One Minute Wellness: Sloppy Push Up

This unprecedented time of COVID-19 has many of us working from home, going out less, driving less… basically everything is “less”… except sitting. Most of us are sitting around the house like never before, and most people will be slouching for long periods.

Over time, this can put your lower back in a less-than-happy place, so you can try to prevent that– or help it– by trying this simple move. The “sloppy” push up should not be painful. Ideally it should actually feel like nothing, which is weird to think like that: we generally don’t do movements or exercises that don’t feel like they’re stretching or working muscles. But the thing is that this movement should feel smooth and easy, and you’re trying to keep your muscles relaxed. If it is painful, check with your physiotherapist to see if it is right for you.

Sloppy push ups are brilliant!

One Minute Wellness: Sitting Posture

During this crazy time of COVID-19, Elevation Physiotherapy & Wellness is closed with so many other businesses, and people are at home. Since it is not normal life, many people are probably sitting even more than normally. Research shows that it’s best to keep moving around when you’re sitting and change up your position regularly, but here is a tip to get you out of the slouching position we spend so much time in:

Do We Really Need to Sit Up Straight?

Posture– or avoiding slouching—is often discussed by people who have lower back or neck pain.  People are often told to sit up straight, as poor posture has been thought to be one of the causes of back or neck pain. Research shows that people with low back pain may find certain postures painful, but it can’t be proven that the postures are the cause of pain.

Do We Really Need To Sit Up Straight?

Movement and changing positions can be helpful, as sedentary lifestyles are a risk factor for low back pain, among many other health conditions.

1. There is no single “correct” posture. Despite common posture beliefs, there is no strong evidence that one optimal posture exists or that avoiding “incorrect” postures will prevent back pain.

2. Differences in postures are a fact of life. There are natural variations in spinal curvatures, and there is no single spinal curvature strongly associated with pain. Pain should not be attributed to relatively “normal” variations.

3. Posture reflects beliefs and mood. Posture can offer insights into a person’s emotions, thoughts, and body image. Some postures are adopted as a protective strategy and may reflect concerns regarding body vulnerability. Understanding reasons behind preferred postures can be useful.

4. It is safe to adopt more comfortable postures. Comfortable postures vary between individuals. Exploring different postures, including those frequently avoided, and changing habitual postures may provide symptom relief.

5. The spine is robust and can be trusted. The spine is a robust, adaptable structure capable of safely moving and loading in a variety of postures. Common warnings to protect the spine are not necessary and can lead to fear.

6. Sitting is not dangerous. Sitting down for more than 30 minutes in one position is not dangerous, nor should it always be avoided. However, moving and changing position can be helpful, and being physically active is important for your health.

 7. One size does not fit all. Postural and movement screening does not prevent pain in the workplace. Preferred lifting styles are influenced by the naturally varying spinal curvatures, and advice to adopt a specific posture or to brace the core is not evidence based.

D. Slater et al. (2019) “Sit Up Straight”: Time to Re-evaluate. JOSPT.  49(8):562-564

The Shoulder Bone’s Connected to the Spine Bone…

So most people wouldn’t realize that your mid-back would be related to your shoulders, but if you’re sitting right now, try to slouch.  Go ahead, fully slump down… see how when you do that, your head pokes forward and your shoulders round inward?

Now from that position, try to lift up your arms overhead.  Hard to do, right?  That is because you need your mid-back to be fairly straight and your chin tucked to get full shoulder movement.

Most people spend too much time slouched forward, and over time your mid-back, neck and shoulders can tend to stay a bit rounded forward, or at least it feels stiff when you try to get out of that position. Your thoracic spine are the 12 middle vertebrae located between your neck and lower back, and connects to your ribcage. When it’s moving well, your back is happy and your neck and shoulders move well too.  If your mid-back doesn’t move well, you may develop some aches and pains.

Here’s why mid-back mobility matters:

  1. Improving your mid-back and shoulder mobility can help with headaches and neck pain.

Upright posture is important. When your thoracic spine is stiff, it’s harder to sit up straight and rotate your upper body. When your mid-back is rounded, your head automatically pokes forward, which can contribute to pain in the neck and even to headaches. But working on the mobility of your mid-back can give you more mobility in the shoulders and neck.

  • Better Overhead Movements:  when you’re slouching and your mid-back is rounded, you don’t reach overhead well.  You need a straight thoracic spine and tucking the chin back in order to achieve full overhead shoulder movements.  All of those people you see walking around with a forward head posture and rounded shoulders don’t have normal shoulder movements and can’t take a full deep breath.  True story.  Practicing an arch through the thoracic spine by relaxing over a foam roller can help improve mobility through the region.  Take a few deep breaths to encourage rib expansion while you’re there.
  • Smoother Breathing: When your thoracic spine is mobile, your ribcage can move well too, allowing your lungs to fully expand and your diaphragm to descend. This can translate to better performance in whichever activity you choose!

Hopefully you’re seeing it’s important to give your shoulders and thoracic spine a little love.

