There are no Handrails in the game of Life!

Last time that I checked, there are no handrails in life. At no time is there any guarantee of balance, stability or control. You and your body must be able to provide the control necessary to avoid injury, this could be from falling, stumbling, poor muscle contraction etc.. So one would assume that exercising while SITTING on a stable surface is not such a good thing, it does not allow you to fire the muscles necessary to stimulate balance or stability, but that's what people still do. Last time I looked working twice as hard as you have to is not a good thing, but that's what people do, work more to get less. There is a way to do less, get more and decrease the chances of injury....what a concept!. Functional training is just that and it allows you to exercise like your body was meant to and actually achieve the results you want, all while limiting or reducing back pain.

Couch Potatoes unite

It's football season again, and for most that means hours sinking deeper and deeper into the couch. Has anyone ever equated how they feel monday morning to their activities ( or lack their of) over the weekend. Would a walk in the A.M. and some light stretching during the game be so bad (yes you must put down your beer to stretch). If you have bought the book you have realized that TV time is perfect for the foam roller, pain anyone?. Sarcasm asside, we all complain about how we feel monday but who is to blame. Simple exercises done randomly at home are easy to do and continue your advancement on the path toward freedom from back pain. Now get up and go for a walk.

Walk to ease the Pain

Did you know that the simple act of getting off your behind and going for a walk will significantly reduce back pain. Just walking at a comfortable pace while letting the arms swing normally will actually 'lubricate' the spine which decreases the friction between the disk-vertebrae-nerve. Walking also forces the muscles in your glutes, back and ab's to do their job and if they are doing their job they can not spasm and cause as much pain...what a concept, and so simple.!

Stop the Insanity

Please excuse my rant. It never ceases to amaze me, no matter how many times I go the gym or interview 'trainers' for a job, the amazing lack of understanding in the fitness industry. Almost constantly I see 'trainers' destroying their clients who have entrusted their bodies to them. These trainers, who mean well, just do not have the understanding of how the human body actually works. As I explained to a trainer yesterday, it is easy to provide someone with exercises, it is much harder to provide them with the appropriate exercises that that person actually needs, and for that matter exercises that will not hurt that person. PLEASE make sure that your trainer is Certified nationally( NSCA, NASM,) and take the time to be self informed enough to know if your trainer does not know. The information is out there, it is almost all online, just take the time to learn some of it, please. If not just buy my book and at least learn the basic exercises to strengthen the spine and pelvis....(shameless plug.)

You may be hurting your back trying to help it!

The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over expecting a different result. Is it possible that performing the same old exercises is actually making you weaker or reinforcing your injury. have you ever stoped to think that if the exercises you have done for years, the ones you never saw any results with, may not be achieving their goals. With the advent of the computer, specifically computer EMG's (electro myelogram) we now have the ability to see and read how the muscles contract. Guess what we learned? many of the exercises we performed in the past were not the best for us. There is a better way and better exercises, we now have the ability to work less and get more out of it while not causing any injury to ourselves....muscular efficiency.

Just Move

While I was working on the ambulance this weekend (in between calls) I was catching up on my journals, you know, an idle mind..... I came across a study on back pain sufferers and their recovery from their injury, none had any surgical intervention. Of all the people surveyed, and it was a good amount of participants over a longer period of time, they all had one thing in common. They all continued to exercise, stretch and eat well. The study clearly showed that those that just stayed active (yard work, house work, walking etc.) all had almost no recurrence from their pain. I guess you can say they took responsibility for their pain.

Back Pain does not have to change you

It is unfortunate, but for the majority of chronic (greater than 3 months) back pain sufferers the pain alters them. Anyone that has been in severe unrelenting pain for long periods knows that it will change you. Anger, fatigue, depression, inactivity, inattention, presentteism.....are all symptoms brought on by the pain. why does this occur? the simple answer is chemicals. Pain causes the release of chemicals in the brain that make you feel bad, what is the answer?, GET MOVING. The research is clear, inactivity leads to depression, fatigue, weight gain and weakness. Pain causes you to not want to move which perpetuates the problem. As I said before, take responsibility for your pain, do not wear it as a badge. Of the thousands of people who beat back problems the all came to terms with their pain and took it on.

What is the BEST Spine Exercise

Ah, my favorite question. Unfortunately there is no one single best exercise for anything. If I had to choose just one exercise that is safest and most effective for the spine while engaging the abdominal wall and the obliques it would be 'the dog'. Please keep in mind that this is a 7 level progression and what I am talking about is just the first level.

A bowling ball on your shoulders

Many people that enter our facilities have at some time or currently are experiencing neck pain and or headaches. Today’s sedentary lifestyle, computers, phones, travel all force the head and shoulders forward of the bodies center of gravity. The average weight of the head is 10-12 pounds, for each inch that the head leans forward double the weight of the head, that’s right, 20-24 pounds. That’s a lot of extra strain that the posterior stabilizers of the neck and back must deal with.

