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.

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

 

  1. 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
  2. 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
  3. 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.
  4. 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!

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:

Your Journey to a Better Back: Part 3- The “Sloppy” Push Up

We all know that there isn’t likely one movement or exercise that is appropriate for everyone, but the “sloppy” push up can be helpful for many people.  People tend to sit slouched and spend WAY too much time with their spine rounded forward, so this is a nice movement to get out of that, and nothing you happen to do in your day puts your back near there unless you make a point of it!

Remember, the “sloppy” push up should not be painful.  If it is, it’s best to consult with your Physiotherapist to see if this exercise is appropriate for you at the moment.

 

The 5 Essentials of Healthy Desk Work

  1. Sitting posture is key! We all know it’s not a great thing for the body to sit for many hours every day, so at least have most of that time with minimal stressors on your body.  Sit with a supplemental lumbar support so that your spine can easily maintain the natural inward curve in the lower back that is present when you stand.  When you correct from the bottom, it helps to align everything higher up.  More than that, keep moving around in your chair—rock your pelvis forward and back or side to side every now and then—just keep things moving a bit.  
  2. Breathing is underrated! If you’re sitting in a slouched posture for long, you aren’t able to take in a maximal breath to expand your lower lungs.  Not cool.  As soon as you sit up straighter, it allows the lowest part of your lungs to expand fully when you take a deep breath—this is important to bring oxygen to tissues, calm your nervous system, and help blood flow.
  3. Your desk set-up is important: the ergonomic design of your work station should keep your head neutral looking straight ahead, your shoulders relaxed so that your elbows are bent to ~90 degrees and you can still reach the keyboard and mouse, and your chair height allows your knees to be at or below the height of your hips.
  4. Move your body: sitting properly is WAY better than not, but it’s still not great to stay there for hours on end.  Move! Strategize to stand and move around your area when you take a phone call, or schedule a walking meeting, or drink enough water that you regularly have to get up to use the bathroom!
  5. Drink enough water: ideally we want about 8-12 cups of fluid per day in order to replenish our body’s store of fluids. These fluids help with all bodily functions:  blood regulation, digestion, breathing, muscle and joint function, and brain activity. Keep it in you!

If you’re not sure about your desk ergonomic set-up or how to use a lumbar roll to sit, speak with your physiotherapist, or check out an earlier post here

 

Daily squatting is great for your hips, knees… and pelvic floor!

If you’re thinking that you’re doing well because you do squats at the gym, well…good… but that’s not what I mean.  The article below is a great read on how many of us have lost the ability to squat because we just never do it.  I mean the deep butt-almost-to-the ground kind of squat.  In eastern cultures they have toilets that require you to squat over top of them, or they sit on their heels to eat.  We literally never do that here, unless we make a point to do so.

Joints actually like compression, as it helps to lubricate and nourish them.  Squatting squishes the fluid that surrounds the knee, hip and ankle joints around, and the cartilage at these joints like that.  Also when doing a full squat, the pubic bone and tailbone move away from each other, allowing the pelvic floor muscles to have a bit of a stretch.  All good things.

Squatting should not be painful, nor should you feel unbalanced.  If you’re finding the thought of a full squat daunting, get some strategies on how to properly and safely do this movement from your physiotherapist.

Check out the super-interesting article from www.quartzy.qz.com