Do you know anyone who suffers from chronic low back pain? As simple as it seems, many people with chronic low back pain can improve and even fully heal their backs by doing one simple thing: stretching their hamstrings.
Your hamstrings are the muscles that run along the back of your thighs, from behind your knees to the bottom of your pelvis. If your hamstrings are tight, they are causing a constant downward pull on your pelvis. Since your pelvis is the foundation of your lower back and spine, having tight hamstrings contributes to an unstable lower back and a greater chance of intermittent sprains and strains. In my chiropractic practice, I estimate that at least 80 percent of people who present to me with chronic lower back pain have tight hamstrings as the root of their problem. Even if these people have their lower backs treated on a regular basis, they will continue to suffer from intermittent lower back pain if they do not address their hamstring tightness.
How do you know if your hamstrings are tight? The best way to assess hamstring length is to lie flat on your back and have someone slowly raise one leg. Your leg must be completely relaxed, and you must not help lift the leg with your own muscles. If your hamstrings are at an appropriate length for your body, your leg can be raised to 90 degrees off the ground without any significant tightness anywhere along your hamstrings from behind your knee to your sitting bone (pelvis). If you start to feel tightness before 90 degrees, you know it’s time to stretch!
A simple and effective way to stretch your hamstrings is to sit in a hurdler’s stretch – with one leg tucked behind your bum, and one leg flat on the ground, outstretched in front of you - and to lean forward slightly until you feel a stretch anywhere along the back of your thigh or knee. An alternative is shown in this picture, where your resting leg is tucked in with the foot resting on the inner thigh of the leg being stretched. It is important to keep your back straight, and to only go to a point where you feel a comfortable stretch. If you experience pain, ease back until you are comfortable. Some people find that slinging a towel around their outstretched foot and holding onto both ends with their hands is more comfortable than bending forward without a towel. Be sure to breathe while you stretch, and to do the same stretch for your other leg.
It is best to stretch your hamstrings later on in the day, or after a good warm up such as after a brisk walk or jog. The key is to get lots of blood going through your muscles before you stretch. Alternating between legs for a few minutes each day is enough for most people. Many people with chronic lower back pain can experience dramatic improvement after stretching their hamstrings on a daily basis for 1-3 months. If you don’t have lower back problems, stretching your hamstrings everyday is an excellent preventive measure that will keep your lower back and pelvis balanced for the years ahead.
Wednesday, September 15, 2010
Effective Exercise for Preventing Low Back Pain
If I could choose just one exercise to do regularly to prevent low back pain, it would be the yoga pose that you see in this picture. This simple pose - often called a form of "Warrior Pose" - combines two actions that I have found to be critical for preventing chronic low back pain.
The first action is to stretch your hamstrings. Your hamstrings are the thick muscles that line the back of your thighs. When you do Warrior Pose, the leg that you have rooted on the ground experiences an effective hamstring stretch as your other leg rises behind you.
The second action is to stabilize your core by strengthening your lower back muscles. Warrior Pose requires that you contract your lower back muscles as you bring one of your legs up behind you while keeping your upper body parallel with the ground.
If you find the Warrior Pose difficult to maintain, try doing it while using both of your arms to hold onto a stable surface, like a chair, table, or sofa.
Doing this won't take away from the two components of Warrior Pose that are important for low back pain prevention, and will actually allow you to perform Warrior Pose for longer stretches of time.
How long should you maintain Warrior Pose? For as long as you can comfortably maintain it while feeling your hamstrings stretch and your lower back muscles contract. If you haven't been physically active in some time, then I recommend beginning with just a second or two on each leg. As your stamina and physical condition improve, you can work your way up to holding the Warrior Pose for 10-30 seconds at a time on each leg.
How often should you do Warrior Pose? As often as you can without causing an uncomfortable strain in any of your muscles.
While doing Warrior Pose, please remember to maintain steady breathing. An effective way to promote steady breathing while doing any stretch is to make a conscious effort to keep your facial muscles relaxed. As you maintain Warrior Pose while breathing evenly, visualize your hamstrings becoming longer and stronger, and your lower back muscles becoming stronger as well.
