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Exercises to Relieve Holiday Back & Neck Pain

Have you ever spent a day baking cookies and your back aches halfway through? Tis the season of back aches and neck kinks. There’s a lot we look forward to this time of year, but much of it comes with a lot of prep work. And even if we enjoy that, it can add to the time we spend hunched over. This hunch (kyphosis) can aggravate our back and neck.

But not to fret. There are moves you can do to counteract that forward bend. First remember, our low back and neck can move much easier than our midback. All those pesky ribs protecting our internal organs makes it a little hard to get mobility in the mid back. So, when we hunch over a lot, bending back becomes harder and harder to do from the mid back and we do more and more from our neck and low back. So, while it is okay to bend back at the lower back and neck, you do want to be mindful that you move from your middle when you want to counteract the slump of a long workday or baking marathon.

Moving from our middle […]

Exercises to Relieve Holiday Back & Neck Pain2022-11-21T21:16:10-05:00

Plank Form

I always tell people to KEEP MOVING but one of the best exercises you can do involves no movement at all. I’m talking about planking. Planking may seem like a fad when world leaders are doing it (remember Canada’s Prime Minster Trudeau planking on a desk?) and the world record for longest plank is over 9.5 hours. But the research on the benefits of planking is so significant that the US army swapped out sit ups for planks this year!

Benefits of Plank

What they found is young recruits flinging themselves up and down to crank out as many sits ups as possible were injuring their backs, using other muscles besides their abdominals, and basically by-passing the ab muscles. (I should note: sit ups don’t have to be a bad exercise when performed with proper form, but at superspeed it’s hard to do them properly.)

In plank, no other muscle is going to pick up the slack. Your abs are going to do the work, or they are not. According to research, planks activate more ab muscles and engage them more intensely than sit ups. So, you build strength, definition, and endurance. […]

Plank Form2022-05-21T23:04:36-04:00

Shovel Saftey

It feels like we are getting off easy so far this winter. We’ve barely had to shovel since the New Year. But as a real New Englander, I just presume that means we will have to suffer before winter is out. (She said half in jest all in earnest.) Just in case, here are some tips for shovel safety:

Know the Risks for Shovel Safety

The most common shoveling injury is strained muscles and tendons (usually in the low back). That’s actually a good thing. Because when soft tissue is the problem, more often that not we can change what we are doing to reduce the risk of injury.

Slips and falls are the second leading cause of shoveling injury. So make sure you have good footwear. Consider grips you can put on your boots when it’s icy and make ensure you can balance where you are shoveling

Apparently, a surprising number of people get hit with other shovels while shoveling, so be aware of your surroundings.

Finally, heart attack is always a concern. Make sure you aren’t getting too winded. If you can’t maintain a conversation while you shovel, you might be exerting yourself too […]

Shovel Saftey2020-02-07T17:32:58-05:00

Butt Workouts

For optimal posture, we need a strong glute muscle!

Your gluteus maximus is the largest muscle in your body. A strong, healthy butt muscle is also important for upright posture, reducing lower back pain, and overall healthy movement. When we sit all day the glute max gets stretched out and often weakened. We need to incorporate butt workouts into our regular movement routine.

Here are some tips for working your butt workouts:

To Work the Glutes You Need the Abs!

Very often when we try to work that largest muscle in our backside, we end up really moving from the back and straining over time. When you start doing a butt workout, you want to make sure your abs are engaged to keep the back safe.

Notice What You Feel

When you start to do any traditional butt exercises, check in with your body. Do you feel the glutes doing the work? Do you feel the back doing the work? Are you unsure? What can you change to the movement in order to feel the glutes? Hint: try engaging your abs.

Small Movements

When your leg and torso are in a straight line, your glutes are already working. […]

Butt Workouts2019-07-17T12:25:11-04:00

Pain in the Buttocks

Sciatica can be a pain in the buttocks —literally and figuratively.  The sciatic nerve runs out multiple vertebra in the lower back and down both sides of your legs passing through the glutes (butt muscles).  The compression and inflammation of the nerve at the spine can cause the pain in the glute and down the entire leg.  In addition sometimes one of the muscles in your butt called the pyriformis can be adding to the pain.  If you do the four stretch and you feel relief, you might have pyriformis syndrome.

How to do the Four Stretch:

Note: You can do both sides, but the side with the pain should get relief when crossed over.

Sit down on a firm chair.

Cross the leg with pain over the leg without so that the ankle rests just above the opposite knee

Sit up Tall.

Stay for 3-5 deep breaths.

Relax and Repeat Up to 5 times.

OPTIONAL: Hinge (do not round) forward slightly for […]

Pain in the Buttocks2019-07-17T12:26:58-04:00
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