In this blog post, I am going to continue the discussion of how the body works as a unit and specifically how the hip, pelvis, and spine influence each other. You will be able to understand and feel this relationship with 3 simple experiments...
If you haven't read the other three blog posts related to this (how the body works as a unit and how foot and leg posture influence each other, how spine and shoulder posture influence each other), you can read them here and here and here. In this blog post, I am going to continue the discussion of how the body works as a unit and specifically how the hip, pelvis, and spine influence each other. You will be able to understand and feel this relationship with 3 simple experiments...
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If you know me or are a regular reader of my blog you have heard me say many times "the body works as a unit" or "the foot bones connected to the leg bone". I am a big believer that the body is a unit (which is a fact) and that you must treat the body as a unit. Every week I talk to new clients who explain they've been to multiple doctors, surgeons, sports medicine specialists, physical therapists, chiropractors, body workers, and other therapists and none of these experts have been able to help eliminate their pain. The amazing thing to me is that most of these clients have no idea what is causing their pain or what they can do to become pain free even after talking to and working with many different experts. How can this be?
One very important key to health is variety. Variety of movement. Variety of activities. Variety of exercise. Variety of stimulus. It is often said, humans are creatures of habit. Why? Because doing many, if not most, of our daily activities unconsciously saves us time and mental energy. Evolutionarily this saving of time and energy allowed us to invent tools, control fire, and eventually invent cars, computers, the internet, and the new iPhone X. Habit has great benefits, but also some downsides. Being creatures of habit means as we do the same things each day, we tend to move the same each day. We get out of bed the same way, brush our teeth the same way, our movements in the shower are the same every day, we park in the same place each day, walk the same route daily, do the same exercises at the gym, etc. This pattern of habit creates many imbalances in our body that can lead to injury and pain. Variety breaks this cycle and saves us from injury and pain.
Idiopathic means of unknown cause and often of spontaneous origin. Idiopathic back pain is back pain that doctors cannot explain because there is not obvious structural cause of the pain like a herniated disc, degenerative disc disease, or stenosis. Idiopathic back pain is the "diagnosis" given by doctors to patients that have chronic (over 6 months) back pain and they have been unable to figure out why. There is always a reason why however...
Is there such a thing as the perfect workout?Many people, whether they are pro athletes, fitness fanatics, gym rats, or health nuts, are looking for "the perfect workout." Some people believe the perfect workout is a HIIT (high intensity interval training). Others believe the CrossFit WOD (workout of the day) is the best. Super Slow wight lifting is some people's choice. Yoga and Pilates will get a lot of votes also. The perfect workout is...Myth 1: Injuries are the result of bad luck. Truth: Scientifically there is not such thing as bad luck, thus that can't be the cause of injuries. All injuries are caused by something concrete and with enough investigation the underlying cause can be found and fixed or eliminated, which will help that injury heal faster and more completely and help prevent future injuries. Start your investigation with a free posture evaluation. Myth 2: Injuries are from overuse.
Truth: As I've talked about previously, overuse is a myth in the way it is talked about, and "overuse injuries" should really be called "improper use injuries". Read more here. Ever try to screw in a bolt with a hammer? Didn't work well did it? There's a reason why we have a garage full of different tools - each one is designed for a specific job and works well for that job but not so much for other jobs. A snow shovel works great for clearing your driveway of snow but a rake just won't do the job. That rake, however, is really good at cleaning up leaves off your lawn in the fall and the snow shovel isn't very effective. When we start talking about your health, using the right tool for the job is also very important.
Many people are saying 2016 was a terrible year, maybe the worst ever. I don't think it was...not even close. If 2016 was the worst year ever, it would have to had been worse than:
How can you make 2017 your best year yet? Well only you can decide what that means and how you can get there, but I'll give you some suggestions regarding your health. Here are 10 things that will help make 2017 your best year yet:
My daughter had her last soccer game of the season last weekend and it was one of those classic Portland, Oregon fall days - rainy! After setting the record for the wettest October ever in the Portland area, what used to be beautiful grass fields in summer, had turned into a muddy mess on Saturday. Almost half the grass was gone and replaced with inch deep mud. There were puddles on the field. Every step you took your feet sunk 2 inches into the ground. When the ball was kicked, often a fountain of muddy water flew in all directions, and no matter how fast the ball was traveling it would often stop suddenly in a muddy splash. Several of the girls were scared their shoes would get stuck in the mud and come off. I'm sure anyone who lives in a rainy climate like Portland can relate.
But what does soccer in the mud have to do with chronic pain and posture therapy, you ask? A lot. Exercising is not the same as being physically active. Many people exercise but very few people are physically active and that's one of the reasons for high rates of obesity, joint problems, balance issues, osteoporosis, arthritis, heart disease, and chronic pain.
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About Matt WhiteheadI'm an Egoscue Institute® certified Postural Alignment Specialist (PAS) and Advanced Exercise Therapist (AET), certified personal trainer, PatchFitness performer, ultra trail runner, mountain biker, dad, music lover, environmentalist, and wanna-be slam dunk champion. I will be providing you with the latest posture exercises to help you live, play, and be pain free. Archives
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