If you have a health challenge with one or both of your knees that makes it difficult to do Warrior Pose on a fully straightened bottom leg, you can try this pose with your bottom leg slightly bent (flexed) - this will take some pressure off the surfaces of your knee joint, but won't take too much away from the hamstring stretch and the lower back contraction.
Additional Notes on Exercising and Stretching to Prevent Low Back Pain:
To understand why stretching your hamstrings is critical addressing chronic low back pain, view the following article:
Best Stretch for Chronic Low Back Pain
Many fitness and physical health care experts recommend doing abdominal exercises to strengthen your core trunk region. While I support this recommendation, my experiences have led me to believe that low back strength is more important than abdominal strength for preventing low back pain. If you can regularly exercise both regions, I encourage you to do so. If you're just looking to do one exercise/stretch to begin with, the Warrior Pose is an excellent choice.
Warrior Pose and all other strenuous exercises should be avoided during episodes of acute low back pain.
The Best Treatment For Acute Back Pain
The Best Treatment For Acute Back Pain
Natural Health Solutions
Do you know what it's like to have a sudden, sharp pain in your back that you know is going to lead to several days of terrible pain and stiffness? I am very familiar with this scenario from my own experiences with back pain and from my work as a chiropractor for many years.
If you know what this feels like, then you might find what I have to say next to be surprising.
The best thing that you can do for yourself as soon as you feel that familiar spasm or pull in your back muscles is the following:
Nothing.
No matter what you are doing - shovelling snow, carrying groceries, painting, laundry, or exercising - stop immediately and lie down on the closest comfortable surface. You want to lie down with your knees bent up so that your feet are flat on the floor, or so that your calves are resting on several pillows or on a chair. As you lie down, try to relax all of your muscles, especially the ones in your back. You can facilitate effective relaxation by taking slow, deep breaths from your tummy.
Depending on how badly you have pulled your muscles or ligaments, you can lie like this for 15 minutes or 1 hour. When you feel very relaxed, try to get up slowly, turning on your side and using your arms to help lift your upper body off the ground. Be sure to use your thigh muscles to stand up. If you feel any pain as you try to stand up, lay down again and relax some more.
Following this recommendation will significantly decrease the severity of your injury, and will have you back to normal much sooner than if you had continued on with your activities.
Here's why...
The first moment that you experience sharp pain in your back is a signal that a muscle or ligament has been stressed beyond its natural capacity. From that moment on, if the muscle or ligament in question is still being asked to work, your body will create inflammation in that area, which brings pain, stiffness, and swelling. Why does your body do this? Because pain, stiffness, and swelling are parts of a protective response that your body uses to get you to rest that area until it heals.
Can you see why popping a pain killer in this situation is not in your best interest? If you numb yourself to pain, then you'll probably continue being active, not giving your injured tissues a chance to rest and recover. This is a great way to worsen your injury and prolong your suffering. And let's not forget the negative side effects that pain killers have on your stomach, liver and kidneys.
At the first sign of sharp pain in their backs, many people choose to continue working, finding that if they stay active and warm, they don't stiffen up and they are able to remain functional for a few hours or the rest of the day. Continuing to be active after the initial injury causes your body to produce natural pain killers like endorphins, which gives you the illusion that you are fine. The problem with this is that while you are not feeling much discomfort, your injured tissues are continuously being stressed, which will increase your pain and stiffness later on that day or the next morning.
By lying down at the first twinge of back pain, you will minimize damage to your injured tissues. You will also minimize inflammation, which will lead to less pain and stiffness. Sometimes, if the injury isn't too severe and you are able to lie down right away, you might be totally fine as soon as you stand up.
Following this recommendation can mean the difference between having back pain for one hour or for one week. Please try it the next time you feel that awful pull or twinge in your back.
Note: some people make a trip to a physical therapist, chiropractor, or massage therapist right after injuring their backs. Unless your injury is causing you to lose control over your urine flow and bowel movements, I highly recommend that you first try my suggestion.
Why?
Think about all of the stress that your back faces in going for treatment. You have to get into your car, make the drive to the office, get out of the car, sit in the waiting room, get up onto the treatment table, and all of the above in reverse. Believe me, in most cases, it is far more beneficial to lie down on your living room floor for an hour than to put your back through all of these steps. And your floor is free.
