Here are a few exercises you can do with your own body and gravity– you can load up a backpack if you want a bit more weight, but it sure isn’t necessary to make these moves challenging!
One Minute Wellness: Part 2- Stair Exercises
Try these 4 movements you can do with your body weight and a set of stairs!
One Minute Wellness: Part 1- Mat Exercises
Only have a few minutes and want to try some body weight exercises at home? Try these to work your core!
One Minute Wellness: Kegels
The pelvic floor group of muscles work like every other muscle in your body, but are generally ignored until someone has an issue! Here’s how to make sure you’re engaging (and releasing!) properly.
Stretching Should NOT be a Major Component of Physical Fitness
This recent study looks at static stretching, specifically the sit-and-reach test. The argument has always been that hamstring flexibility is important to activities of daily living and sports performance, and the American College of Sports Medicine currently recommends 2-4 repetitions of multiple stretches a day.
This author feels there should be decreased emphasis on stretching as a necessary component of exercise regimes, as static stretching does not clearly improve health and function, and flexibility can be maintained or improved more efficiently through other modes of exercise.
Flexibility levels are usually greater in older adults who are most independent in activities of daily living, but so is muscle strength. Higher scores in the sit-and-reach test do not predict who will have lower back pain, hamstring injuries, or lower limb pain. Stretching to prevent injuries has not been backed up in the evidence.
The author argues that reducing emphasis on stretching will make exercise training more efficient, and poor flexibility in the general population may be due to reduced physical activity. If an exercise session can be shorter, people may be more consistent with doing it. Time previously dedicated to stretching could be better used with additional aerobic or resistance exercise. Leisure activities or aerobic and resistance exercise should be able to maintain or improve muscle flexibility in most people.
This author makes a point of saying that muscle flexibility is irrelevant for overall health and function, and that it should not be considered a major component of physical fitness for most people. He argues that stretching generally does not improve function in healthy individuals when compared to other forms of activities or exercise.
Finally, the author notes that dynamic stretches are different than static stretches—they use body weight and recruit multiple muscles and a neural component to perform, likely making them more functional than static stretching.
If the evidence we have to date is showing that static stretches do not advance our fitness or health, and we get more gains through aerobic-type workouts and resistance training, maybe our time is better spent learning dynamic stretches for blood flow and getting our muscles to end-range pre-exercise.
What do you think?
Nuzzo, James. The Case for Retiring Flexibility as a Major Component of Physical Fitness. Sports Medicine (2020). 50: 853-870.
We look down too much! Here’s how you can help your neck:
In life, we look down all of the time– our hands are in front of us and we are constantly looking down at what our hands are doing, right? Over time, your neck might become sore, and here is a nice exercise to help counteract that. Ideally, this neck movement should feel like nothing… really. It should feel smooth and easy– if your neck feels stiff or tight, keep doing this neck movement to try to make it easier. It should never be painful– if it is, consult with your physiotherapist to make sure it is appropriate for you.
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.
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:
9 HELPFUL BACK PAIN FACTS
1. Most back pain is not a serious, life-threatening condition.
2. A weak core does not cause back pain, ever. Really.
3. Feeling like you won’t get better and avoiding moving around can make the pain last longer.
4. Imaging of the back (Xray, MRI) do not determine outcomes or how long pain lasts. Often they are not helpful at all.
5. Graduated exercise and movement in all directions is safe and healthy for the spine.
6. Spine posture during sitting, standing and lifting does not predict back pain or its persistence.
7. Pain flare-ups are more related to changes in activity, stress and mood rather than structural damage.
8. Spine movement and loading is safe and builds structural resilience when it is done regularly and properly. Effective care for LBP is relatively cheap and safe. This includes: education that is patient-centred and fosters a positive mindset, and coaching people to optimise their physical and mental health (such as engaging in physical activity and exercise, social activities, healthy sleep habits and body weight and remaining in employment).
At Elevation Physiotherapy & Wellness, we are very good at helping people through their back pain to get to the source of the problem and getting them back to full life!
Get better, faster.
Back to basics: 10 facts every person should know about back pain. Peter B O’Sullivan et al. British Journal of Sorts Medicine. Editorial. Dec 2019
Prepare for Fall Hiking: 5 Minute Dynamic Stretching
Fall is such a great time to get outside for a hike and explore our paths and trails—the cooler temperatures and the bright fall colours make getting outside a wonderful and healthy activity. Whether you are new to hiking or have experience, it is important to know how to prepare for a hike. Of course it is important to bring water and wear appropriate footwear, but it is also essential to prepare your body for a hike.
Dynamic stretching can warm up your muscles and get them ready for the hike. They involve moving through the stretches instead of holding one position. Typical static muscle stretching require you to hold a position for 10 seconds or more, and dynamic stretching can better prepare your body for the different movements you will do during a hike.
A good dynamic warm up can improve your range of motion and flexibility around the joints in your hips and legs, and bring blood flow to those muscles to get them ready to move. For hiking, the hip flexors, hamstrings and quads of the thighs, and calves are working all the time, especially if your trails are up and down hills. A pre-hike stretch should only take about 5-10 minutes, and should never be painful.
Then you’re all set to hit the trail!
Dynamic Stretches for Hiking:
- Straight-Leg Lateral Swing: holding on to something for stability, keep your right leg straight and swing it in front of your body like a pendulum, lifting it as high as you can out to the side. Do not move your trunk. Swing 10 times, then switch legs.
- Side Lunge: start with both feet wide apart and facing forward. Bend your right knee as you shift your weight over your right foot, then shift your weight all the way over to your left foot as you bend the left knee. Lunge back and forth 10 times in each direction.
- Bent- Knee Forward Swing: with your hands on a wall, bend up your right knee to a 90° angle, then drive it away to straighten behind you. Repeat by swinging the leg up and back 10 times, then switch sides.
- Heel Raises over a Step: While holding on for balance, keep the balls of your feet on the edge of a step or ledge. Come up onto your toes of both feet, then lower down slowly until your heels are below the step, moving through the whole range of motion at the ankles. Repeat 10 times, keeping equal weight through both legs
