Oct
11
Posted by Jodi Jainchill PT, CFMT
“Every time I vacuum, mop, or rake the leaves, I get lower back pain.” This makes my days challenging. I try to take my time and allow for rest breaks but it still hurts. So now I dread doing it. But, it has to get done and no one else will do it. What can I do?
This is a common complaint from many of my patients. My name is Jodi Jainchill and I am a Physical Therapist. I have been a physical therapist for over eleven years and have advanced certifications in manual therapy and I am Pilates certified. I understand the house work needs to get done. Therefore, education is the best tool for my patients. It must be understood that you need the stability, strength, flexibility, and endurance to do the task at hand. You also have to have correct posture while doing these tasks. So, what does this all mean?
When you strengthen your core muscles, you gain core stability. That is, stability of your trunk so that you can perform tasks safely. Gregg Johnson, pioneer physical therapist, says our core muscles include the transverse abdominus, pelvic floor muscles, multifidus, quadratus lumborum and deep fibers of the hip flexors. I have begun using the hoola hoop as part of my patient’s lower back exercise program to wake up these core muscles.
One important component of tapping into your core muscles is having your body in correct alignment. Yes, that means good posture. But you must understand, good posture does not mean a “stiff” military posture. We must learn to align our body’s correctly in a relaxed posture. That is where flexibility comes in. Often the chest muscles are tight from reading or being at the computer. Also your hamstrings and hip flexors are tight from too much sitting. These muscles being tight can pull on your lower back and not allow correct posture.
Once your body learns to stabilize, you can begin a strengthening program to meet your daily functional goals. For example, vacuuming, mopping, or raking. It is also important to learn correct body mechanics while doing your activities. Many people know to bend their knees when they squat. The problem is they still round their back. When you round you back, over time, the “twig will break”. Yes, your back is like a twig. After a few thousand improper bends, the ligaments or nerves will scream out in pain. The key is to keep your spine aligned in “neutral” while doing activities to keep correct posture.
So, yes. Lower back exercises are the foundation to a healthy back. Learning how hoola hooping as part of your lower back exercise program helps focus on your core stabilizers and helps improve posture and alignment. It also increases circulation to help improve flexibility and endurance. It is a fun workout that you can do at home.
Jodi Jainchill PT, CFMT
Here are some additional readings you may enjoy:
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University of Indianapolis Communications » University of … – Occupational therapy graduate students from the University of Indianapolis will be visiting an Indianapolis elementary school September 24 to teach fourth and fifth-graders the proper way to wear backpacks to avoid back injury. Some 25 graduate students will be at St. , from 7:45 to 9:15 that morning in advance of the first-ever National Backpack Awareness Day, September 25.
Oct
10
Posted by Jodi Jainchill PT, CFMT
I have lower back pain! Now what am I supposed to do? What am I working to achieve with exercises for my lower back pain? One minute I hear stretch and the next it’s about strength, but you’re supposed to be ‘protecting’ your back also. Which is it?
What are good lower back exercises?
What we want to accomplish is mobility with stability. Mobility with stability is the body’s neuromuscular system’s ability to stabilize a joint or a group of joints while allowing movement in other places.
This is measured in either a static or dynamic posture. A static posture for the trunk, for example, is reaching overhead. When reaching overhead, the trunk needs to steady while the arms move to do the task. In a relative dynamic posture, like shoveling dirt, the trunk is stabilizing while twisting and the arms are doing the task.
What about flexibility? Yes, it’s part of the recipe and is measured by the length a muscle can stretch from its origin to connection. And strength? Yes, strength is necessary and measured by how much weight (include your own weight in that) a body part can move. Although we need both flexibility and strength, if our body does not learn to stabilize during activities, our body’s natural protective mechanism will not kick in and can lead to injury and pain of the spine. Once pain sets in, the whole system can “shut off”.
There is a different focus during exercises to achieve mobility with stability than when you’re going for flexibility with strength. Lower back exercises that focus more on stability with mobility include core stabilization exercises. We want to wake up the “long-lasting” muscle fibers. They are built to hold us in correct alignment. But, sometimes these “long-lasting” muscles get a little lazy from disuse or “shut off” from pain.
I like to use a specific technique developed by pioneer Physical Therapist, Gregg Johnson, to “wake up” these stabilizing muscles. In short, you ‘wait out’ the quicker acting ‘phasic’ muscles that start an action and when they start to shake with fatigue, the “long-lasting” tonic muscles kick in. Re-establishing a stabilizing effect to the core muscles.
So it’s the whole enchilada that adds up to comfort and avoiding re-injury. Thus, it is very important to focus on stabilizing exercises with mobility. Once your core muscles have kicked in and have minimal to no pain, it is also important to have the flexibility and strength to perform the task at hand. At the same time, we need to build the stamina and endurance to perform your activities safely. The hoola hoop is an excellent tool that can provide safe exercises to aid in meeting these goals and you get to have some fun while you do it.
