Month: May 2012

Benefits

• Helps to rehab knee pain
• Energizes the legs, hips and back after sitting for a long time.  This is done by bringing fresh blood flow to lower extremities of the body improving circulation in legs
• Strengthens knees and legs
• Stretches nerve (sciatica – big one)
• Stretches calf and hamstring
• Assists with back mobility

Cautions

• Avoid if suffering from knee pain if this causes increased pain
• Do not hyper extend the leg so that the knee is below the shin when leg is straightened out.
• Sciatica problems may be intensified by doing this. This stretch may aggravate the sciatica nerve. Check with your practitioner
• Not recommended if there is abdominal or lower back injury
• Disc problems may be aggravated; again, do not continue if it causes pain. Consult your health practitioner

Key Points

• Soften down and lengthen up from the waist
• Soften gaze
• Sit comfortably on front or centre of chair allowing room for movement
• Keep back of head and lower back lined up and stacked in neutral
• Sitting bones are rooted softly in seat knees are over ankles leaving legs on a 90 degree angle
• Inhale while lifting the foot up off the floor and lengthening leg out
• Exhale leg back down to put foot on floor
• Try and keep equal weight on both sitting bones. Don’t press into the one that the leg is lifted on – this is subtle but try and keep conscious of this
• If straightening the leg out is too much then keep the extended knee bent

Instructions

• Start in neutral sitting position – head is stacked over shoulders and shoulders are stacked over hips
• Knees are over ankles creating a 90 degree angle of legs to floor
• Come to the front or middle of chair, couch or stool, so that you are comfortable making sure that both feet are flat on floor.
• Bring awareness to nostril breathing
• Allow your body to lengthen from the waist up, on the inhale. You should feel this expansion happening on all inhales. Soften down into sitting bones on exhale.
• Gaze is softened
• Sitting at the front of your chair with both feet flat on the floor, couch or stool, lift the right foot off the floor on an inhale and lengthen the leg out to a straightened or slightly bent position.
• If you collapse into your back at all, bend the straightened leg slightly to bring yourself back into a neutral back
• Root down through the sitting bones so that equal weight is on the right and left side
• Keep the leg extended for a few breaths
• On your inhales see if you can lift your leg a little higher for added strengthening of the thigh, hips and lower back. Keep those sitting bones rooted and with equal weight on them!
• Flex and point the foot that is off the ground for added stretch
• On an exhale release the foot towards the ground.
• Repeat on other side
• Repeat 2-3x per side if time permits. If sitting for long periods try and do this exercise every one to two hours

Consider This

• When we sit in chairs for a long period of time the muscles in the legs start to reduce strength and mobility. Just by extending your leg out from time to time you are increasing blood flow and lifting weights (your leg) and stretching out the lower back. Good to know!

When sitting for long periods of time, the muscles in the lower trunk tend to shorten because they are not being used. When you stand after a long period of time, these muscles are tight and the back feels sore when lengthening into standing. By stretching the knee to the chest, you are lengthening the muscles in the lower back and creating a more mobile, flexible muscle tone.

• Avoid if suffering from knee pain if this causes increased pain
• Sciatica problems may be intensified by doing this. This stretch may aggravate the sciatica nerve. Check with your practitioner
• Not recommended if there is abdominal or lower back injury
• Not advised to do after just eating or on a full stomach
• Not advised if you have severe osteoarthritis in the hips or knees

• Soften down and lengthen up from the waistSoften gaze
• Sit comfortably on front or centre of chair allowing room for movement
• Keep back of head and lower back lined up and stacked in neutral
• Sitting bones are rooted softly in seat knees are over ankles leaving legs on a 90 degree angle
• Inhale while lifting the foot up off the floor and exhale while tilting forward
• Keep back in neutral and tilt as a whole unit (do not round back)

Instructions

• Start in neutral sitting position
• Soften down and lengthen up from the waist
• Soften gaze
• Breathe slowly and deeply through nose
• Sit comfortably on front or centre of chair allowing room for movement
• Keep back of head and lower back lined up and stacked in neutral
• Sitting bones are rooted softly in seat knees are over ankles leaving legs on a 90 degree angle
• Inhale while lifting the right foot up off the floor and onto the left thigh just below the knee. Try to keep the hips neutral here. Don’t let the right hip lift higher than the left hip if possible.
• Come into neutral sitting and place the right palm on the inside of the right knee that is facing up
• Inhale and lengthen up. As you begin your exhale, tilt your body forward towards the knee. The rotation is happening in the hip and the back is moving as a unit in neutral. Do not round the back while tilting forward. If you only go forward an inch or two and feel it in the hips, you are doing it right!
• Take a deep breath while you are tilted forward. You may stay here for a few breaths if you like.
• Inhale back up to neutral. On an exhale release the leg off of the leg and place foot back on floor.
• Repeat on the other side.
• To deepen the stretch move the foot that is on the thigh towards the top of the leg before tilting forward and hold for a longer period of time.

