We have all heard about the negative effects of prolonged sitting. In fact, some people argue that sitting is the new smoking. Unfortunately, chairs are not going anywhere, so we need to make sure we are sitting in a healthy position for our spines! In this post, I will discuss how to sit in a healthy posture to minimize the negative effects of the chair. Sitting decreases metabolism, increases one's risk of blood clots or pulmonary emboli, & places extra stress on muscles and joints.Since the hip bones are the only fixed point grounded to the chair, a good sitting posture should begin with the hips and pelvis in a neutral spine position. To find a neutral pelvis, first identify both of your sit bones. Next, slightly roll the pressure onto the front portion of the bones. This action should tilt the hips forward, creating a small curve in the low back. It is important to only be slightly forward on the hip bones. A common sitting misalignment is excessively rocking the pelvis forward (seen in left picture below), which forces the low back to arch excessively. Those who have a tendency to over arch their low back will feel added tension or spasms as they attempt to sit upright. Next, draw in the lower abdominals by bringing the belly button toward the spine. This action corsets the lower back and provides stability to the spine. Finally, it is important to lengthen through the middle portion of the spine. In the clinic, I have found the best cues to be "open up through the upper chest," and "imagine someone is pulling a string connected to the front of your shirt collar up toward the ceiling." When performing this action, the shoulders will naturally fall into a proper posture. It is not necessary to draw your shoulder blades back. After the chest is upright, refocus the attention to the neck by giving a small chin nod. The chin tuck prevents stiffness in the upper back and can reverse the 'hump back' posture that is commonly seen in older individuals. Maintaining this perfect sitting posture is difficult. Often times, we find ourselves slowly slipping back into the old, comfortable habit. While this is not ideal, it is inevitable. To decrease this from occurring, I recommend placing a small towel or pillow in the fold of the low back. The pillow will help maintain the natural curve of the spine and keep the pelvis from tilting backward. Top 3 Seated Postural CuesWhile having a good seated posture is important, the most beneficial thing someone can do is simply stand up! As I have mentioned in a previous post on posture, "the best posture is one that requires regular movement." At Heafner Health, I recommend standing every 15-20 minutes and performing basic corrective exercises every 2 hours.
-Jim Heafner PT, DPT, OCS
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Do you often find yourself massaging your own stiff neck?When people feel the need to massage the upper shoulders, it is due to muscles working inefficiently in the upper back. The effects of poor posture (slouched middle back, forward head position) create muscle imbalances in the region. For example, when a person sits for several hours working on the computer, the muscles on the front of the shoulder are short and stiff. Contrarily, the muscles on the back of the shoulder have been placed on stretch. As this person attempts to workout after being in a poor posture, the muscles have difficulty adapting to the demands of the workout. While many muscles may be at fault for upper shoulder tension, a common culprit is the upper trapezius muscle.
The key to reducing tension in the upper shoulders is to strengthen the middle & lower trapezius while keeping the middle back healthy and mobile.In the videos below, I provide simple tips and exercises to assist with reducing tension in the upper shoulders. Ultimately, improved postural awareness will be the long term solution.
If you are experiencing shoulder or neck symptoms, contact Heafner Health today! Either physical therapy or a corrective exercise session can help your symptoms.