Jodi Jainchill PT, CFMT
Here are some readings you might enjoy:
Sep
26
Posted by Jodi Jainchill PT, CFMT
Have you ever noticed that you and your horse are a lot alike? Have you ever observed that if your right lower back is tight or painful, your horse may also have a tight or painful right lower back? If so, why is that? Does your body’s compensatory movements for tightness or pain effect your horse’s movement? Could that cause eventual pain for your horse?
If a rider cannot allow their body to move freely, then neither can your horse. Over time, your horse may need to learn movement patterns to compensate also. Once your horse begins to imprint these motor patterns, they become less supple and prone to injury.
Ultimately, we want to enhance our horse’s beauty and not inhibit their movement. Therefore, our ground work is just as important as our horse’s ground work!
If a rider is more relaxed in her seat (pain-free), then the spine can be more supple. In order to maintain a ‘good seat’ while riding, you must have a strong core. You also must be in good postural alignment. It also helps to have your body balanced, symmetrical, and good body awareness. These concepts are improtant for a lower back exercise program. It is important for these principles to be grasped on the ground.
One way to acheive these principles of a lower back exercise program is with the hoola hoop. As a physical therapist with advanced certifications and Pilates certification, I have found that hooping is a fun and beneficial tool to meet these goals. As you gain core stabilization, improve posture, increase balance, symmetry and body awareness, you will notice your seat and riding will also improve. As your movement improves on your horse, so will your horse’s beauty and movement.
Jodi Jainchill PT, CFMT
Technorati Tags: hoola hooping, Lower Back Exercises, lower back pain
Sep
20
Posted by Jodi Jainchill PT, CFMT
Most people do not like the feeling of being constipated or having diarrhea. And often most people are uncomfortable talking about it. But, in our society, it is a familiar body dysfunction. When your digestion is working properly, you may have a bowel movement (BM) after each meal. That can be at least three a day! Some people are lucky if they get one a day. The local drug store is filled with over-the-counter medicine to help this problem in the bathroom. There has got to be a better answer. I was first exposed to visceral(organ) work with the founders of the Institute of Physical Art (IPA), Gregg & Vicky Johnson. Inspired by another physical therapist Kent Keyser, senior faculty of the IPA, I started taking courses with the Barral Institute. The founder of the Barral Institute, Jean-Pierre Barral, has opened my eyes to the deeper layers of the human body.
Through the Barral Institute, I have taken several courses from Gail Wetzler and Dee Ahern. Also, I have studied many texts written by Jean-Pierre Barral. I love and recommend reading his book “Understanding The Messages Of You Body”. Dr. Barral says, “An organ in good health has physiological movement.” Our digestive organs can become healthier by the foods we eat. If you are otherwise healthy, your diet can help with a good bowel movement. Eat more fiber (figs), fruits, and leafy greens and cook and chew well your beans, peas, cabbage, onion, artichokes, mushrooms and leeks. Also, the more you move your body, the more you can stimulate your digestive organs. Our intestines are 26 feet long in coils. The intestines works together with the other digestive organs and are able absorb useful nutrients for the health of the body. A tight and tense abdomen is a sign that the digestive system is not working properly and it may cramp. Also, morning tiredness that goes away as the day goes on could also be a sign of the intestines not functioning properly according to Dr. Barral. Also, when there is tension or gas in the intestine it makes it more challenging for the breathing muscle, diaphragm, to do its job. This can cause burping or heart burn. Also,when the small intestines gets irritated and cannot do its job, the large intestines must finish digesting the food causing a release of gases and causes flatulence. It also makes it uncomfortable to wear belts or tight clothing around our waist. Constipation can become an obsession. When the fecal matter does not eliminate and hardens, it can cause problems for circulation of blood and lymphatics. It is true, if you miss your “window of opportunity” for a bowel movement, constipation can set in.
Dr. Barral explains that activity will “stir” the contents of the intestines. Deep breathing can “massage” the intestines. He explains that dysfunction to the lumbar spine or tail bone can cause intestinal problems. Dr. Barral also recommends relaxation to help the intestines. Here is where the hoola hoop comes in! The rhythmical repetitive motion of the hoola hoop over the abdomen can have many benefits. Hooping movement “massages” the abdomen and allows the mind and body to relax while exercising. Hooping also stimulates the core and postural muscles. This can help with back problems. In addition, increasing your hooping time can become a cardiovascular workout. This will help your breathing. What a fun way to get so many health benefits without leaving your home.
Jodi Jainchill PT, CFMT
Technorati Tags: constipation, digestion, Lower Back Exercises, lower back pain, visceral