. Simultaneously, tilt your head away from the extended arm. Lift your palm back to neutral for one repetition.
- Repetitions: Perform 10-15 repetitions per session, ensuring slow and controlled movements.
2. Ulnar Nerve Flossing
- Position: Extend your arm forward with your palm facing up.
- Movement: Bend your elbow and bring your pinky towards your ear while extending your fingers. As you do this, tilt your head towards the same side shoulder. Relax by extending the arm back out straight and tilting your head toward the opposite shoulder for one full repetition.
- Repetitions: Complete 10-15 repetitions, maintaining a gentle and steady motion.
3. Radial Nerve Flossing
- Position: Stand with your arm extended straight down by your side, palm facing back.
- Movement: Flex your wrist and pull your shoulder back into extension, maintaining the wrist flexion. Simultaneously, tilt your head away from the raised arm.
- Repetitions: Do 10-15 repetitions, focusing on smooth and fluid motions.
4. Femoral Nerve Flossing
- Position: Lie on your back with one knee bent and the other leg extended.
- Movement: Lift the extended leg slightly off the ground while flexing the knee towards your chest. Alternate between extending the leg and bringing the knee towards your chest.
- Repetitions: Perform 10-15 repetitions for each leg, keeping the movements controlled.
5. Sciatic Nerve Flossing
- Position: Sit on a chair with one leg extended straight out and the other foot flat on the ground.
- Movement: Flex your ankle so your toes point towards the ceiling, and then bend forward at the hip. Return to the starting position and repeat.
- Repetitions: Aim for 10-15 repetitions on each side, ensuring a gentle stretch without pain.
Conclusion
Incorporating nerve flossing into your routine can significantly enhance your nervous system health, reduce pain, and improve mobility. Always perform these exercises gently and consult with a healthcare professional if you have any underlying conditions or severe symptoms. Regular nerve flossing, combined with chiropractic care and massage therapy, can help you achieve optimal physical health and well-being. Ask our Buffalo chiropractors and massage therapists to show you how to floss your nerves at your next visit!
Bethany Wolcott
D’Youville Chiropractic ‘26
If you’ve ever dealt with back or neck pain, you’ve probably been told to “take pressure off the spine.” Easier said than done, right? That’s where a traction table comes in. Traction tables are a common, evidence-informed tool used in chiropractic offices to help reduce spinal compression, improve mobility, and relieve pain—without surgery or medications. Let’s break down what a traction table is, how it works, and who may benefit from incorporating traction into their care plan.
If you’ve ever wandered down the supplement aisle or scrolled past a wellness influencer, you’ve probably seen the words probiotic and prebiotic tossed around like everyone automatically knows what they mean. They sound similar, they’re often mentioned together, and yet they serve very different roles in your body. Understanding the difference between probiotics and prebiotics—and why both matter—can help you make smarter choices for digestion, immunity, inflammation, and even musculoskeletal health. Let’s break it down.
Every January, the same thing happens. Gyms get crowded. Grocery carts fill with leafy greens. Water bottles reappear from the back of cabinets. And somewhere around mid-February… motivation quietly slips out the back door. If this sounds familiar, you’re not failing. You’re human. New Year’s resolutions get a bad reputation because so many of them don’t stick—but that doesn’t mean setting goals is pointless. It just means we need a better, kinder approach. One that focuses less on perfection and more on progress. Here’s how to make resolutions that feel doable, meaningful, and—most importantly—keepable.
Have you ever noticed back tension when you’re stressed, or neck stiffness that seems to flare up when you’re not feeling well? While it may seem coincidental, there’s a fascinating neurological explanation behind these patterns: the viscerosomatic reflex . Understanding the viscerosomatic reflex helps explain why internal organ dysfunction can show up as muscle tension, pain, or restricted movement—and why chiropractic and massage care can play a valuable role in managing these patterns. Let’s break it down.
Peak Performance Chiropractic & Wellness proudly hosted our Onederland Celebration , a festive, family-friendly event created to thank our patients, staff, and community for an incredible year of growth and support. The celebration brought together families, friends, and neighbors for an afternoon filled with holiday cheer, laughter, and meaningful connection. Guests enjoyed seasonal activities, treats, and special surprises while coming together for a greater purpose. The event also served as a toy drive benefiting Be A Blessing Buffalo , allowing attendees to give back and help bring joy to local families during the holiday season. The Onederland Celebration truly reflected what Peak Performance stands for—community, gratitude, and giving back. We are incredibly thankful to everyone who attended, donated, volunteered, and helped make this event such a success. Because of our amazing community, we were able to celebrate one year of growth while spreading kindness and making a positive impact beyond our walls. We look forward to continuing this tradition and creating even more meaningful moments together in the years ahead.
Understanding Fibromyalgia
As temperatures drop and snow blankets the ground, winter sports enthusiasts eagerly prepare for a season of skiing, snowboarding, ice skating, and more. While these activities offer an exciting way to stay active during the colder months, they also present unique physical challenges that can lead to injuries if the body isn’t properly prepared. A strategic approach to seasonal wellness can help you build strength, improve flexibility, and reduce the risk of common winter sports injuries.
When it comes to filling a stocking, there’s something magical about tiny treasures that pack a big punch. Sure, candy canes and fuzzy socks are classics—but what if your stocking stuffers could actually make someone feel better long after the holiday sugar crashes fade? This year, level up your gifting game with wellness-forward, feel-good, wow-that’s-so-useful ideas curated with your favorite chiropractic and massage office in mind. Whether you’re shopping for the gym buff, the “my neck hurts every day” coworker, the parent who needs a moment of peace, or that friend who swears they’re finally going to prioritize self-care in the new year, we’ve got you covered. Here are our top stocking stuffers that are cute, practical, and chiropractor-approved.
Thanksgiving is the time of year when we pause to appreciate the big things—family, food, football, and maybe even a perfectly flaky pie crust. But there’s one thing we often forget to be grateful for: our bodies . Every day, your muscles, joints, and connective tissues do a whole lot more than you realize. They carry you through grocery store marathons, marathon-marathons, late-night study sessions, workdays, workouts, and everything in between. So this season, before you grab that second helping of mashed potatoes (no judgment here), take a moment to thank the parts of you that keep you moving. Here are five simple, meaningful ways to show your body a little gratitude—and feel better in the process.
If you’ve ever stood up after a long day at your desk and thought, “Why does my lower back feel like it’s been personally offended?”—you’re not alone. In fact, your posture may be telling a whole story. Enter Lower Cross Syndrome (LCS) : a common postural pattern that shows up when certain muscle groups decide to overachieve while others go on vacation. The good news? You can absolutely fix it—and your favorite chiropractic and massage team is here to help.