E: jim@heafnerhealth.com P: 618-604-3293 Stay healthy, Jim Heafner PT, DPT, OCS I was recently teaching a workshop at a local gym when I asked the audience, "Who here has knee pain?" Nearly two-thirds of the crowd raised their hands. While this number may seem alarmingly high, greater than 60% of people report knee pain at some point during their adult life. Generalized knee pain is the 3rd most common reason Americans visit their doctor each year. In the clinic, I find that women are at a greater risk for knee pain than men. Simple postural cues and sleeping adjustments can be made to minimize the stresses placed across the knee each day. Why is knee pain so common?In a previous post, Knee Pain While Trail Running, I discussed why the knees are susceptible to injury. "The knee has motion in a single plane limiting the ability to absorb abnormal stresses from multiple angles. Since the knee only moves in one plane, the position of the hip and ankle have a profound effect on the forces that meet at the knee. ...When we don’t attend to the demands on the hip and ankle, the detriments often appear in the knee. If motion is lacking above or below the knee, the abnormal forces dispersed on the inherently unstable knee will result in pain." How to Adjust Sleeping HabitsIn general, women have wider hips than men. Wider hips increase the angle from the hips to the knees (this is known as the Q-angle). A large Q-angle predisposes the knees to collapse inward, which creates muscle imbalances across the knee joint. For this reason, clicking and popping can occur at the kneecap. The clicking and popping is not harmful, but it is sign that something is not moving properly. Whenever these signs appear, it is important to look at one's prolonged postures (i.e. sitting, driving, and/or sleeping) to find the cause. Since most people sleep between 6-8 hours each evening, let's start there! As simple sleeping adjustment to perform each evening is to place a pillow either between the knees or underneath the back of the knee. For side sleepers, the pillow between the knees will stop the top knee from collapsing in on the bottom one. The pillow decreases the Q-angle and minimizes the prolonged stress placed on the outer hip muscles while sleeping. For back sleepers, the pillow underneath the knees will stop the them from overextending and collapsing inward. Additionally, it will place the hip joint in a relaxed position, which protects the low back and knee joints. Remember, these sleeping adjustments are only as beneficial as your exercise and postural habits throughout the day. It is important to incorporate gluteal and hip strengthening exercises (see below) to keep the hips and core strong. Two Scientifically-based Exercises for Knee Pain
Are you experiencing knee or low back pain?Contact Heafner Health today to see if you are appropriate for physical therapy
P: 618-604-3293; E: jim@heafnerhealth.com I often get asked the question, “What is the best posture?” The answer is not what people expect nor what they want to hear. People expect me to say proper posture is when the spine is lengthened, the core is engaged, the hips are neutral, the knees slightly bent, and shoulders resting back. While this is a great static posture, there is nothing functional about this position. The best posture is one that requires regular movementThink about posture as a state of constant change that is always evolving and adapting to the demands of life. The best posture is a dynamic one that stimulates the brain and stresses the body in unique ways. Our body is designed to explore the capacity of our movement throughout our entire lives. We need to be stable in certain positions and quick and agile in others. Injuries are more common in older people simply because we lose our dynamic posture. Think about the last time grandma or grandpa performed a jumping movement. It simply does not happen. Be Dynamic! Foam rollers and other soft tissue mobility tools have become very popular in recent years. These tools allow people to improve flexibility, relax the nervous system, and minimize muscular adhesions that occur in the fascia. Surprisingly, many people do not know how these tools actually work or how to maximize the benefits of performing soft tissue mobilization. Key Tips When Performing Self-Soft Tissue Work 1) The soft tissue mobility exercises are ONLY as beneficial as the joint mobility work and strengthening that occurs following the soft tissue work. For example, if you foam roll the IT band, it is important to do hip mobility & strengthen the hip muscles afterward to sustain the changes that were made. 2) The amount of pressure applied when using the foam roller, tennis ball, or golf ball does not effect the amount of change in the muscle length. Soft tissue mobilization is beneficial because of the 'neurophysiological effects' a.k.a altering how our brain perceives that region of the body. During soft tissue mobility exercises, area being treated receives a ton of input from the brain allowing that region to be reprogrammed. 