If you still have pain or stiffness after resting right after your injury and do not experience gradual improvement over the next few days, that might be a good time to visit a practitioner who can provide treatment that will hopefully help your injured tissues heal properly.
Natural Health Solutions
Do you know what it's like to have a sudden, sharp pain in your back that you know is going to lead to several days of terrible pain and stiffness? I am very familiar with this scenario from my own experiences with back pain and from my work as a chiropractor for many years.
If you know what this feels like, then you might find what I have to say next to be surprising.
The best thing that you can do for yourself as soon as you feel that familiar spasm or pull in your back muscles is the following:
Nothing.
No matter what you are doing - shovelling snow, carrying groceries, painting, laundry, or exercising - stop immediately and lie down on the closest comfortable surface. You want to lie down with your knees bent up so that your feet are flat on the floor, or so that your calves are resting on several pillows or on a chair. As you lie down, try to relax all of your muscles, especially the ones in your back. You can facilitate effective relaxation by taking slow, deep breaths from your tummy.
Depending on how badly you have pulled your muscles or ligaments, you can lie like this for 15 minutes or 1 hour. When you feel very relaxed, try to get up slowly, turning on your side and using your arms to help lift your upper body off the ground. Be sure to use your thigh muscles to stand up. If you feel any pain as you try to stand up, lay down again and relax some more.
Following this recommendation will significantly decrease the severity of your injury, and will have you back to normal much sooner than if you had continued on with your activities.
Here's why...
The first moment that you experience sharp pain in your back is a signal that a muscle or ligament has been stressed beyond its natural capacity. From that moment on, if the muscle or ligament in question is still being asked to work, your body will create inflammation in that area, which brings pain, stiffness, and swelling. Why does your body do this? Because pain, stiffness, and swelling are parts of a protective response that your body uses to get you to rest that area until it heals.
Can you see why popping a pain killer in this situation is not in your best interest? If you numb yourself to pain, then you'll probably continue being active, not giving your injured tissues a chance to rest and recover. This is a great way to worsen your injury and prolong your suffering. And let's not forget the negative side effects that pain killers have on your stomach, liver and kidneys.
At the first sign of sharp pain in their backs, many people choose to continue working, finding that if they stay active and warm, they don't stiffen up and they are able to remain functional for a few hours or the rest of the day. Continuing to be active after the initial injury causes your body to produce natural pain killers like endorphins, which gives you the illusion that you are fine. The problem with this is that while you are not feeling much discomfort, your injured tissues are continuously being stressed, which will increase your pain and stiffness later on that day or the next morning.
By lying down at the first twinge of back pain, you will minimize damage to your injured tissues. You will also minimize inflammation, which will lead to less pain and stiffness. Sometimes, if the injury isn't too severe and you are able to lie down right away, you might be totally fine as soon as you stand up.
Following this recommendation can mean the difference between having back pain for one hour or for one week. Please try it the next time you feel that awful pull or twinge in your back.
Note: some people make a trip to a physical therapist, chiropractor, or massage therapist right after injuring their backs. Unless your injury is causing you to lose control over your urine flow and bowel movements, I highly recommend that you first try my suggestion.
Why?
Think about all of the stress that your back faces in going for treatment. You have to get into your car, make the drive to the office, get out of the car, sit in the waiting room, get up onto the treatment table, and all of the above in reverse. Believe me, in most cases, it is far more beneficial to lie down on your living room floor for an hour than to put your back through all of these steps. And your floor is free.
If you still have pain or stiffness after resting right after your injury and do not experience gradual improvement over the next few days, that might be a good time to visit a practitioner who can provide treatment that will hopefully help your injured tissues heal properly.
VISCERAL FATS
Abdominal, or visceral, fat is of particular concern because it’s a key player in a variety of health problems.
Visceral fat has been linked to metabolic disturbances and increased risk for cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes. In women, it is also associated with breast cancer and the need for gallbladder surgery.
