Bosscher Chiropractic, PLLC

Bosscher Chiropractic, PLLC Doctor of Chiropractic serving the Holland and Zeeland area

08/10/2026

Want to nail that first pull up?! Or you want to increase reps, check these tips out 👆

The MAIN thing I’d assess first is the scapular position (shoulder blade).

If I try doing a pull up with significant forward shoulders, it doesn’t allow me to use LATS well. Latissimus dorsi (lats) are very LARGE and powerful muscles.

You NEED to be able to use your lats and core well if you want to nail those pull ups ✅

I demonstrate a high-to-low pull using a band, similar to a lat pull down. The difference is my arms stay locked out. This helps enhance core activation.

If my elbows bent with this high-to-low “pull,” it would just turn into a tricep extension 🤷‍♂️

Last example is for those who have a hard time activating lats because elevated scapular position.

You need to activate a muscle called the serratus anterior to assist in a downward “scoop” of the scapula.

It’s somewhat hard to explain and easier to feel… hope you all get what I’m saying 🤝

*use big muscles (core + lats) through this movement otherwise you’ll be much weaker relying solely on the arms 🥵

*pull up bands can also assist. Wrapped around bar and feet or knees as you pull yourself up into a pull up…

You have any physical goals? Exercises or certain movements? I love when my patients come to me with these. It’s fun to break down movements to become more achievable and get you closer to your goals! 🫵👏

-up

08/03/2026

Leg length difference, does it matter 🤷‍♂️

Well this seems to be a hot topic for some reason, but I think the argument comes from, does it contribute to someone’s PAIN 🤔

Because when I assess someone’s pelvic position/leg length I am basically expecting to find a difference left to right. Very common.

Just my general OBSERVATIONS:
I find most people present with a longer LEFT 🦵. This is usually caused by a pelvic rotation rather than a true structural leg length discrepancy. I also find that the longer side tends to have hypertonicity (muscle tightness) to the lateral glutes/TFL.

I don’t want to ignore muscular imbalances, so a leg length difference IS something that I will usually address whether they are symptomatic or not.

If we look long term, that pelvic rotation may be creating femoral/tibial rotation and overpronation and the issue in your feet 🤷‍♂️, for example.

So no, I don’t harp on every symptom stemming from a rotated pelvis and leg length difference. However, I do address it most of the time and do my best to show you 🫵 what you can do the better any imbalances.

07/08/2026

Pretty easy way to mobilize ONE side at a time ✅

I could get picky here 👆 but you get the idea. We are trying to just move the hip joint, don’t really want excessive spinal or pelvic movement.

All 3️⃣ planes of motion!

Forward + backward
Side-to-side
Rotation

Slow it down and control it. Go as far as what feels comfortable 🤝

Most people primarily train or stretch in one plane of motion (just straight forward). Add the others and help free up the hips a bit!

06/24/2026

There are obviously numerous reasons someone may get headaches, but a VERY common reason is suboccipital hypertonicity (tightness).

The upper neck is a very sensitive region neurologically, and there are many small muscles in this region that connect to the skull.

We want good movement of the bones/joints and proper muscular tone 👌

While there’s a handful of manual techniques I can perform, I often recommend laying on something at home to mimic the pressure I use.

Things like a lacrosse ball(s), or a cervical orthotic.

This particular cervical orthotic is the Denneroll (can only be purchased through provider), however there are many knockoffs nowadays 🤷‍♂️ 🤫

While there can be different uses for this (supporting the natural cervical curve), I like using it based on the pressure it applies to the spine and muscles.

To me it feels very good 👍 😁 especially if you have a headache.

Just some tools I like using and suggesting to my patients dealing with upper neck tension or headaches 🤝

06/10/2026

While there can be multiple reasons for limited shoulder mobility, I often start at observing the scapular position/posture.

An elevated + protracted scapula will NOT allow appropriate movement of the humoral head within the glenoid fossa (ball and socket).

Try it for yourself. 🤷‍♂️

Purposefully roll shoulders forward and try moving your shoulders around. Feels awkward and extremely limiting.

I know that’s an extreme example, but it’s often what I’m assessing and working on with patients. Trying to improve scapular kinematics (the way the scapula sits and moves). ✅

So if you have limited shoulder range of motion, I’d at least start with a static observation of where the scapula is sitting.

To “fix” this would likely require manual muscle releasing, various strengthening, and neuromuscular reeducation, AKA muscle memory..

Caption from a textbook back from grad school. Here’s my opinion…Discs DO lose their hydration as we age. Their height d...
06/01/2026

Caption from a textbook back from grad school. Here’s my opinion…

Discs DO lose their hydration as we age. Their height decreases, and they tend to become more rigid. (Many things one can do to slow this process by the way. Part of reason I preach daily movement 😉)

I’m not quick to saying anyone over 40 CANNOT have a disc herniation, but I would say that the older someone gets, the less likely it is to happen.