3) Discomfort is common during soft tissue mobilization, but pain should not occur. If you experience pain, bruising, or prolonged inflammation, you have likely worked the region to aggressively. Breathing requires the coordinated use of several muscles, primarily the large diaphragm muscle. The diaphragm is considered one of the core muscles as it plays important functions in low back stability as well as neck and shoulder mobility. When you breath improperly using your chest, you neglect the diaphragm muscle thousands of times per day. As you can imagine, using any muscle the wrong way will cause a problem, but the wrong way - 20,000 times...that may be a serious issue! How can someone be breathing improperly? People who are not using their diaphragm are often using accessory muscles- pecs and scalene muscles- around the neck to breath. Clinically this can translate into neck and shoulder pain. When breathing, 90% of the movement should come from your abdomen and only 10% from the upper chest. Watch the video below to see if you are a chest or belly breather. Diaphragmatic Breathing Over the weekend, Keith Allen and I put on a workshop at the Yoga Pod in Boulder discussing simple strategies to maximize spinal health while performing yoga. We broke down the general families of yoga- forward folds, back bends, and twists- as these three movements are performed repetitiously throughout any yoga class. In the videos below, I am going to demonstrate a few cues that Keith and I taught to effectively engage your core while performing various yoga postures. Properly Engaging the Deep Core Muscles Forward Fold Postures Forward folds have great calming benefits for the nervous system, which is important after a low back injury. These poses are very grounding and provide a stretch to the entire posterior chain- back and legs. Backbend Postures Backbends are ideal for people who spend excessive amounts of time sitting each day. The focus should be on opening up the heart and chest, while bending back from the middle of your spine. You should not feel muscle cramps or tightness in the low back when performing cobra, sphinx, or other back bends. Whether you are experiencing any low back issues or not, understanding the importance of core activation throughout your Yoga practice will save your spine and allow you to practice more fully. -Jim Heafner PT, DPT, OCS E: jim@heafnerhealth.com T: 618.604.3293 Like this post? See more from Heafner Health Physical TherapyDid you know that 60-80% of individuals will suffer from low back pain at some point in their lives? America alone spends more than $50 billion each year studying low back pain. A missing link exists in the treatment of neck and low back pain. The solution literally (and figuratively) connects these two regions - improving thoracic spine stiffness. The thoracic spine - or middle twelve vertebrae of the spine - connect the neck to the low back. Anatomically this region moves less than its counterparts. The neck is designed for high amounts of movement in order to quickly look or turn. On the contrary the thoracic spine is built for stability. It houses the connections for the ribs, which protect the vitally important organs of the heart and lungs. While some stiffness is accepted, problems arise when this region loses motion. A lack of motion forces the higher and lower connections (neck and low back) to move excessively. The excessive movement causes small amounts of repetitive trauma in the neck and low back eventually resulting in pain. Part of the solution to resolving neck and low back pain is performing regular thoracic spine mobility exercises. Desk work, driving, and other sedentary habits prohibit our natural posture. Combat these forces by performing a daily thoracic mobility routine. Thoracic Mobility Routine Tea is drank for a variety of reasons- to improve blood flow, eliminate toxins, increase resistance to various diseases, and simply because it tastes good. In recent years the proposed benefits of tea, specifically green tea, have come into light for public consumption. Interestingly, how the tea is steeped and the quality of tea leaf both play a role in the benefits you receive. What are the benefits of green tea? The green tea root is rich in polyphenols - an antioxidant also found in wine. The polyphenols contain flavonoids, specifically, Epigallocatechin (EGCG), which has the most widely known health benefits. EGCG contains high levels of antioxidants, protecting the body from free radicals and toxins that enter our body through our diet and environment. Medical research has found a high association between the presence of free radicals and cancer, which is why many studies have found negative correlations between green tea consumption and the risk of cancer. The benefits of green tea go beyond decreasing one’s risk of cancer. Green tea has shown a positive correlation with heart health as well. A pharmacokinetics Japanese study showed a decrease in low density lipoprotein cholesterol by 36% versus those who did not consume green tea. Drinking green tea is a simple strategy to fight your risk of high cholesterol, curb the effects of high blood pressure, and ultimately decrease your risk of cardiovascular disease. Other research has shown green tea to protect the liver from toxic substances. One of the most common toxins that our livers fight is alcohol. With all the breweries in Colorado, maybe a cup of green tea before indulging in your favorite beverage could jumpstart your liver! Maximizing the benefits of green tea Green tea has exceptional health benefits, but if the tea is not prepared properly, all of nutritional benefits and desired taste cannot be extracted. Green tea is best prepared between 140-185 degrees Fahrenheit. Cooking tea at a higher temperatures will affect the bitterness and acidity levels of the tea. If you have ever drank green tea and had the residue of a dark red wine on your palate, you likely overheated your water. At higher temperatures, the polyphenols (tannins) dissolve and create a dry bitterness on the palate. In addition to temperature, consider the quality of tea you are purchasing. Generally, higher quality tea can be brewed at a lower temperature. Finally, steep time will change the balance of your green tea. Steep your for 1-3 minutes to achieve optimal flavor and benefits. This post was inspired by my recent trip to Celestial Seasonings in Boulder, CO. Their tour discussed the tea making process and the benefits of drinking tea. Plus, it was full of free tastings. Hair nets strictly enforced for cleanliness! |
Heafner HealthPhysical Therapy Archives
June 2023
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