Add to the equation car accidents, falls, and sporting injuries and there can be some major damage to the muscles of the neck. One thing that many people do not take into account is that many of the shoulder blade muscles have direct attachments into the cervical and upper thoracic spine. If these muscles are weak, the shoulders slump further and the cycle of poor posture and weak shoulder muscles continues.

For every reaction there is an equal and opposite reaction. As the body rounds forward the anterior musculature becomes very tight and overactive. This means the chest, frontal neck and upper abdominal muscles get very tight and will not relax. As a result the shoulder blade muscles we discussed get weak and lengthen from the unrelenting pull of the frontal muscles. We must stretch the frontal muscles and strengthen the posterior muscles to have any chance of success. This means no chest presses, bicep curls or crunches for the first few weeks of exercise. Often the Trigger Points that develop need to be addressed through soft tissue techniques to ‘shut down’ some of the overactive muscles and painful movement patterns that can develop. So your mom was correct, sit up and do not slouch.

When exercising try to never shrug your shoulders, keep your head up and chin slightly retracted/tucked. Perform pulling exercises more than you push and as always never be afraid to seek the advice of an exercise professional.

Do you know that you don't know

When was the last time that you were in the gym and just stopped and looked around?. How many people looked lost, how many kept their body still, did not use momentum to perform their exercises. When was the last time that you saw a big guy using ‘little’ weights while standing on one leg. Most people join a health club with excellent intentions and lots of motivation, we happily sign contracts for years and fork over our cash whether we go regularly or not.But there is a sad fact at work here, the vast majority have no clue how to exercise properly. ‘Gym science’ has survived for years and years with absolutely no scientific base at all. We happily go the club and perform exercises that we have done for years and see others doing yet very few know that they do not know how and or why some exercises are better than others.If you are sick we see a Doctor, car is broken we see a mechanic. But for some reason when it comes to fitness the vast majority of us just assume that the machines in the gym will do the trick. The doctor and mechanic both perform diagnostic tests, but most people just jump in to exercise with no realization of the consequences of improperly applied exercise. There is a reason that lower back pain and joint injuries plague society, but we continue to perform the same dangerous exercises over and over?. But hey, the doctors are happy.The few people that know they do not know usually hire a personal trainer, but what if your trainer doesn’t know that he doesn’t know what he is doing. We all know the kind of education a doctor or mechanic must have, sadly there are few standards that trainers are held to. At last check there are only 3 organizations that require a 4 year degree in health science prior to taking their certification exam. It never ceases to amaze me how many trainers actually believe they are at the top of their profession yet they consistently recommend absolutely the most dangerous exercises with no scientific base from which to justify performing that exercise. There are actually three or four home study certifications that have gone bankrupt but those trainers are still out there with no checks and balances.Some of those ‘gym science’ exercises have been proven to cause permanent damage, yet I see them performed daily and encouraged by most trainers. If you contract with a personal trainer please realize that if they do not perform a fitness assessment then they are guessing. This assessment should include health history, posture, flexibility (not a sit and reach test!), balance, and movement analysis. If those tests are not administered than that trainer does not know!. You do not go to your doctor expecting free services and a reputable and well educated fitness professional will not be giving away their services either.

(by the way, the exercise shown above is USELESS)

Lower back Pain Myths

Many people will suffer from Lower BackPain (LBP) some time in their lives. Most will recover fully within a few weeks. Many use exercise machines to attempt to strengthen the abdominals and lower back, this however is one of the most common fitness myths. One of the most dangerous machines in the gym is the back extension. The spine has very little ability to move on it’s own, it is influenced strongly by the hips and abs. The spine musculature consists of stabilizers that serve to protect the disks, and the extensors of the lower torso. Just like the abdominal machines performing a hyperextension on a machine or bench can cause up to 1000lbs of compressive force on the spine, there are better and safer exercises.

Take Responsibility for your pain

For those that suffer from back pain, and there are many that do, there has grown a disconnect between the pain sufferer and the medical community. Throwing pills at the pain rarely works, traditional treatments work marginally at best. We need to take responsibility for our own pain, no one will fix you if you are not willing to confront your pain and become personally responsible for fixing it. Pain is there because you have an injury, the injury causes pain and this cycle re-enforces its self over and over. To break this pain spasm cycle you need to meet the generator of the pain and shut it down. This means that YOU need to ICE, STRETCH, and perform the proper EXERCISES. This needs to be done every day without fail.
Of the thousands of patients and clients I have helped over the years the one thing that has made the difference where they had failed before is becoming responsible for treating your own pain by addressing the root of the problem and not just the symptoms.
Stay tuned for the how's and why's.