Choice PT: Back Pain and Difficulty Walking

Choice PT: Back Pain and Difficulty Walking

Move to Live Your Resource to Moving Well and Living Life

WHERE DO YOU “CARRY” YOUR STRESS? “My neck is always tight, that’s just where I carry my stress”

If I only had a quarter for every time I’ve heard this expression (that’s right a quarter, not a nickel... honestly, when was the last time you used a nickel?!). (continued inside)

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Move to Live Your Resource to Moving Well and Living Life

Before we go any further, take a BIG, deep breath in. What moved first and most? If you’re like many Americans your stomach moved inwards, your shoulders moved up towards your ears, and your chest puffed out a bit. That’s NOT how it should be! Every muscle in our body has “tone”. Tone is the resting level of stiffness that has to be in a muscle so that we don’t succumb to the effect of gravity. Where we tend to get into trouble is when certain muscles become “hypertonic” (too stiff) or “hypotonic” (not enough stiffness). Our nerves and nervous system control how much tone we have in our muscles. For the purpose of this conversation we’re going to divide the nervous system into two parts: sympathetic nervous system (fight or flight mode, adrenaline response, protective mode) and parasympathetic nervous system (rest and digest, think parachute...it slows you down). As a society, we tend to be stressed out and when that happens, one of our first responses is to change our breathing pattern. Typically, we’d prefer you use your diaphragm primarily while breathing (large muscle under your rib cage, has connections to your pelvic floor and plays a key role as a part of your core). Muscles in your neck and chest also should be active during the breathing process but really should serve a secondary or complementary role. When your fight or flight response takes over there’s a shift WHERE DO YOU “CARRY” YOUR STRESS? (continued from outside)

in the powers that be...your neck/chest muscles take over as the primary breathing muscles and your diaphragm takes a back seat. As humans, we average 16 breaths per minute; 960 breaths per hour; 23,040 breaths per day; 8,409,600 breaths in a year! Light bulb moment: maybe we don’t “carry our stress” in our necks. Likely, we’re over using our neck muscles while breathing to the tune of 8+ million times per year! Starts to explain why no matter how much you try and stretch those muscles, they continue to always feel “tight”. Awesome, so what’s the answer? We take a two part approach. First step is teaching new breathing patterns, utilizing the diaphragm as opposed to overusing the neck and chest muscles (when taking that deep breath in, your shoulders and chest should stay relaxed and your belly should inflate with air...like a balloon). Second step, uncover what situations or postures are stressing your body and put a plan in place to address those.

Let me know if you’re interested in learning more or ready to get to the root of your annoying neck stiffness!

Have a relaxing May! Joe

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FIXING YOUR STRIDE

When you are experiencing regular back pain—especially if you are experiencing back pain while walking—you should consider ways that you can reduce back pain by taking small steps to support your back. There are several things that you can do at home to improve your stride, which can make a significant difference when it comes to managing back pain day-to-day. Here are several ways that you can start taking care of your back with each step you take: 1. Make sure that you are wearing the right types of shoes. While the golden rule for walking is to wear sneakers, not all sneakers are created equally. You need to wear a sneaker that is going to provide you with the arch support that meets your individual needs. This may mean upgrading from your minimal support sneaker to something more athletically designed. 2. Try a custom insert in your shoe. Of course, you can’t wear sneakers all

the time. When you are at the office, professional footwear matters. You may find it helpful to have custom orthotics made for your work shoes so that you can have more arch support around the clock. 3. Work on improving your posture. If you are slouching when you walk, then that may be impacting the way that your back feels. Take a few minutes in the morning and again in the afternoon to stretch your back, and then make a point of keeping your shoulders square and your back straight as you walk. Simply standing tall may alleviate some of your back pain. Another way that walking can help alleviate back pain is by encouraging weight loss. Being overweight puts added pressure on your back, and this can contribute to increased back pain. Working with a physical therapist to improve your walking technique can help you to overcome back pain one step at a time.

Exercise Essentials Try this exercise to improve your breathing.

Greek Turkey Burgers with Spinach

• 1 cup frozen chopped spinach, thawed • 1 lb 93% lean ground turkey • ½ cup crumbled feta cheese • ½ tsp garlic powder • ½ tsp dried oregano • ¼ tsp salt • ¼ tsp ground pepper • 4 small hamburger buns • 4 tbsp tzatziki • 12 slices cucumber • 8 thick rings red onion (about ¼-inch)

Helps Improve Breathing

www.simpleset.net

DIAPHRAGM BREATHING EXERCISE Lie on your back with your knees bent and execute by breathing in deep, from the belly, and releasing slowly. Repeat for 30-45 seconds.

Preheat grill to medium-high. Squeeze excess moisture from spinach. Combine the spinach with turkey, feta, garlic powder, oregano, salt and pepper in a medium bowl; mix well. Form into four 4-inch patties. Oil the grill rack. Grill the patties until cooked through and no longer pink in the center, 4 to 6 minutes per side. (An instant-read thermometer inserted in the center should register 165°F.) Assemble the burgers on the buns, topping each with 1 tablespoon tzatziki, 3 cucumber slices and 2 onion rings.

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CONGRATULATIONS TO SARAH AND BLAKE ON THEIR ENGAGEMENT IN KEY WEST!!

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Enjoy every minute leading up to the big day

#Choose2GiveBack

In recognition of April’s Sexual Violence Prevention Month, Albany Medical Center, UAlbany, and the surrounding communities (Choice PT!) collaborate to offer support to those affected by sexual violence, thanks to the We Care organization. Thank you to everyone who brought in teddy bears for the care packages, which along with toiletries and other items, are provided to young survivors who leave Albany Meds sexual assault forensic examiners program. The support you consistently provide to our #Choose2GiveBack campaigns means so much to us!!

Always grateful, Erin : )

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