You might be surprised at how much improving your thoracic spine and shoulder mobility makes you feel better — at the gym and in your day to day life.

Are Our Brains Making Us Sit Too Much?

Elevation Physiotherapy & Wellness :: Are Our Brains Making Us Sit Too Much?

 

A recent study in the journal Neuropsycologia finds that our brains tend to be wired towards being lazy.  People know that they should exercise and even may plan to work out, but electrical signals in the brain may be motivating them to be sedentary.  Relatively few people exercise regularly, even though most know that it is important for our health.  Earlier research shows that many people sincerely wish to be active, but few people actually follow through.

Scientists wondered if there was something going on in the brain that lessened the motivation to exercise, so they recruited 29 healthy and fairly sedentary young men and women who said they wished to be more active.  Each volunteer was fit with a helmet that had multiple electrodes that read and recorded the brain’s electrical activity.

Each person was given a computer test where they had an avatar they controlled by pushing a keyboard key, and they were instructed to move their avatar as fast as they could toward either the active images and away from the sedentary ones, and then vice versa.

If people respond more quickly to one kind of image, moving their avatars to it faster than they move them away from other types of images, then it is thought that they are drawn to that subject. The people in this study were almost uniformly quicker to move toward the active images than the sedentary ones–they all consciously preferred the figures that were in motion.

But at an unconscious level, their brains did not seem to agree. The electrical tests of brain activity showed each person had to use much more brain resources to move toward physically active images than toward sedentary ones. Brain activity there was much slighter when people moved toward couches and hammocks, suggesting that our brains are naturally attracted to being sedentary.

The results were explained in that our ancestors needed to conserve energy, so they had fewer calories to replace when food was not easily available—it was a survival strategy.

Of course, this study was small and looked only at electrical activity in the brain, but the authors feel that it would be helpful for some people who are reluctant to exercise to know that they are not alone.  It is also very important to note that we can consciously choose to move, despite what our brains might think.

LeBron James rocks a lumbar roll– maybe you should too.

Having a firm roll to support the natural curve in the lower back is a key way to prevent slouching in essentially any kind of chair.  Use it by keeping your butt close to the back, and pushing the roll down as far as it will go, then just relax back around it.  Initially it might feel intrusive since you aren’t sued to it, but it’s a feel you’ll come to love!

https://www.sbnation.com/nba/2018/7/27/17621974/lebron-james-lakers-lumbar-back-fashion-summer-2018

At Elevation Physiotherapy & Wellness, we love the lumbar roll!  Learn more here

We all know it’s important not to slouch for long periods… and that’s easy to say and hard to do! This article from the Globe and Mail has some solid information on movement, and how to “unlearn” that poor habits that keep us all rounded forward!

4 Reasons to Try Yoga When You Are Recovering From Pain

As a Physiotherapist, I see people who have pain.  Together we work on strategies to help that pain and get to the root of the problem, and often for a period of time I will ask people to limit certain activities, but the big picture is to get someone back to full function and have no limitations.  Once people are on the road to recovery, then often yoga can be beneficial as part of the solution! Here are 4 reasons to start yoga when you’re recovering from an injury:

  1. Here’s the thing: all yoga is not the same.  It is important to look at your specific movement and breathing patterns, and develop a yoga series that is unique and helpful for you and your issue.  We typically start small and slow by focusing on one joint and one movement at a time, as small and slow movements are more open for awareness building, easier for the nervous system to learn, and progress occurs more quickly. You will be surprised how small movements can release tension. As we progress, we may increase the number of joints involved, number of reps and speed. We may also transition from sitting or lying down movements to more standing movements to build stability and strength.
  2. There is a sense of safety: When the nervous system is responding to stress, your breath can be shallow, muscles tighten, the digestive system and sleep get thrown off. Pain and anxiety can exacerbate the stress response. Yoga can help to down-train the nervous system and encourage further healing of the issue with breath, movement and calm.
  3. It helps you listen to your body. As you get to know the cues your body is giving you, you can learn a better connection with your body and can help take control of your own self-care.
  4. Any movement is therapy when done with ease. Yoga can help you become more aware of how you move. You can work on easy vs. tight breathing, and ease of movement vs. force.  Awareness is the key to shifting the movement and breathing habits that can contribute to symptoms. With awareness, symptoms can change.

How do I start?  At Elevation Physiotherapy, we work closely with a trained yoga instructor to develop a program that can be a part of your own injury recovery.  Speak with your Physiotherapist to see if yoga sessions could be helpful for you.  If you are continuing with Physiotherapy, it is possible that your yoga session(s) could be covered under your Physiotherapy benefits.

Your Journey to a Better Back: Part 4- Your back muscles are not that weak

It is surprising to many people to learn that your back muscles are likely not the cause or driver behind back pain.  Your brain recognizes that pain is not normal and can go into “protective” mode and the muscles can spasm or not work normally as a result, but they are not often the cause of the issue.  Check out this video below to explain more: