If you break your right arm and it’s in a cast for several weeks, exercising the muscles on the left arm can help slow down atrophy of the casted side — this is called “mirroring”, and likely your nervous system is involved in this. Read more about mirroring in this NY Times article
Back Pain Stinks!
A back problem can be a literal pain in the butt. There is much that can be done to fix it, and your first stop should be an experienced physiotherapist who can assess your individual issue and help determine what positions and movements will be helpful to guide you back to a pain-free self!
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!
5 Things to Know About Pelvic Floor Physiotherapy
Gardening Tips for Spring
Gardening can be a form of exercise. Doing basic gardening tasks such as weeding, trimming
and raking can burn up to 300 calories an hour. It’s a good way to maintain flexibility and range of motion in your shoulders, hips and back, as well as building strength and endurance. Avoid pain and injury by starting with planned shortened sessions and gradually increase activities.
USE PROPER BODY MECHANICS
When digging or raking, make sure your neck and back are fairly straight, and you’re not holding a position where you’re rounding forward—be upright, and use your legs to move around, not reaching over with your arms! Always bend from the hip joint to keep your back straight, and not from the waist. When lifting, try to “hinge” from the hips and use your legs.
Why French Women Don’t Pee Their Pants When They Laugh
This article from Chatelaine hit the nail on the head: every woman who has given birth, whether vaginally or by C-section, needs to take care of their pelvic floor! Every woman needs to know how their body has changed, and what to do to get to a healthy core and pelvic floor.
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:
- Here’s the th
ing: 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. - 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.
- 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.
- 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.
Who Can Benefit from Meditation?
Maybe a better question would be who CAN’T benefit? No, really… with life’s ever-moving flow and the list of “to-do’s” growing, how do you have time to catch your breath, or at least appreciate the little things? It’s hard to live in the moment when there is limited time and a million things to do.
Research shows that meditation techniques can calm your nervous system by connecting your brain with your breath and your body. It isn’t the absence of thinking– that isn’t possible. But it is trying to train your brain to let go– let go of doubting thoughts and self-critique and learn to accept just being. When your brain wanders, just come back to the breath.
Many people don’t start meditating because they fear that they will be bad at it. The main focus of meditation is breathing. If you can breathe, you can meditate.
New Research: Top 4 Insights on Pregnancy-Related Diastasis Recti
A diastasis recti (DRA) is the gap in the abdominal muscles that occurs during and after pregnancy while your body accommodates for your growing baby. Here’s some new information that is emerging
- The size of the “gap” in the rectus abdominal muscles is not clinically relevant: really? This distance is what has traditionally been measured to determine the presence of the DRA, but now what is seen as more relevant is measuring the tension through the linea alba (connective tissue of the “gap”). This is determined through a contraction of the pelvic floor muscles
- The function of the linea alba is interdependent with the function of the pelvic floor—the “inner unit” needs to have good control before outer unit and functional exercises. Translation: work on pelvic floor muscles and breath/ pressure control first, then one can add other “core” work—lower abs, glutes, inner thighs, functional exercises like squats and lunges
- Optimal management of intra-abdominal pressure is key: the “canister” of the core is created through the deep back muscles, the pelvic floor group, the diaphragm, the abdominal muscles and the linea alba between the abs—all muscles need to work together and consider the abdominal pressure produced.
- It is safe to move, and women should ensure they stay moving throughout the process of helping their DRA
Your Journey to a Better Back: Part 5- Back strengthening exercises
Once you’re feeling better and don’t have particular pain, you can try these two exercises that target the deep back muscles. They shouldn’t be painful, but rather just challenging for your muscles to do several repetitions or hold for awhile. If either exercise is creating pain, check with your Physiotherapist to make sure they are appropriate exercises for you! Enjoy!