Consider This

• When we sit in chairs we shorten muscles in the front hips and deep muscles in the buttocks region. This is why we cannot sit cross legged as easily whereas cultures that sit on the ground a lot have ease to do this. We need to keep this mobility in our hips so that they are healthy as we age. It’s important to keep the outside and front of the hips lengthened to balance our musculoskeletal system. Any position that we hold for long periods of time (sitting) will create an imbalance over time
  Massages and stimulates internal organs providing improved blood flow and fresh oxygen
  Not advised to do in the last trimester of pregnancy
  Move the foot that is on the thigh towards the top of the leg to deepen the stretch.
• Repeat as often as you have time for and as often as you like. Do it while watching TV, reading emails, sitting on any chair where this stretch is available to you!

Benefits

• Stretches the upper body, ribs, lungs, shoulders and arms
• Helps to lengthen shortened pectoral minor muscles which are a key factor in poor posture habits (slouching factor)
• Lengthens spine and brings fresh blood flow to upper extremities of the body
• Allows for increased expansion of the lungs when inhaling arms
• higher than shoulders which refreshes the oxygen in the lower lobes of
• the lungs
• Energizes body and helps to centre mind
• Stimulates lymph flow in the underarm area
• Releases tension in the shoulder blade region.
• Stimulates nervous system

• If you suffer from high blood pressure that is untreated, please do not lift your hands above the height of your head in the doorwell. Get approval from your health care provider
• Not recommended if there is serious shoulder, neck or back problems
• Do not arch your back when creating resistance in the doorway. Move your body against the resistance, as a unit

Key Points

• Soften down and lengthen up from the waist
• Soften gaze
• Breathe slowly and deeply through nose
• Stand just in or before the threshold of the door
• Start with palms of hands on the door well by the shoulder height
• Draw body forward as a unit
• When twisting, feel the resistance under the arm towards the centre of the breast

Instructions

• Find a door well that is of average width and is available to you to do a stretch where you are blocking the entrance/exit of it
• Stand just in the doorway. Start in neutral standing position, feet are hips width apart
• Bring awareness to nostril breathing
• Allow your body to lengthen from the waist up, on the inhale. You should feel this expansion happening on all inhales. This is subtle but present
• Gaze is softened
• Bring hands up to shoulder height and place palms on the door way (see video). Forearms and elbows can also be along the door way. Experiment with them on and off the doorway.
• On an exhale, begin to move your body through the door way as though it is moving through the doorway. Press into the hands and feel the stretch through the chest and into the shoulder blades in the back.
• Use the breath to stretch. Do not arch back when moving through the doorway. The body moves through as a whole.
• Using the breath, inhale to receive energy and then deepen the stretch on the exhale. Soften down from the waist and up from it at the same time
• Do for a minute or two and then release, shake out your arms if you like and feel refreshed and stretched.

• Move hands up the doorway and continue the stretch
• If you would like to really dig into the pectoral stretch, twist your body using your chest to stretch and your hips, going from the right side stretch to left side stretch. Exhale as you stretch.
• If there is any pain, stop and back up to where there is no pain but a good extension stretch.

• In anatomy the shoulder blade is the bone that connects the upper arm bone with the collar bone. If the pectoral minor is shortened then it is pulling on the shoulder blade and potentially forcing them into a forward slouch position. Slouching patterns happen very slowly over time. As the body adapts to this pattern, the pectoral minor muscles shorten. Because these muscles are attached to the scapula (shoulder blades) they can play a part in shoulder pain and discomfort.  Lengthening the pectoral minor muscles will aid in mobility of the shoulder blades as well, plus it will help in keeping the shoulders back and not slouching forward!
• When adding the twist to the stretch it massages and stimulates internal organs providing improved blood flow and fresh oxygen
• Do not arch your back when creating resistance in the doorway. Move your body against the resistance, as a unit
• Raise hands up the door well one ‘hands-length’ at a time using the inhale to move the hand higher and the exhale to stretch into it.
• Repeat this stretch as often as possible. It feels great and aids posture, lymph movement, shoulder pain and energy. Not bad for one simple stretch!

Benefits

• Releases tension in the neck, shoulders and head
• Lengthens muscles in the neck that may have pain referral from tight shoulders
• If you tilt your neck one way more than the other because of the way you hold the phone or the way your computer or other visual point is set up, this stretch can benefit you by stretching the tilted side twice as many times as the other side to bring about balance to the neck muscle area
• Reduces pain referral into the head area
• Helps keep shoulders in balance; decreases shoulder hiking

Cautions

• Avoid if suffering from neck pain or injury
• If you are suffering from an injury that has not been seen by a professional, please get it checked first. If there is any pain when you do this exercise please stop right away
• If there is any swelling in the neck, please make sure you do not do this without seeing a medical expert first

Key Points

• Soften down and lengthen up from the waist
• Soften gaze
• Breathe slowly and deeply through nose
• Can be done sitting or standing
• Make sure shoulders are neutral (one is not higher than the other)
• Keep shoulders drawn down and aligned across from each other throughout the stretch.
• Draw ear towards shoulder; not the other way around
• If you would like to move on – while drawing the right ear to the right shoulder, take the right hand over the head and place the hand gently on the left temple. Draw the left temple towards the right side while extending the left arm straight out to the left side. Flex the left hand to increase the stretch. Enjoy!

Instructions

• Start in neutral standing or sitting position
• Bring awareness to nostril breathing
• Allow your body to lengthen from the waist up, on the inhale. You should feel this expansion happening on all inhales. This is subtle but present
• Gaze is softened
• Make sure that the ears are lined up over the shoulders as you begin
• Inhale and lengthen the vertebrae in the neck. Keep the front and back of the neck neutral. Imagine yourself growing a half inch
• As you begin your exhale, draw the right ear towards the right shoulder. Make sure that the chin stays out from the body. Imagine the chin is like a pendulum going from side to side. Don’t draw the chin down towards the collar bone. Lengthen up and then over
• Stay in the stretch for 10-15 seconds without holding breath
• Inhale back to centre
• Repeat on left side
• Do as many rounds as you have time and energy for

Consider This

• If you spend a lot of time on the phone without a headset or if you are sitting on an angle to your computer or if you are looking one way more than the other for any reason, you are setting yourself up to have RSI (repetitive strain injury) in the neck area. You want to create ‘equanimity’ of muscle use everywhere in your body. Position yourself so that your neck has equal movement on all parts. Tilting to one side or looking to one side more than the other will have adverse affects over time.
• Helps reduce and prevent headaches caused by tension
• Disc problems in the neck – avoid this stretch if you have disc problems that are not under control – again see your practitioner for approval

Info to consider

• Lower back pain affects millions of individuals and costs governments billions of dollars annually.
• Lower back pain can affect your daily activities, your work productivity, and even prevent you from having a good nights rest
• Lower back pain is often a very difficult condition to diagnose. Many structures in the lower back such as the discs, nerves, muscles, ligaments and joints can all cause pain in this area
• Paying attention to early warning signs can help you prevent this condition from becoming chronicFor example, morning stiffness, dull achy muscle pain or even fatigue can all be considered early warning signs

 

Stretch – Mobilizing the Spine

Benefits

• Great for helping deal with *back pain (see cautions) and for preventing it
• The spinal cord is stimulated when you are mobilizing the spine, which encourages good circulation, improved blood flow and even good posture
• Reduces stiffness in the spine – decreases any kind of compression in the spine and reduces pain in the process

Cautions

• If there is any pain, please see your doctor and get it checked out.  Sometimes disc pain and joint pain can be aggravated with this exercise but if done properly, it should feel good to most people out there.  Remember – don’t do it if it causes you more pain. Get medical attention from your health practitioner.

Instructions:

• Maintain a regular breathing frequency. Inhale as you draw your shoulders back and your chest forward and exhale as you round your back
• First position is of mobilizing the spine – bring your chin in and let your lower back and upper back roll out as you exhale, hollowing in the belly an you want to hold that position for 2-3 seconds
• The 2nd position is just the opposite of the 1st. As you begin your inhale, look up, arch your back ever so slightly and slowly bring the shoulder blades in together. Allow the chest to move forward.
• Move through first and second position and back again, in a fluid motion for a minute or two.
• Repeat as often as needed. Every hour is always great if you have time.

 

Stretch – Sparing the Spine

Benefits:

• Sparing the spine benefits overusing the spine in an incorrect way. Over time, bad techniques will cause strain on the back. Sparing the spine is efficient for the spine and helps to prevent future back pain

Cautions:

• There are generally no cautions to getting out of a chair correctly. If you are pregnant or very over weight, you may need to reach for a desk top to help you out of your chair

Instructions:

• Instead of getting out of your chair bending forward and arching, let the body tilt slightly forward and then stand up Keep the back in neutral position while you stand up and let the work be in the hips.

 

Back Pain and the Relationship to Slouching