So what can we do about tubby tummies? A lot, it turns out. The starting point for bringing weight under control, in general, and combating abdominal fat, in particular, is regular moderate-intensity physical activity — at least 30 minutes per day (and perhaps up to 60 minutes per day) to control weight. Strength training (exercising with weights) may also help fight abdominal fat. Spot exercising, such as doing sit-ups, can tighten abdominal muscles, but it won’t get at visceral fat.
Diet is also important. Pay attention to portion size, and emphasize complex carbohydrates (fruits, vegetables, and whole grains) and lean protein over simple carbohydrates such as white bread, refined-grain pasta, and sugary drinks. Replacing saturated fats and trans fats with polyunsaturated fats can also help.
For now, experts stress that lifestyle, especially exercise, is the very best way to fight visceral fat.
Rub Your Tummy Away
Did You Know...
... that you can rub your stomach away effortlessly using nothing but your hand -- for only 2 minutes a day?
This may sound hard to believe, but Dr. Stephen Chang, an M.D. and Ph.D. who's trained in both Western and Chinese medicine, states that this simple 2-minute internal exercise, which does not come from Western medicine, but rather from the wisdom of ancient Chinese sages -- has been used successfully as a self-healing mechanism for over 6,000 years.
Whatever you do, don't confuse this internal exercise with the external exercises of the Western world, such as sit-ups, crunches and other movements that only firm up the underlying stomach muscles ... but do nothing to melt the fat surrounding those muscles.
According to Dr. Chang, losing weight is a simple matter of increasing the efficiency of the digestive system. If you've ever wondered why you fail to shed pounds even when you reduce your food and/or caloric intake -- the reason is because your digestive and eliminatory systems are not functioning efficiently.
The following 2-minute exercise works like a gentle colonic irrigation that helps speed up a sluggish digestive system (which usually carries at least 5 pounds of fecal matter within it), and this elimination of useless sludge has the effect of burning off excess fat. The exercise effectively metabolizes the fatty tissues around the stomach and intestines, and flushes them out of your body through blood, sweat, urine, and feces.
Here's how to do the stomach-rubbing exercise:
1) Lie flat on your back on your bed or on the floor. Take your top off or pull it up so that your abdominal area is bare.
2) Rub your hands together vigorously for about 15 seconds, or until they feel hot.
3) Place one of your hands directly on your belly button and begin to rub in small circles around your belly button, and gradually make the circles larger (as shown in the diagram). Use fairly firm but comfortable pressure and rub at a slow, even pace, approximately 1 circle per second.
4) Concentrate on the heat building up in, around and throughout your stomach.
5) Do about 40 to 50 circles, or for an approximate duration of 2 minutes or more.
Note: It is important to keep the abdominal area warm while doing the exercise, especially during winter months when even heated indoor air tends to be cool.
For best results, do this routine twice a day for 2 minutes -- first thing in the morning (before breakfast) and just before you go to bed. Most people see noticeable results within 1 week of consistent practice.
According to Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), the stomach is the center of energy. Massaging the stomach in the manner described above therefore accomplishes more than just melting away adipose tissue (fat). It also ...
* stimulates the abdominal organs
* helps speed up slow digestion and remedies constipation
* increases blood circulation in the abdominal area
* helps heal indigestion, nausea, diarrhea, vomiting and the adverse effects of overeating
Breast Cancer
Please read - serious
As passed on to me by a concerned female friend.
This is a bit graphic but I guess it is best to be informed. I'm sending it to you because I'd hate to think that someone I know could actually have this and not recognize because I just deleted it, instead of just quickly passing it on. Cheers
I have sent this to every female on my email list as it is really important and true. I hope you pass it on to more women you know.
New kind of Breast Cancer - DO NOT DELETE
Please forward to all of the women in your lives Mothers, daughters, sisters, aunts, friends, etc.
In November, a rare kind of breast cancer was found. A lady developed a rash on her breast, similar to that of young mothers who are nursing..
Because her mammogram had been clear, the doctor treated her with antibiotics for infections.. After 2 rounds, it continued to get worse, so her doctor sent her for another mammogram. This time it showed a mass.