To elaborate, I think someone’s pain COULD be due to the disc over the age of 40, but that’s not saying it’s a herniation.

Discitis, annular tears, endplate derangement or fracture, inflammation… you can have other issues with the disc that can be painful that aren’t due to a protrusion or a herniation.

So absolutely someone over the age of 40 could have disc-related pain. However, a true herniation would tend to occur LESS as someone ages 🤝

05/07/2026

For most elbow pain, I would tend to FIRST look at the forearm muscles.

However, the tricep is also a culprit of elbow issues. In my case, chronic tendinopathy… 🥴

*in my case, I perform flexion distraction on just about every patient, multiple times a day.. if you watched how I have to perform this, you’d see my left arm is fully extended and isometrically loaded as my hand supports a patients low back through the movement.

So in my case, I can’t help but I overwork my left tricep literally multiple times a day.

How do I treat this? Well I’ll start with working out the tight tissue. Various manual techniques or tools to assist in this. Heat to help improve local blood flow, as well as light isometrics.

Tendinopathy = chronically deranged tendon that has not had proper time of healing. Isometrics helps heal the tendon, with progression to eccentric (lengthening) of the tissue.

A bit tricky as this one is not likely gone in a week 🤷‍♂️ and I know a lot of what I do everyday contributes to symptoms.

A little bit at a time ✅

Main point is that sometimes elbow pain is not ONLY due to tendinitis of the forearm muscles. Need to properly assess the area.

05/06/2026

Dealing with chronic shoulder issues? Limited range of motion or pain??

You may need to address the thoracic spine (mid to upper back).

Limited motion to this part of the spine will put added stress through the shoulder over time..

*Limited thoracic mobility can also contribute to neck or low back problems.

Test out performing THREAD THE NEEDLE.

Hands and knees, add rotation. How well can you rotate or move through the thoracic spine?

Is one side harder than the other? Or less mobility on one side? Ideally you want this to be fairy easy and symmetrical bilaterally.

There are more specific ways to improve this if it is hard or unbalanced from left to right, I just mention a few things to try 👆

I’m happy to assess this if you’re struggling with chronic shoulder issues. Just throwing this out there, but the aging golfer sticks out in my mind here. Very common to lose spinal movement as one ages, and the golf swing really requires good hip and thoracic movement 👍

04/23/2026

Pain in the FRONT of the shoulder? Or how about the “armpit” of the elbow? 🤔

Well it could be the biceps muscle/tendon.

Bi = two. Biceps has two heads and two attachments up at the shoulder.

One of the attachments is at the labrum of the shoulder.

The labrum is a ring of cartilage lining the shoulder joint.

Labrum tears can be quite common, so the tone of the biceps and overall posture/biomechanics should be observed.

Distal biceps attach down past the elbow. I see this on occasion but not as common as issues associated with the shoulder.

The second attachment site into the shoulder region is actually to part of the shoulder blade (coracoid process on the scapula).

So again, “fixing” or preventing this, one needs to observe posture and mechanics of movement and go from there. (Strengthening + releasing muscles, neuromuscular reeducation)

Hypertonicity of the biceps will likely create an upward and forward tilt to the scapula. This alone can create some issues in the long term..

04/13/2026

Part 2 of “lift with the legs.”🦵

Big picture here is that we want to *primarily* use large leg + hip muscles to assist in moving or lifting whatever we are doing.

We still need and want to use the smaller stabilizing muscles, but I find through different movement biomechanics that we often rely heavily on the smaller stabilizing muscles to become our primary “movers.”

Smaller muscles = more easily fatigued = more often strained = can produce symptoms..

No matter what, with bending and lifting we are using back muscles. However, if I only rely on bending through the spine, I will use just that… the muscles of the back.

Not as strong and may become strained (over time).

Not meant to be a scare tactic, just biomechanics of how we move. Use larger muscles to assist in movement and lifting.

Ideally we all train these deeper smaller muscles as well! Like I had said, these are often the ones that actually produce the symptoms I see everyday.

Side note. I’ve treated a handful of powerlifters over the years. Not everyone, but I’d often see these huge strong guys would have a hard time performing “easy” exercises that challenge their stabilizing muscles.

So while heavy lifts may bulk someone up and improve strength, don’t forget about challenging your stability.

*also not saying you can’t ever bend in the spine. It’s just ideal to utilize leg musculature to offload the back 🤝👌

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400 S State St #250
Zeeland, MI
49464

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