We’re not talking halitosis here! Breathing is something that happens naturally all day and night, right? Not necessarily. We often think of the “core” as just the abs and back muscles, but really it is the pelvic floor group at the bottom and the diaphragm at the top too. As we take in breath, […]
Many people can happily live their lives without ever giving their diaphragm much thought at all. You don’t have to think much about breathing, it just happens automatically. But when you take in air, your diaphragm lowers to allow room for your lungs to expand. It is attached to the lower six ribs, the xiphoid […]
Stop trying to figure out WHY and just get on with it! Of course, pain is not normal– it’s your body telling you that something is going on. You do need to pay some attention. Most of the time back pain begins for no obvious reason– you could just wake up with it, or some […]
I’m sure you’ve heard by now that sitting is the new smoking. Many people spend WAAAYYYY too much time each and every day sitting– commuting to work, eating all of your meals, sitting at your desk, and all entertainment (reading, watching TV, dining out, going to a movie or theatre) — yep… all sitting. Do […]
So it has been said that motion is lotion, and nowhere is it more important than your spine! Whether it’s shifting your sitting position or standing up to grab something or going for a little walk—make sure you keep your body moving. Every little bit counts. Why? Almost all of your bones—including your spine– have […]
In a previous blog, I was mentioning the McKenzie System of Mechanical Diagnosis and Therapy (MDT) and outlined what a “directional preference” is: the assessor is trying to determine if the person with back pain has one direction of movement that they can do repeatedly that will consistently decrease their pain or increase their movement. […]
Most back problems are not really muscular. It sounds weird to say, but so many people’s pain actually starts for no obvious reason, without any trauma. They might wake up with pain, or it might just start in their back after they’ve been sitting for awhile. It is really common to hear that back pain […]
Physiotherapists often use a method of assessing and treatment called the McKenzie Method for people who have back pain and physical limitations– I highly recommend you check out information from their website here. In a nutshell, The McKenzie Institute International began several decades ago with Robin McKenzie, a Physiotherapist in New Zealand who developed a […]