A biopsy found a fast growing malignancy. Chemo was started in order to shrink the growth; then a mastectomy was performed; then a full round of Chemo; then radiation.. After about 9 months of intense treatment, she was given a clean bill of health.
She had one year of living each day to its fullest. Then the cancer returned to the liver area. She took 4 treatments and decided that she wanted quality of life, not the after effects of Chemo.. She had 5 great months and she planned each detail of the final days. After a few days of needing morphine, she died. She left this message to be delivered to women everywhere:
Women, PLEASE be alert to anything that is not normal, and be persistent in getting help as soon as possible.
Paget's Disease: This is a rare form of breast cancer, and is on the outside of the breast, on the nipple and aureole It appeared as a rash, which later became a lesion with a crusty outer edge. I would not have ever suspected it to be breast cancer but it was. My nipple never seemed any different to me, but the rash bothered me, so I went to the doctor for that. Sometimes, it itched and was sore, but other than that it didn't bother me. It was just ugly and a nuisance, and could not be cleared up with all the creams prescribed by my doctor and dermatologist for the dermatitis on my eyes just prior to this outbreak. They seemed a little concerned but did not warn me it could be cancerous.
Now, I suspect not many women out there know a lesion or rash on the nipple or aureole can be breast cancer. (Mine started out as a single red pimple on the aureole. One of the biggest problems with Paget's disease of the nipple is that the symptoms appear to be harmless. It is frequently thought to be a skin inflammation or infection, leading to unfortunate delays in detection and care.)
What are the symptoms?
1. A persistent redness, oozing, and crusting of your nipple causing it to itch and burn (As I stated, mine did not itch or burn much, and had no oozing I was aware of, but it did have a crust along the outer edge on one side.)
2. A sore on your nipple that will not heal. (Mine was on the aureole area with a whitish thick looking area in center of nipple).
3. Usually only one nipple is affected. How is it diagnosed? Your doctor will do a physical exam and should suggest having a mammogram of both breasts, done immediately.. Even though the redness, oozing and crusting closely resemble dermatitis (inflammation of the skin), your doctor should suspect cancer if the sore is only on one breast. Your doctor should order a biopsy of your sore to confirm what is going on.
This message should be taken seriously and passed on to as many of your relatives and friends as possible; it could save someone's life.
My breast cancer has spread and metastasized to my bones after receiving mega doses of chemotherapy, 28 treatments of radiation and taking Tamaxofin. If this had been diagnosed as breast cancer in the beginning, perhaps it would not have spread....
TO ALL READERS:
This is sad as women are not aware of Paget's disease. If, by passing this around on the e-mail, we can make others aware of it and its potential danger, we are helping women everywhere.
Please, if you can, take a moment to forward this message to as many people as possible, especially to your family and friends. It only takes a moment, yet the results could save a life.
Can cinnamon help beat heart disease and diabetes?
Cinnamon: A study has shown that it can reduce the risk of getting heart disease or diabetes by 23 per cent
Cinnamon could help prevent diabetes and heart disease, say scientists.
A study found that a cinnamon-water solution contains antioxidants that can cut the chances of getting either disease by up to 23 per cent.
Researchers at the Centre for Applied Health Sciences in Fairlawn, Ohio, USA studied 22 'pre-diabetic' obese people. Pre-diabetes occurs just before the onset of full-blown diabetes.
Half the participants were given 250mg of water-soluble cinnamon to take everyday, the other half had a placebo.
Sufferers become resistant to higher-than-normal levels of insulin - the hormone used to regulate blood-sugar levels - produced by the pancreas.
Blood was collected at the start and end of the survey, published by the Journal of the American College of Nutrition, with the cinnamon drinkers recording a 13 to 23 percent increase in antioxidants linked to lowering blood-sugar levels.
Richard Anderson, who led the study for the U.S. Department of Agriculture, told the Journal of the American College of Nutrition that more research was needed into the effectiveness of cinnamon juice in preventing diabetes and heart disease.
He said: "Only more research will tell whether the investigational study supports the idea that people who are overweight or obese could reduce oxidative stress and blood glucose by consuming cinnamon extracts that have been proven safe and effective.
"In the meantime, weight loss remains the primary factor in improving these
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